Setting up a bluetooth headset with XP

[Pollock]

I've got a Verizon branded Jabra BT135 that I'd like to use as a headset primarily for gaming. Is that a reasonable expectation? I already have a dongle, and I've paired the devices many times, but I for the life of me can't get it to be detected as a headset or anything or just plain work. It doesn't help that XP's headset support is confusing (Vista didn't seem any better, either), and my X-Fi almost certainly compounds the problem, since it sucks so much.

Well, any words of advice?

 

[Pollock]

Bump

 

[Peter]

Does your bluetooth dongle support the required profile?

 

[chizow]

What exactly are you trying to accomplish by using the BT headset? Voice Comms only through specific games or Vent/TS? I have a BT head set working fine in Vista, although I didn't set it up in XP it should work the same and I have had multiple sound cards set-up in XP for the same purpose (onboard for voice, Audigy/X-Fi for game sounds through receiver).

Here's a list of things to try though:

• 1) Make sure the BT Headset is being detected by XP through Control Panel or the Sound Device panel. The Driver should be a generic XP USB BT headset driver. The Headset should essentially be recognized as a separate sound device.
  
  2) Once you've confirmed its recognized by Windows (if not try unplugging the adapter, then plugging it back in, check Device Manager and make sure there's no conflicts or yellow ?s), make sure you sync/pair/enable the headset itself to the Dongle. On my Plantronics 910 I need to hit the talk button to toggle it over to the USB key, at which the USB key starts flashing showing its in USB/PC mode and not BT/phone mode.
  
  3) After that, you'll need to configure each app/game to default to the BT headset for whatever purpose you want it to use. Typically you only need to do this once as the settings will be saved into the .cfg or .ini of the app/game after that. However, if you start the apps up later with the headset disconnected, they may revert back to the X-Fi as default settings.
  
  For example, in Vent/TS, if you go to to Settings, you should have a drop-down menu for both voice recording and playback. Default setting may be DirectSound or SB X-Fi. Change these to BT headset (this is why the device needs to be recognized by Windows, as its essentially another sound card/device).

End result is that for Ventrilo/TS, I get voice chat and recording solely through my BT headset as long as its enabled and recognized by Windows and game sounds in 5.1 through my X-Fi and Receiver. In games that support multi-audio devices, I can also use both devices. In games that don't allow for multiple audio device set-up, I get voice recording through the headset and both game and voice through the speakers.

 

[Pollock]

Originally posted by: Peter
Does your bluetooth dongle support the required profile?

Hmm, I got some cheap no-name maybe a year ago. Is there any way to tell if it can or not, without knowing the model?

Edit:
Just generally VoIP in games. Maybe I will eventually use it with Ventrillo or Skype, but mainly, it's for games right now.

I've paired them, but I don't see any "generic XP USB BT headset" devices of the such at all. Under the voice tab of sounds and audio properties, the only device that shows up is the X-Fi. I'm not worrying about game-specific issues yet; I'd just like to get it recognized first. Do all BT headsets have separate PC and phone modes?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Pollock
Hmm, I got some cheap no-name maybe a year ago. Is there any way to tell if it can or not, without knowing the model?

It should work regardless of make AFAIK. I think MS took over driver support with USB 2.0 to ensure universal compatibility with their OSes. Great in theory I guess...but MS USB support hasn't exactly been stellar. Unless your headset isn't compatible with their USB spec it should work.

But like I said, just plug it in, you should get the hardware detection icon in the system tray followed by some confirmations whether its enabled or not. Then go to device manager or control panel > sound and see if its showing up as an enabled device.

 

[Pollock]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: Pollock
Hmm, I got some cheap no-name maybe a year ago. Is there any way to tell if it can or not, without knowing the model?

It should work regardless of make AFAIK. I think MS took over driver support with USB 2.0 to ensure universal compatibility with their OSes. Great in theory I guess...but MS USB support hasn't exactly been stellar. Unless your headset isn't compatible with their USB spec it should work.

But like I said, just plug it in, you should get the hardware detection icon in the system tray followed by some confirmations whether its enabled or not. Then go to device manager or control panel > sound and see if its showing up as an enabled device.

That was in reference to Peter and profiles. I've seen them mentioned before, but nothing useful. Also, see my edit above that addresses your post (didn't see yours).

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Pollock
I've paired them, but I don't see any "generic XP USB BT headset" devices of the such at all. Under the voice tab of sounds and audio properties, the only device that shows up is the X-Fi. I'm not worrying about game-specific issues yet; I'd just like to get it recognized first. Do all BT headsets have separate PC and phone modes?

If the adapter isn't being recognized by the OS at all, then its probably not going to work for you. Again, pretty sure MS took over USB driver support with USB 2.0, so unless there's a custom driver out there for your adapter you may be SOL if the adapter isn't compatible with MS' USB audio driver.

 

[Pollock]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: Pollock
I've paired them, but I don't see any "generic XP USB BT headset" devices of the such at all. Under the voice tab of sounds and audio properties, the only device that shows up is the X-Fi. I'm not worrying about game-specific issues yet; I'd just like to get it recognized first. Do all BT headsets have separate PC and phone modes?

If the adapter isn't being recognized by the OS at all, then its probably not going to work for you. Again, pretty sure MS took over USB driver support with USB 2.0, so unless there's a custom driver out there for your adapter you may be SOL if the adapter isn't compatible with MS' USB audio driver.

No no, the USB bluetooth adapter is recognized, I could successfully pair the headset, but I couldn't use the headset for anything.

Anyway, at some point yesterday, I tried the BlueSoleil stack, and I miraculously got it working somehow, and recorded myself. The configuration worked in TF2, although I quit to do something else in the interim. I must have changed something between then and when I next played TF2, though, because nobody was hearing me. :shrug;

I think I'll figure it out sooner or later, after a million or so pairings and unpairings.