Smart Home Standard - Bluetooth

In our "Smart Home Standards" series, we explain the most commonly used protocol standards in the smart home industry. The Bluetooth standard that we also rely on at Nuki will be explained in more detail in the article below.

What is Bluetooth?

To most people, Bluetooth should be a well-known term, after all this type of transmission originated in the early 1990s. Compared to other types of connections, Bluetooth uses a method that is particularly well-suited for short distances. For example, when the smartphone is far away from the paired Bluetooth speaker, the connection is quickly interrupted.

Every Bluetooth-enabled device has a corresponding microchip, which in turn has a transmitter and receiver unit. Additionally, each device is assigned a unique number that is 48 bits long.

Of course, the technology has continued to improve over time and is no longer where it was more than 20 years ago. Released in 2016, Bluetooth 5.0 is said to have vastly improved coverage and doubled data rates.

Benefits of Bluetooth

Bluetooth relies on a simple and at the same time energy-efficient protocol. The standard is widely used in many things in everyday life: smartphones, speakers, headphones, controllers, and smart home devices such as the airEkey smart lock are just a few examples of its use. Therefore, this protocol standard is well suited for short distances.

For most devices, the standard replaces one thing in particular: the cable. In many cases, unsightly cable clutter is a thing of the past, and desks and gaming setups look much cleaner.

Disadvantages of Bluetooth

Although Bluetooth is the number one for short-range data transmission, it is also its biggest disadvantage. In addition to the limited scope, the limited amount of data is also a minus point. The new Bluetooth 5 standard (on which airEkey also relies) aims to remedy this shortcoming and enable large and fast coverage.

Establish a Bluetooth connection

Connect your Bluetooth-enabled devices in just a few easy steps.
In the beginning, the device to be connected must have the corresponding Bluetooth function turned on. Also, the device must be visible to others in order to establish a connection. Then start the pairing process via the corresponding menu or key combination. These devices should be nearby. After a few seconds, the connection should be successfully established.