Can bluetooth peripherals work without the USB device?

I have a keyboard and mouse that came with a USB "transmitter/receiver" (for lack of the right word). My PC has bluetooth built in. Is there a way to get my keyboard and mouse to talk directly to the bluetooth on my computer, so I don't have to use up a USB port for the transmitter?

PC: Windows 8 on Lenovo W530 thinkpad

The keyboard/mouse combo is the:

Microsoft Natural Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard 7000

and the

Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 7000

Andrew B Schultz

Posted 2013-05-07T16:22:01.257

Reputation: 159

Just the basics - going into the devices and trying to add a device. It never discovers the keyboard and mouse. – Andrew B Schultz – 2013-05-07T19:18:01.183

No, it generally won't unless you've gone through and paired them. Try pairing with your built-in Bluetooth using 0000 for a passcode. – Kruug – 2013-05-07T19:20:13.520

Answers

If this is the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000 wireless keyboard+mouse set, apparently it does not support Bluetooth — the “2.4-GHz Wireless Technology” is a proprietary interface not compatible with anything else (except maybe other similar Microsoft wireless hardware). This is a very common situation — finding a wireless keyboard or mouse which actually support Bluetooth instead of some proprietary protocol is hard; the list of currently available Microsoft keyboards and mice with Bluetooth is very small.

Sergey Vlasov

Posted 2013-05-07T16:22:01.257

Reputation: 2 678

MS might not have a lot, but there are plenty of wireless mice with a bluetooth interface

– KyleMit – 2014-09-02T22:37:35.037

You sure it says Bluetooth and not BLuetrack? They're two separate things. – Jonathan Baldwin – 2014-10-24T18:44:42.707

It's hard to figure that out - it says 2.4 GhZ Bluetooth for the mouse, but you must be right, because I can't get my PC to recognize them at all. – Andrew B Schultz – 2013-05-09T20:57:07.343

Go into the Bluetooth Devices section of your computer and configure it to connect to your keyboard and mouse. This may not be possible if your keyboard and mouse are ONLY configured to work via USB port.

HelpingHand

Posted 2013-05-07T16:22:01.257

Reputation: 351

It never finds any devices from the "Add Bluetooth Device" dialog. – Andrew B Schultz – 2013-05-07T17:34:00.417

When doing this, there should be a button on the keyboard and mouse specifically for this. It should say 'connect' or something. Push this button until a light starts to blink on the mouse or keyboard (note: only connect either the mouse or keyboard first. do one at a time). At this point, scan for bluetooth devices on your computer. Your corresponding bluetooth device should appear in the list. – HelpingHand – 2013-05-08T16:34:48.550

1Or, just as the answer below said, your keyboard/mouse combo may not use bluetooth. Be sure that it does before attempting what I stated in the comment above. – HelpingHand – 2013-05-08T16:36:41.433