Windows 10 version 2004 will streamline Bluetooth pairing

Mar 12, 2020 12:48 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 version 2004 is believed to be just around the corner, as the new feature update is basically scheduled to go live in April or May for production devices.

According to Microsoft’s typical release calendar, this update is supposed to be signed off in March or April, so it’s all just a matter of days until the first wave of production devices gets it.

And once this happens, all devices updated to Windows 10 version 2004 will be able to pair with Bluetooth peripherals in a much more straightforward manner, all thanks to the addition of new capabilities in this feature update.

First and foremost, Microsoft’s Swift Pair is a system that’s been around since Windows 10 version 1803, and it was specifically introduced to make the whole pairing thing more convenient overall by automatically detecting Bluetooth peripherals that are nearby and which are already in the pairing mode. Once these devices are detected, Windows 10 kicks off the pairing option, so technically, you save some time by not going through all the preparatory steps of a Bluetooth pairing process.

And now Windows 10 version 2004 pushes things even further by expanding these capabilities with new options.

“For Windows 10, version 1803, we announced a new streamlined experience for pairing supported Bluetooth devices. The idea was simple—if a supported device was nearby and in pairing mode, we’d show a notification that prompted you to go through pairing. This saved you from opening Settings yourself and finding the right place to go,” Microsoft says.

But beginning with Windows 10 version 2004, the pairing takes place in the notification system, which means that you don’t even need to fire up the Settings app to configure your new Bluetooth device. So when your Bluetooth device is detected in pairing mode, Windows 10 begins displays notifications that guide you through the whole pairing process.

Microsoft has also removed one notification by reducing the time needed for the pairing, but also to make the process simpler. The first notification that is displayed also includes a dismiss button, so you are allowed to ignore the pairing and continue working on your device without any interruption.

And last but not least, because the pairing process is carried out via the notifications displayed on your device, these have been updated to display more information, including the device name and the category. Such details, however, are only provided when Windows 10 can determine them after scanning the device.

Windows 10 Swift Pair

Now here comes the bad news. The updated Bluetooth pairing experience isn’t available for all devices, but only for a handful of peripherals that are developed by Microsoft itself. The following are included:  

  • Surface Ergonomic Keyboard
  • Surface Precision Mouse
  • Surface Mobile Mouse
  • Surface Arc Mouse
  • Surface Headphones
  • Microsoft Arc Mouse
  • Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse

People familiar with the matter said Windows 10 version 2004 was finalized in December, so what Microsoft does right now is polish the experience with last-minute fixes before the public rollout. If you can’t wait for the official launch and want to try out the new Windows 10 feature update right now, you can enroll in the Windows Insider program and download the latest build via the Fast ring.

However, it’s worth noting that the experience with Windows 10 insider builds can sometime be broken by bugs and performance issues, so it’s better to try out this new release with a virtual machine. The Bluetooth pairing experience, however, appears to be working just as expected with no issue whatsoever.

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