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Adding Bluetooth-Enabled Devices

Many types of Bluetooth devices are available on the market. Most have some means of making the device discoverable (visible) to other devices. Whether you have to make your PC discoverable to install a device depends on the type of installation you're about to perform. As always, you need to read the documentation that came with your device for specifics.

On the shortcut menu for the Bluetooth Devices notification icon, clicking the Add a Bluetooth Device option opens the Settings window with the Devices option showing. Windows attempts to locate any devices available. The sections that follow show you how easily you can connect Bluetooth devices to your laptop or computer. This example shows you how to connect a smartphone to your computer. We then walk you through the process of transferring files to and from that device.

Connecting a smartphone

To add a smartphone to your computer using Bluetooth, you must have a device that supports Bluetooth. Also, your computer or laptop must have built-in Bluetooth or a Bluetooth adapter plugged into it.

Use the following steps to connect the device to your Windows computer:

  1. On the Windows 10 desktop, click the Bluetooth icon on the notification bar.
  2. Click Add a Bluetooth Device. The Devices screen appears.
  3. Turn on the Bluetooth feature on the device. In the example shown, we're going to add an iPhone. How you do that depends on the version of your device and the model of phone. The device listed uses the Settings menu in the iPhone. From there, you can turn on the Bluetooth feature and then use the Bluetooth settings item to make the phone discoverable. Windows searches for all Bluetooth devices that are nearby, including the phone.
  4. When the computer and phone find each other. Click the item you want to connect with in Windows.
  5. Click the Pair button.
  6. A message appears on both your phone and in Windows. A passcode should appear that is identical on both devices. If they are, click Pair on your phone (at least in the case of an Apple iPhone 6+; your message may vary depending on the smartphone you use) and Yes in Windows to set up the Bluetooth connection.

Windows sets up a connection between the two devices.

Note:
On some devices, you may need to type in the passcode that appears on the Windows screen. If so, be aware that you have a short amount of time to enter the code (approximately 60 seconds) before Windows and your device decide that you don't want a connection at this time. If the passcode screen disappears, restart the connection process to get the two devices to "see" each other again.

Joining a personal area network

After your two devices are connected, you can join them as a PAN so you can transfer files between them using the Bluetooth connection. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Bluetooth icon on the desktop notification bar.
  2. Click the Join a Personal Area Network option. The Devices and Printers window appears.
  3. Click the device you want to join to the PAN, which in our case is a printer.
  4. Click Connect Using - Access Point. Once connected to the PAN, the command choices change to Disconnect from Device Network. Your device will say something like Connected to PAN or similar.

Now that your devices are joined to a PAN, you can transfer files between them, print to a Bluetooth printer, and so on. Read the following two sections to find out how to do this.

Receiving files from a Bluetooth device

You can't do much when you connect a smartphone to a computer via Bluetooth. One feature that is handy, however, is the feature to send files from your phone to Windows. You can, for example, send picture or video files from your phone to your computer. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Bluetooth icon on the desktop notification bar.
  2. Click Receive a File. The Bluetooth File Transfer window appears. Windows 10 now waits until files from your phone begin transmitting to your computer.
  3. On your phone, locate the feature that enables you to send files to a remote location or a mediasharing app. Some Android-based phones include an app called Media Share. With this app, you can share media files (pictures, videos, and audio) with devices on a Bluetooth connection.
  4. On your phone, select the file you want to transfer to Windows and transfer it.
  5. In Windows, the Bluetooth File Transfer window shows device information, file information, and progress of the file transfer.
  6. Click Finish when you're finished sharing files from the phone.

Sending files to a Bluetooth device

Not only does Windows 10 make receiving files from a Bluetooth device, such as an Android-based smartphone, easy; it also simplifies sending them to the device. Follow these steps:

  1. Click the Bluetooth icon on the desktop notification bar.
  2. Click Send a File.
  3. Select the Bluetooth device to which you want to send the file. In some cases, you may have multiple devices showing, so be sure to choose the correct one.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Specify the path and name of the file you want to share. Use the Browse button to locate the file(s) to send. If you choose multiple files, they're separated by a semicolon.
  6. Click Next. The Bluetooth File Transfer window appears showing the progress of the file being sent. Make sure your other device is turned on. You may need to confirm the file transfer on your other device.

Windows sends the file(s) from your computer to your other device. Depending on the size of the files, the transfer process may take several minutes.

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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