Sometimes we are in too much of a hurry (or on calls constantly) to plug our Shadows with a USB cable. This is where Bluetooth sync comes in handy. This How-To is for Windows computers. You will need a Windows Vista or XP computer with Bluetooth. If yours doesn’t have Bluetooth you can always buy a Bluetooth USB dongle on the cheap and install the software yourself (I suggest IOGear as they are a well known company). If you want to learn more about setting this up read more.
The process is fairly simple. You need to establish a partnership between your PC and the Shadow (or any Windows Mobile Smartphone) To do this you need to make the Shadow visible over Bluetooth. Go to Start > Comm Manager > Settings > Bluetooth > Bluetooth > Menu > Turn On Visibility.
Next you need your PC to find the Shadow over Bluetooth. This might differ from PC to PC but basically on your PC go to Start > Control Panel > Bluetooth Devices > Add. This is where it might differ wildly. At this point you should be guided through a discovery process and the Shadow should show up in the list of devices.
When you select the Shadow to be added you will be asked to choose a pass key. Consider this a PIN between your PC and Smartphone. It can be whatever you want. Enter it on the PC and you will be asked to enter the pass key on the Shadow. Once you have done these few steps a partnership will be created. Sometimes you will be asked to confirm the services you want to use. Make sure you select Activesync on both the PC and Shadow if you get a choice.
Now to enable syncing over Bluetooth. On Vista go to Start > Windows Mobile Device Center > Mobile Device Settings. Make sure that the box is checked for “Allow connections to one of the following” and the drop down box has Bluetooth selected. For XP users, Go to Start > Activesync > File > Connection Settings > Check the box ‘Allow Connections to one of the following’ > and ensure Bluetooth is selected. If it doesn’t show in the list then it wasn’t installed correctly.
Now to initiate the syncing from the Shadow. Go to Start > Activesync > Menu > Connect Via Bluetooth. Your Smartphone should begin connecting with your PC. If you have already synced with this PC before then you won’t need to establish a new Sync partnership.
Because of the wide variety of 3rd party Bluetooth stacks and software it can be difficult to troubleshoot problems. Most Vista PCs that come with Bluetooth will have the same process as described above.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:15 am
Yeah good stuff there. I’ve synced up with my laptop and made calls where the speakerphone function on the shadow uses the speakers on my laptop, quite usefull since the showdows speakerphone ranks right up there with speaking into a tin can. I have also synced up to my laptop and played music from my shadow (4 GB micro sd) onto my laptop. There are even more fuctions i have yet to use too, the list goes on and on!
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:45 am
Not to turn this posting into a help forum, but….
I have tried setting up the activesync over bluetooth with my PC and it just doesn’t seem to work. My Shadows only gives the Wireless Stereo and Serial Port options, not activesync.
My PC is running XP, and seems to be using the Toshiba Bluetooth stack for windows. Is there a better generic Bluetooth software I can install?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Sean -
Go to Start Menu / ActiveSync. Under menu - connect via bluetooth
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
sean -
i’m having the same problems, running xp and i cant seem to find the connect via bluetooth in any of the activesync options..
im guessing maybe this is just a vista feature? since vista doesnt use activesync, but the new mobile connection device wizard?
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I do get to select Com Ports, maybe there is somewhere hidden in there, I am going to play with COM Port settings, but I do wish I had the nice simple connect via Bluetooth option, have it on the phone, not on the PC.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
XP Users try connecting without finding that checkbox.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
mmm how do you guys know if your pc has bluetooth?
Cus i’ve been looking in my PC and i can’t find the bluetooth!!!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
doea any know how to sync bluetooth with a mac?
April 24th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Manuel, when I bought my PC I ordered it with bluetooth. But if you look at the control panel you should see a bluetooth option, I also show an icon in my task bar.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:55 am
Everyone with Xp, sometimes the Bluetooth stack will be listed as a com port. You will have to look around your Bluetooth Settings in Control Panel or in Device Manager to find which one it is using. PLay with it a bit. I know it’s a pain as it took me a while to get it set up in XP as well.
CZAR, check out MissingSync that might help you out.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:39 am
You can’t sync music via bluetooth, correct? I suppose bluetooth would be too slow.