How to set up a Windows 7 laptop as a bluetooth access point?

I have a laptop with Windows 7 and with a good bluetooth interface, and with a very bad (and overloaded) wifi device.

My laptop is connected to the network through a simple, IP-based home network cable. This is what I want to share with bluetooth to other, bluetooth capable devices (mobile phones, other laptops, etc).

Thus, what I want, that other devices could use the network of my Windows 7 laptop, using it as a bluetooth access point.

Is it somehow possible? My bluetooth is pretty good configured (I can move files, I can connect to bluetooth networks, etc), but I can't see any option to make a bluetooth network access point.

What I essentially want, is similar to the netsh start wlan hostednetwork trick in the case of wifi, but this time with bluetooth. Of course, any gui-based or command line solution, even with non-standard software would be okay.

Is it somehow possible?

What I don't want:

I don't want to use wifi. Answers suggesting to use wifi are unacceptable.
I don't want to connect my Windows 7 laptop to a bluetooth "access point", I want my Windows 7 laptop to be the "access point". Thus, questions suggesting to connect my laptop as a client device to a bluetooth network, are also not acceptable.

peterh - Reinstate Monica

Posted 2016-04-05T13:14:34.000

Reputation: 2 043

Try to right-click the bluetooth icon, choose "Service properties", enable "PAN Networking Service" and OK. If this works, then the laptop becomes a bluetooth access point. – harrymc – 2016-04-07T16:37:22.523

@harrymc Unfortunately, there isn't any similar if I click the bluetooth icon with the right click. If you like, I can make some screenshots (unfortunately it is a German windows, but I can translate what is important). – peterh - Reinstate Monica – 2016-04-07T16:48:23.120

Some screenshots will help, as I don't have a Windows 7 laptop : for starters the right-click bluetooth menu. Also please specify what make is your bluetooth adapter and which bluetooth software & driver are installed. Are the other devices basically only mobile phones? – harrymc – 2016-04-07T16:55:23.577

Question: In Control Panel -> Bluetooth -> Change Bluetooth settings -> Options, are all "Allow" options checked ? See this article.

– harrymc – 2016-04-07T18:33:47.650

1@harrymc 1) There is no such option in the control panel. There is a bluetooth icon in the tray, where there is a "settings" option. Even the article you've referred doesn't mention the control panel. 2) But, in the "settings" on the bluetooth icon on the tray, yes I've checked in everything. And yes, this laptop can connect to the network on the bluetooth of my mobile phones, but this time I want the other direction. – peterh - Reinstate Monica – 2016-04-08T08:10:39.973

Some screenshots of all of these screens will help clarify the situation. What bluetooth stack do you have installed (Microsoft, Broadcom...) ? And again, what are your bluetooth adapter & driver. – harrymc – 2016-04-08T09:33:36.097

There might be a way using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). See if the method outlined here works : How to share your internet connection via Bluetooth. Please share your results if you want us to advance with this.

– harrymc – 2016-04-09T19:31:31.673

What version of bluetooth do you have? – Don't Root here plz... – 2016-04-10T08:35:22.783

You can try to install the toshiba bluetooth stack, which requires some work to trick it to install on non-toshiba bluetooth devices. http://www.wiinupro.com/tutorials/toshiba-stack

I find it unlikely that your currently installed BT software will support the "PAN" feature. Keep in mind bluetooth has limited range and you will likely lose connection somewhere between 10 and 30ft.

– cloneman – 2016-04-11T06:18:54.233

Is it okay to be connected, but not using? – bleh – 2016-04-13T23:01:26.997

Answers

The reason you do not succeed with creating a Personal area network over Bluetooth is because you are using the Microsoft Bluetooth stack. Using this stack, it is not possible to use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). This was possible in older versions of Windows, but is no longer the case.

I quote from one analysis of the problem :

The problem isn't a new one (introduced in vista and still present in windows 7) - instead, the problem already existed in windows xp!

The Microsoft Bluetooth stack does not treat a bluetooth adapter like a LAN adapter. Period.

It is, however, a matter of the vendor supplied bluetooth software (as an alternative to just using the Microsoft stack).

So when I used Windows XP (and windows 2000, by the way) I could use the bluetooth software provided by AVM (vendor of Bluefritz USB) - which gave me a PAN connection and a bluetooth connection treated just like any other network adapter! Thus enabling ICS and/or bridging my LAN an my bluetooth adapters!

Since the only available AVM drivers, however, dropped PAN support in their vista drivers and tell you to switch to Microsoft Bluetooth (on the fly) if you would like to use the PAN profile, you are left with the Microsoft stack which doesn't support ICS and/or bridging with bluetooth connections! And this has already been this way in Windows XP!

I can still use the AVM bluetooth software in windows 7, but if I want to use a PAN connection, I now MUST switch the bluetooth stack on the fly (from AVM to Microsoft)! And voilà - no more ICS in that PAN connection!

But to all other people who may have issues with Internet connection sharing over bluetooth (be it since Vista, Windows 7 or whatever):

There is hope.

Third-party software DOES enable you to have ICS via Bluetooth!!

I tested several Bluetooth stacks:

Toshiba BT stack

Bluesoleil by IVT

Widcomm/Broadcomm

In each case, I had ICS working via Bluetooth!

Instructions on using the BlueSoleil software for establishing WiFi-over-Bluetooth can be found in the article Sharing Internet Access using Bluetooth device. I have not tested them, since I don't have the required environment, but they seem mostly logical.

You may get the BlueSoleil stack from here. This is a demo version that limits file transfers to 5 MB per file, which is fine for your purpose.

Follow the instructions as best as you can. They were obviously not written for Windows 7, and the writer was not English, but the many screenshots should help where the text is unclear. However, not having tested the details, I cannot guarantee that this will work.

harrymc

Posted 2016-04-05T13:14:34.000

Reputation: 306 093

Maybe these webpages can help you. I found a couple of different ones on this subject.

What you are trying to accomplish I believe is a Bluetooth Personal Area Network. In other words, Bluetooth PAN. I think it is as simple as connecting two Bluetooth devices together, then join personal area network. You are however going to need a PANU capable device/computer. As long as you have a PANU device the process is pretty straight forward. Here's all the things I found:

http://www.conniq.com/Windows-networking/Bluetooth_PAN_xp-setup_12.htm http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/connect-bluetooth-pan#1TC=windows-7 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/what-is-bluetooth-personal-area-network#1TC=windows-7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_area_network

Hope this helps! If not I can try some experiments on my own and see if I can get a Bluetooth PAN going.

JCTechie

Posted 2016-04-05T13:14:34.000

Reputation: 653

"Access point" here normally means Internet-over-Bluetooth, not only pairing of two devices. – harrymc – 2016-04-15T05:23:57.257