The Silicon Labs BLED112 is a single-mode Bluetooth Low Energy USB dongle that provides BLE connectivity for PCs and other devices with a USB port. The dongle integrates all Bluetooth 4.0 single-mode features and works with the Bluetooth Framework on any Windows platform.
Because BLED112 is a single-mode Bluetooth Low Energy module, it does not support Bluetooth Classic. It works as a GATT central (client), can discover BLE devices, receive and broadcast BLE advertisements, and supports passkey notification and passkey request pairing.
When you need BLED112
The main advantage of BLED112 is full control over the GATT communication. Because the dongle does not use the Windows native Bluetooth driver, it allows communication with GATT-enabled devices that do not work well with the Microsoft Bluetooth driver.
Full GATT control
If an application needs to work with a Bluetooth LE HID device, the Microsoft Bluetooth driver does not allow that. BLED112 solves this problem: it connects to such devices directly without installing a BLE HID driver and without the device being blocked by the operating system.
Custom advertisement data
The Microsoft Bluetooth driver does not allow arbitrary data types in BLE advertisements. If the application needs them, BLED112 is the way to do it. It has only a few limitations on possible advertisement data and does not restrict developers in the way the standard stack does. More details on those limitations are available in the BLE advertisement article.
Connection parameters
When a GATT-enabled device uses non-optimal connection parameters, communication becomes very slow. The natural first idea is to change the connection parameters to increase speed, but the device firmware is usually not accessible. On Windows 10, this is a real problem. BLED112 is the solution: it allows changing the connection parameters on any Windows platform, including Windows XP.
Multiple concurrent devices
Bluetooth hardware limits the number of simultaneous connections to a handful of devices, usually up to three. The natural fix is to use more than one Bluetooth dongle, but that is not possible with standard Windows Bluetooth drivers. With BLED112 it is. An application can connect as many dongles as needed, and the Bluetooth Framework does not limit the number of modules in use.
Legacy Windows platforms
If an application must run on a legacy Windows platform such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 — none of which support Bluetooth Low Energy natively — BLED112 is the only way to provide BLE functionality. The Bluetooth Framework enables Bluetooth LE on any Windows platform when the BLED112 dongle is used.
Windows 10 1607
The Microsoft Bluetooth stack on Windows 10 1607 has a bug that prevents connection to connectable GATT-enabled BLE devices if the
device does not advertise the Limited Discoverable or General Discoverable flags. This Windows version also cannot find or pair with
such devices. The wclBluetoothLeBeaconWatcher class can still find the device, but pairing and connecting do not work.
BLED112 is the only solution. Because the dongle bypasses the Microsoft Bluetooth stack, the application can find, pair (if needed),
and connect to the device.
Installing BLED112
The BLED112 dongle does not need any special installation. Once plugged in, it appears as a COM port in the system. Windows 10 and above installs the BLED112 driver automatically. Windows XP, Windows 7, and sometimes Windows 8 may not install the BLED112 driver automatically, and the driver must be downloaded and installed manually. The BLED112 driver is available for download.
No additional SDKs or drivers are required to use the BLED112 Bluetooth USB dongle with the Bluetooth Framework.
Frequently asked questions
- What is BLED112?
- BLED112 is a single-mode Bluetooth Low Energy USB dongle by Silicon Labs. It enables BLE connectivity for PCs via USB, works as a GATT central device, and can receive and broadcast BLE advertisements.
- When should I use BLED112?
- Use BLED112 when you need full GATT control, need to work with devices that are incompatible with the Microsoft Bluetooth driver, need to add custom BLE advertisement data, need to change connection parameters, need to connect multiple BLE devices simultaneously, or need to support legacy Windows versions.
- How to install BLED112?
- Simply plug it in. Windows 10 and above install the driver automatically. For older Windows, download and install the driver manually. No additional SDKs are needed.