Configuring an External USB Bluetooth Dongle

Restrictions for Configuring an External USB Bluetooth Dongle

  • Only Bluetooth version 4.0 is supported.

  • External USB Bluetooth dongle is supported only on the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches that are configured within the IPv4 address range.

  • In stacking mode, the external USB Bluetooth dongle needs to be enabled on an active switch.

  • After a Stateful Switchover (SSO), the external USB Bluetooth dongle should be enabled on the new active switch interface.

  • External USB Bluetooth dongle is not supported with the following configurations:

    • Quality of Service (QoS)

    • Access Control List (ACL)

Information About External USB Bluetooth Dongle

From Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.1, switches support external USB Bluetooth dongle. The connected external USB Bluetooth dongle acts as a Bluetooth host for external devices and serves as a management port on the switch. You can pair an external USB Bluetooth dongle with your Bluetooth-enabled external devices such as smart phone, laptop, or tablet.

External USB Bluetooth dongle is supported on switches that are configured either in standalone mode or in stacking mode.

Supported External USB Bluetooth Dongle

The following external USB Bluetooth dongles are supported:

  • BTD-400 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter by Kinivo

  • Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter by Asus

  • Mini Bluetooth Wireless USB 4.0 Dongle Adapter by Adnet

  • Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter by Insignia

How to Configure an External USB Bluetooth Dongle on a Switch

To configure an external USB Bluetooth dongle on a switch, perform this procedure:

Procedure

Step 1

Connect an external USB Bluetooth dongle to the USB Type A port on the switch.

Note

 

You can connect the external USB Bluetooth dongle either before powering up the device or when the device is running.

Step 2

On your switch, enter the global configuration mode and verify that the external USB Bluetooth dongle is connected to the switch: 

Device> enable
Device# show platform hardware bluetooth

Controller:0:1a:7d:da:71:13
Type:Primary
Bus:USB
State:DOWN
Name:HCI Version:

Step 3

Enable Bluetooth interface using the enable command in interface configuration mode: 

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# interface bluetooth 0/4
Device(config-if)# enable

Step 4

Enter the no shutdown command to restart the Bluetooth interface automatically after a device reboot: 

Device(config-if)# no shutdown

Step 5

Configure the pairing pin using the bluetooth pin pin command: 

Device(config-if)# bluetooth pin 1111

or

Device(config-if)# exit
Device(config)# bluetooth pin 1111

Note

 

Cisco recommends using bluetooth pin command in global configuration mode.

Step 6

Turn on the Bluetooth settings on your external device. On your external device, select the Bluetooth-enabled switch based on the hostname.

Step 7

Enable the network settings on your external device to allow it to connect to the internet.

Verifying Bluetooth Settings on a Switch

Use the following commands in privileged EXEC mode to monitor Bluetooth settings.

Table 1. Commands to Monitor Bluetooth Settings on a Device

Command

Purpose

show ip interface bluetooth 0/4

Displays the usability status of a Bluetooth interface.

show platform hardware bluetooth

Displays information about a Bluetooth interface.

show running | include pin

Displays the current Bluetooth pin.

Feature History for Configuring an External Bluetooth Dongle

This table provides release and related information for features explained in this module.

These features are available on all releases subsequent to the one they were introduced in, unless noted otherwise.

Release

Feature

Feature Information

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.1

Configuring an External Bluetooth Dongle

External USB Bluetooth dongle acts as a Bluetooth host for external devices and serves as a management port on the switch.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform and software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn.