Thanks to Bluetooth technology we can do many things wirelessly, such as pairing speakers with the smartphone to listen to music or using a wireless mouse with the laptop. But do you know that there are different Bluetooth profiles and that each one serves a different thing? In this article we explain everything.
Bluetooth technology can be used for many different things, and although the base is always the same, it must necessarily have a certain profile to perform a certain function; and it is that a profile to listen to music is not the same as another to transfer files , since the protocols and the way of managing the data is different. For this reason, there are Bluetooth profiles.
Bluetooth profiles, what are they and what are they for?
Generally, the Bluetooth profiles are already predefined in the device in question that we are going to use and are selected automatically, and this is the case in most devices such as headphones or speakers. However, the Bluetooth that a laptop has, for example, is multipurpose and, as such, it has different profiles that we can manually modify to select the one that best suits us at all times depending on what we are going to do.
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
The A2DP profile is the most used by audio devices, as its name suggests. It is characterized by defining how multimedia audio is transmitted from one device to another, such as from a smartphone to wireless headphones associated with it.
There is a nuance here: imagine that you have a car with Bluetooth that, in addition to allowing you to listen to the music from the speakers on the smartphone, allows you to synchronize the contact list and even make calls. In this case, in addition to using the A2DP profile, you will also need to use another profile for simultaneous data management. Fortunately, in a vehicle these profiles are automatically managed and selected and do not require user interaction.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Surely the FTP protocol sounds familiar to you because it is one of the oldest and most used even today to transmit files. You will be surprised to know, then, that a modern technology like Bluetooth also has an FTP profile when we are going to use it to transfer files wirelessly. In some smartphones you can see it when you connect to another device and the smartphone itself asks you which profile you want to use.
Logically, if what you want is simply to transfer files, you must select this profile for proper operation.
Devide ID Profile (DIP)
This Bluetooth profile identifies a device outside the limits of its previously defined device type with which it is compatible. What this profile does is allow one device to “see” another, to identify it.
When you go to the Bluetooth section on a smartphone and start scanning to see nearby devices to connect to, this is the profile that is currently being used.
Hands-free Profile (HFP)
This is one of the most used profiles. As we indicated before, if you have a car that allows you to connect a smartphone via Bluetooth, in addition to the A2DP profile for music, you will need to have an HFP profile to be able to receive and make calls from the car audio.
It is also obviously used in smartphones and smart speakers that allow calls, and obviously it is necessary for the Bluetooth device to have both a speaker and a microphone for it to work.
Human Interface Devide Profile (HID)
This is another of the most used Bluetooth profiles, and is that it is necessary for devices that have human interaction such as keyboards and mice. This is a profile specially indicated for it because it is the one with the least latency, in addition to being one of the least energy consuming.
This profile can be found on remote devices such as keyboards, mice, joysticks, console controls, etc.
LAN Access Profile (LAP)
Finally, this is a Bluetooth profile that almost all the compatible devices usually have. It is necessary to be able to access the WAN, LAN or Internet that has a physical connection to the network. In other words, it is the one used for example to share the Internet between devices.
In some cases you will be able to verify that a device does not have this profile and instead you find another called Bluetooth PAN , a more modern version of the LAP profile that is replacing it.
