Force Settings/Easy Settings to detect Bluetooth?

I own a NP700Z5B-W01UB on Win7 Ultimate. After upgrading the wifi from a wimax card to one with bluetooth (as we all know, wimax lost the war), Easy Settings isn't picking up the new card's bluetooth. Easy Settings lets me turn on and off wireless radio just fine but doesn't pick up bluetooth, and I think the 7260 AC's are all supposed to have bluetooth. I may have a defective unit or it's just an issue with non-compatibility of EasySettings?

 

I would suggest you look through the SW Update database (using Find Model) to find version 2 of the software.

Try version 2.0.0.54 which you'll find under United Kingdom >Series 9 > NP900X3E-K02UK > Windows 7. There's a 2.0.0.55 somewhere which is reckoned to be OK with older (before the Ativ Book names appeared) notebooks but newer versions don't work so well. Any of the version 2 Settings / Easy Settings appear to have Win 7 and Win 8 software in the same installation package.

John

 

Ran it and it didn't appear to work.

My other thought is since this is one of those cheapo best buy-itized versions of the laptop, might there have been changes to the BIOS to prevent easysettings from looking for bluetooth?

 

I am pretty sure Easy Settings (and the BIOS) DOES work with Bluetooth on your model -- but possibly only with the Broadcom (I believe BCM4324A) or Intel (6230 and 6235) adapters supported at that time. I seem to recall others who replaced their Intel 6235 adapter with a 7260 had problems controlling Bluetooth. Search the threads linked below, I am pretty sure they have more discussion that may be helpful.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/625973-samsung-series-7-chronos-intel-wifi-card.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...eries-7-lovers-heres-np700z5c-ivy-bridge.html

 

There is universal un-love directed towards Intel in re bluetooth drivers and bluetooth drama. I feel the only way to test this is to get a 6235 card and test that too: though my crusings through notebookreview pages suggest that there were intel issues with 6235. Not sure how many Z5B's with WiMax attempted to upgrade to a bluetooth capable system and then got it to work. Experimenting will prove somewhat pricey, I think...

However, the fact that it detects the card gives me some hope that it isn't the card, since wireless internet works pretty well...it's just that EasySettings doesn't seem to pick up bluetooth, for whatever reason. And it may be related to bad drivers, or Easysettings not picking up bluetooth may lead to the driver issues.

Edit: Of interest

http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Samsung-700Z5A-BIOS-Unlock

Some people thought it might be bios related, but I've no idea.

 

Needless to say, Easy Settings doesn't provide the actual Windows Bluetooth drivers - you either use the built-in Windows drivers or install ones from Samsung (for supported adapters) or from the OEM (Intel, Broadcom etc).

The only interaction Easy Settings has with Bluetooth is to allow power to the module to be toggled on/off. That's all.

Settings (for Win8) doesn't even have that feature. The only way to enable/disable Bluetooth is to use Win8's charms menu - which requires a Samsung driver to work. And even then, all it does is disable the Bluetooth radio in Device Manager.

 

It would be worthwhile getting the latest Settings made for the NP900X3G or NP940X3G (although listed for win 8 / 8.1, a Win 7 version should be in the installation package) because those notebooks use the Intel 7260.

However, you might then find that the new Easy Settings doesn't offer some older features such as the Battery Life Extender.

John

 

I'm aware of that. I'm wondering if my problems stem from the fact that my bluetooth is off and I can't turn it on because EasySettings won't let me. If is one of many possible explanations.

Let me back up. In the Device Manager there's no bluetooth section. Under wireless there's a 7260 so I know the computer is picking up the card and giving me wireless functionality.

My computer is recovering from a clean install of win7 ultimate. I'll try a different version of easy settings/settings, but a clean install is not picking up the bluetooth half of the 7260.

I'm curious if it's win7 not handling bluetooth very well, and in that case I have an extra license for win8 pro that I can try. Barring that it may well be something bios or my card is defective.

 

Easysettings gets in the way for me with the 7260. You'll probably find if you uninstall it, the windows bluetooth driver will pop up and everything will work. It's annoying. You could just load the hotkeys app from the settings install folder if that's all you need.

 

@go45cvi: Ahh, I remember now, it was you who reported about your adventures with 7260 in the WiFi Remedies thread and the [Easy] Settings thread.

@winsettz: Check those links for details of go45cvi's workaround for this.

 

My concern is that since my unit is a Best Buy model that has never seen bluetooth before, I've no idea if Samsung did something in the BIOS to prevent it from ever seeing Bluetooth. I will give that thread a look...kind of wish I had a 6235 or a broadcom bluetooth card to test this on.

As an aside, curious if the 700Z5B and 700Z5A have similar BIOS. The B doesn't have expresscache, which makes me think trying to flash the bios from the A will probably brick my laptop.

Edit: Installed Bluetooth+Wifi drivers from win7 NP940X3G_K01US (which uses the 7260), then Easy Settings from NP700Z3A-S03US. Made a copy, then uninstalled.

Bluetooth doesn't pop up after installing EasySettings. I guess I will try to uninstall the intel bluetooth drivers and see if windows7 can pick it up.

Attempted to sideload dmhkcore. Fn-F12 seems to not do anything. I can turn on and off wlan from EDMWirelessConfig, but I don't see any similar executable that can do the same with Bluetooth.

 

I doubt your problem is BIOS related, so I wouldn't flash anything. When you installed the card did you securely plug in the two antennae cables?

If so, UNINSTALL easysettings and the Intel driver (this may prove tricky) and see if windows picks up BT.

 

Why not also try the Easy Settings 2.0.0.72 (offered for the NP940X3G) alongside the BT + WiFi driver to see if it gives the BT control? (You might lose some other features such as the BLE control).

John

 

I get excellent wifi, so I assume that it isn't a connection problem.

I have uninstalled Easy Settings, Intel Bluetooth and Intel Wireless just to see what happens. Doesn't appear to to do anything.

Just tried that, no bluetooth in easy settings, no bluetooth in device manager.

Does EasySettings extract a exe that directly interfaces with the radio? The older version of EasySettings that comes with the 700Z3A uses EDMWirelessConfig.exe to turn on and off the WLAN. If there is such a binary that does the same with bluetooth, I might be able to get things working on my end.

 

As I recall, EDMWirelessConfig controls both WiFi and Bluetooth -- though I could be mistaken, it's awhile since I used Easy Settings, and even longer since I used version 1.x of it.

If you are looking to take the old Easy Settings apart, this post has some info. So has the old lantencies thread. But again, that only applies to version 1.x.

From your descriptions, I seriously wonder if that Bluetooth module is live and connected. Both with Broadcom and Intel WiFi adapters (on two different NP700Z3A models, quite similar to yours) it would always boot with Bluetooth on, and only after loading Easy Settings would it turn it off. So if no Bluetooth radio shows up in device manager, even with Easy Settings completely uninstalled, I think that radio isn't live.

Or maybe they really did disable it in your Best Buy model, though I agree with go45cvi that would be surprising.

Edit: I just remembered something: If you look on the Advanced tab of Adapter Settings for the 6270 WiFi adapter, does it have any settings that could be related to Bluetooth? 6230 and 6235 have a Bluetooth AMP setting which always mystified me, I wonder if it might suppress the Bluetooth module when disabled. It's just a thought...

 

I assume the wifi and the bluetooth share the same antenna? Is one cable for bluetooth and another for wifi? You might be right, perhaps one cable is loose and the other isn't. I'll be happy to go in and open things up.

There's always a possibility I got a bad card. /shrug

When you buy things online, there's always a chance you bought the part that failed QC...

Also, for some strange reason the intel bluetooth drivers I pulled off of intel's site are signed by Motorola.

Edit: After switching to Win8 Pro, Bluetooth doesn't work yet, but WIP.

Edit 2: I'm pretty sure there is only one Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 and it must come with bluetooth, am I correct?

Edit 3: The 7260 also has that Bluetooth AMP setting. As far as I can tell, I've disabled and enabled it and it didn't appear to do anything.

From wikipedia:

Bluetooth v3.0 + HS[edit]
Version 3.0 + HS of the Bluetooth Core Specification[38] was adopted by the Bluetooth SIG on 21 April 2009. Bluetooth 3.0+HS provides theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s, though not over the Bluetooth link itself. Instead, the Bluetooth link is used for negotiation and establishment, and the high data rate traffic is carried over a collocated 802.11 link.
The main new feature is AMP (Alternative MAC/PHY), the addition of 802.11 as a high speed transport. The High-Speed part of the specification is not mandatory, and hence only devices sporting the "+HS" will actually support the Bluetooth over 802.11 high-speed data transfer. A Bluetooth 3.0 device without the "+HS" suffix will not support High Speed, and needs to only support a feature introduced in Core Specification Version 3.0[41] or earlier Core Specification Addendum 1.[42]

 

A valid and fundamental question. I've just looked and the 7260 comes in several flavors including one without Bluetooth.

The product brief for the non-BT flavor indicates part numbers 7260HNW NB and 7260NGW NB.

What is the part number for your adapter?

John

 

On my 7260 one is a black plug and the other is white. They would not share a single antenna. If your original card only provided wifi I assume there was only one antenna and you would have to snake another into the chassis. There are also bluetooth usb adapters that don't take up much space.

 

Model number is 7260HMW, doesn't say anything about NB.

It replaces a 6250 which meant the laptop was wired for antennas (wifi and wimax). Black went to 1 and Gray went to 2, which is the exact configuration I used on my 6250. I guess the other question is if all antennas are created equal, and the antenna intended for wimax can do bluetooth. I guess the only way to know would be to swap the antennas?

Edit: Dug around and found this in a 7260 thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/networking-wireless/716325-intel-7260-a-29.html#post9539442

And elsewhere:

http://lists.nclug.org/pipermail/nclug/2013-April/010528.html

 

Thanks for checking the part number.

Both antennae are primarily for WiFi. I haven't figured out whether BT uses the same antennae in a sub-optimum way or whether BT uses an antenna on the Wifi card but with shielding over the electronics the latter doesn't seem likely.

I see that there's a link to a new driver at the end of the 7260 thread. It might be worth a try. I would have thought that Intel would have learned from the 6235 fiasco where it took over a year to release a decently performing driver but the length of the 7260 thread indicates that using the 7260 isn't straightforward.

John

 

There's stuff on the internet that alleges that 7260 HMW parts didn't have AC, which makes me wonder if HMW parts are supply line contamination or whatnot.

My guess is that one antenna is for one frequency and one antenna is for the other frequency. Thought I saw a review that suggested bluetooth and wifi 2.4 ghz shared the same antenna, but I'd have to double check.

What would happen if I swapped cables? If I still didn't get bluetooth it might tell me that both antennae work and it's an issue with drivers or the card. If bluetooth suddenly works, it tells me something is up one of the antennas.

Edits: From amazon reviews:

"
5.0 out of 5 stars Bluetooth does work, February 19, 2014
By Maria Curtis (Pekin, IL USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Intel Network 7260.HMWG WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC+Bluetooth HMC (Electronics)
Great card. Much improved speeds after upgrading from my N card. Paired with a quality AC router, and my LAN transfers really fly. And for people that keep stating that Bluetooth doesn't work...yes it does. Mine didn't work (or even recognized by my laptop) after installation, but after doing research, you have to tape off pin 51 on the card. After I did that, I rebooted and BAM...the card was recognized. Installed the Intel software, and voila...I have Bluetooth...in a laptop that didn't have Bluetooth from the factory. It's not a flaw in the card...it's a *problem* with your laptop.
"


"Bluetooth only works in some machines., July 22, 2013
By M. Fields - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Intel Network 7260.HMWG WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC+Bluetooth HMC (Electronics)
This is just an initial first inspection:
Intel still doesn't have the Windows 7 drivers for it on their webpage, so I installed the software from Sager Notebooks also.
The advertised +Bluetooth on this is a lie, there is no bluetooth on this module.
It did, however, pop up with the new Intel WiUSB (Wireless USB). I don't have any wireless usb devices to test it on though.
I will update this review when I've had more hands on experience with it over the next couple days / weeks.

Update:

I just figured out why the Bluetooth isn't showing up in my machine. If you have a WWAN slot in your machine, put the card in that. If you only have a Wifi mpcie slot you have a possibility that you will only have wireless with this card.
>> Straight from the Intel Forums >> https://communities.intel.com/thread/42298?start=90&tstart=0

I'm not sure how that works though...since I thought half-miniPCI-E is half mini-PCIE. /shrug

 

The two antennae are similar. Here's the one in my Series 9.



You can try swapping the connectors (on my X4C the connections are white=1, black=2) but I don't think whether / how the antennae are connected would make a difference to a BT device being present (if the antennae isn't connected then there would be sub-optimum performance).

It's time to start taping the pins and other hardware fixes. It's possible that there has been a tweak to the connector configuration to improve operation.

John

 

Switched antenna leads, no change.

Upgraded to win8.1 (perhaps bad idea in retrospect), found Intel 7260 drivers from windows from october 2013, tried those, no change.

Had some issues with the whole tape pin 51; every time I slide the card in the tape slides off. Grr.

 

Did a downgrade to 6235, still no dice. I'll try another reset but I'm beginning to wonder just what Samsung did to this laptop.

 

Had to tape off pin 51. The computer now detects bluetooth, but Samsung's Settings and Easy Settings are still not detecting it. In Win8 it isn't a big deal as windows can manage bluetooth and wireless.

Next step is to test that old 7260 I have lying around. It's very possible that this laptop is just too old for new tricks.

 

Thanks!!! this worked for my Best Buy Chronos 7 and Intel 6235 bluetooth

 

You too, eh?

I haven't tested the 7260 yet, but I hope to get around to it soon. I am pretty pleased to at least get the 6235 operational.

I was apprehensive about messing with the BIOS to get it working, but maybe I'll do that someday when this computer turns truly obsolete.

 

Update: had to tape off pin 51 on the 7260 as well. Win8 seems to detect bluetooth just fine.

I now have a extra 6235...unsure what to do with it.