Bluetooth Technology: Know How it Works

Bluetooth technology is a popular technology these days and has found its use in different ways like mobile phones, hands free headsets, printers etc. The wireless technology works on different international standards and 802.11 happens to be the most common of the wireless IEEE standards. The Bluetooth is based on the 802.15 IEEE standards and is used for short distance wireless communication based on a Personal Area Network (PAN) which is actually the adhoc mode of connection, in other words it is a wireless connection without the involvement of a router in between devices. We should not confuse it with the normal 802.11 wireless. It supports upto eight devices in the Bluetooth network. It supports a data transfer of 24 Mbit/s for the version 3 type Bluetooth device and the class1 type supports upto 100 meters of distance for transmission. The PAN, SPP, DUN, HID, HCRP are the Bluetooth profiles supported in Windows XP, Vista or 7.

However we have seen that Bluetooth devices need maintenance as well. A Bluetooth icon should always be there for an active Bluetooth device connected to the computer. If the Bluetooth device does not get detected then make sure that the option “Turn discovery on” check-box is checked in the Options tab when you click the Open Bluetooth Settings tab after right clicking the Bluetooth icon in the system tray. “Allow Bluetooth device to be connected to this computer” and “Alert me when a Bluetooth device wants to connect to this computer” are the options in the same “Options” tab that needs to be checked. Removing the Bluetooth device should remove the entries in the device manager which can be reloaded in a proper way. A Bluetooth device uses 500 milliamps of power when connected to a USB port and that makes it necessary for the proper power distribution at the ports otherwise the device will fail to get detected. Make sure that a cordless phone or a true Wi-Fi set-up or microwave ovens are not emitting radio waves which can hinder the proper functioning of the Bluetooth device. Double click the Bluetooth icon in the control panel and see whether the Bluetooth device is listed under the Device tab or not. From here we can click on the Add button to add a Bluetooth device to the computer. For devices to get detected the two devices should “pair” properly. When two devices pair properly they exchange passwords and device information properly. Troubleshooting can be done at the device manager level or in the registry as well but it is better to contact a technician for that.

One point to note is that even if a PAN is used for connectivity an APIPA (automatic Private IP Addressing) address is taken up by the computer that is an IP starting with 169.x.x.x. It uses TCP /IP for communicating and all this happens without the presence of any router !! The peripheral other than the computer, for example a Bluetooth printer should have a similar IP address. Make sure that the printer is configured first for Bluetooth and then you can run the Bluetooth installation wizard from the control panel of the computer.