Working solution for generic CSR 4.0/5.0 Bluetooth USB dongle/ BT DONGLE10 on Windows 11 without CSR Harmony

[rivera-diego]

Description

I want to share a working solution for using generic Bluetooth USB adapters (like BT DONGLE10, CSR 4.0, or CSR 5.0) on Windows 11 without installing the old CSR Harmony drivers.

I had a generic Chinese USB dongle (CSR 5.0) with very old drivers. CSR Harmony was bulky, always started with Windows, and didn’t integrate well. Connecting devices was slow or problematic, so I removed everything and used the driver that Windows installs automatically.

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Steps to make it work

1. Uninstall CSR Harmony drivers and remove the USB adapter.
2. Plug the USB dongle back in and let Windows detect it automatically.
3. Open Windows Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Devices.
4. Click “More Bluetooth options”.
5. In the first tab, enable the main option (“Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC”).
6. Go to the Ports tab, click Add → Browse.
   • All devices the dongle detects will appear (they won’t connect yet because drivers are old).
   • Add the device you want (e.g., headphones), click OK.
7. Select the device and click Apply/OK.
8. Remove and reinsert the USB dongle. Windows should now detect devices automatically.
9. If the device still doesn’t appear:
   • Go back to More Bluetooth options, right-click your USB dongle → Properties/Settings, and repeat the steps to add a COM port if needed.

Now your Bluetooth device should connect like any native Windows 11 device, without CSR Harmony installed.

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Video Reference

Here’s a short video showing the process in action: https://youtu.be/Qg9QdCiCPhI?si=vVWRzOWppqMnofeX

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Notes:

• This works with generic CSR 4.0/5.0 USB dongles.
• Tested on Windows 11.

[rivera-diego]

I’m happy to provide more details if needed