Internet, Networking, & Security > Home Networking 127 127 people found this article helpful What Is Bluetooth 5? A look at the latest version of the short-range technology By Molly McLaughlin Molly McLaughlin Twitter Senior Content Strategist New York University Molly K. McLaughlin has been a technology writer since 2004. Her work has appeared on many tech sites across the web including PCMag, Dealnews, Wirecutter and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 6, 2021 Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Home Networking The Wireless Connection Routers & Firewalls Network Hubs ISP Broadband Ethernet Installing & Upgrading Wi-Fi & Wireless Bluetooth 5, released in July 2016, is the latest version of the short-range wireless standard. Compared to the previous version, it quadruples the wireless range, doubles speed, and increases the bandwidth to allow for broadcasting to two wireless devices at once. Bluetooth 5 Improvements The benefits of Bluetooth 5 are threefold: range, speed, and bandwidth. Wireless Range Quadrupled The wireless range of Bluetooth 5 maxes out at 120 meters, compared to 30 meters for Bluetooth v4.2. This improvement means that people can send audio or other data at greater distances to other rooms in the home or the backyard. The extended range also helps it better communicate to the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem (i.e., smart devices that connect to the internet). Double the Speed Bluetooth 5 is twice as fast as Bluetooth v4.2, which means a shorter delay in transmitting, for example, music from one source to another. Increased Bandwidth You can broadcast to two devices at once with Bluetooth 5, which means you can send audio from your smartphone or laptop to multiple rooms in a house, create a stereo effect in one space, or share audio between two sets of headphones. Beacon Technology Another area in which Bluetooth 5 adds improvement is with Beacon technology, in which businesses, such as retail, can beam messages to nearby potential customers with deal offers or advertisements. Depending on how you feel about ads, this is either a good thing or a bad thing, but you can opt-out of this functionality by turning off location services and checking app permissions for retail stores. Beacon technology can also facilitate navigation indoors, such as in an airport or shopping mall (who hasn't gotten lost in either of these locations?), and makes it easier for warehouses to track inventory. The Bluetooth SIG reports that more than 371 million beacons will ship by 2020. Naming Convention A smaller change is in the name. The previous version was called Bluetooth v4.2, but for this version, the Bluetooth SIG (special interest group) has simplified the naming convention to Bluetooth 5 rather than Bluetooth v5.0 or Bluetooth 5.0. How to Get Bluetooth 5 To take advantage of Bluetooth 5, you'll need a compatible device. Smartphone manufacturers started adopting Bluetooth 5 in 2017 with the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Samsung Galaxy S8. Other Bluetooth 5 devices to look out for include tablets, headphones, speakers, and smart home devices. What Does Bluetooth Do? Bluetooth technology enables short-range wireless communication. One common usage is to connect a smartphone to wireless headphones for listening to music or chatting on the phone. If you've ever linked your smartphone to your car's audio system or a GPS navigation device for hands-free calls and texts, you've used Bluetooth. It also powers smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, and smart home devices such as lights and thermostats. This wireless technology can work even through walls, but if there are too many obstructions between the audio source and the receiver, the connection will fizzle. Keep this in mind when placing Bluetooth speakers around your home or office. FAQ What's the Bluetooth 5 audio bitrate? Bluetooth 5 supports an audio bitrate of up to 2 Mbps. (This is a maximum speed that assumes no interference.) In contrast, Bluetooth 4 supported half that bitrate with 1 Mbps measurements. How do I upgrade to Bluetooth 5? If your smartphone isn't already Bluetooth 5-enabled, there's no way to upgrade it; you'll need to upgrade to a device that has Bluetooth 5 compatibility. For computers, you can update Bluetooth capability by installing a new Bluetooth adapter. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit