Windows 8 How to Enable Bluetooth on Windows 8.1 for Compatibility with Lollipop 5 Phone

[Peterr]

When I had Win 7 I had Bluetooth.
To upgrade to 8 then 8.1 I ran the advisor which told me BT was not compatible so it is no surprise I do not have it. Is there any way I can get Bluetooth so it will work with 8.1 and my lollipop 5 phone?
Can I download it or do I have to buy a dongle or something like that?

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi,

A little confusion here. You mention a lollipop5 phone, which is Android OS. And then you mention Win7, Win8/8.1 which normally only runs on a Windows phone or a Windows computer (tablet, laptop, or desktop PC). Did you upgrade your Android phone to Windows7/8/8.1? Or did it have the capability to run Windows in a Virtual Machine on the Android phone. To my knowledge, this is not possible. I could be wrong or just confused. This could also be the reason that your thread remains unanswered.

If you are talking about a separate Windows7/8/8.1 device (tablet/laptop/desktop PC); please provide us with hardware specs including Make/Model of the computer/device.

We can then advise you further.

Regards,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Peterr]

I'm sorry about the confusion.
I have a Dell XPS 8300 64 bit.
I also have a Galaxy S5.

I was referring to one communicating with the other via Bluetooth.

The problem I am asking about is with the pc.
I bought it with Win 7, 4 years ago, and it had Bluetooth. I ran the advisor to upgrade to 8 and it told me Bluetooth was not compatible so it is not a surprise that I lost it when I upgraded to Win 8 then used the 8.1 iso to create a disc and upgraded further to 8.1.

*I was asking if there is a way to get Bluetooth back in the pc so I can then communicate with the phone and the pc to exchange files etc.
I was thinking that perhaps there was a dongle/disc or some type of device that would enable Bluetooth in the pc. The phone already has Bluetooth.
I hope this clarifies the question.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi again Peter,

Thanks very much for your clarification to the problem!! I've run into Bluetooth problems on laptops having done Windows OS upgrades in the past, so nothing new here. I found an excellent article that helps you to determine whether your Dell XPS has a compatible radio for Win8/8.1 or not, and the solution. That is a small usb dongle for bluetooth as you suspected. Since it sounds like the radio in your XPS isn't compatible with 8/8.1, the usb dongle is the way I recommend to go. The one in the article is on Amazon for $13.99 US, and is very small & low profile. The article even shows you how to do the pairing once you get the dongle installed with other devices such as your Android Galaxy S5 phone.

Here's the link to the article page:
http://www.howtogeek.com/201004/the-htg-guide-to-adding-bluetooth-to-your-computer/

Hope this helps, and let us know how it turns out!!

Best Regards,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Peterr]

I should have done this a long time ago. Thank you very much for the information and link etc.
I thought it was odd that I lost BT when I upgraded to 8 from7 where it worked so well but the advisor did say BT was incompatible with 8. Off to Amazon.

PS I noticed the shipping was almost the cost of the device so I'll head out to best Buy or Micro Center and see what they have.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

You're welcome! So very glad to help. Do us a favor and let us know how things turn out after you install the new device and share your results with our other Forum users.

Best of luck to you,
<<<BBJ>>>

 

[Peterr]

When I get the device I will report back as to how it went. BestBuy was nice enough to tell me to bring the laptop and if it worked I buy it bit if not, I don't.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

That's awesome, thanks Peter! Gee, that is nice of them. That's one of the reasons I loved my local Best Buy where I used to live. They knew I was a Computer guy, plus, I had trained some of their Techs, so I always got treated like Royalty there!

Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Have a Great Weekend!
<<<BBJ>>>

 

[Peterr]