IOGear Enhanced Data Rate Bluetooth USB Adapter GBU221

Tagged with: IOGear

IOGear Enhanced Data Rate Bluetooth USB Adapter When I upgraded from Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit, I was disappointed to learn that my Palm 700p had no driver and couldn’t use USB sync (shame on you, Palm). The only solution is to go to bluetooth.

I bought The IOGear BT adapter based on reviews saying it worked in Vista64. When it came in I just plugged it in and waited. Within a few minutes, Windows had discovered and installed the necessary drivers (I’ve had very good luck with drivers on win7). I did not use the CD that came with it. Nothing easier than that. Great product, IOGear!

Before you pair your Palm, and this was key, update to the current Palm desktop (available from Palm free online) and change your HotSync settings (look for Connections, bottom-left of the settings window for HotSync Manager 7.0.2). I found that selecting “Bluetooth” as a sync method was not sufficient – sync never activated on the PC. As soon as I added “Serial” to the list, the next sync worked. I’m not sure where I found this, but that was the missing piece for me.

To get the Palm paired and working took several attempts for me. I’d recommend going into the windows Bluetooth settings and making your PC visible, then setting up from the Palm (for security, turn off visibility after you’re done pairing). Wait for it to recognize your PC’s name, not just “unnamed computer”. On the Palm, ignore & hit “next” thru the steps in the wizard about setting up a serial port – not relevant to Vista/Win7. If your Hotsync settings are right and the pairing takes, you’ll be syncing.

Sync is slower on Bluetooth, so be patient – at least it works, and obsolescence is held at bay a little longer. By the way, if you use PocketTunes, that still works via USB (I have Rhapsody and needed that to get my to-go tunes). Good luck!