Plugable’s $13 USB adapter adds Bluetooth 5.0 to your older PC or build

Enlarge / Plugable's Bluetooth 5.0 USB adapter in a desktop PC. (credit: Plugable)

No, industry specs and updates aren't going to stop arriving. But keeping your computer up to date with the latest wireless standards, like Bluetooth, is still a good step in future-proofing. While it's not the only product of its kind, the Plugable USB-BT5 USB-A adapter announced today looks like a cheap and simple way to bring Bluetooth 5.0 to your PC.

Bernie Thompson, founder and CTO at the Redmond, Washington-based company told us that the adapter supports link rates of up to 3Mbps. You also get connectivity with up to seven devices and a max distance claim of 131 feet (40 m). Like with any Bluetooth product, max supported distance will vary depending on environmental factors, such as walls and appliances in the area.

Plugable's adapter works like a Bluetooth radio for the computer's OS, and the only OSes the dongle supports are Windows 11 and Windows 10. With Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 and 8 next month, the lack of older Windows OSes may not be too surprising.

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