Windows 10

Creating a Bluetooth personal area network

You've seen how to create a PAN to allow a smartphone to connect to your computer. You also can create a Bluetooth PAN as a short-range wireless network to connect other types of devices together wirelessly. A PAN is commonly used to connect a laptop to a desktop PC, although it can be used to connect other types of Bluetooth devices. As a rule, joining Bluetooth devices to a Bluetooth network is a simple matter. Most of the action takes place automatically, behind the scenes.

To understand the basic procedure, assume you already have a desktop computer with a functional Internet connection. You've already installed a Bluetooth USB adapter on that computer, so it's now a Bluetooth device. On that desktop computer, click the Bluetooth adapter icon in the notification area of the Windows desktop. Click Open Settings and make sure Allow Bluetooth Devices to Find This PC is selected. Click OK.

On a laptop computer (or a second computer), activate Bluetooth or, if necessary, plug in a second Bluetooth USB adapter. The objective is to connect the laptop to the desktop in a PAN. To do so, starting from the laptop computer, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the Bluetooth Devices notification area icon and choose Join a Personal Area Network. A list of Bluetooth devices should appear. If at least one device does not appear, click the Add a Bluetooth Device button and follow the steps to locate a Bluetooth-enabled computer. When the search completes, you should see a list of all of the available devices.
  2. Click the name of the computer to which you want to connect. If the Properties page for that device appears, click OK to close that page.
  3. Click Connect Using. A drop-down menu appears.
    After the connection is established, you should have Internet access on both computers. You can share printers and folders, and move and copy files between computers using the techniques.

Note, however, that if you made the Bluetooth connection to only one computer in an existing local area network (LAN), you have access only to the shared resources on the Bluetooth-enabled computer, not all the computers in the LAN.

Troubleshooting a Bluetooth network connection

If you can't get any connectivity at all using Bluetooth, try the following remedy:

  1. Go to the computer that's having trouble connecting to the PAN.
  2. Open the Network and Sharing Center by pressing Windows+X and choosing Control Panel → Network and Internet → Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center.
  3. Scroll down to the Bluetooth Network Connection group. If you can't find the Bluetooth Network Connection group, follow the steps outlined earlier.

The Network and Sharing Center folders on each PC should have similar Bluetooth network entries.

Sharing an Internet connection

If you can't get Internet connectivity from the computer you're connecting to the PAN (assuming the PAN already has Internet connectivity), go to a computer that's connected to the cable modem or router. Open the Network and Sharing Center and click the network item next to the Connections label. In the Activity area, click Properties and select the Sharing tab. Choose Allow Other Network Users to Connect through This Computer's Internet Connection and click OK twice to save your settings.

If you still have problems connecting to the Internet, check the settings for the Windows Firewall. In the Cortana search box, type fire, and then click Windows Firewall in the results area. Double-click a rule from the inbound or outbound rules list to adjust the settings.

With these settings, you should be able to connect to the Internet from the other computers in the PAN.

Remember that many different Bluetooth devices are available on the market. If none of the techniques described here help you make the connection between two computers in a PAN, refer to the instructions that came with your Bluetooth device.

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