Troubleshoot

Troubleshooting

The Bluetooth SIG is a trade association and as such, we do not make, manufacture or sell products. Because the SIG has thousands of member companies - all of which are implementing the technology in products varying from USB adapters to cars to medical devices - it is impossible for us to give technical support. The following is a general troubleshooting guide that will help you to identify what problems you are experiencing. For product assistance, you will need to contact the manufacturer of your product(s) directly.

Troubleshooting Guide

Please note that Bluetooth technology is a wireless standard and specification that product manufacturers integrate into their products. The manufacturer that produces the Bluetooth enabled product does so in compliance with an industry standard, but integrates the technology into its product in its unique way. Therefore, for technical support for Bluetooth enabled products, consumers should ultimately rely on the product manufacturer.

There are a few things you need to think about to get Bluetooth devices to work together. The most obvious being that you will need Bluetooth technology functionality in all devices you want to connect. If you are not sure whether your devices contain Bluetooth technology, contact the manufacturers of the devices or check the products’ technical specifications.

• Make sure that the corresponding Bluetooth profile exists in both devices.¹
• Make sure the devices have Bluetooth functionality turned on.²
• Make sure that the devices you want to communicate with are paired with each other (exceptions exist, for example, when transmitting business cards).³
• Initiate a communication session.⁴

Have you done everything right and it still doesn't work? Below you will find some general tips of how to deal with potential problems in regard to Bluetooth connectivity and how to easily establish Bluetooth connections.

Making sure profiles match

For devices to work together, it is important that each device share the same profile. Some general examples follow:

• If you want to connect a headset to a mobile phone you will need the Hands-Free Profile (HFP) in both devices.
• If you want to print from a mobile phone to a printer, both devices typically will need the Basic Printing Profile (BPP).
• If you want to establish a dial-up session to reach the Internet from a PDA connected to a mobile phone, you will need the Dial-Up Networking (DUN) Profile in both devices.

When purchasing devices keep this concept in mind to make sure your products will work together as expected. Usually you will find information about what profiles are supported in the user manual.

An example that is not likely to work together:

• A mouse, which typically supports the Human Interface Device (HID) Profile, and a camera are unlikely to work together since presently no cameras support the HID profile.

Bluetooth functionality must be turned on

Pairing

Normally, two Bluetooth devices always need to be initially paired before they can exchange data. The term pairing usually means that two devices are exchanging protected passkeys. Once paired, all information sent over the Bluetooth link is encrypted and will only be able to reach devices that are authorized to do so by the pairing process. In certain instances it may not be necessary to conduct the pairing procedure. For example, when exchanging business cards between two mobile phones it may be too cumbersome to pair with a password. Usually there is a setting in the device, in which you can set a lower level of security.

Pairing procedure

Typically pairing is done in two ways. For example, pairing a headset and a mobile phone necessitates setting one of the devices into pairing mode and activating the pairing from the other device:

• Headset is set into pairing mode, typically by specific sequence of button pushing.
• In the mobile phone, the pairing is initiated by activating this function from the appropriate menu.

Establish connection

With many devices, especially those that have built-in Bluetooth functionality, there is no need to perform additional operations to establish a connection once paired. Typically, a mobile phone will automatically connect to the headset when a call is initiated. If at any time a pairing or connection between two devices needs to be re-established, the pairing should be conducted in a private, secure location.

Host/guest and multipoint

For each small personal network (piconet) of between two and seven devices, one device always acts as host and the other units are guests. All devices, independent of capability, can take both host and guest roles. If you have many devices connected in a personal network (more than one guest to a host) it is called multipoint. A computer, for example, could simultaneously connect and transmit data to a PDA, a camera and a mobile phone at the same time. However, some devices, like wireless headsets, cannot maintain more than one simultaneous connection.

Cannot pair devices

In general, pairing between devices is not a problem; however, you will need to know how to initiate and facilitate the initial pairing, which is described briefly above.

Most common problems include the following:

Devices cannot be found

Bluetooth functionality is off or the other device is not in "discoverable mode." Make the unit you are trying to find and pair with visible/discoverable by either turning this on from the appropriate menu or by a sequence of keystrokes usually on devices with a limited user interface. When you are done pairing, you can turn the device back to non-discoverable if you have security concerns.

"Pairing unsuccessful" message appears

The pair attempt between two devices failed. Usually this is the case when a wrong passcode or PIN is entered when trying to pair. If you are certain the passcode is correct, try powering down and then powering up both devices.

Pairing succeeded and it still does not work

One of the most common causes for devices not to work together is when two devices do not support the same profile. Unfortunately, support in both ends is a requirement. Usually the answer to this question is to look in the manual where information about profile support is documented. In many devices, like PCs, it is also possible to look in the Bluetooth application to find out what profiles (or services) are supported.

Another common cause is, of course, that it is difficult to find the right commands or menus for making connections. This is more difficult to answer as it depends on the manufacturer implementation and the user interface of the device. The only recommendation we can provide is to look in the user documentation and/or to contact the device manufacturer's support department.

Technical Support Options

1. Contact the Product Manufacturer.

Have you read the above troubleshooting guide and your device is still not functioning properly? Your Bluetooth enabled product was manufactured by one of the Bluetooth SIG's licensed members. The manufacturer designed and implemented the Bluetooth capabilities in your product and provides complete technical support for all of your products' features. Begin by taking advantage of the technical support options of your products' manufacturer either online or by phone.

For a list of Bluetooth SIG members, click here.

2. Contact Us to Report Issues.

While we cannot provide technical support on specific devices, we do collect information on issues that users face. We use this information to identify trends in product problems. When we see a large number of problems with specific devices, we report those issues directly to the manufacturer. You may not receive a direct response to your submission, but your submission will help to identify and fix problems. To report a problem with a specific issue with a product, please completely fill out this form.

1. A profile provides a detailed description of how a certain function should be implemented by the manufacturer. Some profiles are mandated by the specification, while others are optional to implement. An example of an optional Bluetooth profile is the Hands-Free Profile. For a mobile phone to connect to a wireless headset, both devices must support the same profile that enables that functionality. So, both devices would need to support the Hands-Free Profile. As the Bluetooth wireless technology is used for many different types of applications, it is necessary to describe how the different devices and their applications should operate together. If only one of the devices has the same profile then a communication is not possible. Typically, profile availability is found in the user manual. For more information on the available profiles, see the Glossary.

2. In many devices the Bluetooth wireless technology can be switched off to save power consumption. Because the Bluetooth wireless technology consumes very little power, this is not possible in all devices.

3. Pairing (or bonding) is a concept introduced to create a first-time recognition of which devices are allowed to communicate with each other or which devices belong together. Without an initial pairing, devices can usually not establish a communication session without a first time pairing.

4. Usually the Bluetooth device is in a power saving mode without regular transmission of data, unlike many other wireless technologies. Therefore, each application that wants to utilize the Bluetooth link needs to "activate" the Bluetooth link. Typically this is done automatically in the background and the user does not need to worry. This is especially true in devices with built-in Bluetooth technology.