How to use Bluetooth
What is Bluetooth?
I had no idea what Bluetooth was until my friends started talking about their Bluetooth-capable devices and how they had no idea how to use it. I decided to look it up, and here is what I found:
Bluetooth is a way to connect and transfer information between things like cell phones, laptops and PCs, printers, digital cameras, and video game consoles using radio frequencies securely.
According to the official Bluetooth site, "Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range communications technology intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed devices while maintaining high levels of security. The key features of Bluetooth technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. The Bluetooth specification defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other."
It's nice because it's cheap, automatic, and doesn't require annoying wires!
How to use Bluetooth - by Nokia
To set up Bluetooth on your phone
1. Go to Menu, select Connect or Connections or Connectivity:
Note! If the above steps do not work, please consult the user manual.
2. Bluetooth - Select On to enable Bluetooth.
3. My telephone's visibility - Select Shown to all if you want your device to be found by other Bluetooth devices. If you select Hidden, your device cannot be found by other devices.
4. My Bluetooth name - Define a name for your device. After you have activated your Bluetooth service and changed My phone's visibility to Shown to all, your phone and this name can be seen by other Bluetooth device users.
Sending data via Bluetooth
If your phone supports the Bluetooth 1.1 specification or earlier, you can only have one Bluetooth connection running on your phone at any one time.
1. Select or open the file you wish to send. For example, to send a photo to another device, open the Gallery application.
2. Select the file you wish to send, then select Options > Send > via Bluetooth.
3. The phone starts to search for devices within range.
Devices using Bluetooth technology that are within range will appear on the display. You should see a device icon, the device's name, the device type, or a short name. (A paired device is one where a Bluetooth connection already exists between your phone and the other device.)
• To interrupt the search, press Stop. The device list freezes and you can start to form a connection to one of the devices already found.
If you have searched for devices earlier, a list of the devices that were found previously is shown first. To start a new search, select More devices. If you switch off the phone, the list of devices is cleared and the device search needs to be started again before sending data.
4. Scroll to the device you want to connect with and press Select. The item you are sending is copied to Outbox and the note Connecting is shown.
5. Pairing (if this is not required by the other device, proceed to step 6.)
• If the other device requires pairing before data can be transmitted, a tone sounds and you are asked to enter a passcode. • Create your own passcode (1-16 characters long, numeric) and agree with the owner of the other device to use the same code. This passcode is used only once and you do not have to memorise it. • After pairing, the device is saved to the Paired devices view.
6. When the connection has been successfully established, the note Sending data is shown. Data received via Bluetooth can be found in the Inbox folder in Messaging. Tip: Pairing is a means of authentication. The users of the devices using Bluetooth technology should agree together what the passcode is, and use the same passcode for both devices in order to pair them. Devices that do not have a user interface have a preset passcode.
Checking the status of the Bluetooth connection
• When the Bluetooth icon is shown in standby mode, Bluetooth is active.
• When the Bluetooth icon is blinking, your phone is trying to connect to the other device. • When the Bluetooth icon is shown continuously, the Bluetooth connection is active.
Receiving data via Bluetooth
When you receive data via Bluetooth, a message alert tone is played and you are asked if you want to accept the message. If you accept, the item is placed in the Inbox folder in Messaging.
Disconnecting Bluetooth
A Bluetooth connection is disconnected automatically after sending or receiving data.
- The Official Bluetooth Membership site
Provides discussion groups, marketing and technological resources for developers. - Bluetooth on Wikipedia
Comments
glassvisage (author) from Northern California on October 05, 2012:
Thank you all for your comments! Hezekiah, I didn't know that!
Hezekiah from Japan on October 04, 2012:
Thank for the details info and know how. Did you know that Ninento Wii controllers are Bluetooth? You can configure them to work with the PC.
Karina from Edinburgh on September 07, 2012:
Great explanation. Very informative and useful!
KC Gupta on August 26, 2012:
How to use blue tooth on acer laptop. Whenever I press relevant button the system does not accept
rashed on May 25, 2012:
Just saying hi and try for this post.
Learn more http://prostaprin.org/
veebeeyes on March 18, 2012:
I purchased a bluetooth Nokia BH 503. But now I am not able to connect it to my mobile, Micromax X235. So what are the precautions we should take before buying a bluetooth ?
louromano on March 17, 2012:
Nice hub ! Bluetooth is difficult to install without a proper manual.
Gama on March 06, 2012:
I want to knw that how to retrive the device name which are recently connected or paried with my mobile.. Have any software for it? Tel me pls cal on +919764350158
Java Programs from India on March 04, 2012:
I have Samsung Galaxy Tablet , knowingly or unknowingly I use bluetooth technology the most when i want to share music, videos , multimedia.... etc .....
Great info .... keep the good work up ......
ap100 from India on February 26, 2012:
Great Info for the starters.. Very well explained..
coastairchief on February 25, 2012:
You miss the most obvious of all pieces of information - the hardware necessary to connect the devices with blue tooth capability
Laura on February 12, 2012:
How do I use my blue tooth to play pandora through my Envoy? I keep emailing GMC to ask if my make and model is compandible, but they want to charg me $15 to answer my question.. shouldn't that just be a curtiousness?
If you can help great
Thanks
p. on January 14, 2012:
ok gota question. I have a lgenvy that is ragged so my boyfriend picked me one up at a local thrift type store just like it. I am always iffy on using these phones with an unknown past. I havnt activated it yet so just messin around i decide to pair em up to try and transfer some pics... I notice that on the newer phone the old phone is named lg and and on the old phone the newer one is named jabra vrt4050. that's what it said when paired. is that normal or could this phone be spyin on me? just wonderin with all the noseys out there.
miley on January 12, 2012:
I love bluethooth it works a lot. Thxs
NewOrleansFlair from Louisiana on December 04, 2011:
Great topic. Seems I can't live without it...especially in the corporate world (always on the go). Thanks.
strubin10 on November 26, 2011:
thnx!that waz so helpful!
lemmy on November 16, 2011:
so how do you get bluetooth to work on your laptop?
Confused.com on November 06, 2011:
how do i use my bluetooth on my lenovo laptop? It says 'make sure that your bluetooth radio is turned on or plugged in and try this operation again' ????????????????????????????????????
pratik on November 01, 2011:
bogas item 6
Smab on October 28, 2011:
Omg! Thnk u sooo much! We were about 2 find out that my hubby's phone sux 4 Bluetooth BUT @ the same time we found out that he was eligible 4 an upgrade!! Thnx 2 U???? so we're count'n down 2 the day 4 his upgrade coz well pay $0.01!!!????
TheNsa on October 20, 2011:
Very Useful hub. One thing bothers me when I use my bluetooth which is sometimes people think I am talking to myself, since they sometimes can't see the bluetooth on my ear.
Brown on September 29, 2011:
Does anyone know how to activate the bluetooth on Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite? I got this phone recently but unable to activate the bluetooth!
David on September 27, 2011:
Please my dear friends am rili confused now. When i search my friends blueetooth with my nokia2700classic phone it won't get the other device but all d devices are visible. PLEASE HELP ME OUT. HOW CAN I MAKE IT TO SEARCH AN RECOGNIZE OTHER BLUETOOTH DEVICES. I WIL REALY APPRECIATE IF U WILL HELP ME. THANKS ALOT
jerry on August 31, 2011:
is there a bluetooth module that can enable bluetooth for mobile phones without bluetooth?
UNKNOWEN on August 24, 2011:
K when i go to bluetooth on a phone and pick the options of the highlighted device the options menu shows up and u can pick device info. okay now here's the problem its from another phone in the room and i want to call the phone that the bluetooth device is showen but it dosent show a number in the device info. how elas would i get the number of the other phone? could i use the Bluetooth address in google to find out the number or something? need help to get the number of the phone that i paired with.
Lilane on August 21, 2011:
Am trying to transfer my movies from laptop to my iphone guys,but it says.service file transfer is not on device iphone,although both devices are already connected.
Anyone can tell me ? Cheers guys !
Ravi Singh from India on August 13, 2011:
Nice and handy info.thanks and voted up!
Rose on August 09, 2011:
How do you create a passcode for both a phone and laptop..?
BestAbsWorkouts on July 25, 2011:
A Great introduction to Bluetooth. It's a fantastic technology and really easy to use but so many people are confused by new technology so it's good to see such an easy to understand article on the topic.
Hemant Babel on July 10, 2011:
ear sir,
I have bought Samsung Wave II GT-S8530 on 5/2/2011. This handset is
available with A2DP Bluetooth Version 3.0 and I have searched a lot
for an A2DP Bluetooth Stereo Headset but unable to find any with
Bluetooth version 3.0. Kindly suggest me the Bluetooth Stereo Headset
model which is compatible with this handset or let me know that
whether A2DP Bluetooth Stereo Headset with Bluetooth version 2 or
version 2+EDR will have the compatibility. Further suggest me the
Compatible Blue tooth dongle so have the A2DP Bluetooth Stereo Headset
and my Headset could be paired with my PC having XP service pack 2. My
purpose is to listen Audio via A2DP Bluetooth Stereo Headset via
Handset which can be used to listen sound from PC as well with the use
of dongle!
Hemant Babel
ph 919887507570
henry on May 23, 2011:
really do not know to to use bluetooth. I have ever used red infrared to pass document through cell phone. This article is useful. I will try to use it according to your explaination.
james on May 04, 2011:
am trying to send a video from a samsung to my computer, but the program on the phone says no devices found. Wondering what i need to do
sonogroupteam from SONO Group Team on April 08, 2011:
Well! very nice and completely covered all questions related bluetooth.... Thanks!!!
vinner from India on February 25, 2011:
Very useful and working instructions. Thanks for your works and expecting more. Now following
Ankush Kohli from India on January 28, 2011:
Really useful. Many of my friends curious to know how to use bluetooth on their laptops as they love to listen songs & grasp pics. Worth to share...
ash on December 25, 2010:
can i get free bluetooth for my pc..??
afzal df on December 16, 2010:
claude from KIE 3 months ago
Thank you for those good info.What can I add is that Bluetooth is occurred in the distance of 100m.Ok thank you again
Beston 2 months ago
Thanks for all the info,pls can a pregnant women know that she is pregnant with the help of bluetooth? I confuse
billrobinson 2 weeks ago
Technology is always a good help for us. But let's make use of it properly. Thanks for this post.
Beston on September 28, 2010:
Thanks for all the info,pls can a pregnant women know that she is pregnant with the help of bluetooth? I confuse
claude from KIE on August 30, 2010:
Thank you for those good info.What can I add is that Bluetooth is occurred in the distance of 100m.Ok thank you again
toddlergirlcloth on August 15, 2010:
Hi! Blue tooth is small but very useful. Your Hub is really nice I like it so much. I Rated, Bookmarked, Followed and Shared it. Thanks for sharing information. If you have a chance visit me on my new Hub Page. It will be a great pleasure to me. =)
Bob XD on June 16, 2010:
WHEN I TRY TO RECIVE A MEASSAGE IT SAYS CHECK BLUETOOTH SETTINGS ON RECIVING DEVICE HELP ME
adorababy from Syracuse, NY on May 31, 2010:
Bluetooth is now really popular and keeps getting popular as time passes by. It is now widely used across countries and almost by everyone.
Shelco on May 28, 2010:
How do i connect my acer laptop to my phone and send pics using bluetooth, i am new to all this and when i press the bluetooth button it just says 'No Device' Can someone help,,,, PLEASE, thanks all :)
Taylor Moore on May 26, 2010:
My friend sent me some thing via bluetooth and i checks but nothing was in my inbox. is there any place else that they can send them
Dave353 on May 11, 2010:
Great Hub full of useful info. i only recently got into using Blue-tooth on my phone because every time I started up my laptop it tried to connect to it which was really annoying so eventually i had no choice but to take the manual out and figure out how to turn the darn thing off & this is how I discovered all the great things you can do with Blue-tooth :). I've bookmarked this hub. Great work!!!
U Neek from Georgia, USA on May 01, 2010:
Great information in language I can understand. Thanks!
mandyfelix16 on April 28, 2010:
hey i have bluetooth on my phone but i cant receive any info from other people and their bluetooth would be on too...can anyone help me
Me, myself, and I on April 24, 2010:
how the heck does it work on a motorola hint??
lovella on February 20, 2010:
why does my bluetooth keeping cutting off
Moulik Mistry from Burdwan, West Bengal, India on February 18, 2010:
I did not know much about blue tooth, thank you for sharing this...
Isabelle22 from Somewhere on the coastline on February 08, 2010:
Some great info here, you made it really easy to understand something I never quite understood but was interested in. Thanks.
kalaiarasan on December 10, 2009:
just understand bluetooth
Unique Kids Stuff on November 06, 2009:
I'm a little late getting into the blue tooth game. Great info.
jonty on September 01, 2009:
Very well written hub .....
very much informative ......
Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
ciidoctor on August 28, 2009:
thanks for the guide - my use of bluetooth always seems to be accidental!
creativeMind from Cochin on August 24, 2009:
very good information..thanks for it.
Someone on August 09, 2009:
thanx for the info!! i really needed to know this!:D
nicomp really from Ohio, USA on August 04, 2009:
Bluetooth was a Danish King who united disparate groups of people in his country.
John on August 04, 2009:
very much powerful technology ........ governing mobile and related accessories ....
Richard on July 22, 2009:
Ive never used bluetooth, does anyone have a Samsung Highnote, how do i transfer music to my friends LG CF360?
Avare on May 13, 2009:
Thanks for great info. Bluetooth is a really usefull thing.
Camping Dan on April 22, 2009:
Thanks for this info. I have to admit that I am a little behind on this and I just got a new phone that uses a Bluetooth headset so I needed a primer.
jasonstevens from California, United States on March 28, 2009:
Thanks, this is a very comprehensive explanation of bluetooth!
getanswers on March 19, 2009:
create some content on bluetooth security too..
mtb on March 08, 2009:
cool thanks for the instructions.. Now I am wondering what type of data I can get with BT at a reasonable speed.
That Girl on February 19, 2009:
I just bought a virgin mobile phone and tried to receive a song from a friend via bluetooth and every time she tried to do it, it would fail and say something about my phone. I really want to get some music on my phone!!!! How do I do it?
Jen on February 15, 2009:
HI just got a blackberry and i wanted to try to transfer my songs and pics from my sonyerrcsson to my blackberry. I tried bluetooth but couldn't. When i try to send via bluetooth from blackberry to sony it works but not vice versa, keeps saying connection failed. Can anyone help?
Taylorrrr. on February 09, 2009:
Okay, so some of my friends have been using a website (www.myxer.com) to get free ringtones to their phones. I showed my mom it-she has a razr 2 and I have an LG Scoop- the website and she liked it just because she can get whatever ringtone she wanted. So, she made an account and so did I. I got a song, and myxer sends the songs in messages....well little did I know that LG phones can't save songs sent in messages as ringtones, but only as MP3s on the phone. It will tell me to save the song to my phone/card. I tried...it still doesn't work. I called my cousin who has the same phone as me, and I asked her about it and she told me all about the MP3 thing..and she also said that she sends songs to her dads phone (he has a razr) from myxer, saves the media on his phone and then bluetooths it to hers.
So the next day I went on myxer, got a few songs I liked to my moms phone and saved them to her phone. Worked fine. Then I tried to bluetooth myself the songs.....her phone won't find mine, but mine will find hers.
Any suggestions?
livelovecoffee from Georgia on February 04, 2009:
These are such great devices. Thanks for the help and great article.
woody on January 30, 2009:
im trying to send pic,s from my phone to my pc but my phone keeps asking for a pin no. how can i find out what the pin no. is if any one knows please tell me and i,ll love you 4eva sfwgroup@yahoo.co.uk
britneydavidson from united kingdom on January 29, 2009:
hi all hubers...i love this technology related hubs...love to know lot about technology and new invention and all...i have one nice bluetooth dongel and would love inform all hubbers about this...try it on
https://hubpages.com/hub/usb-bluetooth-dongle
thanx
mike on January 28, 2009:
wow...really nice information...thanx for sharing.
http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=136975
Michael on January 28, 2009:
Thanks for the great post GlassVisage, check out the Bluetooth products at www.callpod.com. Use coupon code MACPOD09 and get 20% off your purchase until 02/10/09.
Amber90 on January 28, 2009:
Excellent write up on bluetoothes! I really do love these. But mostly because it keeps at least both hands (hopefully) on the wheel of the person driving next to me. I can't stand it when you see someone almost get in a wreck while on the phone. Love these!
Kubrat on January 22, 2009:
A real great article! One would think if a technology is widely used it is also easy to use and everyone understands just by trying it. Your article I believe is useful to many.
TJ on January 10, 2009:
Both devices must be bluetooth compatible to communicate with each other.
http://find.com/electronics/bluetooth_headsets
Tom from Irvine, CA on January 06, 2009:
Thanks for the guide! Bluetooth is difficult to install without a proper manual.
Tom Lindstrom
katyzzz from Sydney, Australia on December 30, 2008:
I have bluetooth on my new Dell inspiron laptop but I don't interconnect much but it should still be useful with music etd from the web and in my Vista music and games and sound effects. Agree or disagree. You certainly did your homework.
codebreakers57 on December 28, 2008:
really nice article. i learnt a lot from it. thanks
Tonberryv1 on December 11, 2008:
how can i use bluetooth to exchange videos and photos with messages? thanks i am trying to use for the first time.
em on November 28, 2008:
hi i just wanna ask how to retrieve my bluetooth device from my laptop.its acer.i keep on clicking the bluetooth button but can't figure out why its not appearing.please help..tnx
easywaytoincome on November 18, 2008:
Bluetooth means a wireless protocol utilizing short-range communications technology facilitating data transmission over short distances from fixed and mobile devices. For more informations visit http://www.easywaytoincome.com
Yogendra karki on November 15, 2008:
lado kha
amich on November 05, 2008:
thanks for the guide - my use of bluetooth always seems to be accidental!
glassvisage (author) from Northern California on October 29, 2008:
Thanks everyone. Everyone's phones are so different that I don't know if I could give specific advice for each kind... if it doesn't say "Bluetooth," then the phone might not be near enough, it might not be on the Bluetooth setting, the batteries might be out or not charged all the way... so many reasons!
Janice on October 29, 2008:
Hey, I have metro, how do i do all that kinda stuff? I really nedd to know because i travel and now the law is no phones. Thanks
betherickson from Minnesota on October 27, 2008:
Great information. Detailed and very helpful. Thumbs up! :)
Vinu on October 26, 2008:
great hub..you covered in detail...
LINDSEY on October 20, 2008:
WHAT HAPPENDS IF UR PHONE DOSENT SAY VIA BLUETOOTH??????
starcatchinfo on September 25, 2008:
GLASSVISAGE, NICE HUB ON BLUE TOOTH USAGE
lindsey![grr] on March 01, 2008:
i need to know how to use bluetooth on my acer laptop.i try pushing the stupid bluetooth button and it just keeps saying no devices...even when i have my phone right next to it and my bluetooth turned on on my phone.its driving me crazy i need help.
Sherilyn on November 06, 2007:
wow, this answered all my questions about bluetooth. thanks!
