Dell laptop Bluetooth not working: Windows 10, Windows 7

Dell laptops come equipped with Bluetooth functionality. This allows your device to connect wirelessly to a variety of devices, such as speakers, keyboards, a mouse, etc.

How to fix the Bluetooth on Windows 10?

The Bluetooth icon is not in My Taskbar

If the Bluetooth icon is not in your taskbar in Windows 10, go to Settings and then find Bluetooth & other devices. Check at the top of the window that Bluetooth is turned on, then scroll to the bottom and click More Bluetooth options. Under the Options tab, select Show Bluetooth icon in the notification area. Click Apply and the Bluetooth icon should appear in the taskbar. Clicking this icon allows you to manage your laptop’s Bluetooth settings.

Check if other devices connect

Before reinstalling the driver, first, check if you are able to connect with other Bluetooth devices. If you are able to connect via Bluetooth to another device, the issue could be with your device and not the laptop. If you are unable to connect to another device, turn the Bluetooth receiver on your laptop on and off. Then, try to reconnect. If this still does not fix the Bluetooth on your Dell laptop, you will need to download and reinstall the Bluetooth driver for your PC.

Download and reinstall the Bluetooth Driver

To get started, visit the Dell website. Go to Support, and select Drivers & Downloads. In the page that opens, search the model Inspiron 1525. Next, search and download Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module (Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR).

To reinstall the Bluetooth driver, go to your Downloads folder, or find where the download saved, and open the R140135.exe file. Open the C:\dell\drivers\R140135\3100_216 folder, and click Setup.exe. Select Cancel when prompted to activate the Bluetooth antenna, then open the C:\dell\drivers\R140135\3100_216\Win32 folder. Run the Inst.exe file, and select Next to start the installation. Then, open the C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software folder, and run BTTray.exe. Once you see the Bluetooth icon appear in the taskbar, right-click it to activate it.

N.B. During the installation, when prompted to activate Bluetooth, do not cancel.

How to fix the Bluetooth on Windows 7?

Fix Bluetooth from the Start menu

• Go to the Start menu and then type services.msc
• Select Services.
• From the long list, select Bluetooth support service and open it.
• Next, select Automatic, then the Log tab.
• From there, select This account.
• Now type Local service in the dialog box.
• Instead of choosing a password, delete the password dots and then the string under Confirm, so both password boxes are empty.
• Select Okay.
• You will get a message telling you to Stop the service before it takes effect, and then to Restart it.

Reinstall the driver

• Go to Dell's official website and find the correct driver for your device.
• You uninstall the old driver, then download the new one.
• Open the file containing the driver and open it. You can now follow the on-screen instructions.

Other solutions:

There are other things that you can try, however, we don't recommend them unless you have enough experience:

• Reset your system to factory settings: keep in mind that you may lose all the data.
• Reseat the Bluetooth card.

How to fix the Bluetooth on Windows 8.1?

You can try disabling and then enabling the Bluetooth from the Troubleshooter:

• Turn off the Bluetooth.
• Press the Windows key + W.
• Type Troubleshooting in the search bar. Press Enter.
• Select View All.
• Next, select Hardware and Devices.
• Go to Advanced > Run as Administrator.
• Click Next.
• You can now follow the on-screen instructions.
• Perform a clean boot.
• Enable Bluetooth connection.
• Check if it works.

If this solution doesn't work for you, you can try some of the suggestions that work for Windows 10, namely updating or reinstalling the driver.

Bluetooth doesn't appear in Device Manager: what to do?

One of the most common reasons for this is that the Bluetooth drivers are missing from the system. To fix this issue, we recommend heading to Dell's official page to find and download the appropriate drivers.