My Macintosh G5 desk-side system did not come equipped with Bluetooth. So when I wanted to use a Bluetooth headset, specifically the Plantronics 510, to take advantage of free Skype calling in North America, I began looking for a USB Bluetooth adapter.

I chose the Belkin Bluetooth 2.0+EDR dongle (F8T012v) with the Broadcom chipset. The box declares “Mac OS driver and software supplied by Apple”. I fully expected this device to work when I plugged it in. When it didn’t, I called Belkin. They told me “Mac OS driver and software supplied by Apple”. We opened a ticket and they agreed to escalate, all very pleasant but not very productive.

On a whim, I Googled my problem (‘Belkin F8T012v on a Macintosh headset profile‘). This should have been the tool of first resort because I found a link to a Belkin support site in the UK that provided a Macintosh driver, specifically.

After installing the Belkin driver for the Broadcom chipset on my OS X 10.4.6 PPC and rebooting, I was able to pair the 510 with the Belkin and make a clear and decent phone call via Skype.

I called Belkin, cancelled the open case and sent them the URL. Sigh.