Welcome to Andy Rathbone's Web site

Site menu:

I'm one of today's best-selling computer book writers, with more than 15 million books in print.

This website keeps you up-to-date on my books, and your computers. Each week, I answer a reader's question on-line.

Windows 11 For Dummies on sale now!

Windows 11 For Dummies

Drop by Amazon.com for big discounts on Windows 11 For Dummies.

Site search

Popular Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

How do I add Bluetooth to my PC?

Q: I bought a Rocketfish bluetooth wireless mouse, and it didn’t come with a receiver to plug into the computer. I read on the back, and it said I needed a Bluetooth-enabled computer. Is there anything I can buy to make my computer Bluetooth-enabled, like a receiver or something?

A: A group of companies created “Bluetooth” as a way of creating “cable-less” gadgets. Wireless computing, lets you connect to the Internet from several hundred feet away; Bluetooth, by contrast, has a range of a few feet. But that’s fine for a mouse, cell phone or smart phone, keyboard, or other commonly used gadgets.

Many laptops come with Bluetooth built-in. To give your desktop PC those same Bluetooth powers, simply plug a Bluetooth adapter into one of your desktop PC’s USB ports. Available on Amazon and many computer stores, the adapters let your PC exchange information with Bluetooth devices like your mouse. Bluetooth adapters are fairly inexpensive, and since they plug into a USB port, you can also easily move it to whichever of your PCs you happen to be using at the time.

Write a comment