Plantronics CS540 Bluetooth pairing to a computer
No, a Plantronics CS540 can't pair with a computer over Bluetooth, because it doesn't have Bluetooth. It uses DECT, and its headset talks only to its own base. To use a CS540 for computer calls, connect the base to the computer with Poly's APU-76 USB cable, sold separately.
What changes once the base is on your computer
- The base works with one device at a time. With the APU-76 connected, it isn't connected to your desk phone, and switching back means swapping cables.
- A cell phone is out either way. The CS540 has no way to connect to one.
The CS540 desk phone headset was built for desk phones first. Plantronics' own accessory guide lists the CS500 series as wireless headsets that "manage desk phone calls", and puts its computer and cell phone features on other systems. So a computer is possible with one extra cable, but it's a second job for a headset designed around the phone on your desk.
Why the CS540 doesn't show up in Bluetooth settings
Your laptop is looking for a Bluetooth headset, and the CS540 isn't one. The headset and base use their own radio link and pair only with each other.
DECT: Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications, the cordless-phone standard the CS540 uses. In North America it's DECT 6.0, which Plantronics says keeps the headset clear of interference from Wi-Fi networks.
That's also why the searches for CS540 Bluetooth pairing keep coming. The headset looks like a Bluetooth earpiece, and there's no Bluetooth logo to tell you otherwise.
What it looks like
A wireless earpiece like the CS540 should pair with a laptop the way earbuds do.How it works
The CS540 headset only ever pairs with its base. The base is the part that connects to something else: a desk phone through its phone cable, or a computer through the APU-76.Pressing buttons on the headset to put it in pairing mode won't help, either. Holding volume up on a CS540 is how you pair it to its own base, and our guide to pairing a CS540 to its base covers that if the headset has lost its connection.
How the APU-76 connects a CS540 to a computer
The APU-76 is Poly's USB cable for CS500 series bases, the CS510, CS520, CS530 and CS540. It runs from the CS540 base to a USB port on a PC or Mac, so softphone calls go through the base to your headset, and you can answer and end those calls from the headset's call button. It replaced the older APU-75, and you'll see it listed as Poly 211076-01 or HP 85R00AA. We stock it as the APU-76 USB adapter for the CS500 series.
Follow the quick start guide that comes in the APU-76 box for which jack on the base it uses. Once it's connected, pick the headset as the microphone and speaker in your calling app's audio settings, the same as you would for any USB headset.
If you need the computer and the desk phone
The APU-76 moves the base from one device to the other. With it connected, the CS540 base isn't connected to your desk phone, so you can't take a desk phone call on the headset until you move the cables back.
If you take calls on both all day, the CS540 is the wrong starting point. Plantronics' accessory guide describes two ways around it: its MDA200 hub, which sits between the desk phone and a USB port so one headset can manage both PC and desk phone calls, and the Savi 700 series, wireless headset systems built to manage PC, mobile and desk phone calls. If you're still setting your CS540 up on the desk phone, our CS540 user guide walks through the base and its settings.
Is the APU-75 the same as the APU-76?
The APU-76 replaced the APU-75 as Poly's USB cable for CS500 series bases like the CS540. If an older guide tells you to use an APU-75 with a CS540, the APU-76 is the current part for the same job.
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