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Apparently Windows Server 2012 does not support Bluetooth out of the box? Is there any way to get Bluetooth to work?

I went to the manufacturers' website and found this link: http://www.present-with-confidence.com/smklink-downloads/VP6493-software.zip

But, the problem is that it installs a Toshiba bluetooth stack software, which happens to bundle in the drivers (I can't install just the drivers because the INF files are not present -- perhaps embedded in the exe). Afterwards, it tells me I have 30 days remaining for evaluation... so I want to avoid using Toshiba's software (since this is not a Toshiba machine).

Anyone have any luck getting the appropriate bluetooth drivers for Windows Server 2012?

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8 Answers 8

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I have found solution here: http://www.win2008workstation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=2108&start=50

Hey guys, I know this thread hasn't seen any real activity since December but I figure this is a good place to chime in anyway:

I've been playing around with getting Bluetooth working on Server 2012 Datacenter+GUI that I have installed on my Lenovo T500 ThinkPad. I've taken this about as far as I have time to, and figured I'd share in the hopes of someone else being able to contribute.

Driver/Registry Pack

Modified Broadcom Drivers

The driver/registry pack was made using files from a Win 8 Pro iso direct downloaded from MS; so a clean base. I ripped out all the Bluetooth related drivers/registry stuff I thought would be required.

Things currently working: 1) Bluetooth devices/drivers are all showing and installed. 2) You can access the Bluetooth settings for the PC. 3) You can make the PC discoverable by other devices, and change it's name. 4) The Bluetooth settings icon is present in the Control Panel. 5) The Bluetooth settings icon is present in the right-click menu of your computer in Devices & Printers.

Things currently not working: 1) Using Bluetooth at all in a normal boot; you need to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement each time. 2) Discovering other devices; while your computer can be seen it is blind to other devices. 3) Initiating a pairing request from a remote device does not pop up with the pairing notification on the PC; you can't see the PIN or complete pairing. 4) The system tray icon is not present; the bttray.exe program will run, but the icon isn't visible. 5) The control panel settings icon doesn't open the settings; if you manually execute the command executed by the icon it works. (Also works as above if you access the settings through the right-click menu of your computer in Devices & Printers)

To install: 1) Boot to safe mode. 2) Extract zip file. 3) Copy the contents of the whole "Windows" folder in the zip to your Windows install directory; overwriting when prompted. Note: If you get permissions errors while copying and can't sort them out, I used the Tweaking.com Windows Repair v1.9.4 (not 1.9.6 or higher, they won't work) to apply only the Registry and File permissions repairs. 4) Once the files have been successfully copied, shut down the machine. 5) Start the machine back up and boot it with "Driver Signature Enforcement" disabled, using the F8 menu at startup. 6) Go to the extracted files and run the "InstallDrivers.bat" (as administrator if applicable). 7) Follow the prompts and click "Install this driver software anyway" or Yes/OK on all the boxes that pop up. Hopefully there are no errors. 8) Reboot the machine, again booting with signature enforcement disabled.

At this point you are as close to the Bluetooth support in a stock Win8 install as I can get you; however just as on Win8, you may also want to install third-party Bluetooth drivers to get everything working. The modified Broadcom drivers posted above are the latest ones from their website with simple inf modifications to get them to play nice on 2012. Simply run the setup as normal once extracted from the Zip. Repeat step 8, and now you're as functional as me!

I have installed my native bluetooth drivers instead of Broadcom - it works for me.

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Windows Server 2012 doesn’t support Bluetooth, so you need a third-party stack.

You could try extracting the Toshiba Bluetooth drivers using 7-zip or Universal Extractor. Or you can dump the currently installed drivers using Driver Magician Lite for later re-installation after uninstalling the Toshiba package.

But I really advice against using Toshiba drivers if you don't have a Toshiba adapter. Get a Bluetooth package from the manufacturer of your adapter, in the hope that it works in Server 2012.

As Bluetooth drivers and stack are normally freeware, I am at a loss to explain the 30 days evaluation status of your Toshiba software.

You might add to your post more details about your computer and Bluetooth adapter models, so we could offer some more specific advice.

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    The manufacturer of my bluetooth dongle (smk-link) is only willing to provide the Toshiba software. Also, as my machine is not a Toshiba machine, it gives me a 30 day evaluation warning. I will try Driver Magician Lite, perhaps after finding some better software than the Toshiba stack. For now, I've been attempting to extract the necessary library and inf files from a Windows 7 install... I'm thinking maybe I should try to extract them from a Windows 8 install instead though.
    – myermian
    Nov 15, 2012 at 13:57
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I found a post on another website that stated the SMK Nano Dongle Bluetooth 4.0 LE +EDR available from Amazon worked just fine on a 2012 R2 server. So I gave it a try and it worked. I was able to pair an Apple Magic Mouse and Apple wireless keyboard to my Win 2012R2 server with no issues. I did need to reboot in order to see the Bluetooth icon in the lower left tray. All I had to do was right click on the Bluetooth icon and select add a device from the context menu and select keyboard/mouse. When you pair the keyboard, be sure to hit the Enter key on the Apple keyboard after you have entered the pairing key.

The following 2 tips worked for Windows 7 but not for Win Server 2012 2k: One tip for getting Ctl+Alt+Del to work on the Apple wireless keyboard as Option(Alt) + Ctl + Fn(delete) is to download the bootcamp (just google bootcamp) install files. No need to try and install them all. Just extract them to a folder and install the driver for the keyboard. Path to keyboard driver install file = BootCamp5.1.5621\BootCamp\Drivers\Apple\AppleKeyboardInstaller64.exe. This will enable you to perform the traditional 3 finger salute to access the login screen.

Also, to add all the magic mouse functions, you will need to install the mouse driver from the bootcamp download folder. Path = BootCamp5.1.5621\BootCamp\Drivers\Apple\AppleWirelessMouse64.exe.

For Windows Server 2012 R2 the best I can do to get Ctl + Alt + Del to work is to click on the accessibility icon in the low right of the Legacy Desktop and select the on screen key board From there I can get the logon screen and enter my password with my Apple Key board. Still, I do like using the Apple Keyboard and Magic Mouse.

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  1. Purchase Soundbot Bluetooth Dongle from Amazon
  2. Install Drivers with included disc or download from here.
    The default installation may not place the Bluetooth Icon on your task bar, nor will the Bluetooth device automatically re-connect after a restart. I completed the below steps to solve that issue.

  3. From "Control Panel", select "Device Manager", select Bluetooth Radios - "CSR Bluetooth Radio"

  4. Then select "Properties", then click "Driver" from the top tabs.
  5. Then click "Update Driver",
  6. Then click "Browser my computer for driver software",
  7. Then click "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".
  8. Select "CSR Bluetooth Radio" and click "Next" -

Server 2012R2 will then install all the modules necessary for Bluetooth Communications. View image for confirmation

If you do not op to complete steps 3 - 8 and your device does not re-connect after a re-start or disconnect, this solution worked in the past:

  • Right click on the Bluetooth icon on the taskbar,
  • Then "Turn On Off Radio"
  • Then "Turn On Radio"

The radio will seek for previously connected devices.

img - Server 2012R2 with Active Bluetooth Connection - Beat Wireless Headphones 1st Gen

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Updating this helpful old thread to say that the "SMK Nano Dongle Bluetooth 4.0 LE +EDR" adapter also successfully enables Bluetooth audio on Windows Server 2016, when using the manufacturer supplied drivers and software stack. I downloaded the latest drivers from SMKLink on the same day of this post.

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After much uninstalling and re-installing, I finally have bluetooth working on server 2012 r2.

Plugged-in an old TrendNet USB dongle, then installed Toshiba Stack v9.10. TSv9 recognised my bluetooth dongle and installed. The Toshiba software can see my bluetooth devices, but will not pair with anything.

So I installed Bluesoleil, v10. Enabled my bluetooth dongle through BS and it pairs with all my BT devices. Took a while for BS to recognise services provided by my BT devices, (I have no idea why device service detection started working, but it did), and now I have keyboard, audio and personal area network working.

Only problem now is the BS has limited data transfer until it is activated.

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It's called Bluetooth Stack for Windows by Toshiba v9.20.02(T) and you can find it here: https://dynabook.com/assistpc/download/modify/soft/btswt/index_j.htm It's in Japanese, and the driver is the only link with an executable extension.

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The Toshiba driver works with server 2012 R2 and a Tecra A11, M50... Your Bluetooth driver will only work unless you have A Wireless N with Bluetooth embedded with it'

Bluetooth Stack for Windows XP/Vista/7 (32/64) by Toshiba Posted Date: 2015-12-30 | Version: 7.10.01(T) | Size: 76.53M

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  • A usb dongle will work to.
    – Bob
    Jan 6, 2016 at 3:33
  • So where precisely does one find this driver?
    – Ramhound
    Jan 6, 2016 at 15:15

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