You can attach a Bluetooth device to a virtual machine

Fusion supports these types of Bluetooth devices:

  • Cell phones

  • GPS receivers

  • Serial Port Profile (SPP) devices

  • Most other devices

Fusion has limited support for these types of Bluetooth devices:

  • Input devices (HID): Can be attached to guests when using Linux/Mac OS hosts, but not on Windows hosts.

    OBEX File Transfer: Outgoing (guest to device) transfers only. Guest may not act as an OBEX server.

Fusion does not support these types of Bluetooth devices:

  • Headphones

  • Headsets

  • Hands-free audio devices

Fusion has the following limitations for Bluetooth support:

  • Only out going connections are allowed. A virtual machine may establish a connection to a remote Bluetooth device, but remote devices do not see services that virtual machines try to advertise.

  • Virtual machines cannot change the name, class, or discoverability of the host's Bluetooth adapter. The host is exclusively in control over setting whether other Bluetooth devices can discover the host, and what name is used.

  • The host is exclusively in control of the pairing process and collecting or displaying PIN numbers. The guest may scan for devices, and initiate a connection with any device. If pairing is required, the pairing dialog box appears on the host, not in the guest. From the guest's perspective, the device appears to pair without having needed a PIN.

  • Any vendor-specific capabilities on the host's Bluetooth radio are not passed through to the guest. For example, some radios provide a vendor-specific command to change their BDADDR. These commands do not appear in the guest. The guest sees a generic VMware-brand radio.

  • The virtual Bluetooth controller itself is not part of snapshots. During snapshots, it is disconnected and reconnected. Any ongoing connections with Bluetooth devices are terminated at the time of a snapshot.

Procedure

  1. Select Window > Virtual Machine Library.
  2. Select a virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Library window and click Settings.
  3. Under Removable Devices in the Settings window, click USB & Bluetooth.
  4. Select the Share Bluetooth devices with the virtual machine check box.

    The virtual Bluetooth radio appears in the guest. You might see notifications from the guest OS that new hardware was detected. No action is required because the driver is automatically installed.

  5. Use the guest's Bluetooth interface to search for nearby devices to pair with. Devices appear in the list as they are detected.
  6. Select the device you want to connect with and select to connect to it.
  7. Pair the device with the host.

    If you have not paired this device with this host before, you are prompted to do so now. The host may ask you for a PIN, or may display a PIN to be entered on the device.

    After the device pairs, the device is now available in the guest.