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retrofitting bluetooth into laptop

post #1 of 15
7/17/06 at 5:52am
Thread Starter 
Hi... i have a gateway m680XL... and it doesnt have any built in bluetooth
and i dont want to have a dongle...and realy need bluetooth

anyways... the laptop has an intel wireless 2200 b/g card inside
is it possible to replace that with a card that supports bluetooth or anything like that?
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post #2 of 15
7/17/06 at 9:05am
unless ur hardware specifically supports it (via a button or fn-combi-key) i m not sure that it would function

cheers ...
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post #3 of 15
7/17/06 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
well... i dont have that... but, im always able to turn it off via OS arent i?...

i dont nessessarily need a light telling me its on and stuff..
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post #4 of 15
7/17/06 at 2:26pm
Googling for bluetooth 802.11 mini-pci turns up some results, including this MSI combo card:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MSI-BLUTOO#
You need an internal Bluetooth antenna in addition to the 802.11 antennas, if your laptop wasn't built for Bluetooth it's not going to have that extra antenna connector.
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post #5 of 15
7/17/06 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ExplodingLemur
Googling for bluetooth 802.11 mini-pci turns up some results, including this MSI combo card:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MSI-BLUTOO#
You need an internal Bluetooth antenna in addition to the 802.11 antennas, if your laptop wasn't built for Bluetooth it's not going to have that extra antenna connector.


how do i find out?.... google barly has any info on this model...

isisnt there any solution from intel?... that has both integrated?
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post #6 of 15
7/17/06 at 5:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo82
how do i find out?.... google barly has any info on this model...

Gateway's page doesn't indicate any Bluetooth option, so no, it's not going to have a Bluetooth antenna.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo82
isisnt there any solution from intel?... that has both integrated?

Not that I've found. The MSI card has both on the same card, you're still going to need another antenna.

Check here for people that have hacked Bluetooth adapters into their notebooks: http://repair4laptop.org/notebook_bl..._selfmade.html
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post #7 of 15
7/17/06 at 11:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo82
how do i find out?.... google barly has any info on this model...

isisnt there any solution from intel?... that has both integrated?
i punched this "m680XL" into google and came back w/ a ton of pages.

looks like ExplodingLemur has already done the work for you. if it didn't have the option from gateway you're outta luck.
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post #8 of 15
7/18/06 at 12:17am
you could get a pcmcia bluetooth card.
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post #9 of 15
7/19/06 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DerekPowell
you could get a pcmcia bluetooth card.

My suggestion too
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post #10 of 15
7/19/06 at 2:07pm
You can integrate the dongle into the laptop, but that requires a lot of work and modding. Someone on this forum did it for their wireless mouse dongle.
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post #11 of 15
7/19/06 at 2:34pm
just get a USB bluetooth adapter or what others have said a pcmcIA CARD
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post #12 of 15
7/19/06 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaxspore
just get a USB bluetooth adapter or what others have said a pcmcIA CARD


i would get a bluetooth one... but if they are anything like the size of mouse dongles.... im afraid it will break off and stuff.... i use my laptop on my desk... and my bed.. while its on my lap

the pcmcia one sounds need.... it wont stick out like a sore thumb as much... id like to get one with a retractable antenna.... and has minimum body sticking out
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post #13 of 15
7/19/06 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo82
i would get a bluetooth one... but if they are anything like the size of mouse dongles.... im afraid it will break off and stuff.... i use my laptop on my desk... and my bed.. while its on my lap

And when you're in bed, how often do you need your bluetooth to ALWAYS be on???
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post #14 of 15
7/19/06 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SMP_Homer
And when you're in bed, how often do you need your bluetooth to ALWAYS be on???


i have or had plans on... using bluetooth headphones.... and im always syncing my phone on it...

and bluetooth printers apealed to me... dont know their price though... but it would be nice... to print a paper... that i typed in bed.... from bed... and what not..

o well
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post #15 of 15
7/20/06 at 3:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo82
it would be nice... to print a paper... that i typed in bed.... from bed... and what not..


Thats what network printers are for.

WiFi has a greater range than bluetooth.
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