Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys USBBT100 Bluetooth USB Adapter

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

If you own a bluetooth enabled phone, this is a MUST-HAVE accessory! I've owned this for two weeks and here's my experience w/it so far.

Installation was a snap! I am using Windows XP SP1. I downloaded the latest drivers from Linksys website and during the install process, it prompted me to plug in the dongle, then it finished and was up and working! That easy! I've read about others having driver problems w/other lesser name brands (Belkin, etc) but Linksys truly does live up to its name. I've also installed drivers on my laptop so I now have a Bluetooth enabled laptop also! It's easy switching the dongle from desktop to laptop because of the USB connector. Pairing w/my Sony Ericsson T610, I now have wireless internet access on my laptop anywhere I can get a signal on my cell phone!

Syncing w/Outlook is much faster than through IRDA and sending pictures/ringtones/games to and from the phone is a lot more convenient too because it doesn't require line of sight the way IRDA does.

The specs claim 100m but you've gotta remember that's unobstructed. I live in a 2800sq ft home w/two floors and this unit still picked up a weak to fair signal from one end of my house to the other. I would get strong signals from about 3/4's of the distance or closer.

You can probably save $10-15 going w/a generic or lesser name brand but full driver support from generics may be a hit-and-miss game. To me, paying a bit extra for fully compliant driver support and no installation headaches is certainly worth it! Plus, it looks cool and has that antenna for better range.

My household is a bit geeky. If you walk into my apartment, you'll find four laptops, two desktops, four Palms, two iPods, and two cell phones. Two of the Palms and one of the cell phones are Bluetooth-enabled, but none of the computers are. Until we bought this adapter, that is.

It works like a champ in all of our computers. For the record, we've used it on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Linux (the Gentoo flavour, if you care), and OS X. For the Windows computers and the Mac, it's pretty much plug-and-play. This adapter is quite happy talking to the Sony Ericsson T608 cell phone, as well as both Palm Tungsten T3s. I can work with it in any room in the apartment, and even into the hallway and a bit in the elevator. It's made getting telephone numbers into the phone a lot easier, not to mention keeping information updated between everything.

Unless we buy a new computer with a built-in Bluetooth module, I'm sure that we'll get another one of these.

Let me start by saying that this bluetooth adapter works great under Windows XP and Mac OS X once is setup correctly.

If you are using Windows XP SP1 then there is nothing to worry about. Make sure to first setup the drivers from the software CD, and then insert the adapter when setup requests it. The new Windows XP SP2 generic bluetooth drivers detect and install this adapter, however, there are some caveats if one wants to expose services to bluetooth devices, which instead requires the drivers on the software CD. Make sure not to plug-in the adapter or setup the software before reading Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 840635 "Cannot install a Bluetooth device after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2." See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=840635

Mac OS X 10.3.5 was a non-event--just connect the adapter to the computer and the bluetooth icon will appear on the system menu, then click on the icon to pair the device and discover it's services. If you are planning to synchronize contacts and calendar entries make sure your phone is supported by iSync (1.5 as of this writing.) No that if your phone model is not explicitly listed (http://www.apple.com/isync) it will probably not work--as I found out with my Nokia 6620.

Something to note is the antenna is a little fragile and will probably break from the excesive handling some of us give to memory sticks.

Update Oct 6, 2004 - I was forced to return this adapter as "defective" today. I am not sure if I got a faulty unit or if there are compatibility problems between it and some motherboards--Asus P4C800-E. This is what I wrote to customer service: "The Linksys Bluetooth Adapter does not work after a computer cold boot. Windows detects a new device "CSR Generic Bluetooth Adapter in DFU State." Researching the problem found the device goes into "firmware update mode." Reinstalling Windows does not fix the problem. Tried both WIndows XP SP1a and SP2." Note this adapter works fine as long as it is plugged/unplugged while the computer is still running.

I bought this item thinking that the name-brand justified the higher price, and seeing the "free 24/7 tech support" as a possible value. It didn't work from the moment I installed it (through no real fault of Linksys as it turns out, blame Microsoft) so I called a tech support line for the second time in my life. After ten minutes on hold, the young Indian phone jockey spent ten minutes quizzing me on completely pointless material (who is my Internet Service Provider?). When she didn't understand my answer, she just repeated the same scripted question verbatim. I might as well have been talking to a voice-response system. After she went away for ten minutes, she returned to read a litle script "As I have not been trained to support this device, I must transfer you to another technician." I spent another ten minutes on hold, at which point I decided to give Google a whirl. Turns out that SP2 was the first release to include Bluetooth support from Microsoft, and that stack is not compatible with this device. Furthermore, since the Microsoft driver is signed, and Linksys's driver is not signed, the Microsoft driver takes precedence. Don't blame Linksys, Microsoft has no procedure in place to sign anyone else's Bluetooth drivers but their own.
See the Microsoft Knowledge Base, article 883258. (Sorry I can't post the URL here - Amazon's review guidelines prohibit it).

The compatability issues with XP Service Pack 2 are known and well documented ... what's unknown is why Linksys has chosen not to address them by updating their USBBT100 drivers and removing the hoops and hassle users of this common Windows OS must endure to install their product.

If, like me, you are considering the Linksys USBBT100 as a way to hot-synch data between your Palm or smart phone (I recently purchased a Treo 650) and you are running XP SP2, think again. It's not impossible, but the end -- hours on the phone with support, multiple installs and uninstalls -- may not justify the means. I can't tell you how long it will eventually take, nor can I confirm it is actually possible, because I never got there.

Despite the lack of any existing documentation on the Linksys site or in the product packaging providing instructions how to set up the USB adapter with a wireless device like a smart phone, I did eventually get to the point where I could do a single one-click data synch. But it was more of a try-everything, hit-or-miss path to get there ...

However, every time I booted up my PC, I had to unplug and re-plug the adapter to get my phone to recognize it -- again, a known and documented issue. When I followed the XP SP2 step-by-step instructions in the website FAQ for fixing this, it made matters worse, not better.

My first doubts were raised when I searched the Linksys site for the most recent drivers and discovered that the last update was in 2003. Not a good sign.

No one at Palm or Verizon was able to help me. Having called Linksys support in the past, I wasn't even about to go there. At one time I spoke with a second-level support technician at Palm that questioned why I would want to hot-synch via Bluetooth in the first place, because it was much slower than using the cable.

Hmmmm. Good question ... and one whose answer eventuallly led me to stop spending my time, and tolerance capital, seeking a solution to this problem instead of simply returning the Linksys adapter to Amazon and spending my money on a Treo 650 docking cradle instead.

This is not a knock against Bluetooth or Linksys. Bluetooth technology is great for wireless phone headsets, and Palm keyboards, etc., but apparently not for hot-synching data. And in spite of its challenges with end-user direct support, Linksys is a great company that I know and trust. I own about four Linksys products and they have all been rock-solid and straightforward to install and set up.

My advice is to carefully evaluate your specific requirements and decide if the USBBT100 is something that meets your needs -- or is something you need in the first place. It may be that a cable or docking cradle is cheaper, easier and provides a faster data transfer rate.

As with all devices, I immediately downloaded the drivers from Linksys assuming that the drivers on the CD are older. Linksys' website lists a driver from 2003. Upon installing, the adapter used the MS drivers instead of the Linksys ones. After, reinstaling a few times and the adapter still not working, I tried the CD. To my amazement, the CD contained driver v2.x. Once I used that driver and restarted the computer, it worked great. My motorola phone and headset work just fine.

Upon looking at the adapter, I noticed that it says model: USBBT100 v2. The only Linksys driver listed on their website is for USBBT100 v1....NOT v2. Either way, if you have a problem with WinXP SP2, try to drivers on the CD. I do not see that version of the drivers on Linksys' website.

EDIT: I've had this adapter for over one year now. It works great with one exception. The Audio Gateway/Headset profile drops the connection everytime I talk on Skype for over 30 min...sometimes less.

If you read the reviews for this device you will notice that half of them are, "Works Great!" and the other half are, "Never worked." Now I know why.

The first problem with this product is with the drivers. After spending too much time trying to install the device I went online seeking answers. It seems that the SP2 upgrade for windows created driver conflicts for this device (which explains why SP1 owners worked great, until they upgraded). This required you to forcefully update the driver and avoid all automatic detection by manually pointing to the Linksys Driver. Linsys has a tech support article explaining how to do this on their web site. Go to "Easy Answers" and search for "USBBT100 SP2". Microsoft has a KB article as well.

The second issue is in the hardware. If you were unlucky enough to receive a defective dongle, like me, then you will be in for some frustrating hours of agony. It's not that the device just doesn't work... it is that it doesn't work depending on the phase of the Moon and the alignment of the stars (not really, but do I need to say that?). This intermittency of working/not working/half working is what will make you think you've got it working, and then you don't. My opinion here, but after being a lifelong loyal customer of Linksys, I think their third world manufacturing has taken a nose dive here.

My second shipped dongle worked fantastically right out of the box (after installing the drivers correctly). I was making Skype calls using my Bluetooth headset and walking all around the house with great reception. However, the antenna would not rotate. I knew that the antenna was supposed to rotate because my previous one did (and the product photo shows it rotated). I actually broke one of the tiny little plastic nobs that hold the antenna on while trying to rotate it. Once again... incredibly poor quality control in the manufacturing process.

Now, I need the antenna to rotate due to the location of my USB slot. So, once again I asked for a replacement. I received this response from Amazon, "As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. We will investigate and remedy the situation with the item; however, I cannot guarantee when the error may be fixed."

And last, I would like to mention that Amazon has the best customer service I have ever encountered. They immediately shipped my second replacement at no cost, gave me no grief, and were apologetic throughout the whole process. So, if you order this product, know that they will treat you right and take care of you should you want to exchange or return it.

I bought this adapter to use with a Motorola smart phone (MPx220) and was never able to get it working properly with the phone. When I called Linksys tech support, the first thing I noticed that their tech support is outsourced. I understand why companies do this but they should make sure the people they put on the phones to help English speaking customers can speak English well enough to be easily understood. The gentlemen with whom I spoke did, eventually, talk me through the procedures to confirm that I had properly installed the blue tooth adapter. But it was obvious that he was not stepping through the process with me but was guessing what my screen might say. (It would seem that support with Windows XP would not be too hard given the number of computers that use this operating system.) That left me to find a lot of this on my own and ask, "Is this what you are trying to find?" We went through this process several times during the call. After all this discussion, the gentlemen gave me the company line that "...we have not yet been trained on this specific phone so I would not be able to help you with that until I receive that training."

In all the devices I have purchased from Linksys, this is the first time I have ever had to call Linksys support. They were clueless as to how this adapter might interface with a Motorola phone. That seems like a fairly common task for this adapter. I guess I had misplaced expectations for Linksys tech support.

For those of you who are looking to purchase a blue tooth adapter for use with a Motorola smart phone, buy a Motorola blue tooth adapter. Motorola will not support "third party" blue tooth adapters. And as I just discovered, Linksys doesn't support anything to do with how their devices might interface with Motorola smart phones.

The adapter seems fine. Tech support was not the best experience I have ever had.

The good news: This is a Class 1 Bluetooth device, which truly gives 150 feet of rock-solid indoor connectivity if paired with another Class 1 device. Class 1 Bluetooth is, technically, excellent stuff.

The bad news: the drivers are ancient, and Linksys seems to have no interest in updating them - and this can cause some problems. Another problem is that Windows XP Service Pack 2 likes to install its own drivers to replace Linksys's drivers - the Service Pack 2 drivers seem to be uniformly incompatible with everything - big mess.

It turns out that you can take control back from MS's own naughty XP drivers by following the instructions on the Linksys site.

You can also install newer drivers that work nicely by downloading and installing generic Widcomm drivers (Widcomm makes the Bluetooth drivers used by just about everyone) At the time of this writing, drivers and instructions that I've used with success can be found at http://www.spackass.com/daniel-marshall.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=30, but your mileage may vary.

The only rating I did not rate this product with five stars is the first item tried was defective. After the LINKSYS installer prompted me to plug in the adapter and the adapter was plugged in, Windows gave a "USB Device has malfunctioned" error. The power indicator light on the adapter never turned on, so I knew something was probably short-circuiting inside the device.

I called LINKSYS and was promptly told to return the item and order a new one, as if this is a problem they have heard before. Amazon was excellent with the return. Several minutes after I submitted the return request, I received an e-mail notifying me that Amazon has already shipped a new item one-day air, free of charge. The new item arrived one day later.

The new adapter worked perfectly. It automatically pairs with my cellphone whenever I am at my desk, and calls ring through the computer speakers. I can speak without any headset because calls can optionally be re-routed through your computer speakers and microphone. Of course, these are not included and you can choose to buy a headset microphone-earphone combination also.

I can manage all of my contacts from Microsoft Outlook; however, this feature depends on what phone you have. I assume most Bluetooth-enabled phones have a similar feature.

Overall, a great product. If you are going to buy a bluetooth adapter, buy this one.