Samsung Galaxy Tabs For Dummies
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To make the Bluetooth connection between your Samsung Galaxy tablet and some other gizmo, such as a printer, mice, or headphones, follow these nine very simple steps:

  1. Ensure that Bluetooth is on.

  2. Turn on the Bluetooth gizmo or ensure that its Bluetooth radio is on.

    Some Bluetooth devices have separate power and Bluetooth switches.

  3. On your tablet, touch the Apps icon on the Home screen and open the Settings app.

  4. Choose the Connections tab.

    Not every Settings app has a Connections tab.

  5. Choose Bluetooth.

    Touch the Bluetooth item, not the green button. You’ll see a list of available and paired devices shown in the right side of the screen. Don’t fret if the device you want doesn’t yet appear in the list.

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  6. If the other device has an option to become visible, select it.

    For example, some Bluetooth gizmos have a tiny button to press that makes the device visible to other Bluetooth gizmos. (You don’t need to make the Galaxy tablet visible unless you’re accessing it from another Bluetooth gizmo.)

  7. Touch the Scan button.

    Eventually, the other device should appear on the Bluetooth window.

  8. Select the device.

  9. If necessary, type the device’s passcode or otherwise acknowledge the connection.

    Not every device has a passcode. If prompted, acknowledge the passcode on the tablet or the other device.

After you acknowledge the passcode (or not), the Bluetooth gizmo and your tablet are connected and communicating. You can begin using the device.

Connected devices appear at the bottom of the Bluetooth Settings window, under the Paired Devices heading, such as the Photosmart Premium C309g-m printer.

To break the connection, you can either turn off the gizmo or disable the Bluetooth radio on your tablet. Because the devices are paired, when you turn on Bluetooth and reactivate the device, the connection is instantly reestablished.

  • How you use the device depends on what it does. For example, a Bluetooth keyboard can be used for text input, a computer can be accessed for sharing files, and a printer can be used for printing documents or pictures.

  • To unpair a device, touch the Settings icon by the device in the Bluetooth window. Choose the Unpair command to break the Bluetooth connection and stop using the device.

  • Only unpair devices you don’t plan on using again in the future. Otherwise, simply turn off the Bluetooth device.

  • Bluetooth can use a lot of power. Don’t forget to turn off the device, especially a battery-powered one, when you’re no longer using it with your tablet.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Dan Gookin combined his love of writing with his gizmo fascination nearly 30 years ago to produce more than 160 informative, entertaining books demystifying technology. Perhaps his most famous is DOS For Dummies, published in 1991, which became the world's fastest-selling computer book and launched the entire For Dummies franchise.

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