Kinivo USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC BTD400 (Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle Receiver, Low Energy) - Compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8, Raspberry Pi, Linux, Laptop & Headphones

I have been through several similar products and had a LOT of issues with those. You might say that I'm fairly tech savvy (I'm a C++/Java programmer, have setup/customized/maintained MANY Windows and Linux PCs, and have done driver troubleshooting before). Anyway, tried to resolve my issues on the other dongles but the problems I was having appeared to be from the drivers. *THIS PRODUCT* (Kinivo) worked pretty much out of the box (technically I installed from CD first and then from the web), on the first try, and I didn't have to do any deep dive troubleshooting. Had my headset working perfectly within minutes of the install! :-D For my setup, I have full tower pc behind a plasma tv and am mostly using this to pair with a really cheap wireless headset (for chatting while gaming). It is working perfectly with the Kinivo (great sound, great signal, relatively painless setup). Decently fast shipping. Can't think of any cons. In case, you are trying to decide between other products; here is some more info for reference: 1. Note: I will be using the smile.amazon.com links (proceeds towards non-profits of your choice). If you don't want to do that, just replace them with www.amazon.com. 2. My (admittedly cheap) BT headset is an "eForCity® Silver Bluetooth Headset". Amazon page - eForCity® Silver Bluetooth Headset 3. The first BT dongle that I tried (unsuccessfully) and had problems with was a SANOXY USB. IIRC, this was just using the basic Windows bluetooth drivers. Maybe it would have worked fine with a higher end headset... but since I was able to connect headset-to-phone without any sound issues, I'm blaming the drivers on the dongle. Amazon page - SANOXY® USB Bluetooth Wireless Adapter for HP, Gateway, eMachine, Dell or ANY Laptop/PC Running Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 200, XP, Vista & WINDOWS 7 4. The second BT dongle I had tried was the SoundBot SB340. This one had some CSR brand drivers but I also had a lot of problems getting my generic device to work correctly / not have horribly sound quality. Amazon page - SoundBot® SB340 Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter Universal Plug and Play Dongle Class 2 Transmitter (Newest Bluetooth Version Available) Ready Adapter w/ 3Mbps Data Transfer Rate and 10 meters Range, Compatible w/ Windows WIN8 WIN7 Vista 2003 XP 2000 Me 32/64 ... 5. I think I could connect and pair under both of the previous options, but I had a lot of problems with sound quality, particularly with white noise. No such problems with the Kinivo (I've already used it on Steam voice chat and my brother reported that I was coming in loud and clear). For the first 2 dongles, I had originally tried from my USB3.0 port which I later discovered USB3.0 can can interference problems with any wireless devices that use the 2.4GHz spectrum. I did try from my USB2.0 port as well, but no luck there either. The only major change since the first 2 is that I replaced my old 2', non-powered USB2 hub with a 6', powered USB2.0 so that it gets out from behind the TV better. This probably helps, but I believe my white noise problems on the other dongles were driver issues as I had also tested with the TV moved out of the way and clear LOS between the headset and the old dongles (and maybe 4-5' away) . If it works this well for my el cheapo headset, I imagine that you would get even better results with higher end headsets. disclaimer: I am by no means an audiophile. I probably have a slight hearing problem (too much loud music lol). But I'm not deaf either and I am basing this not only off feedback via a recording app but also live chats with someone at the other end. Hope that helps!

I have an old ASUS laptop Which is the computer I use most, simply because I do most of my computing sitting on my couch (no I don't weigh 500 lbs, and I do actually leave the house and have an active social life heehe). Anyway, the speakers on the laptop work but have a maximum volume and sound quality consistent with being tiny built-in speakers. I had been using speakers connected with a mini stereo plug, but through normal use the stereo connection on the laptop got damaged and would no longer drive a speaker. The laptop did not have Bluetooth, so I read many reviews of add on Bluetooth adapters. The BTD-400 was rated highly and had a great price (and free delivery with Amazon Prime - mine came today, a Sunday! Yay Amazon). I've supported computers for years so I was prepared to possibly spend a long time getting it up and running. I'm running Windows 10, so was prepared for anything. The brief version: I encountered onl very minor issues getting things properly set up, and I now have Bluetooth speakers working with my machine. It is awesome. When I inserted the adapter in a USB port, the drivers were not automatically downloaded. The next suggested step is to use the included CD. It did not autorun (a quirk of my laptop and/or Windows 10) so I manually clicked the exe on the root of the CD, and followed prompts. Once the software was installed, it said some features may not be available until after a reboot. I've learned to give things a chance and go a step at a time. I opened network connections and double clicked the bluetooth network object, and on the resulting screen clicked Add a device on the top left. It scanned for Bluetooth devices and found my printer and found the bluetooth speaker which I had turned on. I clicked on the speaker, and set the speaker in discovery mode (most devices have a way to put them in mode to seek a connection, refer to your device manual), and clicked next. It went to a screen that displayed, working on it, and stuck there. I waited several minutes and never got a completion message. I ended up closing all the windows and rebooting, and retried. This time it did not find the speaker when it listed devices. When I went to the device manager and expanded the Bluetooth item, the speaker was listed there. I went to Control Panel, clicked on Sound, and the bluetooth speaker was listed there along with the laptop speakers. I right clicked the bluetooth speaker, clicked Set as default device, and played a Youtube video. Voila! I now have Bluetooth speakers, and they sound great. The connection is reliable and stayed selected thru several reboots. So as I said, had it up and running with only basic troubleshooting. Did not have to fool around with removing, reinstalling, dowloaded newest drivers, or any such rigamarole. I am very happy with my purchase, and recommend the product.

It worked great on the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. Went to Settings | Bluetooth and paired my headphones. Sounds better than when I was using the cable with the same headphones.

I purchased this adapter to go with the Kinivo BTH220 Bluetooth Stereo Headphone - Supports Wireless Music Streaming and Hands-Free calling for my mother's Windows 7 64-bit PC for Google Talk and watching movies without everyone in the room listening in too. Installation was as easy as putting in the enclosed CD in the DVD drive, and following directions. Windows 7 installed the adapter without a hitch, but the Bluetooth adapter didn't appear operational initially in my Ssystem Manager. It said 'unavailable' but paired with devices. Very strange to me. The blue light (on the USB Bluetooth adapter) was on and I decided to attempt a pairing with the PC and an iPad via Bluetooth. I was sitting about 3' from the adapter, but it took the PC about 30 seconds to pair the two devices. Surprisingly long I thought, considering their close proximity. Next I tried pairing the headphones with the PC, which worked a bit faster, but still took longer than expected. I will be updating the CD driver to the most current one in 'Support' on the Kinivo site in the near future, which may take care of the sluggish pairing issue. Admittedly the issue may also involve other PC hardware (the PC is 2 years old) and not be solely the Kinivo adapter. Overall I like this adpapter. It's easy to install and it works. Time will tell if it's a solid performer, but for now it pairs and works with my Mom's iPad with her PC, her Kinivo Bluetooth headset for Internet calls, and her cellphone so she can upload photos she's taken with her phone to her PC. That's what I wanted it to do, and she's thrilled. So for those who aren't overly picky about speed (me), having a blue light on the device (I like it...) or need it for a Windows 8 PC (I know Kinivo says it works, but read a few reviews and decide for yourself...), you should be happy with this purchase. UPDATE: 1/24/13 Purchased a second one to install on my Windows 7 PC. Easily and quickly installed on my Windows 7 64-bit desktop with a Core i7 processor and 8GB of memory using a 2.0 USB hub connection. No pairing issues! After a restart it paired immediately with my iPad, allowing me to share my iTunes library easily over my home network. I also had it connect with a Windows 8 laptop: HP 2000-2b24NR 15.6" Notebook PC and it did so without a hitch. It works with Windows 8, just as promised.

I bought the Kinivo BTD-400 Bluetooth adapter to provide connectivity for a Logitech T630 mouse. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR8LA6U/] Installation on Windows 7 64-bit Professional went fine, although it required a lot of .Net patches to be applied. As soon as I plugged the Kinivo dongle into a USB port, Windows 7 recognized it and downloaded and installed drivers. Then I loaded the Kinivo installation CD (which came with the adapter) and it autoran and installed Microsoft .Net Framework 4 Extended and WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software. Because the Kinivo/Broadcom software provides general Bluetooth connectivity which includes device & file sharing and PIM messaging for which Microsoft .Net is used, the Kinivo install triggered more patches for other .NET components, which in turn triggered more patches. All in all, some 350 MB of .Net patches had to be applied on a Win7 64-bit Pro that was otherwise only a month behind on maintenance and already had .NET 4 and 4.5 installed for other applications. All I wanted was support for the Logitech T630 mouse and after everything was working, I disabled the Bluetooth device & file sharing and PIM access. I encountered and worked around two problems: Symptom 1: Cursor freezes and mouse movements ignored. Problem seems to be the Bluetooth connection breaks. Powering the mouse on and off has no effect, but unplugging and replugging the (Kinivo) antenna dongle in and out of its USB port re-establishes the connection and the mouse works again, the cursor unfreezes. The cause seems to be Windows 7 wanting to "power manage" the device, and by disabling the Windows 7 Power Management in the Kinivo BTD 400 device properties, the problem seems to be solved. Symptom 2: Cursor movement is erratic, halting, jerky and jumps. Problem seems to be USB 3.0 cable signal transmissions (inadequately shielded) interfere with Bluetooth frequencies. Search for the Intel research paper "USB 3.0 Radio Frequency Interference Impact on 2.4 GHz Wireless Devices". This problem was also resolved by plugging my Kinivo dongle (the Bluetooth antenna) into a 3-foot USB 2.0 extension cable and draping the dongle over the top of one of my monitors, thus moving the antenna about 3' further from my USB 3.0 devices and 3' closer and in 'line-of-sight' with the T630 mouse. I'll find a more permanent cabling arrangement later. These problems are inherent in the conflict between USB 3.0 and Bluetooth technologies, not the fault of Kinivo or Broadcom, and they can be worked around, but figuring out what to do on Windows 7 can be a little obscure. If it is possible to implement Bluetooth connectivity for just a wireless mouse without support for device & file sharing and the .Net footprint that comes with that, I'd prefer it. Maybe Kinivo could offer a custom installation that doesn't need all the .Net stuff for just supporting a mouse or a keyboard??? Otherwise, I'm satisfied with the Kinivo BTD-400.

8/4/13: I'm updating my review and now cannot recommend this device. I purchased a replacement from Amazon.com on July 10, 2013 (actually Sold by BlueRigger). I had actually purchased one just a few days earlier and it died after just a few hours of use. The device did not even light up when inserted into a USB port. I returned it to Amazon and purchased this one which was delivered on July 11th. It work great until August 2nd when it died too. The device does not light up, nor will my computer recognize it or install the driver. It is supposed to have a 2 year warranty, but for $15 I don't even think it is worth the time and effort it may take to get it replaced. And now that I have had two of them die on me, what would make me think that I may have a better result with another new one? I am going to try a different manufacturer. Very frustrating!! --------- 7/11/13: I purchased this device to play my extensive mp3 music library from an HP Pavilion laptop to an external Bluetooth speaker system (Sound Kick Ghost). My laptop had Bluetooth, but apparently it did not have the necessary A2DP (stereo audio capable) supporting software and driver needed to support the speaker system. Unable to find a driver that would work, I finally decided to disable the Bluetooth device that came with my laptop and try this USP Bluetooth device instead. With standard shipping, my order arrived in two days. When I tried to install the USB device, a blue light came on and the driver started to load. But when I attempted to install the software from the CD, the light went out and I could never get my computer to recognize the adapter again. Since this item is sold by a 3rd party and shipped by Amazon, I had to return the original device for credit and place a new order. But the Amazon return process is excellent and UPS picked it up in one day. The second order arrived again in two days. I have installed the adapter and software on my laptop running Windows 7 and everything is working fine now. The only downside is that I have to open the Bluetooth control panel and basically pair it to the external speaker each time I want to use it. But this is most likely a function of the way the remote speaker works and not a reflection on the Kinivo Bluetooth adapter. My reason for giving 4 stars is that the first device I received was apparently defective.

I purchased a wireless headset and discovered my laptop didn't have a wireless card (so the headset wouldn't work unless I had one of these adapters to send the signal from the computer to the headset). I read reviews for other products and I liked this review. It was very easy to use (I just kept it plugged into my laptop and my wireless headset connected nicely so I can answer calls from my Google Voice phone, which is free). When I purchased this and my wireless headset, I pictured myself talking on the phone and walking all around my house, as I work from home and usually on the phone 3-4 hours per day. I can actually only get about 10 feet from my laptop before it gets staticky. I don't know if this is an issue with Kinivo, as I read similar radius distance reports from other wireless devices. I bring the laptop with me and I'm back walking around the house. I actually purchased 2 adapters, one for each computer, didn't open the 2nd for a few months (so it was past Amazon's warranty) then discovered it was defective. I tried installing different drivers and going through the wireless connection process over and over again, which is different for many computers. (Btw- to connect to a wireless device, most computers and wireless headsets require that you type the code to your wireless headset the first time you connect it to a computer. The code for most headsets is "0000." This device, the Kinivo, doesn't have a code, only the headset.) After I installed it, to connect to my headset, I enable the wireless through the Sounds settings- enable the mic and recording headset (sometimes if you leave it on overnight, you'll need to disable both then enable again)- then use the Kinivo software (not the computer's wireless software that is in the control panel, as it doesn't work very good) to tell my computer to connect to my headset. I found that Kinivo's wireless software is better than my Window's 7. The company gets a 5 star rating, as well. The 2nd adapter, which was past Amazon's warranty period when I opened it, wouldn't connect with my wireless device, after tons of attempts to re-install the driver and try to make it work. I contacted the company and they responded immediately. They are shipping me a new one, no charge and no requirement to ship back. Very pleasant communication. It's important to have a good company when buying from the internet b/c you never know what you're going to get until it arrives at your door!

It's OK - but IMO nothing to write home about. It works - but I expected MUCH MORE. The advertised 30foot/10 meter range (I know they are not the same - but - per Amazon: "Wireless range of up to 30 feet (10 meters)") is UTTER BS (for A2DP anyway) - FULL STOP. First - what I refer to/define as EFFECTIVE range is the A2DP radius in which NO (or VERY RARE) AUDIO cut-outs occur (basically performing like the older RF wireless headsets) - these AUDIO cutouts result in mis-synchronization of audio & video. THAT (for me) is the standard in which I judge Bluetooth audio. Old RF wireless headsets are getting rarer - but they were **QUITE** effective - Bluetooth still has a way to go. If the definition of "works" is that you can still hear **SOMETHING** at 30 feet - yes that's true - VERY choppy audio is still capable at 30 feet - but what good is that?!?! You can't understand anything - and - if you are watching tv (show/news/sporting event) - you have to reset Bluetooth to get synchronized again. IMO that is not good performance. That said, my last dongle's was a MediaLink and that dongle's EFFECTIVE range was 4-10 feet (they may have CLAIMED more, but that's what I got before cut-outs occur). So when I read the 30 feet/10 meter claim (which BTW appears *NOWHERE* on its packaging OR internal documentation - FWIW - I'm not sure how the Amazon advert is able to make said claim) - I bought this to replace the setup I have where I have to run a 10 foot USB extension cable to my desk and, Bluetooth dongle plugged into a powered USB hub (plugged into the USB extension cable), use my Bluetooth headset effectively (headset is now within 4 feet of dongle). It appears I will have to continue using that setup. This dongle is no better. About THIS dongle: The GOOD: - No drivers necessary on OpenSUSE 12.3 - True Plug & Play (Kubuntu & Win 7 Pro no issues either) - YAY (but my MediaLink performed the same). The BAD: - MY EXPERIENCE - is that the EFFECTIVE range is NOT 30 feet as is suggested, but closer to 6 (I still get cut-outs/hiccups at 6 feet). I have tested this A LOT (switching back & forth between this dongle and the previous MediaLink) - The MediaLink didn't require my headsets or the dongle to be in pairing mode to recognize a new device. It saw them, added them (just asking for the PIN). This dongle would not do that - not matter what (BUT (to be fair) - when both devices are in pairing mode - it pairs pretty immediately). Some may suggest that this is more an OS issue (my primary OS is openSUSE), but I have tried this with both Bluetooth dongles on several Linux distros (which recognize both dongles immediately) as well as Windows (XP & 7) and Mac OSX (I haven't tested Mac that much - but I will). IF the company sees this, I would like a refund - as this performs no better than my MediaLink USB 2.0 Bluetooth dongle.