Does Acer Aspire One netbook D257 have BlueTooth?

[Enigma]

hello, i'm not sure if i'm posting this in the right forum so I chose the category that seemed most relevant. I have an Acer Aspire One (D)257 netbook that I bought from Wal-Mart and i'm wondering if it has BlueTooth built into it by default. I'm not asking if it's BlueTooth-capable, i'm asking if my model contains an ACTUAL, PHYSICAL BT module internally. Because if it doesnt, then i will need to buy a BT usb chip that plugs into USB.

So if anyone here has my model and has BT working on it then please reply. I downloaded the Atheros BT driver for my model from the Acer site, and i've tried running the .exe files installed, but nothing ever happens. i cannot for the life of me figure out how to get this working without needing to buy an external chip, so i figure it would really help if i knew whether or not a BT module is present inside my netbook.

I have read several sites that say my model is BT capable and that it's an "optional" feature but beyond that i'm puzzled. I even called Acer, but couldnt get a clear answer on whether the module is present or how to get this working. I've also tried turning on my BT devices and then using the BT option under Control Panel\Hardware\Devices and Printers and then the "Add a device" option but Windows never finds anything.

I need this for talking on skype, ventrilo, teamspeak, business conferencing, and for having online chats with the other students in my university classes. I hate using headsets that have to go around your ears with the mic in front of your mouth, it's just so big and annoying. This has always been a vexing issue for me, i had the same issues getting BT to work under XP and Vista as well. So if anyone can help, then thanks in advance!

 

[Britton30]

I found this by googling Acer Support: Specifications
Open Device Manager from Control Panel to see if BT is listed under there somewhere.

 

[Enigma]

Thanks for the reply, and no, nothing about BT is mentioned in device manager, even though i installed the driver for it and restarted Windows. of course, the driver is useless if there is no physical internal BT component, which i have yet to figure out. I have called Acer yet again and it seems that theyre either trying to play dumb, or just giving the runaround. Tech support was absolutely no help whatsoever. i did Google before posting, but the page you listed never came up. here's what's on the page regarding BT:

WPAN:1

• Bluetooth® 3.0+HS (for Windows® 7 only)

Well i'm obviously running Win7, so WTF?! And see that little "1" thing beside "WPAN"? Well, that means theres a footnote at the bottom of the page in fine print, and it seems to imply in the footnote that only certain models of the D257 have BT. but the thing is, i thought the D257 was a model in and of itself, and so therefore it seems that there can be only 1 model of my netbook. i've also found a page that implies but not states directly that only the European version has BT, and that the US version excludes it. The other pages i visited make no mention of that, and so without a direct statement one way or the other i'm still unclear.


So i'm going to revise my statement earlier and ask if its possible that someone here with the US version of my netbook can respond.


Thanks!

 

[Enigma]

Issue Resolved

finall got an answer to my question from Acer tech support, they have confirmed that the US version of my model lacks built-in Bluetooth, only the European version has it. So I went to CompUSA and bought one of those thumb-sized external BT chips that plugs into USB.

 

[Britton30]

Glad to hear you found out. Sorry I was remiss at replying.

 

[Zepher]

Did you happen to ask them if the bluetooth module was available. On my dell mini 9, you can add an internal bluetooth receiver/transmitter if it didn't come with it.