ACER Extensa 4620Z Bluetooth?

Even thought the salesman at Best Buy assured me there was Bluetooth on this machine, it appears there are only provisions for it. My question is, has anyone done the mod as described in this thread? I would prefer to use the dedicated Bluetooth switch and not use a dongle.

 

I was disappointed to find the same thing on my 4620Z. It is a pretty loaded little machine for under US$600 and having Bluetooth as well seemed too good to be true. Like most things, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. TANSTAAFL after all.

What is the physically cleanest way to attach a wireless keyboard and mouse to a notebook PC? I hate having a little dongle sticking out waiting to be knocked off. Can you put something in a PC Card slot (which I never use anyway) to interface with either Bluetooth or plain old wireless keyboards?

 

Yes, you can get a cardbus Bluetooth adapter...something I'm looking at right now on eBay for ~$40. I can't find any useful reviews for this product though...

 

so the bluetooth does or doesnt work for the acer 4620z? ive got the same question, but i want to use my cell phone as the modem. or is that not possible?

 

It's only possible by adding Bluetooth capability via USB dongle or cardbus. No-go on Bluetooth at all with the plain 4620Z, no matter what you're connecting. Bummer.

 

It does appear possible to activate the Bluetooth in the ACER Extensa 4620Z (With extra hardware)

- I bought the 4 pin version of the Bluetooth 2.0 adaptor on E-Bay after finding a 4 pin Bluetooth port on the Motherboard. (Paid $35 or so the item and Priority Mail Shipping - not bad, ordered Friday, received today (Monday))

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180183347655

- The port is labeled as "blue1" and is located next to the Speaker connection

- The port can be seen without totally disassembling the entire computer by removing the screw holding the DVD drive and pulling out the DVD drive.
- The proper port is visible on the Motherboard next to another 4 pin connector (The aforementioned Speaker connection)

- The one I bought appears to work after connecting it. The Blue light is operational. The screen shows "Bluetooth Enabled" and "Bluetooth Disabled" when I use the switch and the drivers installed automatically (Default drivers under Vista Home Premium) the first time I turned it on. I've already managed to share my Cellphone with it.

 

woohooo! I'll be sure to post pictures when I do the conversion. Thanks, whomiga!

 

I'm still playing around with it, having problems connecting to my phone via BitPim - but that could be the phone...

Will have to play around with some other stuff before declaring total victory

 

Hmmm. Maybe I'll just stick with a cardbus adapter for my bluetooth...

 

It's working now... so probably operator error

 

I saw this Bluetooth download at the Acer support site...FYI.

Select Notebook>Extensa 4620Z>Bluetooth Utility

 

Thanks, I'll check it out, but the Bluetooth seems to be operating great now.
Shared the Phone and connected via BitPim to get and change data.
My phone plan has no data capabilities, so no idea if it would allow the phone to act as a modem.

 

whomiga, how did you get to the Bluetooth connection? I removed the dvd drive and I can see the connection. Did you remove the keyboard to get to it??

 

Are there any picts available on this? As bcat asks, did you have to remove the keyboard?

How about "upgrading" this notebook to XP? Anyone try it yet and have the links to all the required drivers?

TIA,
Dobermann

 

I'm currently at work and away from the laptop, but I can say that removing the keyboard is not necessary.

What I did was remove the screws around the edges of the bottom of the laptop which allowed room to separate the top and the bottom far enough to get fingers in to the area to plug it in.

There is a rather empty space between the DVD drive and the front of the laptop which should be plenty of space to attach the BT module with double stick foam tape. I attached mine in a small area between some shields so it is mounted to the underside of the top under the area the left palm would normally rest when typing on the keyboard.

Hope this helps.
Whomiga

 

Just curious, what issues are you having with Vista? I was one of the biggest critics of Vista because I felt lost with it, but after spending a month with it, I actually love it. People say I'm crazy, but my Acer with Vista is faster than my HP with XP by a fair margin. Granted, the Acer came with 2GB of RAM, but I wouldn't down/upgrade to XP right now...but I haven't had any true issues except a learning curve, and you're right, there may be driver issues etc. if you go with XP.

 

was the install difficult. i'm comfortable removing the disk drive...i guess..you just plug it in and find a place to stick the "dongle" end? has anyone managed to get over 2gb memory to work in 4620? thanks all
dave

 

What a great explanation! I think I will bite the bullet and give it a go. I would much rather have the internal working than have a dongle.

Thanks!
Dobermann

 

Don't laugh - I have not even opened the box yet as I have been so busy. From all I have read, there are issues that folks have over printers not working, older programs not working and the like. I do not want to have to upgrade my programs to have them available in Vista. Also, I was thinking that at 2G of RAM, XP should be quite responsive! XP's best minimum is 512, and Vista's is 1G.

I'll still probably give Vista a go, but if it poops on too many of my programs I will want to convert it to XP.

Dobermann

 

From what I have read, it will not work with more than 2GB. However, you can always use ReadyBoost. Conceivably, you could even leave a 4GB SD chip in the card reader and have that dedicated, bringing it up to 6GB of RAM without having anything hanging off of it like a USB drive. I'm really anxious to give that a go. Perhaps someone here who has both this model and such a chip could test it out and let us know.

Cheers,
Dobermann

 

Just make sure you check the compatibility with ReadyBoost. I'm sure there are several (hopefully even one by MS) but this site has a good reference for compatible flash drives.

http://www.grantgibson.co.uk/misc/readyboost/

 

That's a good link to have - thanks for supplying it!

Dobermann

 

Dobermann, wondered how your bluetooth install went. mine should be here from ebay soon...will post my experience here...thanks..p.s. i'm a doberman fan too.

 

Don't have the part yet, but I will post here when I install it.

Always have loved Dobermanns. I have a working dobermann, thus the double nn, who is Dutch & German lines. I spent one evening tracing his history - went all the way back to 1894 and the founding stock of Dobermanns. I can't even do that with my own lineage!

Dobermann

 

Can some one please post pictures ... I cant seem to figure out which screws to take off.

 

Did you happen to read the posting above by Whomiga? I don't have my part yet, but that posting sounds like it should do the trick. As for pictures, I think there are a couple of us who are waiting for the BT part to arrive that will be taking pictures if no one has done so by then.

Cheers,
Dobermann

 

I just ordered my part yesterday already got it and installed it, it works great and also works if you are using AtkOS

 

That's great news c0rderr0y. Did you happen to take pictures that you could post for us still waiting for our BT to arrive?

Cheers,
Dobermann

 

No I dont have a digital camera right now my friend has it so I wasnt able to take pictures. But when you lift the keyboard its on the left side next to the DVD drive. I used needle nose pliers to connect the bluetooth, because I wasnt able to lift the keyboard enough to plug in the bluetooth, there might have been a screw or something i missed. Switch works fine didnt need any drivers for vista or iAtkos.

 

OK, I took my own advice and decided I didn't want to open my laptop. The total increase in price is only about $10 between the internal solution and this card, which is as close to internal as you can get.

I'll post a full review when I get it, including the purchase.

 

Just so you know I added the bluetooth drunk its kinda hard to break the laptop, just be careful

 

I know its a long post..hope it will help someone else...I got the part (from old egg) installed. as whomiga said i'm still not claiming total victory..driver problems maybe..i can send pics/files to the phone easy enough, but only 1 at a time to the computer..I have to click on "receive files" and move one pic at a time or it locks my cell phone. also no drop and drag like vista says is possible. windows couldn't find a driver (I have vista home premium) so i used the broadcom software (in the acer link earlier in the thread) perhaps I should uninstall that and start over..i read that several of you didn't need drivers beyond vista. Also was able to use phone as modem via bluetooth and cell phone! Anyway...I forgot to take pictures but they aren't really necessary...I removed the disk drive..was unable to get the chassis apart enough to get my fingers in there..(maybe i should have been drunk..still laughing at cOrderroy's post!) so i used a piece of stiff wire to guide and plug in the connector through the dvd bay....this also denied access to the space under the left hand to mount the device as mentioned by whomiga earlier...so i snaked it around and on top of the ram..right now its riding rather loosely between the ram and the dvd drive.
could anyone add anything as to what they did for drivers..or how they got vista to intall it automatically? has anyone managed to "drop and drag" items between devices as vista says you can?
thanks all
dave

 

Be careful inserting a CARDBUS adapter? You drinking while reading my post? HAHA...wouldn't be the first time I've done that...

 

you know what i meant im talking bout the internal bluetooth. and yes i was drunk when i read that...

 

I just can't bring my self to open this thing even though I just did that with my old laptop. I'm a bit gunshy because if I break it, that'll be 2 laptops in 2 months.

Hopefully the CARDBUS adapter works good though. Stay tuned...

 

All I did was add the bluetooth and it automatically installed the drivers after turning on the bluetooth of course. I am using a legit version of Windows Vista Ultimate.

And for those of you who are having problems getting the keyboard up take all the screws off the bottom of the laptop, then carefully pry the keyboard up when you get close to the hinges near the screen i wasnt able to pull up (remember I was drunk and I didnt want to break it hahaha)

 

OK folks, I got the Billionton cardbus bluetooth adapter yesterday. Here's my 2 cents:



INSTALLATION:
You must go to http://cadmusmicro.com/downloads_bluetooth.htm to download the latest software (do not use www.billionton.tw, you won't fiind it there.) The CD that came with it had v 4.x software; the support website has 5.x software (Toshiba stack.) Start the installer FIRST and follow directions...it will prompt you to insert the BT card.

USABILITY:
The new 5.x software feels much more user friendly than my old Widcomm setup. So far, everything has worked seamlessly: Nokia PC Suite works much better than my temporary USB BT dongle that I initially purchased when I bought this laptop. The cardbus adapter unit only sticks out about 1/4" (6-7mm) so it is not intrusive. Power output seems to be good so far. I'll have to test my stereo bluetooth headset at a distance and see what I get. It's Class 1, so it shouldn't be a problem.


Overall I'm glad I opted for the cardbus solution; I didn't have to open my computer and the price difference was negligible. The main Bluetooth switch remains inoperative; if needed you can disable the radio through the tray icon or just eject it.


AVAILABILITY:
I think there is only one seller of this unit on eBay, which was the best deal I could find. Shipping was fast and communication was very good; he sent me to that web address above that I couldn't find. And yes, it is Vista compatible.

 

Been a while since I did any forum posting in here, but lately I found a package which allows the CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) Bluetooth adaptors (Probably others as well) which is what I bought from OldEgg a while back and installed internal to my 4620Z to use the WIDCOMM software - it is on torrent, but is probably available in other ways.

Widcomm Bluetooth Software Drivers 5 1 0 1100 Incl License Patcher+Guide
http://www.mininova.org/tor/1012248

I installed the above following the guide included on Vista and it appears to be a fully functional Bluetooth stack, as opposed to what Microsoft's own included drivers allows. So far, they appear to work much better also.

Thought I would at-least bring an update to the forum on my findings.

 

thanks for that. i was trying a toshiba stack that wasn't happywith. will post too when i try the widcomm

 

I bought a Bluetooth Mouse (Microsoft Notebook Mouse 5000) for the laptop which works great with the software and hardware internally (It didn't come with a Bluetooth adaptor as it is designated as for computers that already have an adaptor)
I looked again at where I installed my adaptor internally and noticed that right below where I had installed the adaptor was a piece of doublestick foam tape on the top of the speaker with the top side covered by plastic with an easy to remove tab. Definitely looked like that was where the adaptor was meant to be installed, so I removed the tab and reinstalled the adaptor on the double stick tape. I did actually find that the bluetooth signal is marginally better with it installed at the new location.

 

how long did it take to figure out all the bit-torrent stuff to download this? i'm not familiar with torrent files..said it was something like 3 days to download? couldn't find a direct link. thanks

 

referring to the widcom bluetooth stack talked about above....

 

i'm using azerus torrent downloader right now and total time for me to download this file is going to be less than 10 minutes. thats on a "borrowed" Wifi connection from neighbor who has 3000 DL speeds... i'm getting around 170 K/sec dl of the torrent from my neighbor's DSL,

"Love thy neighbor" escpecially if they have a good DSL connection and an OPEN WIFI setup

bigozone

 

thanks for the tip. i just moved today and am Loving my neighbor too...cable connection and open wi fi ..i'll give the azerus downloader a try.
thanks

 

Which is why I have a cable modem setup and closed WIFI setup
(I also have way too many computers and shared drives on my LAN that I wouldn't want anyone else to be able to share)

 

i got the stack downloaded and installed, but it won't recognize my bluetooth device. (CSR dongle I put in like earlier in the post)...it also uninstalled whatever drivers i had that were working..so now i'm back before square one..anyone else get these to work..looks alot better than that which shipped with vista? suggestions? thanks

 

Did you follow the instructions to Patch the license - if you don't patch the license and follow all the other instructions to make sure your device is in the device list, then it won't be acknowledged. Before you install the new drivers you need to remove all existing drivers (should be part of the instructions, the instructions also describe how to prevent the Windows drivers from being installed)

 

Whomiga, I am finally getting around to trying to install mine, and find that I am having problems. I removed the one screw that held the DVD drive in place and can see the connector for the BT. Next, I took out the 12 screws that presumably hold the top and bottom together (again, I have the 4620-4605 Acer model).

Is there some trick to getting the top and bottom to separate? I carefully lift up either corner, and it is holding on securely about an inch and a half in from the side. I don't want to break or bend anything, and my fingers are way too big to ever begin to fit in the DVD slot.

Any tips on hot tricks to make it open and gain access?

TIA,
Dobermann

 

from reading his post, i think he just bent the top and bottom apart enough so he could get a finger inside and plug the connector in,,, to actually get the top and bottom seperated will be a bit more involved than 12 screws...

what model do you have?? and do you need a service guide?

 

I have the Acer 4620-4605 model. Perhaps a service guide might help, as I could look at pictures and read the directions.

I am not able to lift the two pieces apart any more than say an 1/8" and only at the corner, so it is really not yielding any more space to be able to slip a finger in. I'm just not seeing the trick to lifting it any more than that.

Thanks for your help!
Dobermann