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Resolved Question

Bluetooth 3.0 Backwards Compatibility

Jun 4, 2013 2:54AM PDT

I have an Android 4.04 tablet (Aluratek AT208F) and I am trying to pair it with an Anker ultraslim keyboard. But one factor that was not advertised about the Anker is that it is Bluetooth 3.0 while my tablet is 2.1. So while I am able to connect the devices, thereafter I am unable to get them to talk to one another. Is this a Bluetooth backwards compatibility issue?

I hope to test the Anker with some Apple devices in another couple of days, but right now my tablet is the only Bluetooth compatible device near to hand with which to test the keyboard. However, I have previously tested the tablet with an older iPad centric Bluetooth keyboard, and it worked fine in the brief test.

Thanks in advance!

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Best Answer

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"Backwards compatibility Bluetooth 3.0 is backwards-compat
Jun 4, 2013 4:47AM PDT

"Backwards compatibility

Bluetooth 3.0 is backwards-compatible. This means you can keep all of your current Bluetooth-enabled devices. This backward compatibility is enabled via a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth radio in addition to the Bluetooth 3.0 radio chip. However, note that transfer speeds are only as fast as the slowest device, which means that if your Bluetooth 3.0 device is connected to a Bluetooth 2.1 device, your transfer rate will be limited to 2.1 mbps."
https://developer.att.com/developer/forward.jsp?passedItemId=200140

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Answer
So far I've yet to find that to be an issue.
Jun 4, 2013 3:07AM PDT

However Apple's BlueTooth is unlike all others as Apple mandated a communications coprocessor so you're less sure that things will work on that line.

These cheaper tablets seem rife with issues like this one. But I will write the office has the Nexus and it paired up with a handful of keyboards with no issue. The Kindle Fire HD 7 at home paired fine too.
https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/fire/specifications.html shows it was 3.0 as well.
Bob
Bob