How do I use my Samsung Gear Circle bluetooth headset with Windows 7?

[das__kaiser]

Hello all!

I recently purchased the Samsung Gear Circle with the intention of using it both with my Android phone and my PC. It works wonderfully with my phone. I like the sound, fit, look, and features. However, I also need it to work with my laptop, as I want to use it to make calls through my Cisco softphone and Google Hangouts, and also to listen to music. I talked to Samsung tech support, and was told that this bluetooth headset is not supported for Windows 7. I am able to get it to pair, and it shows up in the Sound panel, but it is greyed out. I right-click on it, and click connect, but nothing happens. I have uninstalled and reinstalled my USB bluetooth adapter (Broadcom 3.0), and I have also updated the driver for the adapter, but I still cannot get it to work properly with Windows 7. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Thank you.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If Samsung says it's not supported in Windows 7 then the necessary driver framework is probably different and not compatible with the older OS. Unfortunately that's one of the things some hardware manufacturers lack is a concern with compatibility for older systems. They don't see any profit in developing drivers for platforms that are nearing end of life support and are not required to maintain compatibility with older systems when there are already two previous platforms that do support it and another about to be released.

I'd suggest returning the device and finding one that IS compatible with Windows 7 or upgrading to a newer OS.

 

[das__kaiser]

Hi @darkbreeze. Thank you responding. The problem is the Samsung ONLY supports Android integration with the Samsung Gear Circle. Are there any other Windows 7 bluetooth drivers that I can use to connect this properly?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I don't see any windows driver support for that hardware, which is unusual, but not unheard of. If it's not intended for use with the platform your only alternative might be to find somebody who can create a custom driver for it. There are a few forums where there are people who can do this sometimes, you just need to look and ask around. I don't know any of them personally.

 

[das__kaiser]

I created a bounty for this, if anyone is interested: https://www.bountysource.com/issues/11999712-windows-7-driver-for-samsung-gear-circle

 

[MikeInSanJose]

Have you tried the instructions from the Samsung website? I am listening to YouTube videos with my Samsung Gear Circle on my Windows 10 desktop as I'm typing this...

Pairing Your Device Without the Samsung Gear Application
Step 1: To enter pairing mode, begin by detaching the earphones.
Step 2: Press and hold the Play/Talk key for 3 seconds.
Step 3: Gear Circle will vibrate and the status indicator will flash Green - Blue - Red.
Step 4: Gear Circle is now discoverable for Bluetooth connections. Please refer to the owner’s manual for your mobile device for specific pairing instructions.

 

[Yakov_]

Hi @darkbreeze. Thank you responding. The problem is the Samsung ONLY supports Android integration with the Samsung Gear Circle. Are there any other Windows 7 bluetooth drivers that I can use to connect this properly?

I bought cheap blue tooth adapter for $4 and it works fine ( I still can change pause/play mode, but it's not so important)

 

[Andrey_ka]

Hi das___kaiser! For almost an year i'm every month searching in google for solution for same problem, as you have (how to use gear circle on win7). And each time i visited this topic, hoping there is solution appear.

Anyway, i'm finally found solution, almost by myself; and its successfully working on my ASUS UX31A laptop with windows 7 x64

Some guy on the internets mentioned, that he connected gear circle to win7 using some toshiba programm. I tryed it, and it works.

Program called "toshiba Bluetooth Stack".
I'm installed it, and its working!! Oh god, i'm so happy. Here is some tips about how to do it:

1) i downloaded exactly this version from here: http://www.support.toshiba.com/support/viewContentDetail?contentId=4007183
2) Installed, rebooted. Put my gear circle in search mode by holding button pressed. This program found 2 devices. One is good quality sound headpones, second is handsfree. While testeing i several times rebooted my windows, because first time handsfree not working.
3) Handsfree has poor sound quality, but can be used in skype\hangoutc\etc like earphones+microphone
4) i didn't found solution, how to make it automaticaly change from headphones to handsfree, when i receiving skype call. Only manually. So its not usable.
5) So my choose is to use headphones, not handsfree, because i has very good microphone inside my laptop. http://imgur.com/ezUm5Yq

6) Also in program settings you may disable some stuff, e.g. "autostart media player when connected".


i hope you will find my answer ASAP and become happy user of gear circle on win7! Thank you for inspiration on this, by creating this topic.