How to Check If Your PC Supports Bluetooth on Windows

Even though a mobile device without Bluetooth is virtually unheard of, a PC with built-in Bluetooth functionality is a fairly rare occurence. Since this technology is not the industry’s standard on laptops and desktop computers, it’s good to know how to check if a particular machine has Bluetooth. Even more, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, it might also make sense to find out your Bluetooth version.

Note: This guide is designed with Windows 10 in mind, but you can also apply the instructions below to older Windows versions.

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is a technology that is used for connecting various devices wirelessly. It’s the preferred connectivity technology on mobile because it works well over a short range. On PC, it is commonly used to connect the machine to external peripherals and devices – most commonly, it is used for headphones.

Keep in mind that similar to everything else on your computer, the Bluetooth technology requires both hardware and software. Even if you have integrated Bluetooth hardware, you still need the software drivers to support it.

But even if your PC doesn’t include Bluetooth hardware, you can still add this functionality by purchasing a Bluetooth USB dongle.

How to check if your computer has Bluetooth

If you are having trouble determining whether your computer is capable of supporting a Bluetooth connection, this article will guide you through it. In an attempt to accommodate every possible need, we’ll feature two different way of investigating if your machine has Bluetooth capabilities.

If you’re looking to take the manual route that will also tell you specific details like your Bluetooth version, follow Method 1. In the event that you’re looking for a method that will give you the answer with only a few clicks, follow Method 2 where we use a freeware to find out if your PC is equipped with Bluetooth.

Method 1: Finding out if your PC has Bluetooth via Device Manager

On top of allowing you to find out if the targeted PC is Bluetooth-ready, this method will also allow you to pinpoint the specific Bluetooth version that you’re using (if you have the hardware for it).

Follow the steps below to access device manager and find out if your PC has the Bluetooth functionality:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type “devmmgt.msc” and press Enter to open up Device Manager. If prompted by the UAC (User Account Control), click Yes at the prompt.

   

2. Inside Device Manager, look for and expand the entry named Bluetooth (or Bluetooth Radios). If you aren’t able to find an entry named Bluetooth or Bluetooth Radios, you can probably determine that your computer doesn’t support Bluetooth connectivity by default. However, you can still add this by purchasing a Bluetooth USB Dongle if you absolutely need it.

   

   Note: There’s also a chance that your Bluetooth connection is not working correctly because you don’t have the appropriate device drivers installed. To verify this theory, look under Other devices for any entries that contain the word Bluetooth. If you find any, right-click on each of them and click Update driver, then follow the on-screen prompts to install the latest driver versions using the Windows update component.
   

3. If you have previously determined that your PC is equipped with the Bluetooth technology, you can dig further to find out your specific Bluetooth version by right-clicking on your Bluetooth adapter driver (under Bluetooth or Bluetooth Radios) and choosing Properties.

   

4. In the properties screen of your Bluetooth adapter, go to the Advanced tab. Under Bluetooth Radio Information, you will find your Bluetooth version listed under Firmware Version (or LMP version). You want to look for the second value (ex. LMP 6.1).

   

5. For your own reference, below you have the LMP version table that will help you determine which Bluetooth technology you’re using:

LMP 9.x – Bluetooth 5.0
LMP 8.x – Bluetooth 4.2
LMP 7.x – Bluetooth 4.1
LMP 6.x – Bluetooth 4.0
LMP 5.x – Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
LMP 4.x – Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
LMP 3.x – Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
LMP 2.x – Bluetooth 1.2
LMP 1.x – Bluetooth 1.1
LMP 0.x – Bluetooth 1.0b

Method 2: Using Bluetooth Version Finder to find out if your PC has Bluetooth

If you found the method above to be too time-consuming for your needs, we have an even easier method that you can use to check if your machine has Bluetooth (and which version).

This method involves using a free third party tool called Bluetooth Version Finder. This portable freeware is extremely lightweight and will allow you to verify for Bluetooth hardware with a single double-click. Here’s a quick guide on downloading and using Bluetooth Version Finder:

1. Visit this link (here) and scroll down to the bottom of the screen to the Download section. There, click the Download button to download a .zip archive containing Bluetooth Version Finder.

   

2. Extract the btVersion.exe executable from the archive that you’ve just downloaded with a utility like WinRar, WinZip or 7zip.

   

3. Double-click on btVersion.exe to open the Bluetooth Version Finder freeware. If your PC has a working Bluetooth connection, you’ll see the Bluetooth version listed in the Bluetooth Version Finder window.

   

   Note: If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, you will see a question mark icon instead of the Bluetooth version.