How to Set Up a Bluetooth Pan

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Most laptops and smartphones have Bluetooth installed.

A Bluetooth PAN--personal area network--is a group of devices connected to each other via Bluetooth. Bluetooth wireless networks aren't as fast as traditional wireless networks, and have much shorter range, but their low power usage and flexibility make them useful for connecting mobile devices like smartphones and laptops when wireless infrastructure is not available. If you plan to connect more than two computers via Bluetooth, it's best to use one computer as the "master," and connect the others to this computer.

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Step 1

Open "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu on the "master" computer and type "Bluetooth" into the search box in the top right-hand corner of the window, then click "Change Bluetooth settings."

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Step 2

Check the box beside "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer" and click "OK" to save your settings.

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Step 3

Open "Devices and Printers" from the "Start" menu on the other computer you want to network and click the "Add a device" button. That computer then searches for and lists devices available to connect to.

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Step 4

Select the "master" computer from the devices displayed and click "Next." One of the computers will generate a security passkey. Enter this key into the connection setup window on the other computer. Repeat this process to connect other computers to the "master" computer.

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