Bluetooth accessories, such as speakers, keyboards and headsets, can make using your iPad even better, but you need to know how to pair them before your can use them. Here's how to pair a Bluetooth device to your iPad.
You can pair multiple items with an iPad at once, but you will need to pair them individually. To pair a Bluetooth accessory with your iPad:
Submitted by Fred Straker on
Lost in all the hoopla surrounding the new iPad Retina display is the fact that the third generation iOS tablet comes with Bluetooth 4. Although this feature has been somewhat overlooked, the addition of the latest and greatest Bluetooth technology to the iPad is significant. Apple's iPhone 4S, launched in October, was the first smartphone to support the new standard.
Now that the iPad 3 has Bluetooth 4 what does this mean? The latest Bluetooth is dubbed Smart Ready, which means that wireless devices in the pipeline are going to be capable of connecting with the iPad using much less power. Bluetooth Smart will broadcast data in low-power radio mode, making the technology perfect for things like security sensors, key fobs, watches and heart rate monitors.
Yes, the iPad will support the Bluetooth A2DP profile.
The iPhone received A2DP support with iPhone OS 3.0. The iPad will run iPhone OS 3.2, which also includes full A2DP support.
Five Bluetooth profiles are supported in iPhone OS 3.0:
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)
Hands-Free Profile (HFP 1.5)
Personal Area Network Profile (PAN)
Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
The iPad currently supports Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and runs iPhone OS 3.2.
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR is backward compatible with 1.2 and supports data transfer speeds up to 3 Mbit/s. Features of this specification include:
Extended inquiry response (EIR)
Sniff subrating
Encryption pause/resume (EPR)
Secure simple pairing (SSP)
