The USB driver is required in order to:
- Allow Windows software built with our Windows .NET SDK to communicate via USB with our devices.
- Charge the device via USB if it can power on and enumerate properly.
Once this process is completed, Windows will use the same USB driver on any new devices plugged in. The instructions below are for Windows 7 but should the similar for any Windows version you may be using. The IDBLUE USB driver works the same with our SPP and HID versions of our devices.
NOTE: If the device cannot power on and enumerate, it won’t communicate via USB or charge as efficiently. We recommend using a dedicated USB wall charger for charging our devices (especially if the device is in a critically low battery state and unable to turn on).
Step #1: Download and extract IDBLUE USB driver
Download and extract our IDBLUE USB driver for Windows on the IDBLUE Drivers and Software page.
Step #2: Plug the IDBLUE Device into a Windows USB port
When the IDBLUE device is initially plugged into a USB port, Windows should detect the new device and display the “Driver Software Installation” wizard. This will start “Searching Windows Update” process for a driver and fail as the IDBLUE driver is not part of Windows Update.
Initial Driver Wizard after plugging in IDBLUE device
If you go under Device Manager, there is a new device “IDBLUE.(U)HF” under [Other Devices].
Device Manager showing unknown driver for IDBLUE device
Step #3: Update IDBLUE Driver from Device Manager
To load Device Manager in Windows, do one of the following:
- Type “Device Manager” in the Start Search field and click on the corresponding application
- Enter “devmgmt.msc” in a command prompt
- Start Control Center and click Device Manager under the System and Security category.
- Right-click on My Computer, select Manage and choose Device Manager in the left menu.
Under Device Manager, right-click the IDBLUE device and select the “Update Driver Software…” context menu and manually point Windows to the the driver location of the extracted IDBLUE USB Driver files in Step #1.
Windows Security confirmation when installing IDBLUE Windows USB Driver
When the USB driver is finished installing, the device will enumerate and emit a Low-High tone as well as show up under a new Device Manager [IDBLUE Devices] grouping as “IDBLUE (U)HF RFID Reader”.
IDBLUE Driver successfully installed
Device Manager screenshot with USB driver
Problems Installing the USB Driver
If you don’t get the “Driver Software Installation” wizard, it could mean it was previously detected with no driver or the device isn’t powered on and enumerated. If it was previously detected, follow the procedure above in Step #3.
If you are using the legacy USB driver, the IDBLUE device will show under [Ports (COM & LPT)] category as “IDBLUE HF RFID Reader (COM##)”.
For additional information, you can also download our IDBLUE USB Driver Installation Guide on our Device Documentation page.
If you have any other questions or problems, please contact IDBLUE Support.
Posted in: IDBLUE USB Driver