How to set up a Windows 7 laptop as a bluetooth access point?
The reason you do not succeed with creating a Personal area network over Bluetooth is because you are using the Microsoft Bluetooth stack. Using this stack, it is not possible to use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). This was possible in older versions of Windows, but is no longer the case.
I quote from one analysis of the problem :
The problem isn't a new one (introduced in vista and still present in windows 7) - instead, the problem already existed in windows xp!
The Microsoft Bluetooth stack does not treat a bluetooth adapter like a LAN adapter. Period.
It is, however, a matter of the vendor supplied bluetooth software (as an alternative to just using the Microsoft stack).
So when I used Windows XP (and windows 2000, by the way) I could use the bluetooth software provided by AVM (vendor of Bluefritz USB) - which gave me a PAN connection and a bluetooth connection treated just like any other network adapter! Thus enabling ICS and/or bridging my LAN an my bluetooth adapters!
Since the only available AVM drivers, however, dropped PAN support in their vista drivers and tell you to switch to Microsoft Bluetooth (on the fly) if you would like to use the PAN profile, you are left with the Microsoft stack which doesn't support ICS and/or bridging with bluetooth connections! And this has already been this way in Windows XP!
I can still use the AVM bluetooth software in windows 7, but if I want to use a PAN connection, I now MUST switch the bluetooth stack on the fly (from AVM to Microsoft)! And voilà - no more ICS in that PAN connection!
But to all other people who may have issues with Internet connection sharing over bluetooth (be it since Vista, Windows 7 or whatever):
There is hope.
Third-party software DOES enable you to have ICS via Bluetooth!!
I tested several Bluetooth stacks:
- Toshiba BT stack
- Bluesoleil by IVT
- Widcomm/Broadcomm
In each case, I had ICS working via Bluetooth!
Instructions on using the BlueSoleil software for establishing WiFi-over-Bluetooth can be found in the article Sharing Internet Access using Bluetooth device. I have not tested them, since I don't have the required environment, but they seem mostly logical.
You may get the BlueSoleil stack from here. This is a demo version that limits file transfers to 5 MB per file, which is fine for your purpose.
Follow the instructions as best as you can. They were obviously not written for Windows 7, and the writer was not English, but the many screenshots should help where the text is unclear. However, not having tested the details, I cannot guarantee that this will work.
Maybe these webpages can help you. I found a couple of different ones on this subject.
What you are trying to accomplish I believe is a Bluetooth Personal Area Network. In other words, Bluetooth PAN. I think it is as simple as connecting two Bluetooth devices together, then join personal area network. You are however going to need a PANU capable device/computer. As long as you have a PANU device the process is pretty straight forward. Here's all the things I found:
http://www.conniq.com/Windows-networking/Bluetooth_PAN_xp-setup_12.htm http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/connect-bluetooth-pan#1TC=windows-7 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/what-is-bluetooth-personal-area-network#1TC=windows-7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_area_network
Hope this helps! If not I can try some experiments on my own and see if I can get a Bluetooth PAN going.