Bernie Thompson, founder and CTO of the Redmond, Washington, company, told us that the adapter supports connection speeds up to 3 Mbps. You also get connectivity for up to seven devices and a maximum range of up to 131 feet (40m). As with any Bluetooth product, the maximum supported distance depends on environmental factors such as walls and devices in the area.
The Plugable adapter acts as a Bluetooth radio for the computer’s operating system, and the only operating systems supported by this dongle are Windows 11 and Windows 10. Since Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 and 8 next month, the lack of older Windows operating systems may not cause surprise.
However, previously released competitors have different compatibility. TP-Link’s UB500 (sold for $13 at the time of writing) supports Windows 8.1 and 7 in addition to Windows 11 and 10. The Asus USB-BT500 ($20 MSRP) doesn’t claim to support Windows 11, but lists Windows 10 and 8.1, plus Linux.
While some of Plugable’s previous Bluetooth adapters have supported Linux, the company told us that Plugable has run into issues with open source projects handling Bluetooth support on Linux that have created a “non-ideal experience.”They noted that the adapter can work with Linux, but this OS is not officially supported.
In regards to skipping macOS support, the company noted that macOS generally ignores other connected Bluetooth radios because Macs have their own (audio-only adapters show up as an audio device, not Bluetooth).
If you want official Linux support, or prefer Asus or TP-Link adapters over Plugable for some other reason, you probably won’t be missing out on much. Plugable admitted to Ars Technica that the USB-BT5 is “functionally identical”to the Asus USB-BT500. The TP-Link adapter uses the same driver package as Plugable and probably the same chip. In addition, each adapter comes with a two-year warranty. However, if you expect you will have major technical difficulties with the plug-in dongle, Plugable stated that USB-BT5 adds unique value with “US customer support from engineers who test and bring the adapter to market.”
Another thing that might win you over is the price. The Plugable USB-BT5 Bluetooth 5.0 Adapter is currently on sale for $13.