How To Set Up Windows Mobile ActiveSync via Bluetooth USB Dongle

For a while now I have wanted to get my laptop and PDA syncing and talking to each other without using a USB cable. The answer - connect the two via Bluetooth.

This is made easy nowadays thanks to a number of Bluetooth USB dongles on the market that plug discretely in to your laptops USB port and allow you to connect to any Bluetooth enabled device, not just a Windows Mobile PDA.

For the purposes of this 'how to' I have been provided with a Nano USB Bluetooth Dongle courtesy of our mobile phone accessories partner MobileFun. I am also using Windows Vista with Windows Mobile Device Centre 6.1. The device I am using is an old T-Mobile MDA Vario II (aka HTC TyTN) running Windows Mobile 6 Professional.

Pairing the Laptop and Windows Mobile PDA/Smartphone

First things first, plug in the USB dongle and let Windows Vista do its stuff installing the necessary drivers. The Nano USB Bluetooth Dongle kit comes with a CD-ROM which contains a Toshiba Bluetooth stack. I initially installed this but didn't like the way it worked and it didn't include an ActiveSync service. My advice is to ignore the CD software and do not use it at all. Just let Windows do its thing.

Let Windows install its own drivers rather than use the provided Toshiba Bluetooth Stack CD-ROM.

Once the drivers are installed you should now have one or maybe two new Bluetooth icons in the control panel.

On your Windows Mobile device, open up the Comm Manager screen as shown below and activate Bluetooth if it's not already turned on.

Make sure your device is discoverable - from the Comm Manager click Settings >> Bluetooth, then on the Mode tab ensure 'Make this device visible to other devices' is ticked.

 
Turn Bluetooth on and make device discoverable.

Now go back to your laptop and double click the Bluetooth Devices icon in the control panel and click 'Add Wireless Device'. Your Windows Mobile device should now show up, it may have the name 'Handheld Computer' or if you have set your devices Owner Information it may display your name next to the device icon.

Device list may show your name or other label.

Select your device and click Next. You will be presented with a list of options to pair the laptop with the PDA, choose which ever is appropriate for your device. I selected 'Create a pairing code for me' which generates a code that I simply type in to my device.

Select 'Create a pairing code for me' for simplicity.

Vista generates a pairing code.

Your device should then display a message that your laptop wants to connect via Bluetooth. Click 'Yes' to allow it access and enter the passcode displayed on your laptop in to the device when prompted.

Enter the pairing code.

Note that you need to perform the pairing relatively quickly otherwise the process will time out and you need to start again. Once completed, your laptop will tell you that pairing is complete and will start installing some additional drivers to your device.

The laptop and device are paired.

When the new drivers are installed Partnership Settings will be displayed on your device with a checkbox for ActiveSync, make sure this is ticked and click Finish

Select ActiveSync and Finish.

On the Devices tab on your phone you should now see your laptop connection and on your laptop you should see the PDA or smartphone connection.

Windows Mobile ActiveSync via Bluetooth

With the two devices now paired you can use ActiveSync as if you were connected via a USB cable except via Bluetooth. You can synchronise Outlook, transfer files etc... here's how:

1. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on, the device doesn't need to be in discoverable mode any more as it is already paired.

2. Go to the devices Comm Manager screen and click on ActiveSync

3. On the ActiveSync screen click on Menu and then 'Connect Via Bluetooth'

4. The devices will connect and Windows Mobile Device Centre will automatically launch on the laptop, you can now sync and browse your device as if it were connected via a standard USB cable.

5. You can also browse the device via Windows Explorer just like a standard drive.

6. And you can access a number of features including file transfers by right clicking on the system tray icon.

So there you have it, hook up your Windows Mobile device by Bluetooth and get rid of your USB cable. The Nano USB Bluetooth Dongle featured in this how to is a tiny device that you can leave plugged in to your laptop at all times and at only £6.96 is an extremely cheap gadget to extend your laptops spec.

Nano USB Bluetooth Dongle provided for review courtesy of Mobile Fun. Mobile Fun is the UK’s leading online retailer for mobile phone accessories and mobile downloads. With a product range of over 5,000 globally-sourced mobile accessories and over 100,000 mobile downloads available on our website, Mobile Fun has an unparalleled product range, and has successfully established a market-leading position within the competitive mobile sector.