Re: how do you know if laptop has bluetooth

On 2/12/2022 12:49 PM, knuttle wrote:
> 
> On 2/12/2022 11:44 AM, MajorLanGod wrote:
>> micky <[email protected]> wrote in
>> news:[email protected]:
>>
>>> How do you know if laptop has bluetooth?
>>>
>>>
>>> And if I have it, how to connect one of those horse-collar ear-bud
>>> receivers that have no keypad, no screen?
>>>
>>>
>> I have never had to do more than the following:
>> -Put the earbuds in pairing mode
>> -Go to Settings-Bluetooth on Windows and tell it to search for devices
>>
>> I have paired a bluetooth speaker and earbuds, and have never had to
>> enter a code.
>>
>> Good Luck
> I beleive most computers sold today have blue tooth.  If you have Windows go to the Setting, Devices, Bluetooth & Other devices and click the + Add Bluetooth and & Other Devices
> 
> With computers, phones, and similar device you have to make sure the bluetooth is on and in the discover mode.  Follow the insturctions. With some devices there may be a simple code you have to enter into both device to complete the pairing.  I use a real complicated code like 123..

Most laptops. Or things like tablets.

One reason this can happen, is the provision of a
Broadcom combo Wifi+BT module inside the laptop.

The module can have two antennas. An RF switch selects to
drive one cable, with either Wifi or BT output. There may be
some coordination at driver level, to make it all work.
The module has its own processor. In Linux, there
might be a firmware module to make the combo Wifi+BT
work. (On Windows, the driver loads the firmware and
you never hear about this.)

On my desktop, I use a completely separate BT. It has
a small antenna inside the dongle. As long as the dongle
is clear of the masses of sheet metal around it, it works.

For the other machine, this meant running a USB six inch
extension cable, so the BT would be out in the open.
And it works to a distance of 15-20 feet. My BT speaker
does not work in the kitchen -- too far away.

A BT cannot be entirely *inside* a desktop, because
of the antenna issue.

A BT works on a laptop, via extension cables up the
back of the panel. And the engineers provide an RF
"hole" for the signal to escape.

On mini-ITX home theater PCs, the antennas can be
desktop mounted antennas (shark fin, rubber duck),
and that's how the RF gets out of the metal box.
SMAs on the I/O plate on high end motherboards, support
this external antenna scheme too.

Not all Wifi are Broadcom combo, and it's still quite easy to
find cheap/plain Wifi. Then you need a separate BT
like the one on the machine I'm typing on. And because
it is plugged into an external USB port, the RF signal
gets out for free.

Like Lego, there are many possibilities. On a modern laptop,
yup, could have it. Until someone unplugs the Broadcom module
and replaces it with an Atheros, and they don't happen to
mention that in their posting... :-/

    Paul