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DylanMitchell
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December 29th, 2021 14:00
OptiPlex 5090 SFF adding Bluetooth and wi-fi
We have a few OptiPlex 5090 SFF being adapted to work from home use. Some of our employees want Bluetooth for wireless keyboards and mice, and wi-fi for home office set ups without access to ethernet connections.
What options do we have for adding Bluetooth and wi-fi. Do external usb wi-fi usually include Bluetooth, or do we need to add wireless cards with Bluetooth and wi-fi.
wow - an external USB is the solution!?
Well I am also looking to add BT and don't want to loose a USB port.
after some research and checking the driver updates many Intel cards will work. I am going for an Intel AX211.
If I eventually want to make use of the WiFi portion I will add the antenna. But ASFAIK this is not needed for BT.
If the machines were not originally configured with a mini-card for WiFi/Bluetooth, I don't know if Dell would have installed the internal antenna wires. IIRC, it was just one combo mini-card for both WiFi and Bluetooth ... using just the one set of antenna wires. Service Manual PDF might show original hardware config.
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bradthetechnut
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Posted December 29th, 2021 18:00
"Do external usb wi-fi usually include Bluetooth, or do we need to add wireless cards with Bluetooth and wi-fi." Either way, you can go internal or external. Example of external WiFi BT adapters. To answer the first part of your question, USB WiFi adapters are available in WiFi only.
Not all keyboards and mice are BT that I'm aware of. The ones that aren't come with a dongle.