I have an older HP wireless mouse that has a busted scroll wheel and doesn't work well anymore. I'm wondering if I can repurpose its USB dongle to act as a Bluetooth antenna for my desktop PC, which doesn't currently have any wireless capabilities. Is that possible?
4 Answers
Unfortunately, you can't just turn that mouse dongle into a Bluetooth antenna. The dongle communicates with the mouse using its own proprietary protocol and won't work for Bluetooth without some serious programming skills and a new driver. It would be a massive undertaking for not much gain.
Awww, you sure? Thanks for the info!
You can grab a Bluetooth dongle for about $5 to $40, and I highly recommend going for one from a reputable brand. It's not worth the hassle of trying to modify that old mouse dongle to get your PC wireless.
If you're up for a challenge, it may be technically feasible to modify some firmware and create a driver for it, but honestly, it's probably not worth all that effort. Just buying a Bluetooth dongle is a much better option and saves you the headaches.
To sum it up, a Bluetooth dongle is specifically designed for Bluetooth devices, while a wireless mouse dongle is not. Modifying one to work like the other would take more effort and money than it's worth, so just buy a Bluetooth adapter instead.
Are you sure? I thought you could modify generic drivers to make it work.