How to Set Up Your Bluetooth Device

Date Posted:29 June 2013 

Thanks to Bluetooth technology, you can now connect your smartphone to a headset, a keyboard or your car’s stereo system quickly, easily and without any wires. And setting up your Bluetooth devices is relatively straightforward, providing you follow these few basic guidelines.

Bluetooth headsets

Bluetooth headsets are becoming extremely popular, due to the hands-free freedom they allow the user. They let you talk and drive at the same time, listen to music through your smartphone or, when mounted in a motorcycle helmet, allow you to communicate with your pillion passenger or fellow riders on the road.

Setting up a Bluetooth headset involves the following steps:

  • Press and hold the headset’s multi-function button for a few seconds until the unit turns on and the LED starts blinking in alternating colours. This indicates the headset is in ‘pairing’ mode.
  • Use the phone to ‘find’ the headset. This is done via a setting in the menu, which will be different for each phone. If it is a relatively new smartphone, it will have a special Bluetooth setup menu, from which you will need to select ‘discoverable’ mode and then scan for devices.
  • When the phone finds the headset, it will display a message on the screen asking for a PIN number. Type in 0000 and wait a few seconds, after which the phone should display another message confirming that a connection has been established with the headset.

Bluetooth keyboards

A Bluetooth keyboard will allow you to type just as you would on a normal PC and have the words appear on the screen of your smartphone. Setting up a Bluetooth keyboard is similar to setting up a headset, with just a few slight differences.

  • Turn on the Bluetooth on your phone and select the ‘discoverable’ mode from the menu, which makes the phone visible to other devices.
  • Hold down the pairing button on the keyboard until the LED light begins blinking.
  • Select ‘Search for Devices’ (or similar wording) from the menu on your phone. When the keyboard appears on the list, select it.
  • When prompted, type the code displayed on the phone’s screen into your keyboard and it should be ready to use.

Bluetooth car stereos

Pairing your smartphone with your Bluetooth-enabled car stereo will allow you to listen to streaming audio. While the sound quality varies from phone to phone, it is usually almost as good as your stereo’s inhouse capability. Pairing involves the following steps:

  • Follow the instructions in your car’s operating manual to set your stereo to pairing mode.
  • Turn the Bluetooth on in your phone and select ‘Search for Devices’ from the menu.
  • When your car’s ID appears on the list, select it. When prompted, type in the PIN number that comes with your car stereo. A message should then appear stating that the pairing was successful.
  • You will only have to pair the two devices one time. After that, it will happen automatically every time you carry your phone in your car.