Bluetooth is rapidly becoming one of the old technologies that may disappear in some areas (such as file transfer) but are increasingly prosperous in other areas (wireless controllers, headsets, and other devices). With Bluetooth 5 working out of the box and more devices connected to Windows 10 PCs at the same time than ever before. We are here to show you how to manage your collection of Bluetooth devices to help you manage your growing wireless traffic.
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Set Up Bluetooth in Windows 10
Setting up Bluetooth in Windows 10 should be a piece of cake. If your PC has built-in Bluetooth, just go to “Settings> Devices” and click “Bluetooth and other devices” in the left panel. (Or there may already be a small Bluetooth icon in the notification area in the lower-right corner of your desktop. Similarly, if you have a Bluetooth USB key, Windows 10 should automatically detect and install it.)
On “Bluetooth and other devices “, you must click the Bluetooth slider ” On “to activate it.
If you can’t turn on Bluetooth for some reason, go to Device Manager and click on the Bluetooth drop-down menu in the list and look for any exclamation points for the Bluetooth driver. If so, right click and try “Update Driver”, or disable and then re-enable the problem driver.
As an overview, here are the main Bluetooth device drivers you should include in the device manager. (These do not include any Bluetooth devices installed on your PC, which will vary from PC to PC.)
Bluetooth Radio/Wireless Bluetooth/Similar
This is the actual Bluetooth receiver / radio on your PC, whether it is connected to the motherboard or via a USB device. If your Bluetooth radio is off, most likely the only thing you see in the Bluetooth drop-down menu is this. This requires Bluetooth to be enabled to appear in the settings window, and the following Bluetooth device drivers become visible.
Device Identification Service
Whenever you turn on the Bluetooth radio, it will always run in the background and will be responsible for identifying each of your Bluetooth devices, making sure they are working properly and (hopefully) do not conflict with each other.
Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator
When you install a Bluetooth radio device (for example, a general-purpose USB device) without a driver, this service starts and Microsoft effectively “controls” the driver.
Service Discovery Service
This will look for different services related to your Bluetooth device and help them coordinate with your Bluetooth device. It’s a bit like an ID service, which is essential for your Bluetooth device to work.
Install and Manage Your Bluetooth Devices
Once your actual Bluetooth radio and its related services are up and running, you can manage your Bluetooth devices – all the beautiful peripherals you want to connect to your PC wirelessly.
To add a Bluetooth device, you must activate its scan / pairing mode. (How to do this varies from device to device, but you generally need to press and hold the button on the device for a few seconds, and then its light will begin to flash or indicate that it is “pairing”).
Once you device is in pairing mode, in Windows 10 go to the Bluetooth settings again (Settings -> Devices -> Bluetooth & other devices), then click Add Bluetooth or other device -> Bluetooth, and it should appear in the list. Click it to pair it. Windows may then ask you for the device’s PIN code, which is usually 0000 by default.
Sometimes if you pair a device with another computer and then want to reconnect it with the computer you are currently using, you need to (annoyingly) remove the device and then repair it as if you are starting over. To remove a device, simply select it in the list of Bluetooth devices and click “Remove Device”. To fix it, follow the pairing instructions above in this paragraph.
Conclusion
Bluetooth can be a cumbersome business, involving a lot of pairing, repairing, connecting, and reconnecting. Unfortunately, this is something you have to put up with, so learning how to do it quickly and efficiently is very convenient. Remember, the list of Bluetooth devices in Device Manager and Settings is basically the same, but the wording may be slightly different.
As a general rule of thumb, to quickly install and pair Bluetooth devices, use setup, and to troubleshoot and update actual Bluetooth radio drivers, use device manager.
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