Downloaded a bluetooth driver but still no bluetooth options :(

[wifehearst]

I recently got a pair of bluetooth headphones, and upon trying to pair them with my laptop, I have come to find that there was no bluetooth driver installed. That was no issue, I downloaded a bluetooth driver from hp, but there is still no option to toggle on or off bluetooth in my computer's action center. Do I need to take further steps after downloading the driver? The hp website doesn't say to do anything other than what I've done, so I'm at a loss.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

What is the full model number or product number of your notebook?

The product number can be found on the same label as the serial number, or use the guide at the link below to find that info...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108

Only 50% of most HP consumer class notebooks come with built in bluetooth.

[wifehearst]

Oh jeez I hadn't even thought that there may be no bluetooth built in lol. My product number is W7B99UAR#ABL.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Below is the link to the product specs page for your model.

Unfortunately, it is one of those that do not have built in bluetooth networking hardware, or that feature would have been listed along with the 802.11b/g/n (1x1) wireless connectivity specification.

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c05187489

The parts list for your model confirms this by indicating the model of the wifi adapter, which is a Realtek RTL8188EE-VJ 802.11b/g/n 1x1 Wi-Fi adapter.  That is a single band, non-bluetooth wifi adapter.

http://partsurfer.hp.com/Search.aspx?searchText=W7B99UAR

That explains why you cannot connect to any bluetooth device.

The easiest thing to do would be to purchase an external USB bluetooth adapter.

Otherwise, you can replace the internal Realtek wifi adapter with the:

Realtek RTL8723BE-VB 802.11b/g/n 1x1 Wi-Fi + BT4.0 Combo Adapter   HP part # 855106-855

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05227786

The wifi adapter removal and replacement procedures can be found in chapter 6, starting on page 44.