How to enable the Bluetooth discovery mode

In this article, we will provide information about the discoverable Bluetooth for Android (how to enable the Bluetooth discovery mode). This mode must be enabled when you need to receive any file from other device. This information will be useful for those people, who started using their smartphones recently.

Instruction

At the time of writing, the Android 5 Lollipop and the 6.0 versions of the Android OS have become popular. However, a significant number of gadgets sold have the 4.4 KitKat version of the OS.

In the version 4.4, the process of the discovery mode activation differs from other later versions, so we will look at them separately.

KitKat and previous versions, starting from 4 (4.0 – 4.4)

We will provide several options for activating this function. You will have the opportunity to choose the most comfortable method for you.

The first method:

1. Open the menu with all the programs and games shortcuts.

   

2. Press the settings icon.

   

3. Choose "Bluetooth".

   

4. If the wireless module is disabled, enable it by pressing the slider, which is located at the top right corner.

   

5. You will see a window, showing the name of your phone and the list of wireless devices. To allow other devices seeing your smartphone, click the check mark under the name of your phone. After these steps, your device will be discoverable by other devices (for a limited time). By default, this time is 2 minutes, and then the visibility is automatically disabled. If desired, this interval may be reduced or increased.

   

The second method:

1. At any moment, drain the curtain (swipe from the top to the bottom of the screen).
2. Hold the Bluetooth button, until you see the window with the available devices.

   

3. Activate the check mark in front of your device’s name, as we did it in the previous method.Changing the visibility timer:
4. To do this, after completing the last steps of the one of the abovementioned methods, press «Options» to open the additional menu.
5. Click «Visibility timeout».

   

6. Choose one of the suggested options to specify the visibility time after activating the «discoverable» mode.

   

Lollipop and MarshMallow

In devices that have these versions of the OS, you will not need to enable anything to receive files via Bluetooth or activate the visibility mode. You will only need to:

The first method:

1. Go to the menu with all the shortcuts.

   

2. Click «Settings».

   

3. Choose "Bluetooth".

   

4. If necessary, click the rocker at the top right corner, if the Bluetooth was not previously activated.

   

The device will be visible automatically until you disable the Bluetooth. 

The second method:

1. At any moment, drain the notifications curtain (two times) to open the quick actions menu.
2. Click the Bluetooth name under its icon.

   

3. You will see the list of the devices that are available for the connection. Press «More settings» at the bottom of the display.

   

4. You will activate the visibility mode. Your device will be visible for other devices, while this mode is activated. To deactivate it, close this settings menu.

How to enable the Bluetooth discovery mode: Video

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