Every one of us uses Bluetooth and knows exactly what it is (well unless you’ve been living under a rock) but do you know that different Bluetooth devices have different operating range. If not then keep on reading as today I’ll talk about different range of various Bluetooth devices.
Do you remember that back in early 2000s, the smartphones of that generation used to have an option to share files via Infrared technology where you had keep two phones side by side almost stuck to each other to successfully transmit data as the infrared waves work only in direct line of sight and that is the reason why your T.V Remote control works only when it facing right towards your television.
Then soon enough Bluetooth technology which was invented in 1994 by telecom vendor Ericsson became more preferable way to easily & quickly transfer files between mobile devices after release of Bluetooth 2.0 in 2004
Since then this technology has come a long way as now Bluetooth is widely used all around the world, most extensively to stream music. Its other application include wireless keyboard and mouse, Sharing Internet, Fitness bands etc.
As of January 2018 the latest version of Bluetooth available is Bluetooth 5.0 that supports transfer rate up to 50mb/s which is twice of Bluetooth 4 & maximum range of 240 meters (800ft) almost 4 times greater than Bluetooth 4.
As soon as we switched to Bluetooth, sharing or streaming media got a lot easier whether you want to play music on your Bluetooth speakers or headphones but here bluetooth’s range became a factor of utmost concern as for example, most of the times while you’re listening to your favorite tracks on your Bluetooth headphones, you leave your smartphone at one place and as the distance between you & your phone passes a certain limit you start to hear crackling sound and noises and your headphone may also loose the signal completely.
It is a myth that lot of people believe in that all of Bluetooth devices have equal range, it is very important for us to know that this is not true & different Bluetooth devices have different range, Bluetooth devices have been categorized into various categories. Now to understand the concept of range better, we shall first understand how Bluetooth works. Just like Wi-Fi, radio & sound, Bluetooth works on waves & whether it is sound wave or electro-magnetic wave, their working principle is similar.
Suppose if you shout or call someone’s name then the maximum distance within which you can be clearly heard depends on 3 factors
- How loud was your call / shout or the maximum amplitude.
- The Obstacles between you (Me) & the receiver (the person whom you called / shouted at).
- The Hearing sensitivity of the Receiver.
Bluetooth devices have been divided into three classes based on their transmitting power
Class 1 : Class 1 Bluetooth Devices have transmitting power of 100mW (milli watts) & range of around 100 meters.
Class 2 : Class 2 Bluetooth devices have transmitting power of 2.5mw (milli watts) & range of around 10 meters.
Class 3 : Class 2 Bluetooth devices have transmitting power of 1mw (milli watts) & range of merely 1-2 metres.
Almost all of the devices that we use in our day to day life fall into class 2 Bluetooth category which involves all Bluetooth speakers & headphones.
Class 3 is used in special cases where we have to give more priority to battery life & backup than the range of Bluetooth.
There are 2 more misconceptions / myths about Bluetooth. One of which is that if you turn Bluetooth visibility of your device off no other device can discover it, there are lot of tools available online with the help of which anyone can discover nearby Bluetooth devices even if their visibility is turned off.
The last myth about Bluetooth is that it is really secure. It is also not true & Wi-Fi is a more secure option to share files than Bluetooth.
