Dell Latitude E5510 - Can't turn on my bluetooth

Question

I've posted this question in another forum but thought it'd be better here since it's Dell specific.

This is my first question to the site.
I have a problem where I can't turn on the bluetooth on my laptop. If anybody could give help me solve this I'd be very grateful!

Laptop Details
- Dell Latitude E5510.
- Windows 7 32-bit.

Problems
- The bluetooth light is not lit (WiFi is lit).
- The bluetooth icon is not in the system tray.
- There are no settings in 'Control Panel' for bluetooth.
- There are no drivers in 'Device Manager' for bluetooth.

Troubleshooting Already Attempted
- Ensured that bluetooth was enabled in the BIOS.
- Updated BIOS to version A11.
- Downloaded and attempted to install drivers (R285455.exe, R260222.exe, R296919.exe). When I try to run R260222.exe, it tells me that it is incompatible. When I run the other two drivers, it extracts the items but then asks me to "activate bluetooth using wireless switch". The switch is already on but no light appears for the bluetooth symbol. It's a catch 22!
- Ensured that the 'Bluetooth Support Service' was started.

I've been searching for the solution for hours now and just have no idea what else to do. If I've missed out on any information, please let me know.
I'm beginning to think that there is no physical bluetooth adaptor in my laptop at all.

jaych1000 · Accepted Answer

This is the response I received on a different forum and when I checked my original system configurations, there was no mention of bluetooth:

Here's how to check for physical presence of Bluetooth in a Dell Ex510 system:

In BIOS, it will say under Wireless or Radios or Networking (sorry, I don't remember the exact menu section and I don't have time to reboot my machine right now) something along the lines of "Bluetooth installed" and might list the module model.

You can go to Dell Warranty Status and click to Original System Configuration tab. Dell Bluetooth module for Ex510 was 375. Search the page (press CTRL + F) for it.

Checking for physical presence is tricky and you shouldn't do it unless you have experience re-assembling laptops. The procedure can be found here (Dell Support).

What you might be experiencing is that the radio switch in the front left of the palm rest is set to control both wi-fi & Bluetooth and is currently turned off. The setting is in BIOS in the same section as enabling/disabling radios. You can set it to only control wi-fi so that Bluetooth is controlled by its drivers in Windows.

RickStockton · Answer

Just rang off with Dell Pro Support, and got another good solution:

The Bluetooth was not working when I opened up my system from 'Sleep' mode, at my office desk, while USB'ed into my Pluggable interface.
Why? The computer turned off the card, which includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the same card. The reason that the card was turned off was an automated power saving feature. The reason that the card was not automatically turned on was that there was no need for Wi-Fi, apparently the designated board restart trigger, because Wi-Fi was not needed, because
I turned off this power saving feature:

Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections\Wi-Fi\Properties\Configure\Power Management and then uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.

RickStockton · Answer

Pardon me, i never finished writing item #2: The Bluetooth was not working when I opened up my system from 'Sleep' mode, at my office desk, while USB'ed into my Pluggable interface. Why? The computer turned off the card, which includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the same card. The reason that the card was turned off was an automated power saving feature. The reason that the card was not automatically turned on was that there was no need for Wi-Fi, apparently the designated board restart trigger, because Wi-Fi was not needed, because my computer was accessing the internet through my Ethernet connection and not the computer's Wi-Fi connection, and therefore no trigger to turn on the board, and therefore the Bluetooth stays off. I turned off this power saving feature: Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections\Wi-Fi\Properties\Configure\Power Management and then uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.

Kfree2 · Answer

Thank you! I don't know where this mysterious 'switch' is located, but I must've touched some key combination inadvertently and was losing my mind trying to figure out how to turn it back on! Tried Windows troubleshooter and reinstalled the drivers. I didn't think to check the BIOS. Thanks again!

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Dell Latitude E5510 - Can't turn on my bluetooth

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