0

What does "connected" mean with Bluetooth devices on Windows?

Observation that prompted this question:
1. I paired a Bluetooth device with my laptop (Windows 8.1).
2. The screen said, "pairing..." then "connected."
3. I was then able to receive data from the device and send it to a program I wrote.
4. I restarted the computer and checked the Bluetooth device list and my device was "paired" (not "connected" like before).

The part that confuses me is that I could start my program up and read data from the devices even though it said "paired" as the status and not "connected." I know that paired is similar to introducing a device to a system (I read about it here). However, given my observation, I don't see what the difference between paired and connected is. It seems like I can transmit data whether I'm connected or just paired.

Community
  • 1
  • 1
JustBlossom
  • 1,259
  • 3
  • 24
  • 53

1 Answers1

0

I figured out what was going on. It has nothing to do with different paired and connected definitions in Windows but with how BT and BLE work. In Windows, when you send data over Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy, the notification that something is being sent establishes the connection between the computer and the device.

I tested this using Bluetooth and BLE and as soon as the device stopped sending data, the status went to "paired." When it started sending data again, it changed to "connected."

Here is a link to the MSDN forums that pointed me in the right direction.

JustBlossom
  • 1,259
  • 3
  • 24
  • 53