bluetooth not working in windows 8

[MKeezy]

Hello everyone,

Here's the thing.... Microsoft has added many diffenerent security features to its new version of Windows (Windows 😎 which makes the installation of third party software difficult to add at best. Fo those of you who have intergrated bluetooth hardware, you'll probably need to check with your pc manufacturer for updated drivers and software that are compatible with Windows 8. I, on the other hand, use a usb 4.0 bluetooth dongle, which generally comes with  its own software and drivers. After installing the device, I found that, for whatever reason, Windows 8 didn't seem to like that software.

After troubleshooting and researching the issues I was having for a couple days, I finally found the solution to the problem. Regardless of the Bluetooth software you install, Windows 8 seems to want to control whatever device you install. The only Bluetooth software that seems to work  seemlessly with Windows 8 is the Intel Proset Bluetooth software. I had to unistall every instance of the Broadcom Bluetooth software that came with my device, leaving installed the Broadcom Bluetooth DEVICE DRIVER ONLY!

Once the device was detected, Microsft installed the appropriate bluetooth software to manage. ALL Bluetooth pairing and and services are done through the Windows 8 OS, so no other third party software is needed and will usually result in conflict.

Make sure all Bluetooth software is uninstalled from your system!!!

Any software needed to manage the device will either be added upon discovery of you bluetooth device, either via the Intel Proset package or the Windows 8 OS once the device is added. Make sure you are connected to the internet during the initial pairing of any device to complete the setup process. That is when any other necessary software, drivers and services will be automatically dowloadd  and added via Windows 8.

[MKeezy]

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@MrCottrellable wrote:

Hi MKeezy, 

I came across the intel update just the other day (good to hear it is alteast working for you). The driver installed fine however, bluetooth is showing as disabled and I cannot for the life of me to get to be enabled. It as if the power is turned off to the device.   

Rylan

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Hello Ryan,

Here the thing.... Microsoft has made bluetooth somewhat more complicated that it actually needs to be in both Windows 8 and 8.1. After installing the software for your new bluetooth device. You also have to connect to the internet and go ot your Change PC Settings menu. You'll find it at the bottom of your Charms Menu.

Go to:  Change PC Setting / PC and Device /  Devices

You should see a BCM920702 Bluetooth 4.0  device driver installed. If itis not installed and you are connected to the internet, microsft will update the driver for you and load your the bluetooth software for the device. Once that is done just restart yur computer.

The only other thing I can think of is to go to your device manager and manually update the driver version.

After locating your bluetooth device in the device list. Right clibk on it and select update driver. You;ll be given the choice to search for it online or search for it from a list of bluetooth drivers already installed on your system.

If you have more than one driver certificate installed, I suggest you try the most recently added one. There is no way of really knowing which is Microsofts generic Bluettoth driver and the one you just installed except by selecting each of the availible drivers already installed, one at a time. Once installed you should be able to see the driver version and date. 

That said,  no bluetooth driver is completely installed until Microsoft verifies the driver. That's why you will need to go to  your devices in the change PC Settings menu, then restart your system. You will be able to see Microsoft installing both the driver and necessary software there. You should get  message telling you the installation was successful and the bluetooth device name there will go from the microft generic name to one that is more specific like the one I mentioned previoulsy.

Then its just a matter of deciding to add your device using your Devices and Printers setup or Bluetooth Devices  listed under the  Change PC Settings menu.

Good Luck!,

[MKeezy]

Ryan,

I have found that whne tis happens. It is usually because the bluetooth device istallation has not been completed. As I had said before, "You need to complete the bluettoth device setup in the devices menu found under the Change PC settings menu."

Drag your mouse into the lower right hand corner of your screen. You should then see your charms menu appear. Select Change PC Seetings. Then, select PC and Devices. Finally, select Devices. You should see a listing of your bluetooth device there. The thing to note is wether the driver for your device is the standard Microsoft Generic Driver or the driver you just installed.

There are a couple of different ways to pair a bluetooth device with Windows 8 and 8.1 once bluetooth is installed and dicovery of new devices is enabled. You can either pair it using your system's bluetooth setup feature under Change PC Settings or you can also use the Devices and Printers setup feature under the old Control Panel. I prefer using Devices and Printers setup to search for, pair, and manage new bleutooth devices.

You can also try using Broadcom's  bletooth driver and software for windows 8. I can be found at the following loacation:

http://www.broadcom.com/support/bluetooth/update.php 

I would still recomend yo uninstall any previous instances of both Bluetooth drivers and Software before you proceed with any new installations.