How to enable Bluetooth on a laptop?

Owners of laptops running Windows 7/8 may not know how to turn on Bluetooth. It’s worth noting right away that there are no universal instructions for this, because laptop manufacturers implement this function in their own way. However, even for a “dummies” it will not be difficult to enable Bluetooth on your laptop, since in most cases this method is identical. Option 1. The laptop user has installed operating system, laptop supporting Bluetooth and pre-installed driver.

In this case, all that remains is to enable the option itself. Often there is a hardware switch on the laptop itself, sliding which you can see the Bluetooth settings in the system. Look for it on the front or side of your laptop. If you don't turn it on, you won't be able to use Bluetooth. On some older laptops, it is also possible to enable Bluetooth via the keyboard hotkey combination Fn + Bluetooth icon key.

Now let’s look at the simplest ways to enable Bluetooth through the OS itself for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7.

Windows 8.1

1. Open panel Charms
2. Click "Parameters»
3. Select "Change computer settings»
4. Select "Computer and devices»
5. Select "Bluetooth»

After selecting this option, the laptop will immediately begin searching for devices with Bluetooth enabled, and will also become searchable itself.



Windows 8

1. Open panel Charms
2. Click "Parameters»
3. Select "Change computer settings»
4. Select "Wireless network»

The management of wireless modules will open, where you can enable/disable Bluetooth. After turning on, you can connect devices without leaving “Change computer settings" need to select "Devices" and press "Add device».



If you can’t turn on Bluetooth this way, you can use an alternative method:

1. Press on the keyboard Win + R



2. Enter the command devmgmt.msc
3. Find Bluetooth adapter
4. Right-click on it and select “<font><font>Materials</font></font>»
5. Check if it works, enable/update the driver if necessary.



Windows 7

Most often, you can turn on Bluetooth using a proprietary utility, which can be found through “Installing or removing programs»or through a search in the system. This program can also be located in the tray.



If there is no icon in the notification area, then use one of two methods.

1 method

1. Go to "Control panel»
2. Open "Devices and Printers»
3. Find a parameter with an approximate name Bluetooth adapter (may be different, depending on the manufacturer) and right-click on it
4. Select "Bluetooth settings» or click «Add device»



2 method

1. Right-click on the network icon in the tray and select “Network and Sharing Center»
2. On the left side of the menu, select “Change adapter settings»
3. Right-click on “Bluetooth network connection"And choose"<font><font>Materials</font></font>»
4. Open the tab "Bluetooth»
5. In the tab find “Bluetooth settings»
6. In the section "Detection"Put a tick next to the item "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer»



Option 2. The OS was reinstalled by the user.

In this case, the laptop will lack a Bluetooth driver and special management software. Therefore, you need to go to the official website of the laptop manufacturer, find the section with drivers there and download the driver for your OS version and its bit depth. Perhaps, on this site you can download a utility for managing Bluetooth (not available from all manufacturers). You can also install the driver through the device manager. You can find instructions on how to go to the device manager and update the driver through it above, in the Windows 8 section.

After installing the driver and reboot the computer you can start turning on Bluetooth using Option 1.