• English
  • Deutsch
  • français
  • 中文
  • 日本語
Select Language
HMS
Menu
  • Overview
  • Products
  • Applications
  • Technologies
  • Support
  • Technical Services
  • Contact
  • About HMS
Anybus
  • Home/
  • Technologies/
  • Wireless & Others/
  • Wireless differences

Bluetooth or WLAN - What do I choose?

One wireless technology cannot cater for all application requirements. The standardized wireless technologies — WLAN, Classic Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy — are good at different things

WLAN

WLAN (also commonly referred to as WiFi) is the most widely used wireless standard. It is often used for production planning and data acquisition as well as applications where rapid roaming is required. It provides very high data throughput but it is more vulnerable to interference than Bluetooth.

 

Bluetooth®

Bluetooth is often used for Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), programming, service/maintenance and real-time control tasks. It has a narrow band frequency spectrum which, together with functionality such as: Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH), makes it less sensitive to disturbances.

 

During the last few years, other technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy technology have become increasingly used for sensors, actuators and other small, often battery-driven, devices that need to be interconnected.

Compare the technologies

  Bluetooth
technology

WLAN (WiFi)
technology
Bluetooth
Low Energy

Data throughput +/- ++ -
Robustness ++ +/-
++
Range 10 - 300 m  50 - 300 m
10 - 250 m
Local system density ++ -
++
Roaming  + 
++
N/A
Large scale network
-
+/-
+
Low latency +++ +/-
++
Connection set-up speed - +/- ++
Power consumption + -  +++
Cost + - ++

Caption: The table offers a quick overview of the differences between the wireless technologies.
+ = Good
++ = Strong
+++ = Very strong
+/- = Average
- = Weak

Free Whitepaper - Download

Best practices for choosing the wireless technology for your application

The increasing numbers of wireless installations in various industrial applications areas proves that wireless communication is reliable and trustful. Today, when starting the implementation of Industry 4.0 /Internet of Things (IoT) solutions there are a number of new use cases coming up.

 

Download Now

 

whitepaper

Technologies

  • Bluetooth & WLAN
  • Wireless differences

Further Technologies

  • Fieldbus & Serial
  • Industrial Ethernet

Anybus Wireless Products

  • Anybus Wireless Bridge
  • Anybus Wireless Bolt

Applications

Industrial devices
PLC manufacturers
Industry solutions

Technologies

Industrial Ethernet
Fieldbus and Serial
Wireless and others
Industrial IIoT

Products

Embedded
Gateways
Wireless

Support

Contact Support
Product Support
Product Returns

Contact

Make an enquiry
How to Buy
Find a Distributor
Newsletter Sign-up

About HMS

News
Events
Case Studies

Like us Follow us Watch us Join us Newsletter
OUR BRANDS: Anybus Ixxat Ewon Intesis
HMS
Copyright © 2020 HMS Networks.
Menu
  • Cookies
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Partner login

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.

I want to find out more Yes, I agree