How To Install Bluetooth On Tablet Without Bluetooth

Although the majority of laptops—and even desktops—now come with Bluetooth back up, some of us still demand Bluetooth upgrades. If you're rocking a device without Bluetooth support, don't fret. Read on as nosotros show y'all how to add Bluetooth back up easily and cheaply to any calculator.

Why Would I Want To Practise This?

While you tin can get by just fine without Bluetooth back up on your computer (specially if you lot're using a desktop) there are tens of thousands of peripherals and accessories that require—or would be made more convenient by—Bluetooth.

Yous could, for instance, run an auxiliary audio cable from your figurer to whatsoever of the Bluetooth speakers we reviewed in our Bluetooth speaker guide, but it would make your speaker a lot more portable and convenient to pipe in the music over Bluetooth so you could retain the ability to motion it anywhere in your office. Bluetooth is besides handy when using wireless headsets, bluetooth trackers, game controllers, mice, keyboards, and other peripherals.

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Run across If Your Computer Already Has Bluetooth

Earlier we proceed, we'd encourage yous to give your figurer a double check for Bluetooth radios. If yous have an older laptop or calculator, you're probably correct in bold that you don't accept Bluetooth built-in. If you have a newer laptop, however, information technology's practically a given that you have Bluetooth. Similarly, information technology used to be a non-real feature on desktop PCs, but in the last few years a surprising number of desktops have begun shipping with Bluetooth radios.

Information technology's simple to check for evidence of Bluetooth in Windows. Y'all can check for Bluetooth by heading to Control Panel > Network and Net > Network Connections. If in that location is a properly installed and configured Bluetooth radio, yous'll see an entry for "Bluetooth Network Connection" alongside other network connections like Ethernet and Wi-Fi.

Alternatively, y'all tin can open upwards Device Manager—merely striking Start and search for "device manager"—and then wait for a "Bluetooth" entry. Device Manager volition show you if your PC has a Bluetooth device, even if it'due south not correctly fix up.

We also suggest double checking the stats on your PC only to exist sure. Although unlikely, information technology's possible that the hardware vendor behind your hardware uses a specialty driver or another tool that you lot demand to download in order to enable the Bluetooth connection. A little poking around with Google with reveal if you accept the hardware in the first place and if y'all need whatsoever special driver, BIOS, or other updates.

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Add Bluetooth to Your PC

If you've found that your PC does non take Bluetooth built in, then yous'll demand to add it. The practiced news is that it'southward easy to do and you don't have to spend much on information technology.

Step Ane: Buy What You'll Need

Yous don't need a whole lot to follow forth with this tutorial. Once you've determined that your calculator is definitely in need of a Bluetooth radio (and not just a driver update), information technology's fourth dimension to check that you take a free USB port. If you lot don't, and there'south no making room because you need all your electric current ports, y'all should consider getting a quality USB hub or a USB expansion carte.

With a costless USB port in manus, the only other matter yous need is a USB Bluetooth adapter. For the purposes of this tutorial (and for use on our own machines), we'll be using highly-rated and inexpensive Kinivo BTD-400 ($11.99) USB dongle.

There are other ways to approach the problem, only the majority of them are quite impractical. Yous could, for example, use upwardly your laptop's mini PCI slot with a laptop Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module, but that's a lot of hassle. One reason you might want to go the mini PCI road is if you really don't want to give up a USB port on a laptop and don't want to conduct around a USB hub.

On the desktop side, the only reason we can run across for not using the USB-based solution is if you're explicitly in the market for a Wi-Fi PCI card for a desktop computer, since many Wi-Fi PCI cards come up with Bluetooth built in.

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Pace Two: Install the Bluetooth Dongle

If you're installing the Kinivo on Windows 8 or 10, the process is dead elementary: but plug information technology in. Windows includes the basic Broadcom Bluetooth drivers required past the dongle and will install them automatically when it recognizes the new device.

If you're installing information technology on an earlier version of Windows, yous'll need to install the Bluetooth drivers. You'll know yous crave the drivers if the Device Manager pane looks like this afterward you plug in the dongle.

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Yous tin download the drivers from Kinivo (the manufacturer of the dongle) or from Broadcom (the manufacturer of the actual Bluetooth radio inside the device). Download the version for your operating system (here's how to meet if you're running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows), run the installer, and you're good to go.

Pace Three: Pair Your Devices

Now that you lot have the dongle installed, you're set up to pair a device. We'll demonstrate the procedure by hooking upward one of the speakers we used in our guide to portable Bluetooth speakers.

Afterward inserting the dongle (and with the appropriate drivers installed), a Bluetooth icon should appear in the system tray equally seen in the screenshot below. Right-click the icon and choose "Add a Bluetooth Device" from the context menu.

If you're using Windows 8 or 10, yous'll see a screen like the ane below. Just hit the "Pair" button for the device yous want to connect.

If you're using Windows 7—or a previous version—you'll see a screen similar this one instead. Select the device you desire to connect so hit "Side by side."

Afterwards making your pick, Windows will communicate with the device for around a half minute as information technology automatically finishes the pairing procedure. Later on that, your device is available for use!

You lot can manage your Bluetooth devices by accessing the Bluetooth menu via the system tray (as nosotros did a moment ago) or navigating to Control Panel -> All Control Panel Items -> Devices and Printers. Either way, you should be able to see (and collaborate with) both your Bluetooth dongle and any attached Bluetooth devices.

That's all at that place is to it! $15, one USB port, a nigh painless installation process, and at present your figurer has Bluetooth connectivity.

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