D600 Bluetooth keeps disappearing and then reappearing

Question

I have a user that has his bluetooth continually disappearing from device manager (and making the 'unplug' USB sound) and then reappearing a few moments later.  I've deleted all the USB devices (hub, etc...) to see if just re-recognizing everything would do anything.  Nope.  I tried deleting just the bluetooth, nope.  I even completely disabled the bluetooth device and it still does it.  I also changed the setting to allow Windows to control the power management of the bluetooth device but that didn't help either.  I'm at my wits' end.  Any suggestions?   Oh yeah, I also tried the BIOS but I can't see that there's anyway to actually disable the bluetooth in there, it just says it's 'Installed'.

RobOkam · Answer

I had the same problem on my D600 at work.  It was working fine for a couple of weeks when I first got it then had the disconnect, reconnect all the time until it gave up.  Call service and the tech replaced the motherboard and bluetooth adapter and no problems since.

4x4 · Answer

Had similar problem - much grief!  If you press down on the lower left palm rest, the blue tooth light appears.  Dell technical replaced motherboard and blue tooth card.

mrfaize · Answer

I have the same problem with the bluetooth in my Latitude D600. It used to work but now it doesn't unless I squeeze the front left part of the laptop. I guess this is where the bluetooth is. I think I am out of warranty.   Is there any point opening the case to see if the bluetooth is loose ? Is it a removable module/card or integral part of the motherboard e.g. soldered chip?   Can anyone help? Thanks

4x4 · Answer

I watched the technician replacing my motherboard and blue tooth. The bluetooth is a small card that clips onto the motherboard. Mine was wobbly. I am sure that one could use some silcone to lock it into place and keep properly connected. Maybe one could bend the terminals a bit to make a better connection first.

My bluetooth problems are not over, however. I have spent about 17 hours since the "repair" trying to get the right drivers and software to load. At this stage, my bluetooth software goes round and round in circles loading and then uninstalling, and loading and installing again.

Nearly ready to trash my Dell and buy something that has a proper support representation in South Africa.

Just cannot get the local device to be recognised.

RobOkam · Answer

I had the exact same problem.  Push down on the lower left corner, bluetooth light would come on.  When the tech first came out he only had the bluetooth module.  He replaced that only but still had the problem.  It wasn't until he replaced the motherboard and bluetooth module that the problem disappeared.

4x4 · Answer

After the hassle that I have had with getting Dell bluetooth to work, particularly after motherboard and blue tooth replacement, and when you look at the posts on this forum - so have 1000's of Dell customers had the same problems, if Dell do not pull something out of the hat in terms of their warranty, I am going to strip out the Dell bluetooth and install a Belkin USB bluetooth. They cost under US$50 and work perfectly. In lost time and frustration, my Dell bluetooth has cost me more US$5000 so far!

I am frankly quite appalled that Dell have not better addressed what is a frequent known problem since early 2003 or late 2002.

johnpickett · Answer

Yeah, I had called tech support and they concluded it was a 'OS' issue.  Whatever.  So I tried reimaging the machine with the exact image used on all our other D600's and it still had the issue.  So I tried installing a fresh XP off the media that came with the laptop, still had it.  Called tech support again and luckily that guy was cool.   They're coming out to replace the mobo/BT this morning, phew.   That's unfortunate this seems to be a widespread issue.  The thing that kinda really upsets me is that our users don't even use the BT.  But disabling it doesn't do anything because it keeps 'unplugging' and then plugging back in like a new device!  Grrrr....   They really should make it a BIOS option to disable the BT slot.  That way if people don't use it or don't WANT to use it (like 4x4 suggests), you could at least disable it for good!   (PS - Wow, they really restrict a lot of words don't they? :-) )

4x4 · Answer

There is an issue between Win XP SP2 and the Dell drivers. You have to load the Operating System as SP1(a) and the load all the Dell drivers and then only upgrade to SP2.

This was a mission but now have a working blue tooth and like my Dell laptop again.

mrfaize · Answer

An update on my bluetooth problem.   Contacted Tech Support who talked me through a couple of things to try even though I had tried them and explained I'd read around on the forums. They suggested I could try opening the case and reseat the card. As it was still under warranty I said I would prefer they did it.   They sent a technician out the next day to replace the motherboard. When he opened the case he showed me the bluetooth card. It has a small connector plug which had broken away from the bluetooth card. Everything was still located in the correct place so pressing on the case, left of the touch pad, made the connection and then bluetooth was enabled.   Motherboard and bluetooth replaced and everything working fine. One thing I'd say. I've opened and worked inside Workstation and Server machines in the past but I would not attempt this procedure myself unless the machine was out of warranty - just too many screws and things to take out to get access to the bluetooth.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

D600 Bluetooth keeps disappearing and then reappearing

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