How to reconnect to a already paired bluetooth A2DP headset?

Anonymous
2009-12-03T13:50:48+00:00

I use a bluetooth stereo headset with my Laptop running Windows7/Fedora 12 and also with my mobile phone and with my ipod. I want to connect my headset to one of above devices at a time.

I have paired my headset with all of above devices (Windows 7, Fedora 12, my mobile and my ipod). Suppose I've currently connected my headset to the ipod and now I want to use it with my mobile. All I have to do is disconnect headset from ipod and connect it to my mobile. (The 'connect' and 'disconnect' facilities are there in both my ipod and mobile).

Suppose now I want to use the headset with Windows 7. (it's already paired and shown under Bluetooth Devices). Surprisingly in windows 7 there's no way of connecting to a already paired headset. (when you right-click on the headset icon under bluetooth devices there's no 'connect' options.). Now one might ask why don't you restart the headset? But it'll never work since headset will try to connect to the last device it connected. (in this case my mobile phone). Only way I can connect my headset to Windows 7 now is putting the headset back into pairing mode, deleting the headset from windows, and re pair it. This will take a lotof time and this will also install drivers for four bluetooth profiles headset supports. (A2DP, AVRCP, handsfree, headset). (This will also create a system restore point to make things slower).

Similar to my mobile phone and ipod in Fedora linux it's just a matter of right clicking bluetooth icon and selecting 'connect'. I have not used windows for a long time and may be I miss something very obvious or the way Windows 7 bluetooth works is very frustrating.

I use Windows 7 professional in a Dell Inspiron laptop. The bluetooth stack used is the one supplied with Wndows 7.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2010-07-20T14:39:16+00:00

Hi Jeff,

Reconnecting using Playback Devices works for reconnecting an already paired A2DP Bluetooth Headset to your PC, per the OP. Headsets are usually "dumb" in the respect that you cannot ask them to connect to a specific device, they just try to reconnect to the last device they connected to. Using "Playback Devices" gets around this by getting your computer to ping the device and ask it for a connection.

It sounds like you're having a totally different issue to the OP, namely that you can't get your android phone to connect to your PC after you've paired it. It's probably worth starting a new thread on that issue as it is completely separate to reconnecting "dumb" devices.

Apologies if I've misunderstood you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-08-17T02:12:05+00:00

    AWESOME!  THANK YOU!  I can't believe your reply is buried on the 3rd page of this forum.

    I hope there is something analogous for bluetooth mouse and keyboard and other-device users.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-05-05T23:15:26+00:00

    It's Window's 7 Professional but it seems (with no firsthand knowledge) that step #5 would be there for other versions too.  Anyway, I just checked again, and Step #5 works for me.  Huh.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-05-05T16:24:14+00:00

    I also wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how to connect to an already paired bluetooth gadget.  The solution was to make sure that it was not connected to any other device, including the Windows7 computer I wanted to reconnect it to.

    If the bluetooth gadget hasn't been turned off or reset since the last time since it was connected to your Windows7 computer, it may be remembering the old connection.  To fix that, turn the gadget off.  That should wipe the connection to other devices too.  If you've got a headset, you might need to pull the battery.

    Connecting and disconnecting can be done on Windows 7 with a couple clicks.  Here's what works for me:

    1. Pair your bluetooth gadget.
    2. Click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray (Bluetooth must be

    turned on.  If it is and the Bluetooth icon isn't there, restore it

    following instructions).

    1. Click on "show bluetooth devices"
    2. In the popup window , click on the icon of the Bluetooth gadget you

    want to connect/disconnect.

    1. In the next popup, you'll see a connect button if you are connected;

    or a disconnect button if you aren't.

    1. Pin this popup to the taskbar.
    2. Now, to connect:
    3. If some device is already connected to your bluetooth gadget,

    you must disconnect that device first.

    1. Then, click on the bluetooth icon you've added to the taskbar.
    2. And, click the popup's connect button.  Your device should

    connect.

    1. Before connecting some other device to your bluetooth gadget:
    2. Click on the bluetooth icon you've added to the taskbar
    3. Click the popup's disconnect button.
    4. Then, you can connect your other device

    In the future, then it should be necessary only to remember to disconnect the gadget before connecting it to a new device.

    Hope this helps,

    Scott

    Hi Scott, 

    Which version of Windows are you using... your step # 5 is non-existent in Win 7 Home Premium. 

    Thanks,

    -Brad

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-01-29T14:44:05+00:00

    I also wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how to connect to an already paired bluetooth gadget.  The solution was to make sure that it was not connected to any other device, including the Windows7 computer I wanted to reconnect it to.

    If the bluetooth gadget hasn't been turned off or reset since the last time since it was connected to your Windows7 computer, it may be remembering the old connection.  To fix that, turn the gadget off.  That should wipe the connection to other devices too.  If you've got a headset, you might need to pull the battery.

    Connecting and disconnecting can be done on Windows 7 with a couple clicks.  Here's what works for me:

    1. Pair your bluetooth gadget.
    2. Click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray (Bluetooth must be

    turned on.  If it is and the Bluetooth icon isn't there, restore it

    following instructions).

    1. Click on "show bluetooth devices"
    2. In the popup window , click on the icon of the Bluetooth gadget you

    want to connect/disconnect.

    1. In the next popup, you'll see a connect button if you are connected;

    or a disconnect button if you aren't.

    1. Pin this popup to the taskbar.
    2. Now, to connect:
    3. If some device is already connected to your bluetooth gadget,

    you must disconnect that device first.

    1. Then, click on the bluetooth icon you've added to the taskbar.
    2. And, click the popup's connect button.  Your device should

    connect.

    1. Before connecting some other device to your bluetooth gadget:
    2. Click on the bluetooth icon you've added to the taskbar
    3. Click the popup's disconnect button.
    4. Then, you can connect your other device

    In the future, then it should be necessary only to remember to disconnect the gadget before connecting it to a new device.

    Hope this helps,

    Scott

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