I have a strange problem. When i search for nxt bricks via bluetooth it doesent perform a search. It does not pop up the usual search dialog but says it could'nt find any divices via wireless right away. I have set the search time to 30 seconds but that doesent help. It doesent search at all. It seems like it doesent eve see that there is a bluetooth dongle connected. I am able to connect with the brick via Windows without trouble.

This is on a 64 bit Windows 7 computer. I have tried this on another 64 bit Windows 7 computer without problems.

The dongle i use is the "Super Mini Bluetooth 2.0 Adapter Dongle" that is on the list over compatible dongles: http://robotsquare.com/2012/03/04/list-of-nxt-compatible-bluetooth-dongles/

Any help is highly appretiated.

Hello nxtguru,

Usually this error occurs if the Bluetooth adapter isn't fully set up in Windows and/or ROBOTC. Even though you do have the correct settings selected in ROBOTC (wireless searching, longer search period), ROBOTC is not seeing the Bluetooth adapter and thus pops the dialogue box immediately after you hit the 'Repeat Search' button. We do have a complete walkthrough on our wiki that will help you set up the Bluetooth adapter for both Windows and ROBOTC.

Of particular note is the first section:

Before you can use your Bluetooth USB adapter with ROBOTC, you must install the drivers and set up the device for use.

Note: Not all Bluetooth adapters will work with the NXT brick due to its built-in chip limitations. ROBOTC community member Laurens has compiled a great list of adapters that are known to work with the NXT bricks, complete with a listing of internal laptop adapters. Check it out at his blog, robotsquare.com

1. Start Windows and plug in USB adapter. Windows should automatically recognize and install your device.

2. Open the Start Menu, click on Devices and Printers, right click on the appropriate adapter, and select "Bluetooth Settings".

3. Make sure "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer", "Allow Bluetooth Devices to connect to this computer", and "Alert when a new Bluetooth device wants to connect" are checked.

4. Turn on the NXT brick, navigate to the Bluetooth menu, and make sure Bluetooth is turned 'On' and Visibility is set to 'Visible'; then, select 'Search'. This will start the pairing process between the NXT and the computer. You will still need to register the device in ROBOTC to compile wirelessly (instructions below).

5. The NXT will pull up all available devices within range, including other eligble NXT bricks, that have Bluetooth enabled and turned on. Select your computer from the list and select 'Connect'. If you do not know your computer's name, navigate to Start Menu> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Information. Your computer's name is "System Name".

6. Select which port on the NXT you would like to save the connection to and enter your passkey when prompted (1234 by default) and select the check mark.

7. Windows should recognize that there is a new connection and will pop up another notification saying so. Click on the notification and enter the passkey for the NXT when prompted, then click 'Next'.

8. Windows will finish connecting to the NXT and display "Your device is ready to use notification" when completed.


If this doesn't enable the adapter in ROBOTC, let us know exactly what is going wrong (if the adapter is showing up in Windows' Devices and Printers, if the NXT has paired to the adapter correctly, etc) and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

Edit: There is one more thing you may have to check in ROBOTC; make sure the 'Enable Wireless Searching for NXT' is enabled in the 'View -> Preferences' tab. This will tell ROBOTC to look for NXT's over wireless communications (Bluetooth and Wifi).