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I have a work laptop which (reportedly) has Bluetooth disabled in BIOS. This is naturally password protected so the "easy option" of simply changing the BIOS won't work.

This drives me nuts since it means I cannot use devices I want to use for keyboards, mice, etc, because many of them are Bluetooth only now (it IS 2013 afterall).

I know I can purchase cheap USB Bluetooth adapters but before I do this I want to make sure this will actually work.

  • Does disabling Bluetooth in BIOS also prevent USB Bluetooth adapters from working?

I am using Windows 7 on an HP Elitebook 8470 with enough admin rights to be able to install any software which the adapter would require.

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  • Have you asked your IT department to enable it?
    – CharlieRB
    Mar 15, 2013 at 14:52
  • @CharlieRB oh trust me, I've tried...
    – enderland
    Mar 15, 2013 at 15:07

3 Answers 3

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Yes, a USB Bluetooth device should work because the BIOS only controls the port the adapter is installed to on the motherboard.

Most USB Bluetooth devices connect themselves independent of system control. For instance, I have a laptop which doesn't have Bluetooth capability, yet I am able to use a USB Bluetooth wireless mouse.

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BIOS settings disable only the internal BT adapter. If you connect another BT adapter, it will work.

However, there's a lot of other restrictions your IT department could have applied, also to avoid using those kinds of device. It's always better to ask your IT manager to enable it, because "cracking" your company policies could get you fired

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Yes USB Bluetooth adapter should work.. Disabling the internal adapter from the BIOS would only mean that that particular device would not be memory mapped to the RAM memory and neither would the bluetooth drivers to interface with that memory would ever be loaded by the BIOS. However if other USB devices are enabled then there's no distinction at all and it should work properly like any usb powered device...

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