The Raspberry Pi is an amazing piece of technology that has all the powers and abilities of a computer while being able to fit in the palm of your hand.It allows you to access all its amazing capabilities and functions and create amazing projects without needing to have a fancy engineering or computing degree.
But, does a Raspberry Pi 4 have bluetooth? Yes, the raspberry pi 4 comes with bluetooth which allows you to connect to and exchange data wirelessly with other bluetooth capable devices such as smartphones, keyboards, speakers, sensor, etc.
What version of bluetooth does the Raspberry Pi 4 have?
The raspberry pi 4 has a bluetooth module which is the latest version being Bluetooth 5.0. This is great news as you get all the upgraded features of the latest version which includes faster speeds, range and bandwidth.
Also, having bluetooth 5.0 gives the raspberry pi 4 the ability to connect to a wide range of bluetooth devices that range from low power such as wireless earphones, to large sensors used in home automation.
Bluetooth devices the Raspberry pi 4 can connect to
Having bluetooth opens up a new door to a wide range of new possibilities for projects, as there are many other bluetooth devices it can connect to. With the new low power capabilities, many devices opt for data transfer via bluetooth.
Below is a list of some of the bluetooth devices a raspberry pi 4 can connect with:
- Smartphones
- NeoPixels (light modules)
- Heart Rate monitors
- Keyboards
- Mouse
- Bluetooth Adapters
- Speakers
- Headphones / Earphones
- Oximeter
- Computers
- Printer
- Sensors
This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but one just to give you a jist of what is available.
Can a Raspberry Pi 4 connect to a device with a lower version of bluetooth?
So if the raspberry pi 4 has bluetooth version 5, does that mean it is restricted to connecting to devices that only have the same version? No, Bluetooth 5 is backward compatible.
This means that even though the raspberry pi 4 has the latest version of bluetooth, it will be able to connect to devices which have previous versions. Great news for us as you won’t be restricted to what device you can connect to.
Setting up bluetooth on the Raspberry Pi 4
Now that we know the raspberry pi 4 has bluetooth, the next major hurdle will be setting it up. Unfortunately for us, the raspberry pi 4 does not come with the bluetooth setup. So you will need to do it yourself. Below is a great resource with instructions on how to set it up.
https://linuxhint.com/setup_bluetooth_raspberry_pi/
How do you know if your raspberry pi has bluetooth?
Knowing if a raspberry pi has bluetooth comes down to a couple of checks.
If you still have the packaging you can find out what model you have and check to see if it’s any of the four models that were mentioned above having bluetooth.
However, if you have lost the packaging fear not, as the model should be written on the board itself.
Also, you can physically check the board to see if it has the bluetooth chipset as shown in the image below.
What are the benefits of having bluetooth on a raspberry pi?
As we saw earlier, bluetooth opens up doors to many possibilities for new projects. But, one of the major benefits is being able to transfer data without the need of wires.
You might have experienced the frustrations that come with trying to tame unruly pieces of wire. Bluetooth eliminates this stress entirely.
Also, you are not restricted to a specific space when using bluetooth.
