Bluetooth Driver Installer is a free Windows utility for configuring Bluetooth adapters to use the generic Microsoft Bluetooth driver. It works with USB dongles and built-in adapters, replacing the driver configuration that prevents suitable hardware from working with the Microsoft Bluetooth stack.
Patching bth.inf for compatible adapters
Bluetooth Driver Installer patches bth.inf, the Bluetooth driver information file in the Windows folder. This is the basis of its driver installation: it adapts the Windows configuration so the adapter can use Microsoft’s driver. Its scope is the Bluetooth adapter and its driver association, rather than a scan for updates to every device on the computer.
Compatibility depends on the adapter. Supported hardware includes devices using Broadcom and Cambridge Silicon Radio chips, but support does not extend to every adapter from those manufacturers. Individual hardware IDs distinguish devices and revisions, so a brand name alone does not establish compatibility.
Adapter testing
The wizard looks for unconfigured Bluetooth hardware and displays the device it finds with its hardware ID. When no unconfigured adapter is found, exiting at that stage leaves the system unchanged.
After installing the driver, Bluetooth Driver Installer checks the adapter through the Microsoft Bluetooth API. The result includes adapter information such as its hardware address, name, manufacturer and chip.
Driver recovery
Bluetooth Driver Installer creates a Windows restore point before changing the system. Windows System Restore provides the route back if the driver change causes problems. The utility also keeps backup copies of bth.inf in its user application-data folder, preserving the driver information file it modified.
