How to Check the Bluetooth Version of Your Windows PC and Upgrade to Bluetooth 5

You probably use Bluetooth every day to listen to music through your wireless headphones or a speaker. Or use a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard with your computer.

You may not need to know the Bluetooth version of your PC because your devices will work fine with it. However, newer technologies such as Bluetooth 5 offer several advantages – in order to take advantage of them, you should first know the Bluetooth version of your PC. So let’s explore how you can do that and how easy it is to upgrade to Bluetooth 5.

How to check which Bluetooth version your Windows PC supports

You can find out which version of Bluetooth your computer supports in the Device Manager on your PC. Let’s see how:

1. Open Device Manager by right-clicking the window System tray icon and selector device manager. Or type device manager in Windows search and click Enter.

2. Click on that Arrow next to Bluetooth to expand the Bluetooth category. You may find many Bluetooth items in the list, including any devices you have connected to your computer, such as phones, speakers, and headphones. You can identify them by their name, model number, or brand.

3. But what you need to look for is your PC’s Bluetooth adapter. The name of the adapter depends on which one is installed on your PC. It could have the word adapter or adapter at the end. In the screenshot below it is like that Mediatek bluetooth adapter. Or it could be something like Intel(R) Bluetooth Wireless(R). However, the name does not contain an enumerator, so you can skip these elements.

4. If you can’t figure out what to look for, right-click each item you think is the adapter and click its Characteristics.

5. The Bluetooth adapter has the Progressive tab in his Characteristicsthe other articles do not.

6. Click on that Progressive tab, search firmware or firmware versionand check the version number of LMP. LMP is the abbreviation of Link Manager Protocol and you can know the Bluetooth version of your PC from the LMP version. As you can see in the screenshot below, the LMP version is 6.6– which means this PC supports Bluetooth 4.0 and below.

7. To check and determine your PC’s Bluetooth version, refer to the LMP Bluetooth table below. And just match your LMP version to Bluetooth version number.

Can you use Bluetooth 5 devices on your old PC?

So you have checked the Bluetooth version of your PC and found that it is Bluetooth 4.2, 4.0 or older. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t opt ​​for devices with Bluetooth 5 or higher.

Bluetooth 5 is backwards compatible with older versions of Bluetooth, and Bluetooth 5 devices such as headphones will work with your Bluetooth 4 PC. However, they only work as Bluetooth 4.2 headphones. You cannot use the advanced features of Bluetooth 5.

For example, a cool feature of Bluetooth 5 is that you can connect two headphones or two Bluetooth speakers to your PC at the same time. You can even stream your favorite songs to your headphones while playing another piece of music for your friend through their speaker from your PC.

In addition, Bluetooth 5 has a range of 40 meters indoors, four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2. This means you can enjoy music on your wireless headphones even when you are far away from your PC. There will also be fewer audio dropouts.

Bluetooth 5 offers higher reliability and also consumes less power, which means longer battery life. So your headphones will run longer between charges.

Bluetooth 5 is also faster, with data transfer speeds of up to 2Mbps, which is twice the rate of Bluetooth 4.2. You can read our article about a few steps you need to take to ensure fast Bluetooth transfers.

You can upgrade your old PC to Bluetooth 5

You’ll be pleased to know that it’s fairly easy to enable Bluetooth 5, 5.1 or 5.2 support on your Bluetooth 4 Windows PC. You just need to buy a Bluetooth USB adapter and connect it to your computer.

You can easily buy Bluetooth 5 USB adapters online. They are inexpensive and also come in tiny sizes, like a mini USB drive that you can plug in and out of.

If you prefer to opt for the higher Bluetooth 5.1 or 5.2 versions, these adapters are also available. Yes, they are more expensive but won’t break the bank.

First, disable your PC’s built-in Bluetooth adapter

Before installing and using your Bluetooth 5 USB adapter, you must disable your PC’s Bluetooth adapter. This will ensure that you don’t encounter stability issues and conflicts as Windows may recognize the old adapter.

To disable your old adapter:

1. Open Device Manager by right-clicking the window System tray icon and selector device manager.
2. Expand that Bluetooth Category and right click on yours Bluetooth adapter.
3. Then select disable device option from the menu that opens.

4. You will be prompted to confirm if you want to continue as Disabling this device will cause it to stop working. click Yes confirm.

Once this is done, your PC will no longer interact with the old Bluetooth adapter and you should have no problems installing and using your new Bluetooth 5 adapter.

Check if your Bluetooth 5 adapter is recognized by your PC

Once you plug in the Bluetooth 5 adapter, the driver should install automatically if your PC is connected to the internet.

Then to make sure your Bluetooth 5 USB adapter is recognized:

1. Search for Bluetooth in Windows search and below Best Matchclick on Settings for Bluetooth and other devices. The Bluetooth settings page opens. Check if the Bluetooth on and a toggle switch is visible, which means that your Bluetooth 5 adapter has been installed correctly.

   If the Bluetooth on/off button is missing, there was a problem adding the Bluetooth 5 adapter and you should try again.

Once the adapter and its driver are installed correctly, you will see the Bluetooth 5 adapter listed below Bluetooth in device manager. Now you can connect Bluetooth 5 headphones and other devices and enjoy the benefits of advanced technology – like connecting multiple audio devices in Windows.

If you’re considering buying new wireless headphones, speakers or earbuds, check out our aptX Low Latency vs Bluetooth 5 comparison to make an informed decision.

Enjoy the latest Bluetooth devices with your Windows PC

Bluetooth technology is evolving and newer versions bring many exciting features. But you don’t have to wait until you buy a new PC for that – just upgrade to a higher Bluetooth version and enjoy the latest Bluetooth devices.