Before you can use Bluetooth on your laptop, you need to activate it. You can then use it to exchange data between your laptop and external devices.
How to enable Bluetooth on your laptop under Windows
To use Bluetooth, you must first activate the built-in module. To do this, you should make sure that your laptop has this function. This is the case with most modern laptops. You can activate Bluetooth in Windows as follows:
- Click on the Windows Start Menu and select the Gear symbolto access the settings.
- Move into the Devices section. On the left side you will find the tab “Bluetooth & other devices“.
- If Bluetooth is available on your laptop, you will see a Switch to enable or disable. Slide the switch to “A“ to activate Bluetooth.
- To pair devices, click on “Add Bluetooth or other device“. Choose “Bluetooth“ and your laptop will search for available devices. From there you can click on the device you want to connect. Follow the on-screen instructions.
- If your laptop does not have integrated Bluetooth, you can use a Bluetooth USB adapter. These small devices simply plug into a USB port and can be used to add Bluetooth functionality to your laptop.
Bluetooth is missing or not working: What to do?
If the Bluetooth switch is not present in the settings, it may be that the driver is missing or disabled. In this case, follow these steps:
- Open the Device ManagerYou can get there via the start menu or by right-clicking on “Start” and then “Device Manager”.
- Search for “Bluetooth“ and check if the driver is enabled. If not, enable it or update the driver.
Enable Bluetooth on a Mac
On your Mac, go to System Preferences to enable Bluetooth.
- Open System Preferences via the Apple icon in the top left.
- Select the item “Bluetooth” and enable it if it is disabled. Your Mac is now ready to connect to Bluetooth devices.
- In the Bluetooth settings you will see a list of available devices from which you can select the desired device via “Connect”.