Insignia™ - Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter - Black

I picked up this device at my local BestBuy recently. It doesn't include a CD as indicated here, but does have an insert called a QUICK SETUP GUIDE that requires the user to go to a third-party website to download drivers/software. The insert says FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS SHOWN ON THE PAGE TO DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE SOFTWARE, but there are no instructions on the page. I am very technically savvy, but the the average user would likely be confused as to how to proceed. Once I got the drivers installed, the pairing and connection from my computer to my Bluetooth device (a speaker) was pretty seamless. There were no included instructions for how to accomplish this, so again, this may be difficult for the average user. The insert suggested REFER TO YOUR USER GUIDE for more information on using the device with Windows, but a user guide was not included and there are no instructions on how to get it. The third-party website containing the drivers also does not include a user guide. A USER MANUAL is included in the downloads from the manufacturer's website, but that information isn't clear in the insert. In fact, the only reference to the manufacturer's website is in the warranty section. I had to reboot after installation, and once the devices were paired and connected, I began streaming music to my Bluetooth speaker with little difficulty. The quality at a short range was perfect, but when I moved my speaker about 15 feet away on the other side of a wall, the signal began dropping in and out. The wall is a wood/sheetrock wall, finished only on one side. It has no insulation or other metal that would typically interfere with a Bluetooth signal. For reference, I paired my speaker with my callphone and it performs perfectly at this same distance and location. My conclusion is that this Bluetooth adapter has a very weak signal. For these reasons, I could not recommend this device to anyone. In fact, unless you are looking to use it in a short range configuration and are very proficient at installing device drivers and configuring Windows devices, I'd have to suggest you NOT purchase this product.

"You only get what you pay for." This time with this piece of garbage I didn't even get that much! I'm a 27 year veteran of computers, been working with them professionally since DOS 3.3 and before that on Apples...so this is an expert's review. First, you should be told this much: NO DRIVERS ARE INCLUDED WITH THE DEVICE...no driver CD, no installation software is included...even though the BOX is deceptively sized like there is a CD in it, there is NONE. Second, know this: YOU CANNOT DOWNLOAD THE DRIVERS INDIVIDUALLY. All they have is a website to go to with an installation program and you must click and pray that it works once it starts. Which it didn't for me, ON TWO MACHINES: XP#SP3# and W7 #SP1#. It says on Broadcom's website you can use this chip with XP...NOPE. I called Insignia's technical support number for help, only to be treatead like an idiot. "Did you [follow the steps in the manual]?" Yes, I followed the steps. Howabout you act useful and tell me where to find the XP drivers? Broadcom, who makes the chip for this deal, says that they are available for XP. Their response? They walked me AGAIN through the steps in the installation guide WHICH DIDN'T WORK the first time--and didn't work the second time either. Not only is their product useless, their call in support are EVEN MORE USELESS. How hard can it be to set up a spot where the technically proficient can log in, download JUST THE DRIVER, install it, and then use the installation software to set up the rest...bluetooth stack, AD2P drivers, etc etc? When the guy finally realized he was clueless, he copped out and said, "Well, the documentation says you can't use it on XP." I could if you could tell me where to find the DRIVERS. OK, fine, so instead try it on my Windows 7: NOPE: FAIL. I plugged it in, it went looking on the internet for drivers: FAIL. Then I attempted to go to the website in the documentation, download the install, and run it...FAIL. Couldn't find the device, because the device couldn't find the drivers. Ok, so I called up Insignia tech support, got a different tech, who treated me like an idiot: "Did you follow the instructions in the pamphlet?" #Side note: How bad of an issue is this, where people cannot follow simple instructions, that they need to tread everyone who calls in like an idiot?# So the guy eventually admits that he his clueless, has no idea why it's not finding the drivers, has no idea where to find drivers for manual install, and finally suggests that maybe the device is faulty? His advice: "Take it back and exchange it." This is good advice...I'm going to exchange it for A DIFFERENT BRAND THAT MIGHT WORK. But that won't happen until after Christmas, because this week the stores are MURDER. #That's why I picked it up a week EARLY...so much for that stragegy.# Take my advice - AVOID THIS GARBAGE PRODUCT.

I bought this so that I can pair it with my PS4 controller, should have trusted my gut and went with a different brand. My setup: Windows 10 x64, i7 5820k, 64gb ddr4 2400mhz, GeForce 970 gtx x2 (SLI), 500gb Ssd, 3tb HDD. Cons: ** Range - this is advertised as 20' range, which is a pretty blatant lie. Just to give you an idea of my setup: My PC is about 3 feet away from me and I have nothing between the port that this dongle is plugged into and me, and I would constantly lose signal... Sure it'll connect 5-6 ft away, but you'll constantly lose singal. ** Latency - I ran ds4windows to do some tests, and when your device is more than half a foot from the dongle, the latency constantly spikes above 10MS, and with gaming having 1ms being the difference between landing a shot or being shot, this dongle becomes useless. I had to plug it into a usb extension cord and attach the dongle the armrest of my chair in order to get decent latency (below 5ms, which is still horrible). ** Annoying bright light - The light is built into the dongle and there is no way to turn it off, it is super bright and blinks every time anything happens on the device that is plugged in. With having my game pad plugged in, this thing constantly flashed, and it's so bright that your eyes automatically switch to it while your gaming, you have to hide the light or your brain will force your eyes to constantly glance at it since you're hyper aware of any changes to the environment while your gaming. Honestly insignia, why do we need to be notified of every single bit of data exchange that happens between our devices and this dongle with an annoying bright blue flash? Pros: ** Setup - setting up for Windows 10 was simple as can be, plugged it in and it was immoderately recognized. Honestly it was the only good thing about this dongle. Final words: I wouldn't recommend this thing to anybody that doesn't want to be closer than 6 inches to the dongle at all times to be able to use it without constant connection drops.

My experience with this Bluetooth USB dongle is mostly positive. I have used it on three laptops as bluetooth has become almost a necessity in my daily life with all these gadgets becoming dependent on bluetooth technology; headphones, mice, keyboard, etc. It works great when its plugged in and has all its necessary drivers and software configured for use. My only critique for this usb device is that the drivers provided by Insignia--which is supplied by Broadcom--is a bit finnicky on windows 8.1 and 7. When I say finnicky, I mean it experiences some occasional drops and finds trouble connecting to previously paired bluetooth devices. MY FIX for these issues were to use the drivers that Microsoft automatically finds and installs via Windows Update. However if your computer is not as lucky to find those drivers by itself, I searched for generic bluetooth drivers from the manufacturer of the computer you are using; HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. EVERY laptop manufacturer has made a laptop sometime in the past with bluetooth capabilities so amongst all the drivers they all provide on their website, there are bound to be bluetooth drivers and software ready for download. As far as look, the usb dongle is very small and hardly even noticeable when plugged in which is a Very nice feature and design of the device. It does have a pretty noticeable blue light that blinks when activity is flowing through it such as music and sounds it needs to cast to your headphones or speakers. Overall, a good buy and Awesome alternative to adding bluetooth capability to your computer.

Over all I'm satisfied with the performance of this device. However, the instructions were erroneous. I'm not very knowledgable about these things so i had my son install it and he could not get it to work. I called customer service and the man i spoke with told me to use a different route than what the instructions said. It took so long to download the software that the man asked if he could hang up so he could work with a different consumer. He said to follow the instructions after everything was downloaded. After about a half hour it was finally done downloading and it still wouldn't work. Didn't have time to mess with it for another week and when i called the support line i got somebody to help me that knew what he was doing. We had to disable the security software in order to download the bluetooth software and it was done in about two minutes. Then he led me through step by step and got it hooked up. He even took the time to tell me how to hook up my bluetooth headset. real nice guy. He wanted a happy customer and i'd say he got one. It works well once i got it installed and the bluetooth headset works well too. Worth the money but they need to make instructions that work if they want people to keep buying their products. If the instructions don't work don't be afraid to call customer service and hope you get someone that knows what they are doing.Would i recommend this to a friend? I'm clicking yes because they don't have a maybe button.

Purchased Insignia USB BT adapter for my new laptop with Windows 8.1. Going on line to load software is a waste of time, considering I had plugged in my old printer and Windows automatically found driver on line. I followed the instructions anyway, and when done, BT could not find my speaker bar. Tried to trouble shoot, but that's hard without the referenced "user manual" that apparently does not exist. Uninstalled and reinstalled, but still no luck. Again went to website, and found this: "Please note that Broadcom supplies chipsets to equipment manufacturers and cannot provide comprehensive support for our customers' products". So not only is there no user manual, there is no tech support either? After about 3 hours of messing with this $21 item, I was getting ready to return it to Best Buy, but for some reason my last-ditch effort was to turn off my speaker and turn it back on. It's a MIRACLE: dialog boxes started popping up, and the BT started working!! Seems to work fine, but now I'm afraid to turn anything off. Best Buy would do its customers a favor by not selling unsupported junk like this.

I had recently purchased a set of bluetooth headphones so that I wouldn't literally be tethered to my computer when listening to music in my office. Unfortunately, neither my desktop or my laptop had built in bluetooth, so I needed an adapter in order to use the new headphones. Because of my work, I predominately use Fedora KDE Spin as an operating system. I was a little worried about this adapter a first because it only listed Windows as a supported operating system, but it was the only option they had in the store at my local Best Buy, so I purchased it. When I got home, I plugged it into my laptop (running Fedora 23) and the bluetooth icon immediately appeared in the system tray. When I got to work this morning, I plugged it into my desktop (running Fedora 22) and again, it just worked! So, if you are running a linux operating system with a more recent kernel, there should be no problems with this adapter.

This is an adapter that allows an older model laptop (one without Bluetooth) to hook up to a Bluetooth speaker. It's about the size of a nickel and hooks up to the thumb drive. I hook my laptop to a digital projector and use this device to divert the sound to a Bluetooth speaker (way better sound than a laptop, not as good as a home theater system). The device has a light in it which lets me know when it's communicating with the speaker. There are occasional (about once every twenty times) timing issues where the speaker lags - Easily fixed by pausing the video and playing again from where you left off. It was $20, much less than a new computer, and I get wireless speakers which is important to me. Overall I would recommend this to anyone who needs it. Different stores seem to stick these in different locations, but if you're in a Best Buy chances are they sell them and have them in stock. Try wireless speakers and also adaptor/connectors areas. Don't be embarrassed to ask an associate. (;