Why is Bluetooth so much flakier than USB, WiFi, etc?

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For ~20 years now, basic USB and WiFi connection have been in the category of “mostly expected to work” – you do encounter incompatibilities but it tends to be unusual.

Bluetooth, on the other hand, seems to have been “expected to fail or at least be flaky as hell” since Day 1, and it doesn’t seem to have gotten better over time. What makes the Bluetooth stack/protocol so much more apparently-unstable than other protocols?

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18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Many others have said it, but Bluetooth is not just one thing, there are versions from 1 to 5.

Like Wifi has 2.4 and 5Ghz, Bluetooth can similarly be considered Pre Bluetooth 4, and 4+.

Bluetooth 4 and above can transmit much more data AND consumes lower power AND handshakes better.

Older and cheaper devices often do not use Bluetooth 4, and it requires both the sender and receiver to have the correct hardware.

Also, Bluetooth is low power on 2.4Ghz, the microwave spectrum. No joking, it is the frequency that microwaves work at too. This is why when you run a microwave, it if is nearby or between you and the device, it drops out. (this also affects 2.4Ghz Wifi).

Why is this? Well, the FCC has said that any devices can use 2.4Ghz without a lot of regulation, so a lot of devices can cause electromagnetic radiation at 2.4Ghz. Microwaves, cordless phones, wifi, bluetooth, and most “wireless” keyboards that are not bluetooth.

Wifi solved this by adding 5Ghz, a spectrum that can also be used, but not nearly as common.

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