MODEL- USBBT100 VENDOR- LINKSYS FEATURES- Bluetooth USB Adapter. Add Bluetooth connection capability to your PC! The Linksys USB Bluetooth Adapter adds local wireless connectivity to your USB-equipped computer. Bluetooth technology lets you connect various electronic devices together wirelessly eliminating the need for wires all over your desktop and easily connecting your notebook to peripherals in an airport lounge without all the cable clutter. With the USB Bluetooth Adapter plugged into a USB port on your notebook or desktop computer you'll be able to connect with other Bluetooth-enabled devices to synchronize the data in your PDA transfer files to other computers send files to printers or fax servers use a wireless mouse keyboard or telephony headset or use your mobile phone as a link to the Internet all without cables. Up to seven Bluetooth 1.1 compatible devices can connect to the USB Bluetooth Adapter simultaneously creating your own "Personal Area Network". The Adapter is a Class 1 long-range device and is powered directly from the USB port so there's no need for an external power supply. To keep your data secure Bluetooth technology uses 128-bit encryption and a "frequency hopping" scheme that's almost impossible to intercept. Bluetooth peripherals broadcast their availability and offer their specific services to local authorized systems. The Bluetooth management and connectivity software included with the USB Bluetooth Adapter makes it easy to discover and connect to these nearby devices. Enter a whole new world of wireless connectivity with the Linksys USB Bluetooth Adapter. Includes Bluetooth USB Adapter USB extension cable Setup CD-ROM with User guide Quick installtion Registration card.

Product Type - Adapter

Warranty - 1 year

Connect up to 7 Bluetooth Devices

Wireless Connection Distance up to 100 Meters

Average Customer Review: ( 107 customer reviews )
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Installation was a snap! I am using Windows XP SP1. I downloaded the latest drivers from Linksys website and during the install process, it prompted me to plug in the dongle, then it finished and was up and working! That easy! I've read about others having driver problems w/other lesser name brands (Belkin, etc) but Linksys truly does live up to its name. I've also installed drivers on my laptop so I now have a Bluetooth enabled laptop also! It's easy switching the dongle from desktop to laptop because of the USB connector. Pairing w/my Sony Ericsson T610, I now have wireless internet access on my laptop anywhere I can get a signal on my cell phone!

Syncing w/Outlook is much faster than through IRDA and sending pictures/ringtones/games to and from the phone is a lot more convenient too because it doesn't require line of sight the way IRDA does.

The specs claim 100m but you've gotta remember that's unobstructed. I live in a 2800sq ft home w/two floors and this unit still picked up a weak to fair signal from one end of my house to the other. I would get strong signals from about 3/4's of the distance or closer.

You can probably save $10-15 going w/a generic or lesser name brand but full driver support from generics may be a hit-and-miss game. To me, paying a bit extra for fully compliant driver support and no installation headaches is certainly worth it! Plus, it looks cool and has that antenna for better range.

78 of 83 found the following review helpful:

easy to install, great range!Jan 23, 2004
By Nadyne Richmond
My household is a bit geeky. If you walk into my apartment, you'll find four laptops, two desktops, four Palms, two iPods, and two cell phones. Two of the Palms and one of the cell phones are Bluetooth-enabled, but none of the computers are. Until we bought this adapter, that is.

It works like a champ in all of our computers. For the record, we've used it on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Linux (the Gentoo flavour, if you care), and OS X. For the Windows computers and the Mac, it's pretty much plug-and-play. This adapter is quite happy talking to the Sony Ericsson T608 cell phone, as well as both Palm Tungsten T3s. I can work with it in any room in the apartment, and even into the hallway and a bit in the elevator. It's made getting telephone numbers into the phone a lot easier, not to mention keeping information updated between everything.

Unless we buy a new computer with a built-in Bluetooth module, I'm sure that we'll get another one of these.

43 of 44 found the following review helpful:

Some setup issues with Windows XP SP2.Sep 19, 2004
By dash-o
Let me start by saying that this bluetooth adapter works great under Windows XP and Mac OS X once is setup correctly.

If you are using Windows XP SP1 then there is nothing to worry about. Make sure to first setup the drivers from the software CD, and then insert the adapter when setup requests it. The new Windows XP SP2 generic bluetooth drivers detect and install this adapter, however, there are some caveats if one wants to expose services to bluetooth devices, which instead requires the drivers on the software CD. Make sure not to plug-in the adapter or setup the software before reading Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 840635 "Cannot install a Bluetooth device after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2." See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=840635

Mac OS X 10.3.5 was a non-event--just connect the adapter to the computer and the bluetooth icon will appear on the system menu, then click on the icon to pair the device and discover it's services. If you are planning to synchronize contacts and calendar entries make sure your phone is supported by iSync (1.5 as of this writing.) No that if your phone model is not explicitly listed (http://www.apple.com/isync) it will probably not work--as I found out with my Nokia 6620.

Something to note is the antenna is a little fragile and will probably break from the excesive handling some of us give to memory sticks.

Update Oct 6, 2004 - I was forced to return this adapter as "defective" today. I am not sure if I got a faulty unit or if there are compatibility problems between it and some motherboards--Asus P4C800-E. This is what I wrote to customer service: "The Linksys Bluetooth Adapter does not work after a computer cold boot. Windows detects a new device "CSR Generic Bluetooth Adapter in DFU State." Researching the problem found the device goes into "firmware update mode." Reinstalling Windows does not fix the problem. Tried both WIndows XP SP1a and SP2." Note this adapter works fine as long as it is plugged/unplugged while the computer is still running.

46 of 48 found the following review helpful:

watch out for XP SP2Oct 22, 2004
By Private Person
I bought this item thinking that the name-brand justified the higher price, and seeing the "free 24/7 tech support" as a possible value. It didn't work from the moment I installed it (through no real fault of Linksys as it turns out, blame Microsoft) so I called a tech support line for the second time in my life. After ten minutes on hold, the young Indian phone jockey spent ten minutes quizzing me on completely pointless material (who is my Internet Service Provider?). When she didn't understand my answer, she just repeated the same scripted question verbatim. I might as well have been talking to a voice-response system. After she went away for ten minutes, she returned to read a litle script "As I have not been trained to support this device, I must transfer you to another technician." I spent another ten minutes on hold, at which point I decided to give Google a whirl. Turns out that SP2 was the first release to include Bluetooth support from Microsoft, and that stack is not compatible with this device. Furthermore, since the Microsoft driver is signed, and Linksys's driver is not signed, the Microsoft driver takes precedence. Don't blame Linksys, Microsoft has no procedure in place to sign anyone else's Bluetooth drivers but their own.

See the Microsoft Knowledge Base, article 883258. (Sorry I can't post the URL here - Amazon's review guidelines prohibit it).

27 of 29 found the following review helpful:

Not exactly plug-and-play -- eventually decided to return mineJun 26, 2005
By Kevin Woodward
The compatability issues with XP Service Pack 2 are known and well documented ... what's unknown is why Linksys has chosen not to address them by updating their USBBT100 drivers and removing the hoops and hassle users of this common Windows OS must endure to install their product.

If, like me, you are considering the Linksys USBBT100 as a way to hot-synch data between your Palm or smart phone (I recently purchased a Treo 650) and you are running XP SP2, think again. It's not impossible, but the end -- hours on the phone with support, multiple installs and uninstalls -- may not justify the means. I can't tell you how long it will eventually take, nor can I confirm it is actually possible, because I never got there.

Despite the lack of any existing documentation on the Linksys site or in the product packaging providing instructions how to set up the USB adapter with a wireless device like a smart phone, I did eventually get to the point where I could do a single one-click data synch. But it was more of a try-everything, hit-or-miss path to get there ...

However, every time I booted up my PC, I had to unplug and re-plug the adapter to get my phone to recognize it -- again, a known and documented issue. When I followed the XP SP2 step-by-step instructions in the website FAQ for fixing this, it made matters worse, not better.

My first doubts were raised when I searched the Linksys site for the most recent drivers and discovered that the last update was in 2003. Not a good sign.

No one at Palm or Verizon was able to help me. Having called Linksys support in the past, I wasn't even about to go there. At one time I spoke with a second-level support technician at Palm that questioned why I would want to hot-synch via Bluetooth in the first place, because it was much slower than using the cable.

Hmmmm. Good question ... and one whose answer eventuallly led me to stop spending my time, and tolerance capital, seeking a solution to this problem instead of simply returning the Linksys adapter to Amazon and spending my money on a Treo 650 docking cradle instead.

This is not a knock against Bluetooth or Linksys. Bluetooth technology is great for wireless phone headsets, and Palm keyboards, etc., but apparently not for hot-synching data. And in spite of its challenges with end-user direct support, Linksys is a great company that I know and trust. I own about four Linksys products and they have all been rock-solid and straightforward to install and set up.

My advice is to carefully evaluate your specific requirements and decide if the USBBT100 is something that meets your needs -- or is something you need in the first place. It may be that a cable or docking cradle is cheaper, easier and provides a faster data transfer rate.

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