A Personal Area Network (PAN) allows you to connect various devices over a short distance. With a PAN, you can connect, for example, a laptop and a desktop computer, as well as other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Usually, devices connect to such a network automatically and without any complicated actions on the part of the user.
Suppose you have a desktop computer with a working Internet connection and a Bluetooth adapter installed. On this computer, click the Bluetooth icon in the Windows notification area, open Settings, and make sure that Allow Bluetooth devices to discover this computer is enabled. Click OK.
On your laptop or second computer, turn on Bluetooth or connect a second Bluetooth adapter. The goal is to connect your laptop to your desktop computer in a PAN. To do this, follow these steps:
On your laptop, right-click the Bluetooth icon in the notification area and select Join a personal network. A list of available Bluetooth devices should appear. If the computer you want isn’t listed, click Add Bluetooth device and follow the instructions to search for devices.
Select the name of the computer you want to connect to. If the Properties window opens, simply click OK to close it.
Click Connect using and select a connection method.
After establishing a connection, both computers must have Internet access and be able to exchange files and share printers and folders.
Please note: if you connect Bluetooth to only one computer on a local area network (LAN), you will only have access to the resources of that specific device, not all computers on the network.
Troubleshooting Bluetooth connections
If the PAN network is not working and the connection cannot be established, try the following steps:
- On the computer where you are experiencing connection problems, open the Network and Sharing Center via the Control Panel.
- Scroll down to the Bluetooth Network Connection section. If this section is missing, repeat the procedure for adding a device and checking the Bluetooth settings.
- All computers on the network should have similar Bluetooth entries in the Network and Sharing Center.
Sharing an Internet connection
If the computer connected to the PAN does not have Internet access (assuming that one of the computers already has a connection), follow these steps:
On the computer connected to the modem or router, open the Network and Sharing Center.
Click on the network connection next to Connections, open Properties, go to the Access tab, and enable the Allow other network users to use this computer’s Internet connection option.
Save the settings by clicking OK twice.
If you still cannot access the Internet, check your Windows Firewall settings by searching for Cortana and entering the word fire. You can edit the settings for incoming and outgoing rules if necessary.
Once you have set up Internet sharing, other computers in the PAN will be able to use the network.
Please note that there are many models of Bluetooth devices on the market, and if the methods described above do not help you connect two computers, refer to the instructions that came with your device.
