HOW BLUETOOTH WORKS

As our world has grown increasingly connected, we've adopted many technologies to
help us stay in contact with our friends and family. One of the most popular is Bluetooth
technology, which can be found in many of the devices we use every day. The wireless
technology connects mice and keyboards to our computers. It connects our phones to
our cars to catch up on the latest podcasts during our morning commutes and it
connects our smartwatches and activity trackers to our smartphones.

When any two devices need to communicate with each other, they have to agree on a
number of points before the conversation can begin. The first point of agreement is
physical: Will they talk over wires, or wireless signals? If they use wires, how many are
required — one, two, eight or 25? Once the physical attributes are decided, several
more questions arise:

 How much data will be sent at a time? For instance, serial ports send data
1 bit at a time, while parallel ports send several bits at once.
 How will they speak to each other? All of the parties in an electronic discussion
need to know what the bits mean and whether the message they receive is the
same message that was sent. This means developing a set of commands and
responses known as a protocol.

With no physical connection required, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) create
wireless technology standards for hardware manufacturers to use when they create new
devices. As technology evolves, wireless communications technology does, too. At the
time of this writing, there are two Bluetooth technology standards that developers use to
keep you connected. Although similar, there are subtle differences that make them
useful for different applications. We'll learn about the two types of Bluetooth technology
below.

Contents

1. Bluetooth Connections
2. How Bluetooth Technology Operates
3. Bluetooth Range
4. Bluetooth Security

Bluetooth Connections
Wireless communication is now a common phenomenon. Many of us have WiFi internet
connections in our offices and homes. But Bluetooth devices communicate directly with
each other, rather than sending traffic through an in-between device such as a wireless
router. This makes life very convenient and keeps power use extremely low,
improving battery life.
Bluetooth devices communicate using low-power radio waves on a frequency band
between 2.400 GHz and 2.483.5 GHz [source: Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)].
This is one of a handful of bands that is set aside by international agreement for the use
of industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).

Many devices that you may already use take advantage of this same radio-frequency
band, including baby monitors, garage-door openers and the newest generation
of cordless phones. Making sure that Bluetooth devices and other wireless
communications technologies don't interfere with one another is essential.

There are two types of Bluetooth technology as of 2020: Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and
Bluetooth Classic (more formally known as Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate,
or BR/EDR) [source: Bluetooth SIG]. Both operate using the same frequency band, but
Bluetooth LE is the more popular option, by far. It needs much less energy to operate
and can also be used for broadcast or mesh networks in addition to allowing
communication over point-to-point connections between two devices.

The classic Bluetooth technology can deliver a slightly higher data rate than Bluetooth
LE (3 Mbs compared to either 1Mbs or 2 Mbs) but can only be used for communication
directly between two devices using point-to-point connections. Each of the two types of
Bluetooth technology has its particular strengths and manufacturers adopt the version
that best fits the needs of their product.

Why Is It Called Bluetooth?

Harald Bluetooth was king of Denmark in the late 900s. He managed to unite Denmark
and part of Norway into a single kingdom, then introduced Christianity into Denmark. He
left a large monument, the Jelling rune stone, in memory of his parents. He was killed in
986 during a battle with his son, Svend Forkbeard. Choosing this name for the standard
indicates how important companies from the Nordic region (nations including Denmark,
Sweden, Norway and Finland) are to the communications industry, even if it says little
about the way the technology works.

How Bluetooth Technology Operates

Bluetooth BR/EDR devices must always be paired and this procedure results in each of
the two devices trusting the other and being able to exchange data in a secure way,
using encryption.

When Bluetooth BR/EDR devices come within range of one another, an electronic
conversation takes place to determine whether they trust each other or not and have
data to share. The user doesn't usually have to press a button or give a command —
the electronic conversation happens automatically. Once the conversation has
occurred, the devices — whether they're part of a computer system or a stereo — form
a network.
Bluetooth LE works differently. Devices may also be paired to form a trusted
relationship between them but not all types of product require this. A Bluetooth LE
device which wants to be discovered broadcasts special messages (known as packets)
in a process called advertising. Advertising packets contain useful information about the
advertising device. Another suitable device will find the advertising device by scanning
(listening) for advertising packets and selecting those which are from appropriate
devices. Usually scanning only happens when the user triggers it by say, pressing a
button in a smartphone application. Typically the user is then presented with details of
appropriate devices that were discovered and then selects one to connect to.

Bluetooth peripherals (e.g., an activity tracker and a smartwatch) that are connected to
the same central device (e.g., a smartphone) form a personal-area network (PAN)
or piconet that may fill an entire building or may encompass a distance no more than
that between the smartphone in your pocket and the watch on your wrist. Once a
piconet is established, its members hop radio frequencies in unison so they stay in
touch with one another and avoid interfering with other Bluetooth piconets that may be
operating in the same room or devices using other wireless technologies such as WiFi.
Bluetooth technology even learns which radio channels are working well and which
ones are experiencing interference so that it can dynamically avoid bad channels and
just use the channels that are free from interference. This process, called adaptive
frequency hopping allows Bluetooth devices to work really well, even in environments
where there are very large numbers of wireless devices operating.

Bluetooth Range

Bluetooth technology powers both smartphones and smart speakers. YAGI

STUDIO/GETTY IMAGES
Although many think of Bluetooth primarily as a short-range technology, it can also be
used to connect devices more than a kilometer (3,280 feet) apart [source: Bluetooth
SIG]. In fact, many types of product such as wireless headphones, require the devices'
communication range to be very short. But because Bluetooth technology is very
flexible and can be configured to the needs of the application, manufacturers can adjust
the Bluetooth settings on their devices to achieve the range they need whilst at the
same time maximizing battery life and achieving the best quality of signal.

Several factors affect the range of Bluetooth devices:

 Radio spectrum: Bluetooth technology's frequency band makes it a good choice

for wireless communication.
 Physical layer (PHY): This defines some key aspects of how the radio is used to
transmit and receive data such as the data rate, how error detection and
correction is performed, interference protection, and other techniques that
influence signal clarity over different ranges.
 Receiver sensitivity: The measure of the minimum signal strength at which a
receiver can still receive and correctly decode data.
 Transmission power: As you may expect, the higher the transmitted signal
strength, the longer the range that can be achieved. But increasing the
transmission power will also deplete your battery faster.
 Antenna gain: Essentially, this is changing electrical signals from the transmitter
into radio waves and back again on the receiving end.
 Path loss: Several factors may weaken the signal, including distance, humidity,
and the medium through which it travels (such as wood, concrete or metal).

One of the most recent Bluetooth technology updates introduced a technique

called forward error correction (FEC) to improve receiver sensitivity. FEC corrects
data errors that are detected at the receiving end and improves a device's effective
range by four or more times without having to use more transmission power. This
means a device can successfully receive data when it is at a much longer range from
the transmitter, where the signal will be much weaker [source: Bluetooth SIG].

Bluetooth Security
Bluetooth technology includes a number of security measures that can satisfy even the
most stringent security requirements such as those included in the Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS).

When setting up a new device, users typically go through a process called pairing.

Pairing equips each device with special security keys and causes them to trust each
other. A device that requires pairing will not connect to another device which it has not
been paired with.
Those security keys allow Bluetooth technology to protect data and users in a number
of ways. For example, data exchanged between devices can be encrypted so that it
cannot be read by other devices. It can also allow the address which acts as the identity
of a device and which is included in wireless data exchanges to be disguised and
changed every few minutes. This protects users from the risk of being tracked using
data transmitted by their personal electronic devices.

If you own Bluetooth-enabled devices, you have experienced this for yourself. For
example, if you buy a cordless mouse, the first time you turn it on, you pair it to the
device you plan to use it with. You might turn the mouse on, then go to the Bluetooth
settings on your computer to pair the device once you see its name in a list of nearby
Bluetooth accessories. A computer can handle many Bluetooth connections at once by
design. You may want to use a cordless mouse, keyboard and headphones.