Latest Windows 10 version introduces Bluetooth improvements

May 16, 2018 12:30 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has officially started the Windows 10 April 2018 Update rollout earlier this month, and one of the new features that thus land on users’ computers concerns the way Bluetooth peripherals are paired to their computers.

By default, previous Windows 10 versions, as well as the other Windows releases on the market, come with a rather simple Bluetooth pairing process that typically involves scanning for peripherals, entering a pairing code or not, and then completing a wizard.

But with Windows 10 April 2018 Update, Microsoft wanted to make everything a much smoother experience, turning the steps above into one seamless process that only requires a single click.

This new feature is called Swift Pair, and it involves special hardware that allows this super-quick connectivity between peripherals and the Windows 10 device. If this hardware isn’t available, then Bluetooth devices need to be connected in the traditional way from the Settings app.

How Swift Pair works

As Microsoft itself explained earlier this year when it started testing Swift Pair, this feature was developed with help from the Surface team, the same one that brought us devices like the Surface Book or the Surface Laptop. The first device supporting this feature was the Surface Precision Mouse and more have since been developed.

Since it was supposed from the very beginning to be quite fast and easy to use, Swift Pair doesn’t require too many steps to be completed on the user side.

The first thing you need to do is put your peripheral in pairing mode. In most cases, this can be done with a physical button on the mouse, and you either have to press it once or press it for 10 seconds or so to enter the pairing mode. When the mode is enabled, a light on the device should start blinking, letting you know that it’s ready to connect to a PC. For further instructions, you can read the manual of the device or contact the manufacturer.

If the peripheral device is close to a Windows 10 PC running the April 2018 Update, the two should detect each other all automatically, and the only thing you’re going to see is a notification in the lower right corner that lets you know a Bluetooth device was found. A Connect button is also included in the notification and clicking it begins the pairing process per se, which is then finalized in a matter of seconds.

If for some reason you want to disable Swift Pair, such as security concerns, you can do it from the Settings app in the Bluetooth & other devices section.

This is where Swift Pair will show up if available

“This is the next evolution of our constant quest to make Bluetooth the best it can be. No longer does a user need to navigate the Settings App and find their peripheral to pair. Windows can now do this for them by popping a notification when a new peripheral is nearby and ready to pair,” Microsoft proudly announced earlier this year.

While the pairing process is completed so smoothly, in order to unpair a peripheral you still have to go to the Settings app to remove it. Even if this isn’t as convenient as expected, you’re not supposed to unpair devices so often anyway and, at the same time, you can always simply disconnect the device and put it in pairing mode whenever you want to sync it with another PC.

Keep in mind that this experience is only available for peripherals with dedicated hardware to support Swift Pair, and Microsoft says that it is already working with partners to bring this feature to as many devices as possible in the coming months.

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The notification displayed in the lower right corner
This is where Swift Pair will show up if available
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