Troubleshooting with your Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a handy wireless technology for sending photos from a mobile phone to another device, or for connecting a wireless headset to the phone. Even new devices, however, may fail to transmit information via Bluetooth. Locating communication problems can be bothersome, unless you troubleshoot your Bluetooth problems with this practical guide.


How to Set Up Bluetooth

1. Switch on Bluetooth on Your Mobile Phone

Often, the Bluetooth feature on a phone is turned off when it arrives from the factory. After you have learned to turn Bluetooth on, keep also in mind that you gain longer battery life and better security if you switch Bluetooth off when you don't need it.

It depends on your phone brand, but usually, Bluetooth settings can be found in the phone's Connections menu. For example, if you own a Nokia smartphone that's powered by the Symbian OS/S60 software, do as follows. Go to the main menu and open the Connect folder. Find an entry titled Bluetooth and open it. You’ll see the current settings for Bluetooth. If the value for Bluetooth is Off, highlight it, push the selection key, and set the value to On.

2. Allow Other Bluetooth Devices Find Your Phone (if you want to receive files via Bluetooth)

If you want to receive photos, music, or videos from other phones or PCs, you have to make your phone's Bluetooth name visible for them. Although each manufacturer has its own menus, look for Bluetooth settings on your own phone. Turn Bluetooth visibility to 'On', 'Discoverable', 'Shown to all', or to a similar value.

For instance, Windows Mobile smartphone owners can do as follows. Go to the Home screen and push Start. Select Settings and open Connections. Select Bluetooth and change the value to Discoverable. Push Done.

Identifying and Solving Common Bluetooth Problems

3. Can't Find Bluetooth in the Phone Menu

If you have selected an item, for example, a photo or an MP3 track that you want to send to a friend, but you can't find Bluetooth in your phone menu, don't panic. Some phones don't display the Bluetooth-option in the menu at all if Bluetooth is switched off. Find the Bluetooth settings on your phone and turn it on.


4. Other Bluetooth Devices Not Found
When you want to send a file from your phone to another phone or to a PC via Bluetooth, and you have selected 'Send via Bluetooth' (or something similar), your phone should display a list of devices discovered in the range. If you can't see the target device in the list, move closer to it. The maximum distance between Bluetooth devices is 10 meters/30 feet, or less, if heavy objects are blocking the signal.

If you already are in the range, make sure that Bluetooth has been switched on in the target device (if you have access to it). In addition, check that the Bluetooth name in the target device has been set to 'Discoverable' or 'Shown to all'.

5. Bluetooth Device Found, but Transmission Failed

If you have successfully selected the target from the list of discovered Bluetooth devices, you can try and send your file. Potential problems are weak signal, device compatibility, and security restrictions.

Check if the receiving device is waiting for a security code. In order to prevent harmful attacks to your phone via Bluetooth, most devices require that you and your friend enter the same security code for both devices. The code can be anything, for example, as simple as 1234.

Even if the sending and receiving phones have already been introduced (or paired/bonded), some devices may still want a confirmation for accepting a file via Bluetooth. The phone that's sending the file will have to wait until the receiver has confirmed the file copy request.

If transmission problems persist, try to send a file from the other phone to your phone. The test will narrow down choices for further research, for example, for potential compatibility issues (see item 7. in this guide).

6. Bluetooth Transmission Started, but Never Finished
If the transmission between Bluetooth devices started, but never ended, re-try transmission. Don’t wander too far away from the target device with the phone in your hand when you are waiting for the transmission to finish. Check if receiving device is waiting for confirmation to save the file you are sending.

A few years ago, when Bluetooth was still a new technology, we had an odd experience at a trade show. There were plenty of Bluetooth devices that could discover one another, but only occasionally could initiate transmissions. The problem was really difficult to track because it was inconsistent. Finally, we figured out that many phones had the same factory-set Bluetooth name. After we changed the names, the odd behavior disappeared. Just to be on the safe side, always change the default Bluetooth name to a unique title on your phone, on your PC, and on any other Bluetooth devices you may have.

7. My Phone's Bluetooth Works Fine with a Device, but Doesn't Connect to Another Device
The most likely recipe for successful Bluetooth connection is to hook up two phones from the same manufacturer. For example, two Sony Ericsson Walkman phones are almost guaranteed to connect instantly. If you have problems sending photos, for instance, from a Nokia phone to a HTC smartphone, you are not alone.

There are still compatibility problems between Bluetooth devices. In order to determine if you have an issue with Bluetooth compatibility, try sending an item from your phone to a PC, to another phone that's same brand as yours, and to a phone of another brand. Then, reverse the sender-receiver roles and try to receive a file from a PC or from another device to your phone.

If you believe you have a compatibility issue, your choices are limited. You can try to update the Bluetooth software on the device that's causing the problem. It is fairly easy to search the Internet for new Bluetooth driver software for a PC, but difficult to update the driver software on a mobile device. Some manufacturers provide dedicated PC software that can update the mobile phone operating system. The new phone software may solve the Bluetooth problem, but all information on the phone will be erased during the process. Search your mobile device manufacturer's Web pages for information on software update, or visit a service center.

8. Wireless Headset Won't Connect to the Phone
Each Bluetooth headset has its own setup procedure that you shoud carefully follow. A new headset must be paired with your phone so that it doesn't connect with any other phone. You may have to open your phone's Bluetooth settings, manually activate connection to the headset, type the security code (you should find it in the headset manual) and pair the two devices. After pairing, the connection should be automatic.


9. Bluetooth Not Found on a PC
If you are not sure whether your PC is equipped with Bluetooth, you can easily verify it. Open the
Control Panel application on a (Windows XP) PC. Look for an entry labeled Bluetooth (it may be labeled Bluetooth Configuration, or Bluetooth Com, but as long as it says Bluetooth, you’re fine). If you can find it, open it. You should be able to view a list of COM-ports for Bluetooth. If you can’t, you may purchase a low-cost adapter and install it into a free USB port in your computer.