Bluetooth & Skype

Stuart Henshall 18 February 2005 9:41 am

Anders is the expert on the Skype Forums for sharing and solving Bluetooth headset problems. See his notes CLICK HERE. He also reports that Thinkpads (with inbuilt Bluetooth) have other problems This thread may help. It may just be easier to buy one of the latest BT dongles.
This is the best document I’ve found so far for setting up your Window’s PC with Bluetooth for use with a Bluetooth headset. Bluetake is also making some neat Hi-Fi Stereo capable headsets.
Bluetake PDF Instructions
If you still have problems this short tech note may provide further help for getting your bluetooth headset to work with Skype.
Instructions from Jon Stanley
If you would like to write the insturctions for Windows, Mac, or Linux solutions we’d like to hear from you!

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Andrew dunstall

Setting up a Bluetooth headset with OSX.
I recently purchased the Plantronics M2500 (http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/productName/M2500) headset to use with Skype. A perfect match.
Sound quality is great, without the feedback problems when using a microphone and speakers.
To use the headset you will need bluetooth capability on the Mac. I use an eMac, so my best option for adding Bluetooth is the D-Link Bluetooth USB Adapter (http://www.dlink.com/products/?model=DBT-120). The adapter must be a revision B or later model.
The headset cost me $95.00 Australian and the adapter was $80.00.
Macintosh OSX comes with some Bluetooth software but you will need Bluetooth Update 1.5 (http://www.apple.com/isync/download/).
You will also need to update the D-Links firmware for it to recognise the headset.
The firware update is available at: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/bluetoothfirmwareupdater12.html. Once downloaded, look in the Aplications/Utilities folder. In there you will find the “Bluetooth Firmware Updater” application. Double-click on its icon and read the on screen prompts for installation. Make sure your computer doesn’t go into sleep mode during the installation (turn off sleep mode in the energy saver panel in System Preferences under the Apple menu).
The update will take approx. 15 minutes.
Once the two pieces of software have been correctly installed, you need to pair the headset to the Mac. This is accomplished by running the Bluetooth Setup Assistant (Applications/Utilities folder). Select Headset from the list of available Bluetooth devices, click continue and hold down the “call control” button on the headset while simultaneously rotating the headset multi-function dial upwards.
The headset will appear in the list of devices.
Once this is complete, open Skype and select Preferences (from the Skype menu). Select the Audio tab and change both Audio output and Audio input to “M2500 by Plantronics”.
That’s it.
karnail

hi..
i have a question…cant we use blue tooth enabled phones paired with the pc via the bluetooth dongle to communicate instead of using the bluetooth headpiece.
Nick Bessas

Hi,
i have a qtek 8010 smartphone and i want to use it via USB or Bluetooth as regular Skype phone. know anybody something?
Thanks Nick
Eddie

Andrew, Also have OSX and tried to connect an M2500 Plantronics with BT D-link but can’t set up, Bluetooth Setup Assistant keeps giving messge Failed to set up the headset. Headsets are not supported on your bluetooth hardware. Any ideas?
dramaprof

Well. For a while I was using my Jabra BT 250 perfectly with Skype on my new Mac Powerbook G4 and was happy as a clam. Then I got a wireless router. Unplugged the Ethernet cable. Wireless worked fine, but suddenly my machine couldn’t find my headset, and of course, neither could Skype. Discovered that I have to delete and reconfigure the pairing every time I change internet connections (from Airport to Ethernet and vice versa), which I have to do frequently. I have wireless at home, but don’t at the office.
The good news is that I discovered out of the blue that Skype works perfectly well with my Powerbook’s built-in speakers and internal microphone. Just a little bit of muffling/distortion. Now I need to test whether the delay I’ve been experiencing with the headset goes away when I use my internal audio capability.
Anyone have similar experiences/insights?
Sarah

Tried setting up my Plantronis M2500 with my Belkin dongle, but keep getting the “Headsets are not supported on your bluetooth hardware” message. Do the above instructions only work with a specific type of Bluetooth dongle ?
Andrew Dunstall

Hey Eddie,
You HAVE to update the bluetooth firmware, go here:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/bluetoothfirmwareupdater12.html
download and install, the installer will put the file in Utilities folder (from memory I thibk thats where it goes). Run the update and then try again.
Beleive me, it works like a charm, but you must update the firmware.
I went to the local Apple reseller here in Sydney and they told me that the D-Link won’t work with Skype – unfortunately they speak with forked tongue, because I use it all the time.
Let me know how you go after the update.
Andrew Dunstall

If you get this “Headsets are not supported on your bluetooth hardware” error message – download the bluetooth firmware update from here:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/bluetoothfirmwareupdater12.html
This is all explained above, so read carefuly and follow ALL the steps.
Kai

The Plantronics M2500 is on sale for US$9.99 tomorrow at Radio Shack from 6-Noon (Black Friday).
Well it’s $29.99 instead of $59.99, and then you get a $20 mail-in rebate!
Arnout Engelen

Like Sarah, I also have another dongle (a Trust BT-1300Tp / 14377 in my case). This dongle is not supported by the firmware updater (“This computer does not have an Apple Bluetooth module installed. It cannot be updated by this application”), but it should be Bluetooth V1.2-compatible already. Unfortunately, I still get “Failed to set up the headset. Headsets are not supported on your Bluetooth hardware” when attempting to pair.
The list on http://trust.com/service/help/bluetooth/#8 does seem to suggets that this device supports headsets, though i’m not entirely certain how to interpret that table.
Any ideas?
Arnout Engelen

It seems headset support on mac just doesn’t work with many non-D-link USB Bluetooth adapters – see also http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=222035&tstart=0
icefaya

hi, i have a powerbook g4 with mac os x 10.4.4. i tried discovering my bluetooth headset (jabra bt 250v), but it doesnt detect it. i looked at some forums, and got the firmware updater but it keeps saying ‘no bluetooth module installed’. any help would be appreciated.
vinhnguyen90250

I have an IBook G4, a Zoom bluetooth adapter ,and a bluetooth headset Plantronics 320. I’d like to use my headset for voice chat .
I had no prolem to set up and paired my headset with the IBook,but my headset couldn’t connect with the computer.when validaing , it says :device does not have necessary services. Is there any way to fix this problem . Thanks a lot
Riverjack

I just wanted to let everyone know that after reading the post and wanting to do this, I tried out the plantronics 2500 and everything worked. I have a Powerbook G4 running the latest version of Tiger as of this date. I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t work because of some wierdness with Apple and the bluetooth updates, but as my bluetooth is internal I didn’t have any issues. Following the instructions from this post I got my headset to work great with Skype – very clear and good range. I also could use the headset with my Nokia N70, a nice bonus that helped make the money even more worth it rather than buying a Skype only handset.
Brian

I tried a Motorola Bluetooth headset and iBook G4 with Tiger from my mobile and it worked fine first time
michael

does anyone know how to help with a mac powerbook g4 using a regular headset on skype. the mac will not allow for the input microphone to setting to stay and automatically switches to the built-in microphone. can not use it well with lots of feedback.
G.D. Warner

Michael –
I am using a G4 PowerBook, and a no-name headset (has a headphone plug and a microphone plug). To use it, I connect the microphone plug to a Griffin iMic, and plug that into a USB port.
A friend in Canda says I sound like I’m using a regular phone.
If you can’t wait to get an iMic, try setting up a new location and see if the new settings hold for your audio.
Good luck ….
–gdw
Diplomat

I just bought a headset and bluetooth USB Dongle expecting them to tie up seamlessly so I could use the bluetooth headset with Skype but I had all sorts of problems.
Straight out of the box, with basic install of drivers from CD it all worked nicely up to a point. The Headset managed to bind with the usb adapter easily.
But then when i tried to use the headset I would find that I would hear about 5 seconds of audio then it would stop. Pressing the multifunction button on the headset twice would bring back the audio, but only for another 5 seconds.
I searched for articles like this, tried all the suggestions, wasted hours. It still didn’t work.
Today I phoned the support line for my Bluetooth USB Adapter and the guy asked me the model number of my headset. “Yes, there’s a problem with the Widcomm stack in the bluetooth adapter for that headset and for quite a few others.” I was told to send in the Bluetooth dongle for a flash update – because the downloadable driver executable fix was not ready yet. I hope that fixes the problem for me, but if you’re getting my problem, don’t bother trying to fix it yourself, you’ll just lose sleep. Call the support no otherwise there will never be a widespread fix and unless you know the bluetooth stack inside out you’ll have a job to fix it yourself.
http://www.PromotionalConcepts.com PromoBob

I have a power book G4 running OS X10.4.4 and am looking to purchase a bluetooth headset I can use with Skype first and if possible, with my treo 650 second. If anyone can point me the right direction I would greatly appreciate it! I have been searching and cannot locate anything. Thank you.
Anand Sunka

I am using Motorola Bluetooth Dongle N136 & SYN1244A & Bluetooth Motorola Headset but it’s not giving any sound from Headset. Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack2 & and tried installing Skype 2.5 version, then also it’s giving same problem. I did each & every setting in Skype & MSN messenger.
But it’s working with Headset.
Thanz regards
Anand Sunk
+ 91 22 9892997435
shoot-out

i’ve got a new plantronics P590 with a brand new macbookpro (intel). bluetooth assistant doesn’t find the headsets. what’s wrong? my elderly bleuberry not a problem at all.
Thanks in advance
Ross

Hi,
I’m about to get a macbook and I’m wondering if/how I’ll be able to hook it up to my Nokia bluetooth earpiece using its in-built bluetooth capability. What I’ve read so far is a good indication that it should all come together.

What I’d like to know is if the accept/end call buttons will work, or will I have a permanently open audio connection to the earpiece. I’ve seen third party software that will enable the buttons, etc, but I’d rather not fork out for it just yet…

Thanks,
Ross
Emily Brown

Hi. How do I turn off the internal microphone on my ibook g4? I don’t want any microphone at all but i cant seem to do that.
Marc

I have the m2500 and bought it to use with skype on
1. home pc
2. hp rx3715 pda
with my pc the bluetooth will connect however the ‘connection’ noise which you get when you connect to a device with the m2500 just keeps sounding.
With my pda the two wont even pair :(
http://www.lunamania.org/2006/09/fun_wskype.php Lunamania v.3!

Fun w/Skype

I recently joined Skype and wanted to see if I could untether myself from the computer by connecting via the bluetooth headset for my cellphone. A small gripe– Skype is cool, free technology, but I did not appreciate the lack…
Zeeshan

How can I use my compaq nx6110′s bluetooth with my Nokia N70 to make handfree calls on Skype?
http://www.WholeSystemInnovation.com Vic Desotelle

1-I am running Skype on an Apple Powerbook and attempting to use an H500 Motorola Bluetooth headset/earpiece, but it locks up my computer. What am I doing wrong?
2-Or, can you suggest another bluetooth earpiece that works with Apple/Skype setup?
thanks, Vic
Lars Eckle

can someone tell me how to use a Plantronics P590 with skype?
Mark

Hi,
I have a t43 IBM with built in bluetooth. My Sony Ericsson HBH 610a is recognized by the built in bluetooth software. However, when I go into Skype to tools/options/sound devices I can’t select ‘bluetooth’ under audio in. I downloaded the most recent version of skype. What else can i try? the other threads are a little confusing. Thanks!
Majithia

Have a Jabra BT205 and have a logitech MX900 wireless mouse connected to my laptop, thourhg its bluetooth receiver which detects my phone and various other bluetooth devices, but fails to detetc my jabra headset. Please advise. thanks.
Nigel Thomson

Hello
I have a Plantronics Bluetooth headset paired with my Powerbook G4 running OSX 10.3.9
It works but the sound quality is bad. I understand I need something called A2DP installed. Is this true and if so how do I do it ?
Thanks
Nigel
Uyi

I am not sure if this group is only for apple users, but I have been trying to use a plantronics 320 bluetooth headset with a dongle for skype on my windows xp laptop. they are paired but i hear no sound and the mic doesnt work either. any help please?