eli5: Why do wireless peripherals come with their own bluetooth dongle? Why can’t my PC use one dongle to connect to multiple devices?
In: Technology
It is not always bluetooth. Manufacturers often have their own propriatary protocols which they claim have some benefits over bluetooth. You can sometimes use these to connect to multiple devices or allow a device to connect to multiple dongles and you can switch between them. But even if it is bluetooth the dongle comes pre-paired with the device and show up to the computer as a keyboard and mouse instead of as a bluetoothe dongle. A lot of embeded computers or even things like the BIOS in your computer does not have bluetooth or you are not able to peer it with your keyboard, either due to lack of software or lack of input buttons. Having a pre-paired dongle show up as a normal keyboard allows you to use it in these cases and in general is more convenient for a lot of people.
My PC uses only one dongle to communicate with wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. Easy to find and buy.
The dongles don’t USE Bluetooth, or they wouldn’t need the dongle. It, as far as I am aware, is a radio wireless receiver that also serves to decode the signal transmitted from the mouse. As to why each mouse needs their own, one may use slightly different frequencies or something, but if I’m not mistaken it mostly has to do with preventing interference. It wouldn’t make sense for me to be able to plug in a mouse, and suddenly my buddy with the same brand can control it. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper on computer manufacturers to pass on the costs of the receivers onto the mice companies, considering the user may not even use a wireless one.
It’s not Bluetooth. It’s something different, depending on the manufacturer.
The reason why they do that is that Bluetooth has a problem: it needs interaction. You need a pairing code, or at least some way to select which device you want to pair with, because what if you’re in an office and there’s a dozen Bluetooth keyboards and mice around you? And if you have a new computer without an operating system, how are you going to pair a Bluetooth keyboard with it? You need a working keyboard to have keys to press! Same problem goes for the mouse.
Those dongles are there to solve that problem.
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