Scott & Peter

Scott is correct. Anycom is dead. They've gone out of business. In addition, the Broadcom drivers don't work in Windows 7 64-bit and I suspect they won't work in Windows 7 32-bit either. While they do tend to work in Windows Vista, they're not the best drivers.

Uninstall the drivers that came with the CD because these definitely don't work in Windows Vista or Windows 7. You can sometimes get them to work in Windows Vista, but they're unreliable.

If you uninstall everything and start all over from scratch by just inserting the ANYCOM USB-500 Bluetooth dongle and let Windows (any version including XP) search for the drivers, they should come up with the driver that is compatible with all versions of Windows, including and especially Windows 7, that is provided by Lenovo. The technical details are as follows:

File version 4.0.100.1124

7zbv14ww.exe.

I got this download provided by Windows 7. I'm not sure exactly how Windows XP would work because I haven't tried it with Windows XP yet. However, Windows 7 went up and found the driver of above. Hopefully, if you uninstall everything and simply reassert the ANYCOM dongle, Windows should go out and find the same driver. Regardless, the above property should give you an idea as to whether or not the driver that it finds is the one you want, or should have. That is, you can check it using the above driver properties.

The long and the short of it is don't bother with Broadcom or ANYCOM (now defunct) because you'll struggle with those drivers and never get it set up to run consistently, and forget about the CD. As far as I've been able to determine, it's no better than a frisbee.

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)

Scott,

I didn't say anywhere in any of my posts that I couldn't get the VXI Blue Parrot Expressway Bluetooth microphone to work in Windows 7 64-bit.  I too have been using it for some time quite successfully.  However, when I got mine and installed the drivers directly off the CD from ANYCOM, I couldn't get it to consistently retain its connection with the USB 500.  I also couldn't get it to consistently connect.

On the first run, I had the same problem with the Broadcom Corporation drivers.

That's when I went, while I had it connected, into the Windows 7 device manager and clicked on update drivers.  What I got in that process was what I posted.  Downloading that driver set and installing it resulted in the Expressway Bluetooth microphone working perfectly in Windows 7 64-bit.

The only reason that I didn't go back to the Broadcom Corporation drivers and retry them was that I work by the philosophy that if it ain't broke don't fix it.  The reason for my post is just in case someone had the same problems that I had initially with the Broadcom Corporation drivers.  It's just another option.

If the Broadcom Corporation work for you or work for others, that's fine.  I'm not questioning that.  Lunis asked me to test it and see what I thought because I used to be the microphone test specialist for L&H Voice Xpress and DNS, as well as the former DNS SDK Program Manager with L&H/ScanSoft before I left.  I'm not questioning what you're putting forth in your post.  I'm just trying to point out that no two systems are like and no two installs of Windows 7 64-bit are alike either.  For whatever reason, the Broadcom Corporation drivers didn't work properly on my system, but the Lenovo drivers did.  So, if someone has the same problems that I had, the Lenovo option is another one to try.

All you can really say about your situation is that it worked for you.  Drawing any other conclusions by assuming that it will work for everyone isn't necessarily viable.

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC

It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English -- up to fifty words used in correct context -- no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. - Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)

Scott,

Amen Brother!  I was just installing on a brand-new out-of-the-box Core™ i7 extreme 975 with only Windows 7 64-bit and Microsoft office 2007 installed.  When I install the drivers from the CD, it just wouldn't consistently connect.  I went through the Broadcom site and tried those drivers and that produce the same result.  That's when I just removed everything and let Windows go find it.  I was surprised that it went to the Lenovo site and downloaded those drivers, which did work.

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC

"If anything can possibly go wrong, it generally will and at the worst possible moment." (Murphy's law - Edward A. Murphy, Jr.)

Another variant of this is, "If there is a 1 in 10 million chance that something that you do will fail or go wrong, just remember that you are the 1."

We are using the Windows 64-bit operating system and the Anycom USB-500 but we didn't use the included CD. Windows 7 immediately tossed up a message stating that it needed to upgrade the Bluetooth drivers and apparently knew where to find one. We simply said OK and it found a driver on a website (unfortunately we didn't make notes), offered us the option to install and we were off to the races. For us, it was just that easy. Before you give up, you might consider simply uninstalling your current Bluetooth drivers and letting Windows perform an Internet search.

I think because I am eternally hopeful or maybe just a glutton for punishment, I again tried to get the 500 and the VXI Expressway going. Alas no. After removing the 500 I uninstalled the drivers, restarted my pc, plugged in the 500, windows told me that I had new hardware. Did I want it to search to find the drivers? Sure did. Windows then comes back with the message no software available. Same thing happens going through the device manager. I worked my way through all the suggestions again, but once again dropping out or no connection. It appears that the only drivers that are remotely useful, are the Broardcom ones.

I'm beginning to think it may be XP that is not up to the task. The Lenovo drivers that Chuck used would only instal on Vista or above, so I searched for the Lenovo drivers for XP, installed them but they could not even find the 500.

Also thought I would get in contact with VXI (just to see if they had any suggestions). Now I couldn't quite come at paying for an international call as the situation is looking like I'm putting "good money after bad". So I tried to email them but discovered that the email address on their contact page is dead. Finally I  left them feedback in their feedback section asking them to get in contact. Nothing.

On the whole not a good experience, but hell nothing ventured nothing gained.

Thanks again for all your help.   

Today I bought a Canyon Bluetooth USB adapter ( eL cheapo £7-20) and I am currently dictating using the VXI Expressway on my Windows 7 64 bit computer.

It has taken a little bit of trouble to get this microphone to work in this environment but it was no sweat on my Windows XP machine.

My Jabra 5390 was however certainly more successful in connecting with this Bluetooth dongle. This dongle is similar in size and shape to the AnyCom 500 dongle.

Hi Chuck_M,

First of all, let me say how great VXI BlueParrott is. Wireless is how it should be and makes a big difference. DNS 10.1 and this Bluetooth just work.

Anyway, let me write a bit more details why I needed use the drivers from the Toshiba site.

The first problem I had for T4220 when I installed Windows 7 (64 bit) was the lack of support from Fujitsu. Fujitsu offer driver support for Windows XP (32 bit), Vista (32 bit, 64-bit) and Windows 7 (32 bit). So sometimes I need to download drivers for T5010, which has a driver support for Windows 7 (64-bit). Most drivers provided by Fujitsu are compatible with most Fujitsu computers. In other words, same driver are used for different Fujitsu model.

Here is what happened. The driver for Windows 7(32-bit) didn't work. The driver for Vista (64-bit) didn't work. The driver made for T5010 (W7 64 bit) didn't work. What I mean by didn't work is that is that it actually pair with Xpressway, but the sound picked up by microphone didn't transfer to the computer. Also the sound coming from earphone was so distorted, and  I know why. W7 thinks Xpressway can play sound at 44000hz, but it cannot. Only at 8000hz.  

Next step was to uninstall Fujitsu provided Bluetooth driver. Windows 7 immediately install the driver necessary, but they didn't work either.

So I was stuck, and trying to find a solution for Internet. At the suggestion of Chucker, I tried Broadcom driver (I could not install this to my computer; it stalls at the stage of finding Bluetooth device) and Lenovo driver. Both did not work. I also tried a driver from Toshiba USA site, since the driver provided by Fujitsu was actually made by Toshiba. So I wanted to try the latest driver from Toshiba. It didn't work either.

I was struck again. Then I came across to a website, which suggested a driver from Toshiba. (The website address ends with .de, so it not a US site).  I downloaded PC Bluetooth Pack 7.10.12. and tried that. Yes! It finally worked. It paired with other Bluetooth headphones and Sony MW600. Automatic AV connection function works fabulously. This function is that when you switch on a Bluetooth device, the computer will automatically connect to the device.

You have mentioned about the warning that the driver should only be used for Toshiba computers. You can ignore that. It hasn't been causing any trouble. It's been just fantastic.

I hope this will clear your worries and concerns. Good luck!