Locking a computer is a fairly simple task. The Windows+L key combination will lock your computer instantly. It is still easy to forget though, so why not automate it with a little help from Bluetooth!

Bluelock is a small program that runs in your task tray. It detects if you (your phone) has moved away from your computer. If Bluelock can no longer find your phone because it is out of range, it will automatically lock your computer. When you return, you can type in your password, knowing that your computer was safe during your trip.

There is no installation required on either your phone or your computer. In fact, no software is needed on your phone at all. All that is required is Bluetooth on both your computer and your phone. I found it to be very reliable in my testing in both XP and Vista.

Many devices still have an older version of Bluetooth in them which has a range of 10 metres. Unfortunately, newer Bluetooth signals can reach up to 100 metres on a good day, so for this program to work, you will need to be more than 100m away from your computer.

Bluelock is available for free from Wuuls Website.

The SMS add-in for Outlook allows you to send messages directly from Outlook. Utilising your address book, keyboard and mouse is much quicker than using your handset to type and send messages.

The SMS add-in uses your phone to send the message, so that will need to be connected via USB, Bluetooth or infra-red. It uses a mobile phones’ modem to send the messages, which most phones will have in one form or another. Ideally, it will be offered as a Bluetooth service, so you can set and forget. As you are using your phone, the cost is the same as if you were sending the message directly from your phone.

Your messages can be drafted, grouped or forwarded just like a regular email message, though you can’t receive messages using this add-in. The add-in is only designed to send messages.

This worked successfully for me using a Nokia N70 via Bluetooth with Outlook 2003. Microsoft claims that it works in Outlook 2007, but I had no luck with this. The add-in didn’t show itself without some registry tweaks. This may be a Vista issue rather than an Outlook 2007 issue. Microsoft doesn’t offer any support for this add-in.

Configuration of this is a little bit of a hassle, so for it to be worthwhile to you, you would want to be sending a lot of messages. Once it is setup though, it works like a dream, saving you a bundle of time.

It is far from perfect, but if you try it and it doesn’t work for you, the uninstall is fairly basic. I am going to continue using it, and I will look forward to updates. I am surprised that this is not a built-in, supported feature for all modern operating systems and email packages. It is yet another tool which will help you keep your phone in your pocket.

Available for free from Microsoft.

Most phones these days have cameras built in, so wouldn’t it be great if we could use the phones we already have as our webcam.

SmartCam answers the call. SmartCam fools your computer into seeing your smartphones camera as a webcam. A Windows client and a mobile client both need to be installed for it to operate. SmartCam works with MSN messenger, Skype, as well as a straight forward capture to file.

While this all sounds very good, being a SourceForge hosted project that is still very young, SmartCam has some limitations. It only works over Bluetooth, which is exactly what I wanted, but it may limit some users. It is designed for Symbian S60, Series 2 & 3 devices, although it does run on a Java platform; so it may work on other devices.

SmartCam worked for me on a Nokia N70. I had no success with Windows Mobile, however it has not been designed to run on this platform as yet. It was designed for XP, and I had no problems running SmartCam in Vista.

It is a little fiddly to get up and running. The mobile versions need to be installed from the Windows installation folder. Once you read the Read Me file, and get the hang of how it works, you should be fine. SmartCam fulfilled my needs, and I recommend you give this one a go.

(Update: 26/9/07) To stop the popups for each new frame on your phone, go into your tools folder and select your application manager.
Go down to jSmartCam, select options, and Suite Settings.
Change Connectivity to Always allowed
Change Multimedia to Ask First Time.
For more information, check out the read-me file in the installation folder.

Available for free from SourceForge.net

There are a lot of people who use Bluetooth purely for connecting up a Bluetooth headset to their phone, but Bluetooth can be used for so much more than this. Each Bluetooth enabled device offers its own range of Bluetooth services. Each service can be used to give you a feature you may not have experienced yet. 

This article will explain what Bluetooth is and offer you a lengthy collection of fun things you can try with it, bringing together many of the Bluetooth articles which are already available at Inspect My Gadget.

I have not seen many of these fantastic Bluetooth features reported elsewhere on the web. Bluetooth has not seemed to have been overly embraced by the public. I feel Bluetooth is very powerful and the word should be spread.

What is Bluetooth?

Do you want the short answer or the long one? Well your going to get the short answer so we can get on with the fun stuff.

In short, Bluetooth is cable replacement technology which allows you to do many things that would have required a physical cable connection in the past. Bluetooth uses the 2.4Ghz band which is the same frequency as many cordless phones.

We can use Bluetooth to connect our computers and devices to GPS receivers, headsets, printers and a whole range of other peripherals, all without cables.

If you would like an in depth look at what Bluetooth is, check out Wikipedias Bluetooth definition or for an even deeper look, check out Bluetooth.com.

The fun stuff…

All you need to try this stuff out is a Bluetooth enabled computer, and a Bluetooth enabled device such as a mobile phone. I will be using a Windows Mobile 5 powered Ipaq rw6828 and a Nokia N70, though all Bluetooth enabled phones will let you do a majority of the tasks below.

Once you have your device and computer hooked up via Bluetooth, a whole range of tricks become available to you. 

Send and receive files and text messages via Bluetooth

One of the most useful tasks you can use Bluetooth for, is sending and receiving files from one phone to another, or one computer to another. It is a practical solution as it is much quicker to setup a pairing of your devices than plugging in your device, tracking down drivers and installing the software.

As well as files, it is possible to send short messages to people in close range. As you are using Bluetooth, there is no cost.

I have written an article explaining how to do this in three ways: a) from a Nokia phone to a computer, b) from a computer to Windows Mobile device and c) from phone to phone. Check out this article to see how easy it is.

This is really handy if you want to transfer ring tones or pictures amongst friends. While Bluetooth isn’t the fastest protocol around, it is quick enough for most situations, and you should find it to be quite handy.

You may have found that when you are at a shopping centre or a cinema, you get advertisements on your phone. You are able to disable this by turning Bluetooth off, making your device invisible to other devices by turning discovery off, or disabling the beam function itself. Check out this article for a more detailed look at how to disable this on a Windows Mobile device.

Sync your phone with your computer

Most phones will offer you some sort of cable connection and software which will allow you to sync the information from your email program to your device, and vice-versa. With a Windows Mobile device you would use either WMDC or ActiveSync (there are other commercial options out there) and if you use a Nokia phone, you would use the Nokia PC Suite to name a few.

The great thing about Bluetooth, especially with recent phone models such as the Nokia N Series, is that once you have created your Bluetooth pairing, and configured the software correctly, you do not need to press buttons on you phone for a sync to occur. Once you are in range, your devices will recreate the pairing automatically and synchronise.

I enjoy knowing that my wife was walking up my driveway, as my computer would report that her phone had been discovered, and the sync would begin. This gave me enough time to hide the evidence. 

Windows Mobile devices do require you to kick ActiveSync off, but you don’t need to touch anything at the computers end. Once a connection is established, you won’t need to reconnect ActiveSync until you have disabled the connection, either by moving out of range or turning off your phone/Bluetooth.

This sure does beat plugging in your phone to your computer as there are fewer steps involved and there is less cable clutter.

I have written a couple of articles showing how to setup this Bluetooth syncing for both WMDC and ActiveSync.

Search the web

Once you connect through to WMDC or ActiveSync, you are able to setup a pass-through connection. This means that your device will be able to utilise your computers Internet connection, so the device itself can surf the web. There are two modes:

The Internet = No proxy required – eg. Direct connection to the Internet

Work = proxy required – eg. going through work network

These definitions aren’t entirely accurate, but for most purposes, this is the easiest way to understand it.

This lets you browse the web when you are in close range of your computer, as well as use programs that require an Internet connection. This is a nice feature as many devices don’t offer Wifi.

Another way of doing things is to use your device as a dial up modem or GPRS modem. Your computer can then connect to your device via Bluetooth and use your devices Internet connection. This is very handy if you are on the road a lot.

Stream audio from your device to you computer

Using the wireless audio service you are able to stream audio from your device, out to your PC speakers or headphones. All sounds which come out of your phone will be streamed via Bluetooth to your computer. The sound is sometimes a little choppy, depending on your Bluetooth version.

This could be used for streaming audio to various rooms in your house, or to use your device as a baby monitor. It’s not the cheapest way of making this happen, but it is fun to play with. I hope that this feature is able to be utilised more in the future.

There are not really any practical reasons for using this, but it is great for playing practical jokes on people who have unexpectedly left their Bluetooth turned on. You could be the person inside their computer, knocking on the screen trying to get out.

If you use your phone as a dicta-phone, you may want to stream the recording out your PC speakers for transcribing. Your PC speakers will probably be much clearer than a phones speaker. 

Use your computer to report incoming phone calls

Just as you would use a Bluetooth headset to answer, hear and talk to people calling you, your computer can act as a headset. This is a nice touch for anyone who doesn’t like to be too attached to their phone. This feature is likely to work on just about any phone, as it is using the same service as a headset does.

Once this is setup, you can use your computer to receive calls, giving you a ring tone and a screen prompt, with caller ID, asking if you would like to accept or decline a call. If you accept the call, you can then use your PC speakers to hear what the caller is saying, and a microphone to say what you have to say.

I use this feature purely to let me know of incoming calls as I often keep my phone on silent. Once I see the pop-up, I see who is calling and if I want to speak to the caller, I will then start to look for my phone. If I don’t want to speak to them, the phon stays put and I have a reminder of who called.

I have written two articles on this in the past, cover 2 phone operating systems.

Use your computer to receive mobile phone calls via Bluetooth: Symbian(Nokia)

Use your computer to receive mobile phone calls via Bluetooth: WM5

This is a fun one to play with, and very practical in many situations. Give it a go.

Some other uses for Bluetooth

If you do have a Bluetooth headset, you are able to pair it with your computer so that you can listen to music and answer Skype/MSN calls, without requiring any extra components.

Another scenario which you probably wouldn’t want to do is… if you have a laptop in your backpack, turned on with an Internet connection of some kind, you could have your phone and computer connected via Bluetooth. This will enable you to get Internet on your phone as well as receiving any new email, all from your phones interface.

Yet another scenario is if you have your computer on in your office and you have a meeting in a nearby room. You can communicate with your computer via your phone so you don’t miss a thing. You can even go to the extent of browsing your desktop computer from your phone using either terminal services/remote desktop or a file explorer of some type.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and have learnt something new. Bluetooth should be around for quite a while, with version 3.0 just around the corner. If you have found any other fun things to do with Bluetooth, please put them in the comments section. I have very much enjoyed writing articles on Bluetooth in the past, and I hope to write more in the future, as Bluetooth develops. Please stick around and read some other articles at Inspect My Gadget.

Windows Mobile 5 devices have a simple utility to disable the automatic receiving of beamed files via Bluetooth. To access it, go into your settings and select the Connections tab. You should fine the Beam icon in here. Change the tick box to enable or disable this feature.

You also have the option to turn off Bluetooth when you don’t need it but this is becoming less of an option over time as we are relying on Bluetooth more and more.

If you want to receive everything that is sent to your device, and want to investigate how to use this feature yourself, check out my article on “Sending messages an files over Bluetooth.”

While there are not really many practical reasons for doing this, it is free, easy, and fun to play with.

I think about a school classroom, where teenagers are texting each other messages in class, each time clocking up 15c on their phone bill. As they are in close range to each other, there is no need for this to cost money. If both their phones are fitted with Bluetooth, they are able to use this technology to send the notes for free.

This article will show you how to send messages and files from one phone to another over a short range for free, using Bluetooth technology. We can also send files such as ring tones, images and other audio files to one another using the same method. No additional software is required to make this work.

This article will show:

• A message/file sent from a Nokia N70 to a Windows Vista PC running Outlook 2007.
• A message/file sent from a Nokia N70 to a HP Ipaq rw6828
• A message/file sent from a HP Ipaq rw6828 to a Nokia N70

This should be possible on just about any Bluetooth enabled phone. The menus will be different, but the idea will be the same.

Bluetooth has a minimum range of 10 metres, but many newer devices have Bluetooth 2.0 installed which allows for a range of 100 metres. Either way you look at it, 10 metres is plenty of distance for most meeting rooms and classrooms. Using an early Bluetooth version, I have never struggled to reach 20 metres when there has been a clear line of sight.

File formats:

As different devices support different file types, you may find that some phones cannot view what you send them.  For example, A standard Windows mobile note file is in pwi format, and this is not viewable on a Symbian phone, so it is best to send the message as a txt file.

I have had success sending the following file types:

• Images: jpg, gif, png
• Audio: wav, mp3, mid
• Text: txt, doc

While you are able to send just about any type of file you want successfully, if the other end cannot view the file, you are wasting your time.

Also worth noting is the size of the file. Bluetooth is a slow medium for sending files. While a txt file is small and will show up in seconds, an image file is much larger and can take many minutes. 

Sending and receiving a message from a Windows Mobile device:
(I will be using an HP Ipaq rw6828)

You are able to make text messages in many programs on a Windows Mobile Device but your best bet is to use Word Mobile as you will have the option to send the message as either a doc file or a txt file.

Once you have written the message you want to send:

Tap “Menu”

Tap “File”

Tap “Beam” 

Your device will now scan the local area for Bluetooth devices in range.

Select the device you want to. As you can see here, I have the option to send it to a Nokia N70 or my Desktop.

Tap “Tap to send”

You will see your device sending the message, and it will say “Done” when the send is complete.

You can send just about any type of file.

When you are in “File Explorer”, hold down on any file and select “Beam File”. You will be prompted with the same screen as above.

It’s that easy.

If you are using a Windows Mobile Device and you receive a message or file from someone else, you will get the option to accept or reject the message. 

The message or file can be found in your devices “My Documents” folder.

Sending and receiving a message from a Symbian OS device:
(I will be using a Nokia N70)

The Symbian OS is nice to work with when playing around with messages. The notes program sends messages in txt format, which is the ideal format for other devices to view.

Open up “Notes” and create your message.

Select “Options”

Select “Send”

Select “Via Bluetooth”

Your phone will do a scan of the local area and list the compatible devices. Select which one you would like to send it to and press “Send”.

You will then see the message being sent.

Another great thing about the Symbian OS receiving files and messages, is that it comes up in your inbox as a normal message. The only difference is that the icon is the Bluetooth icon instead of an envelope.

It is just as nice as sending a standard sms, apart from the fact that it is free.

Sending files is easy as well. You can do this from the File Manager or the Gallery. Choose the image and select the same “Send” options as above. It is clear that this was meant to be a well used function of our devices, we just don’t use it enough.

Sending a message to a PC:

PC’s are a little more fussy about which files they can receive. The documents will show up in your notes component of Outlook. You are able to send images and music around too. I have found it to be a bit hit and miss. I have had success with various file formats, but it was unreliable for me.

There are less reasons for sending files and messages to a PC as you are likely to be able to set up a pairing, and have a direct link to send files in bulk.

If you are using Vista, right clicking in your Bluetooth task tray will give you the option to send and receive files. Ensure that you have set your computer to receive files before sending it from another device.

Conclusion:

This technology opens us up to all sorts of options with people near to us. A very useful task you can do, is pass e-business cards around to people nearby at the end of a meeting. They will have your phone number in their phone and they won’t have to find the physical paper version of your card. You will always be close at hand for them.

As time goes on, we will be able to make greater use of this technology as more services become available. It is good to get in the habit of utilising it now, as it will grow. Show your colleagues that you are tech savvy, it’s not hard, it just looks clever.

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Please stick around and check out some other articles at Inspect My Gadget. 

As with ActiveSync, connecting via Bluetooth can often be quite difficult and many people are unsuccessful the first time. This article will contain many troubleshooting tips I have picked up from my own experiences. I had quite a few problems connecting my device but was able to get it all up and running eventually after around 7 hours of trial and error. I hope that this article will assist you to connecting your device in a fraction of the time.

This article will show you how to connect your Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) to WMDC using Bluetooth.

What you need:

• Windows Mobile 5 Bluetooth device.

I will be using an HP Ipaq rw6828, as companies make changes to WM5, some of the menus may look different.

• PC/Laptop running Windows Vista
• Bluetooth built-in to your laptop or a Bluetooth USB Adaptor.

These are available in most IT shops and range in price greatly. I use a Belkin Bluetooth USB Adaptor – Model F8T013 I bought at Harvey Norman. No name brand adaptors can be found at local computer shops for around $20.

• Windows Mobile Device Center 6 and later

available for free from Microsoft

I am assuming Bluetooth drivers have been installed on the computer for the Bluetooth ready PC or Laptop.

You should also already have created a partnership with your mobile device. This is necessary to make a successful connection via Bluetooth.

Setting up WMDC.

The default settings of WMDC are pretty good and you should be able to connect your device to WMDC via Bluetooth without changing them.

If you want to use an infra red connection, pull down the box saying Bluetooth and select it. If you want to connect via Bluetooth, ensure that it is ticked and selected.

Pairing the Smartphone with your Computer.

In order to use WMDC via Bluetooth we need to pair your device with your computer. This enables the Bluetooth communication between the two devices.

On your WM5 Device, tap on the following buttons

tap Start

tap Settings

tap Connections

tap Bluetooth

tap Mode,
both boxes should be ticked, this turns Bluetooth on

tap Devices

tap New Partnership

Your Windows Mobile device will now scan the area for Bluetooth devices and list them.

tap “Your computer’s name” and press Next

Your Windows Mobile device will now ask you to enter a passkey. This is a code that you put in to allow for a secure connection between your Smartphone and your computer. You make this key up in most cases and if you do forget it in the future, you can re-pair the devices. They are usually 4 characters long and numeric. I usually use 1234 or 9876. Another option is to use the last 4 digits of a phone number associated with the mobile phone. I don’t see there being huge security issues here but if you have sensitive data on your device you may want to look into Bluetooth security.

Enter your passkey, e.g. 1234 or 2435

tap Next

Your PC will request the Passkey. Click on the bubble popup from the task tray.

Enter your Passkey and Press OK

You should see that your connection is successful. The icon will change to an aqua colour.

You may be prompted to allow the connection access to this service, click the tick box and press “OK”

Back on your Device: select “ActiveSync”

If you do not see ActiveSync as an option, refer to troubleshooting later in this article.

tap Finish

If you have Pocket Bluetooth tools installed, Tick ActiveSync. If you don’t have Pocket Bluetooth Tools installed, skip this step.

The Sync: 

Open up Activesync on your device. This is in your Programs folder.

Tap “Menu”

Tap “Connect via BT with Computername”

Your computer will now start synchronising with your Windows Mobile device.

To synchronise in future, open ActiveSync and repeat the last step.

I hope you will now be able to synchronise your Windows Mobile Device with WMDC. If you are like many and you are not having any luck, continue on to the troubleshooting section below where the real fun begins.

Troubleshooting:

Unfortunately it is very hard to pinpoint the problem you may be having as they can and will change from one device to another. I have come across a fair few errors in my time and will report them here. I would like to update this troubleshooting section whenever I come across a new problem or somebody puts a working solution in the comments. Check back for updates.

It is important to have a look through this whole section and find a solution that is right for you rather than working through them one after the other. You may waste time using fixes that are not appropriate to you or destroy something that is working well, putting you back at stage one.

Ensure you have created a partnership via USB before attempting Bluetooth.

Problem: No ActiveSync option when announcing services:

I had this problem and my device only offered me “Serial Port”. This is not enough to get things running. You need to have an Activesync option to get it up and running. Each device uses a different port which makes this tricky. Mine is COM5 and other devices are COM7. I have not seen a device which syncs on a higher COM port than this.

WMDC 6.1 saves you a few hassles here. In Connection Settings in WMDC, click the pull down box and select the correct COM port for your device. You may need to work through them one by one. Each time refreshing the services on your device to see if ActiveSync is listed. If you are not seeing enough COM ports, you may need to create more in your Bluetooth driver settings.

Right click on your Bluetooth icon in the Task Tray and select “Bluetooth configuration” or “Advanced Configuration” depending on your drivers. This is also accessible through the control panel.

Under local services, Activesync should be listed. On my computer, it was set to COM3 and I required COM5.

Click on “Add Serial Service” to open more ports. Do it until you get to the right amount. You can then click on them and delete them as the port remains, even when you remove the Service name. You can completely remove these COM ports later through your device manager. If you do not know which port you require, you will have to work through them one by one or look on the web and find out the details of your device. I think COM5 is fairly common though.

Once they have been deleted, you can click on the properties of the ActiveSync service and change the COM port to what you require.

(Update 18/09/07) I have had success select Bluetooth in WMDC rather than a COM port. Try out a few and see what works for you.

Only continue on if you are using WMDC 6.0, if you are using WMDC 6.1, you do not need to do this step.

Open Regedit by typing “regedit” in your Vista search bar. Navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services

Find the Serialport key. It may say Bluetooth currently. Change this to the necessary COM port, in my case COM5.

Back on your phone, edit the current partnership settings and refresh the available services. You will know you have this right when you see “Activesync” instead of “Serial Port”.

This registry hack will change back to the default if you save any changes in your Bluetooth configuration, so check back at this key if you have connection problems in the future.

Problem: Misc Error: (Updated 18/09/07)

Don’t hesitate to restart your computer if you are having problems. You may well find that your computer has got a little confused with the changes. It is quite common for me to restart when playing with Bluetooth. After a restart, try again and you may find it works as you would expect it to.

Problem: I am not having any luck with my drivers:

My Bluetooth dongle does have Vista drivers supplied but they don’t seem to work all that great. I had the same problem in XP. I have always resorted back to using the Widcomm drivers. Broadcom make a generic set of drivers which will allow many, if not all USB bluetooth dongles to work. Available for free from Broadcom. 

Problem: Misc Error:

I have fixed some devices by changing the ActiveSync mode. There are different ways of accessing this from different devices but on my device, I click on Settings > Connections > ActiveSync Mode. Change this from “USB Serial Sync Mode”  to “RNDIS Sync Mode”.

I find that RNDIS works best for me.

Problem: Misc Error:

Within ActiveSync on your mobile device, click menu and go into connections. Ensure that you are using the “`Activesync on Computername” option instead of the “`USB” and “`USB Default“ options.

More to come: Please add any solution or problem of your own in the comments.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and found it useful. Please stick around and check out some other articles at inspectmygadget.com.

Since the removal of Wireless synchronising in version 4 due to security reasons, we are left with USB sync or Bluetooth sync to transfer data between our device and our computer.

USB sync works fine and is what the majority of people use. I like to have my phone with me around the house so the Bluetooth solution works better for me.

This article will explain how to synchronise your bluetooth enabled Windows Mobile 5 device with your Windows XP computer using Bluetooth.

What you need:

• Windows Mobile 5 Bluetooth device.

I will be using a HP Ipaq rw6828, as companies make changes to WM5, some of the menu’s may look different.

• PC/Laptop running Windows XP

Up to date, Service Pack 2 is probably required & Activesync installed.

• Bluetooth built-in to your laptop or a Bluetooth USB Adaptor.

These are available in most IT shops and range in price greatly. I use a Belkin Bluetooth USB Adaptor – Model F8T013 I bought at Harvey Norman. No name brand adaptors can be found at local computer shops for around $20, though I have no idea if these will offer the hands-free service.

• Pocket Bluetooth Tools – Makes life a little easier. Download and install it on your Windows Mobile Device. This is not necessary but I do use it in some of my How-To’s. If you don’t install it, skip the Pocket Bluetooth Tools step later on in this article.

I am assuming drivers have been installed on the computer for the Bluetooth ready PC or Laptop.

You should also already have created a partnership with your mobile device. If not continue on and do it after the next step.

Setting up ActiveSync.

We first need to configure ActiveSync to receive requests from Bluetooth devices. Open up ActiveSync, ensuring you are not currently synchronising your PDA via USB.

Click “File”

Select “Connection Settings…”

Ensure that your settings are the same as the image below and press “OK”

If you have not yet set up a partnership with your Windows Mobile device and ActiveSync, plug your device in via USB and follow the wizard.

Pairing the Smartphone with your Computer.

In order to use ActiveSync via Bluetooth we need to pair the your device with your computer. This enables the Bluetooth communication between the two devices.

On your WM5 Device, tap on the following buttons

tap Start

tap Settings

tap Connections

tap Bluetooth

tap Mode,
both boxes should be ticked, this turns Bluetooth on

tap Devices

tap New Partnership

Your Windows Mobile device will now scan the area for Bluetooth devices and list them

tap “Your computer’s name” and press Next

Your Windows Mobile device will now ask you to enter a passkey. This is a code that you put in to allow for a secure connection between your Smartphone and your computer. You make this key up in most cases and if you do forget it in the future, you can re-pair the devices. They are usually 4 characters long and numeric. I usually use 1234 or 9876. Another option is to use the last 4 digits of a phone number associated with the mobile phone. I don’t see there being huge security issues here but if you have sensitive data on your device you may want to look into Bluetooth security.

Enter your passkey, e.g. 1234 or 2435

tap Next

Your PC will request the Passkey. Click on the bubble popup

Enter your Passkey and Press OK

You should see that your connection is successful. the icon will change to an aqua colour.

Back on your Device: select “ActiveSync”

tap Finish

If you loaded up Pocket Bluetooth tools, Tick ActiveSync. If you didn’t load it, skip this step.

Go back to your connections menu and open “ActiveSync Mode”

Set your Windows mobile device to run in RNDIS Sync Mode. If you want to sync via USB at a later time, you will need to change this back.

I am not sure why you need to set it to the network sync as ActiveSync should auto detect this. Everything works fine for me when I switch it from one to the other.

Open up Activesync on your device. This is in your Programs folder.

Tap “Menu”

Tap “Connect Via BT with Computername”

Your computer will now start synchronising with your Windows Mobile device.

To synchronise in future, open ActiveSync and repeat the last step.

I hope you will now be able to synchronise your Windows Mobile Device. This method works for me. If you have any problems, please post them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and found it useful. Please stick around and read some of my other articles at inspectmygadget.com

This walkthrough will show you how to connect your Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone to your Windows XP PC via Bluetooth. This is likely to work for most Bluetooth phones and all operating systems that support Bluetooth though the method will be slightly different on other platforms.

This method also works for Windows Vista. I have not had success in getting caller ID information, but a message does show up on the screen saying that there is an incoming call. Be careful not to attach Vistas voice gateway service as your calls will be answered automatically. To get this going in Vista, follow the steps below as the set up for Vista and XP are almost identical.

There are heaps of fun and interesting things you can do with Bluetooth. Check out some of my other How-To’s and have a play.

Bluetooth has many services which you can use. For this How-to I am only going to focus on the hands-free service, although part of this process is the pairing of the devices. Each Bluetooth device offers only a few services but all smartphones I have seen offer the hands-free service.

Not all bluetooth adaptors will allow for the use of the hands-free service. It works with my Belkin adaptor but it has not been possible on some laptops I have come across. To find out if your PC is capable, open up “My computer”, click “My Bluetooth Places”, click “View my Bluetooth Services”. Look for Hands-free or Headset profile and you should be alright. This may also be dependent on your drivers.

One of the drawbacks with Bluetooth is that it drains the battery of your device whilst it is switched on. My batteries lose power twice as fast with it on and connected to another device. This is slightly annoying but if you are willing to charge your phone ever 1-2 days, you will be fine. You probably have these features, so you may as well see if you can use them.

What you need:

• Windows Mobile 5 Bluetooth handset.

I will be using a HP Ipaq rw6828, as companies make changes to WM5, some of the menu’s may look different.

• PC/Laptop running Windows XP

Up to date, Service Pack 2 is probably required

• Bluetooth built-in to your laptop or a Bluetooth USB Adaptor.

These are available in most IT shops and range in price greatly. I use a Belkin Bluetooth USB Adaptor – Model F8T013 I bought at Harvey Norman. No name brand adaptors can be found at local computer shops for around $20, though I have no idea if these will offer the hands-free service.

I am assuming drivers have been installed on the computer for the Bluetooth ready PC or Laptop.

Pairing the Smartphone with your Computer.

In order to use the Hands-free service we first need to pair the Smartphone with your computer. This enables the Bluetooth communication between the two devices.

On your WM5 Smartphone, tap on the following buttons

tap Start

tap Settings

tap Connections

tap Bluetooth

tap Mode,
both boxes should be ticked, this turns Bluetooth on

tap Devices

tap New Partnership

Your Smartphone will now scan the area for Bluetooth devices and list them

tap “Your computer’s name” and press Next

Your Smartphone will now ask you to enter a passkey. This is a code that you put in to allow for a secure connection between your Smartphone and your computer. You make this key up in most cases and if you do forget it in the future, you can re-pair the devices. They are usually 4 characters long and numeric. I usually use 1234 or 9876. Another option is to use the last 4 digits of a phone number associated with the mobile phone. I don’t see there being huge security issues here but if you have sensitive data on your Smartphone you may want to look into Bluetooth security.

Enter your passkey, e.g. 1234 or 2435

tap Next

Your PC will request the Passkey. Click on the bubble popup

Enter your Passkey and Press OK

You should see that your connection is successful. Icon will change to aqua.

Back on your Smartphone: select Hands-Free Service

tap Finish

Setting your Computer as the Hands-free device

You will be sent back to your partnerships list and your device should now see your computer in the list. Tap on “Your Computer Name” for 2 seconds and a menu will pop up. Select “Set as Hands-free”

After communication takes place (around 5 seconds) the headset icon will appear up the top of your Smartphone.

If all has gone to plan you will now be able to accept calls to your mobile through your PC. When the mobile is dialled a popup will appear down the bottom right of the screen displaying the number.

Not only that, if you click on the bubble you will be given the option to Accept or Reject the call.

If you connect your computer to a microphone and headphones you can have your conversation using your computer whilst your phone is in another room. There is a whole world of things that can be done using the hands-free service. Using your PC to record phone calls is easy to achieve and sometimes useful.

Your smartphone should reconnect automatically when you are near the computer, my computer reconnects with my phones automatically saving me from having to manually set hands free.

I hope that you have found this How-to useful and that you will stick around to check out some of my other How-to’s at Inspect My Gadget.

This walk through will show you how to connect your Symbian Smart-phone to your Windows XP PC via Bluetooth. This is likely to work for most Bluetooth phones and all operating systems that support Bluetooth though the method will be slightly different on other platforms.

There are heaps of fun and interesting things you can do with Bluetooth. Check out some of my other How-To’s and have a play.

Bluetooth has many services which you can use. For this How-to I am only going to focus on the hands-free service, although part of this process is the pairing of the devices. Each Bluetooth device offers only a few services but all smart-phones I have seen offer the hands-free service.

Not all bluetooth adaptors will allow for the use of the hands-free service. It works with my Belkin adaptor but it has not been possible on some laptops I have come across. To find out if your PC is capable, open up “My computer”, click “My Bluetooth Places”, click “View my Bluetooth Services”. Look for Hands-free or Headset profile and you should be alright. This may also be dependent on your drivers.

One of the drawbacks with Bluetooth is that it drains the battery of your device whilst it is switched on. My batteries lose power twice as fast with it on and connected to another device. This is slightly annoying but if you are willing to charge your phone every 1-2 days, you will be fine. You probably have these features, so you may as well see if you can use them.

What you need:

• Symbian Bluetooth handset.
  • I will be using a Nokia N70 running Symbian 8.1
• PC/Laptop running Windows XP
  • Up to date, Service Pack 2 is probably required
• Bluetooth built-in to your laptop or a Bluetooth USB Adaptor.
  • These are available in most IT shops and range in price greatly. I use a Belkin Bluetooth USB Adaptor – Model F8T013 I bought at Harvey Norman. No name brand adaptors can be found at local computer shops for around $20, though I have no idea if these will offer the hands-free service.

I am assuming drivers have been installed on the computer for the Bluetooth ready PC or Laptop.

Pairing the Smart-phone with your Computer.

In order to use the headset service we first need to pair the Smart-phone with your computer. This enables the Bluetooth communication between the two devices.

On your Symbian Smart-phone, tap on the following buttons

Press the Menu Button

Press “Connect”

Press “Bluetooth”

Ensure that Bluetooth is turned on.
It is important to have visibility “Shown to all” during the pairing process.

Press to the right to see paired devices. The list is likely to come up blank.

Press “Select” and “New paired device”
After a few moments you will be shown the Devices Found. Highlight your PC and

Press “Select”

Your Smart-phone will now ask you to enter a passkey. This is a code that you put in to allow for a secure connection between your Smart-phone and your computer. You make this key up in most cases and if you do forget it in the future, you can re-pair the devices. They are usually 4 characters long and numeric. I usually use 1234 or 9876. I don’t see there being huge security issues here but if you have sensitive data on your Smart-phone you may want to look into Bluetooth security.

Enter your passkey, e.g. 1234 or 2435
And then press “OK”

Your PC will request the Passkey. Click on the bubble pop-up

Enter your Passkey and Press OK

You should see that your connection is successful. Icon will change to aqua.

Select “Yes”. You can control this easily by turning Bluetooth on and off if “Yes” is selected.

You should now see your PC in the Paired devices screen.

Setting your Computer as the Hands-free device

In the options menu, select “connect” and after a few moments your PC will work as your headset.

If all has gone to plan you will now be able to accept calls to your mobile through your PC. When the mobile is dialled a pop-up will appear down the bottom right of the screen offering you the number

Not only that, if you click on the bubble you will be given the option to Accept or Reject the call.

If you connect your computer to a microphone and headphones you can have your conversation using your computer whilst your phone is in another room. There is a whole world of things that can be done using the hands-free service. Using your PC to record phone calls is easy to achieve and sometimes useful.

Your smart-phone should reconnect automatically when you are near the computer, my computer reconnects with my phones automatically saving me from having to manually set hands free.

I hope that you have found this How-to useful and that you will check out some of my other How-to’s at Inspect My Gadget.