Bluetooth wireless technology devices

What Is Bluetooth? The Ultimate Guide

Former Lifewire writer Melanie Uy has 5+ years’ experience writing about consumer-oriented technology and is an expert telecommuter.

Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years’ experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.

In This Article

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology that allows devices such as mobile phones, computers, and peripherals to transmit data or voice wirelessly over a short distance. The purpose of Bluetooth is to replace the cables that normally connect devices, while still keeping the communications between them secure.

The «Bluetooth» name is taken from a 10th-century Danish king named Harald Bluetooth, who was said to unite disparate, warring regional factions. Like its namesake, Bluetooth technology brings together a broad range of devices across many different industries through a unifying communication standard.

Bluetooth Technology

Developed in 1994, Bluetooth was intended as a wireless replacement for cables. It uses the same 2.4GHz frequency as some other wireless technologies in the home or office, such as cordless phones and WiFi routers. It creates a 10-meter (33-foot) radius wireless network, called a personal area network (PAN) or piconet, which can network between two and eight devices. This short-range network allows you to send a page to your printer in another room, for example, without having to run an unsightly cable.

Bluetooth uses less power and costs less to implement than Wi-Fi. Its lower power also makes it far less prone to suffering from or causing interference with other wireless devices in the same 2.4GHz radio band.

Bluetooth range and transmission speeds are typically lower than Wi-Fi (the wireless local area network that you may have in your home). Bluetooth v3.0 + HS — Bluetooth high-speed technology — devices can deliver up to 24 Mbps of data, which is faster than the 802.11b WiFi standard, but slower than wireless-a or wireless-g standards. As technology has evolved, however, Bluetooth speeds have increased.

The Bluetooth 4.0 specification was officially adopted on July 6, 2010. Bluetooth version 4.0 features include low energy consumption, low cost, multivendor interoperability, and enhanced range.

The hallmark feature enhancement to the Bluetooth 4.0 spec is its lower power requirements; devices using Bluetooth v4.0 are optimized for low battery operation and can run off of small coin-cell batteries, opening up new opportunities for wireless technology. Instead of fearing that leaving Bluetooth on will drain your cell phone’s battery, for example, you can leave a Bluetooth v4.0 mobile phone connected all the time to your other Bluetooth accessories.

Connecting With Bluetooth

Many mobile devices have Bluetooth radios embedded in them. PCs and some other devices that do not have built-in radios can be Bluetooth-enabled by adding a Bluetooth dongle, for example.

The process of connecting two Bluetooth devices is called «pairing.» Generally, devices broadcast their presence to one another, and the user selects the Bluetooth device they want to connect to when its name or ID appears on their device. As Bluetooth-enabled devices proliferate, it becomes important that you know when and to which device you’re connecting, so there may be a code to enter that helps ensure you’re connecting to the correct device.

This pairing process can vary depending on the devices involved. For example, connecting a Bluetooth device to your iPad can involve different steps from those to pair a Bluetooth device to your car.

Bluetooth Limitations

There are some downsides to Bluetooth. The first is that it can be a drain on battery power for mobile wireless devices like smartphones, though as the technology (and battery technology) has improved, this problem is less significant than it used to be.

Also, the range is fairly limited, usually extending only about 30 feet, and as with all wireless technologies, obstacles such as walls, floors, or ceilings can reduce this range further.

The pairing process may also be difficult, often depending on the devices involved, the manufacturers, and other factors that all can result in frustration when attempting to connect.

How Secure Is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is considered a reasonably secure wireless technology when used with precautions. Connections are encrypted, preventing casual eavesdropping from other devices nearby. Bluetooth devices also shift radio frequencies often while paired, which prevents an easy invasion.

Devices also offer a variety of settings that allow the user to limit Bluetooth connections. The device-level security of «trusting» a Bluetooth device restricts connections to only that specific device. With service-level security settings, you can also restrict the kinds of activities your device is permitted to engage in while on a Bluetooth connection.

As with any wireless technology, however, there is always some security risk involved. Hackers have devised a variety of malicious attacks that use Bluetooth networking. For example, «bluesnarfing» refers to a hacker gaining authorized access to information on a device through Bluetooth; «bluebugging» is when an attacker takes over your mobile phone and all its functions.

For the average person, Bluetooth doesn’t present a grave security risk when used with safety in mind (e.g., not connecting to unknown Bluetooth devices). For maximum security, while in public and not using Bluetooth, you can disable it completely.

Bluetooth 5.0 is the newest version of the wireless standard. Devices began supporting Bluetooth in mid-2017, and it’s now implemented in many compatible Bluetooth devices. Bluetooth 5.0 offers four times the range, twice the speed, and improved bandwidth over Bluetooth 4.0.

Bluetooth tethering is when Bluetooth pairs two devices in the same Personal Area Network (PAN), and the internet connection of one device can be shared with the second device.

Bluetooth powers smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices and wireless portable speakers designed for indoor, outdoor, and beach use.

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What is Bluetooth & How It Work

Bluetooth is the technology that allows electronic devices to communicate with each other directly. It uses radio waves that are both transmitted and received by the devices in connection with each other.

Bluetooth is something that has changed a lot over my years as a network engineer, and what it is today is very different from what it was 10 years ago.

I will now explain what Bluetooth is and how it works, so keep reading.

What is Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless communications technology that allows high-speed, low power, wireless transmissions between electronic devices in short distances using a standardized protocol.

Or in more simple words. Bluetooth is the technology that allows for communication between electronic devices.

Bluetooth is mostly used for connecting things like wireless headphones to your phone or a wireless mouse to a computer. It should also not be confused with a Wi-Fi signal. [1]

The difference between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is that Wi-Fi is much stronger and comes from your router. And even if devices can connect with each other through Wi-Fi it’s not the same as Bluetooth.

This is because Bluetooth is a direct connection between the devices while Wi-Fi uses the router as an interlink.

How Bluetooth Works

Bluetooth works very similarly to how Wi-Fi signals and radio signals work. Through radio waves.

Bluetooth uses a band of 79 different frequencies (channels) which range from 2,4-2,485 GHz. This frequency interval is shared with industrial, scientific, and medical gadgets. [2]

But this won’t be a problem for you when you use Bluetooth. This is because the class 2 type Bluetooth that exists in consumer devices such as phones and computers only have a range of around 10 m.

Other types of Bluetooth are class 1 and 3. Class 1 is used in industry and has a range of around 100m and class 3 is rarely used because of its short range of 1 m. [3]

Furthermore, the Bluetooth signal is not just one frequency. It can change its frequency, as much as 1600 times every second. This is to keep the signal strength and minimize interference in radio crowded areas.

Bluetooth Networks

A Bluetooth network is called a piconet and uses a master/slave system to control the data flow.

In this system, one “master” device (often a phone or a computer) can connect to up to seven other devices. These will get the role of slaves (slave devices are often wireless earphones, mice, or keyboards). Slave devices can only connect to one master at a time. [4]

The master’s role is to coordinate data transfer in the piconet (Bluetooth network). It can send or request data from any of its slaves. In addition, slaves are not allowed to communicate with each other in the piconet.

Every electronic device with Bluetooth has a different address. This is important because in a house there are often a lot of devices that use Bluetooth to communicate with each other.

An address makes it possible for the device to know if a Bluetooth signal is meant for it or not.

There are three steps in the connection process between two devices that establish a Bluetooth connection. These steps are:

1. Inquiry – If two devices have no information about each other one of them must send an inquiry request. The other device then responds with its address and name and what kind of hardware it is.

1. Connecting – Here the two devices form a Bluetooth connection.

1. Connection – After the devices have connected they enter a connection state with each other. The device can either be actively connected with each other or passively connected.

An active connection is when the connected devices constantly talk to each other. While passive is when they talk to each other periodically, like once every 1 second.

Device Bonding

Device bonding is when two devices remember each other. Bonded devices automatically establish a connection with each other if they are in range. An example is a car, which often connects with your mobile when you start it.

To create these bonds the devices go through a process called pairing. During pairing the two devices usually follow the normal connection process.

But instead of forgetting the device when they disconnect from each other. The devices’ data gets stored in memory. Furthermore, they also save a shared secret code that allows them to reconnect with each other in the future.

Why It’s Called Bluetooth

The name Bluetooth comes from the Danish king Harald Blåtand. He was king in the 900s and is most known for uniting Denmark and part of Norway into a kingdom. His name Blåtand is directly translated to Bluetooth. The belief is that he got this name from a rotten tooth that appeared blue.

The reason Bluetooth is named after him was that he united Denmark and Norwegian. Just like Bluetooth unites devices with each other. [5]

It is also here it has got its symbol from. The symbol consists of Harald Blåtands initials, H and B. But instead of using normal letters, it uses Nordic runes.

Bluetooth Security

Wireless connections will always be less secure than wired connections. This is because wireless connections are much easier to find and expose. But this makes Bluetooth far from unsecured.

The biggest security feature Bluetooth has is its short range. It makes it much harder for hackers to access it, compared to your internet connection for example. This is why the only real place Bluetooth hacking takes place is in public places with a lot of devices. [6]

In general, Bluetooth security is not something to worry about. And if you want to be extra safe you can set your device on hidden mode. Then will no other Bluetooth device be able to find it.

Pros & Cons With Bluetooth

There are of course some cons with Bluetooth, but they are for the most part overshadowed by the pros. Here they are;

Pros:

• New versions consume little battery.
• Very practical (doesn’t need cables).
• Secure.
• Allows for wireless hardware.

Cons:

Bottom Line

I hope this article has shed some light on how Bluetooth works and what it is. As well as make you realize how often most of us use Bluetooth in our everyday activities.

If you want to learn more about network technology check out my Router vs Modem – What’s the difference.

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