What is the difference between wifi and bluetooth

These days, Bluetooth is in most computers, laptops, cell phones, tablets, keyboards, mice, headphones, console gaming devices, smartwatches, fitness trackers, hearing aids, and many other peripheral devices. If you see the Bluetooth symbol on a device, it means you can connect it to other Bluetooth-enabled devices wirelessly. For example, you can use Bluetooth to connect your phone to wireless headphones and wireless speakers.

You can also use Bluetooth to connect a wireless keyboard and mouse to your desktop, laptop, or tablet. You can use Bluetooth to transfer data from one device to another without a WiFi connection. However, many devices require a WiFi connection to function properly. So, not every Bluetooth device will work without a WiFi signal. For example, you might have to use WiFi to send documents from your computer to your printer over a LAN.

However, if you have a Bluetooth printer, you might not need a WiFi connection. Now that you know the difference between Bluetooth and WiFi, check out our article on the difference between a modem and a router here.

See all results. The various forms of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are not mutually exclusive. Most of us are using all of them. The different forms of connectivity coexist in our offices, cars, homes, and libraries. They help provide the type of connection we need with the range and level of power required to make our interfaces seamless as we shift from our computers to our smartphones, tablets, and smart devices.

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Techopedia Terms. Connect with us. Sign up. Term of the Day. Best of Techopedia weekly. Power consumption Low High Frequency range 2. Bluetooth is an open specification universal for short-range wireless voice and data communications. Bluetooth is the first widespread technology for a short-range ad-hoc network that is designed for combined voice and data application.

Compared with Wifi, Bluetooth has a reduced data rate. However, it has an embedded mechanism to assist the application. Bluetooth is inexpensive personal area ad-hoc network operating in unlicensed lands and owned by the user.

Bluetooth topology is referred to as a scattered ad-hoc topology. It defines a small cell called Piconet which is a collection of devices connected in an ad-hoc fashion. There are four states. The FHSS frequency hopping spread spectrum modem is utilized in the physical connection of the Bluetooth with a nominal antenna power of 0 dBm 10 m coverage and alternately operated at 20 dBm m coverage.

Bluetooth allocates a specific frequency- hopping format for each piconet. The connection establishment in Bluetooth has two phases- Inquiry , page and connection. In general, you can expect the maximal reach of a Wi-Fi transmitter to ft ca. If you have a floor or thick walls, you may need to think about the installation of a repeater see the hardware part. Like for all the wireless technologies Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile, etc. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the industrial, scientific and medical radio bands, from 2.

The Bluetooth technology has also seen several versions, using a simpler naming system, with numbers Bluetooth 4. Bluetooth is a point-to-point connection. New technologies have been added recently, to allow several devices to connect to the same hardware.