Review on Plugable USB Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Micro Adapter: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 Compatible, Gamepad & Stereo Headset Compatible by Stuart Sugden

My rating is based on my own experience with a brand new PC-based home workstation running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (with Creator Update installed). I was looking to add Bluetooth to my system and the plug-in adapter seemed like the easiest option. One more note: I was only trying to connect a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. All in all I can say that the adapter does exactly what it is supposed to do and is a great option for adding Bluetooth to your system. Installation was very easy on Windows 10 and the adapter was recognized immediately. I then installed the latest driver from the Pluggable website with no problems. I had an issue pairing my devices, but as I will explain, it turned out to be a Windows issue rather than an adapter error. PROS - Extremely quick and easy adapter installation in Windows 10 - Decent range as long as you follow manufacturer's instructions - Extremely good customer service to help with any issues. CONS - Range/interference issues can sometimes occur if plugged into the back of your computer or near a USB 3 port. I first installed the adapter into a USB 2.0 port on the back of my computer and then attempted to pair my devices ( Note: Pluggable recommends plugging the adapter into the front of the computer or into a hub to reduce interference. I have a microsoft modern keyboard which connects via a usb cable (as does bluetooth) the keyboard should work over usb when plugged in and automatically switch to bluetooth after unplugging the cable I've found this to work isn't the case. The keyboard worked via USB but didn't connect via Bluetooth. I also noticed that my surface mouse would connect but also disconnect and then I couldn't reconnect it. In the end I could won't connect at all. I then contacted support to see if they could help me. I spoke to David and he got me quickly shown that Pluggable has one of the best customer support. They really care and go out of their way to make sure you are happy. David worked with me via email for literally several days to resolve the issue. After a lot of work, it seemed that the implementation of Bluetooth in Windows is not very good. It turns out that the Bluetooth stack in Windows can be corrupted or corrupted fairly easily. In fact, a simple Google search revealed that the Windows Creators Update did indeed break Bluetooth, particularly on devices using Broadcom technology that use Pluggable and many other adapters. After many unsuccessful attempts to pair my devices, David sent me a brand new adapter free of charge to make sure I didn't have a defective device. While waiting for it to arrive, I reluctantly decided to do a full reinstall of Windows 10 (I didn't know of any other way to fix the Bluetooth stack). I was hoping that if the bluetooth stack is indeed broken or corrupted, a reinstall and full refresh might fix the problem. When the adapter arrived and my computer had a clean install of Windows 10 with the latest update, I installed the adapter. Installation completed with no problems. Then I connected the keyboard and installed the driver. Instantly connected to USB and Bluetooth! Then I connected the mouse. It also connected with no issues, but I did notice a slight lag when using it. I then plugged the adapter into the USB 2.0 port that was on my desktop and the problem was resolved. No mouse lag. Now my bluetooth is working fine, no disappearing, no freezing, neither from keyboard nor mouse. I also replaced the spare with the old adapter. Now it works too! So I believe the Bluetooth stack was corrupted and this was the cause of my devices' pairing and connection issues. Not sure exactly how the bluetooth stack got corrupted, but a fresh install/update fixed everything for me. It is clear that this required a lot more work than I had hoped. But Pluggable's customer service is top notch and they will go out of their way to make things work for you. After all, the adapter does exactly what it's supposed to do and now that I've repaired Windows it's working fine. I know everyone's situation is different, but I hope what I've written here can help someone else with similar problems to find a solution quicker than me.