Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module to Fix Connection Issues

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,133
37,057



BluetoothIconX.jpg
Bluetooth is what your Mac uses to connect to wireless devices like keyboards, mice, trackpads, speakers, and other peripherals. Generally, it's a reliable technology. At some point however, the chances are you'll run into difficulty establishing a Bluetooth connection with one or more of your devices.

Most problems can be fixed by unpairing and repairing the Bluetooth device, changing its batteries, rebooting your Mac, or performing an SMC reset. But if none of these methods work, you can always try resetting your Mac's Bluetooth module. Here's how to do it in macOS using the hidden Bluetooth Debug menu.

How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module

Before proceeding, bear in mind that if your setup relies exclusively on Bluetooth for communicating with your keyboard and mouse, then you're going to temporarily lose connection to them using the following methods, so you might want to have a backup wired input device option just in case.
  1. Holding the Shift + Option (Alt) keys on your Mac's keyboard, click the Bluetooth symbol in the top-right corner of the macOS menu bar. (If you don't see it there, you need to check Show Bluetooth in menu bar in System Preferences -> Bluetooth.)
    macos-bluetooth-debug-menu-bar-800x530.jpg

    Locate the revealed Debug submenu and hover your mouse cursor over it.
    Click Reset the Bluetooth module.
    macos-reset-Bluetooth-module-800x226.jpg

    Now, restart your Mac.
You'll notice a couple of other potentially useful options in the Debug submenu. Factory reset all connected Apple devices does exactly what it says - forces any Apple-branded Bluetooth accessories back to the default settings they came with out of the box. It's a reliable fallback option if you've tried everything else to fix a connection issue, including resetting the Bluetooth module.

Lastly, the Remove all devices option might prove useful if you're moving your Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to another Mac, for example. However, you can also remove devices on an individual basis from the macOS menu bar, as long as you hold down Shift + Option (Alt) before you click the Bluetooth symbol.

remove-Bluetooth-device-macOS-800x529.jpg

Removing devices in this manner means you're not also banishing a whole bunch of other established Bluetooth connections like speakers and so on that you might want to keep.

Article Link: How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module to Fix Connection Issues
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/reset-mac-bluetooth-module/
  • Like
Reactions: kamaralee, butterburger cookybutter, east85 and 1 other person
I find Bluetooth frustrating with my iPhone. My headset never auto-connects and I have to manually do it in settings. We should've come further than this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zoemacuser
Nimrad said:
I find Bluetooth frustrating with my iPhone. My headset never auto-connects and I have to manually do it in settings. We should've come further than this.
Click to expand...

No kidding. I was going to ask how to do this in iOS. Ever since iOS 11 (or maybe my iPhone X) Bluetooth has been amazingly buggy. I’ve had conversations with Apple which usually end in reloading the iPhone or the need for a new iPhone, but the problems persist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Abedoss
I've had terrible problems with using Bluetooth headphones (Airpods and others) with my AppleTV 4K. Every few minutes I get intermittent dropouts in audio, they last a total of about 3-10 seconds during which time I can hear every other syllable or word of the movie/show I'm watching.

Searched all over without a solution. Does anyone have any recommendations.

This started around Nov. 2017. Tried unpairing/repairing headphones, different settings on my router, even ran ATV4k tethered to my phone, thus eliminating the router, nothing helps. Sometimes it happens every 30-60 seconds or so, sometimes it's every 5-10min.
 
If resetting Bluetooth does not fix your issues, switching Bluetooth to Hybrid mode might:
https://gist.github.com/xbeta/e60fddd012e95202bbbe

After I had upgraded my MacBook Pro to Sierra, Bluetooth connections to my iPhone became so flaky that I could no longer reliably use MacID to log into my Mac using my iPhone's TouchID. I tried a lot of different things unsuccessfully, including resetting Bluetooth, but what did fix my Bluetooth issues was switching to Hybrid mode als described in the link above.
 
Nimrad said:
I find Bluetooth frustrating with my iPhone. My headset never auto-connects and I have to manually do it in settings. We should've come further than this.
Click to expand...

Apple agreed with you and designed the W1 chip. W1 enabled devices eliminate all the connection headaches associated with Bluetooth. It's part of the charm of the AirPods. We can only hope Apple with license it to car manufacturers and the like.

FWIW, I will say I've had much better luck with newer, 4/4.1 enabled bluetooth devices than I've had in the past. My 2009 MDX doesn't have bluetooth audio, so I'd been using this MPOW thing that constantly had connection issues. A month ago I picked up a newer device from them with the latest bluetooth tech, and it connects flawlessly, every time, without issue.
 
k.alexander said:
I've had terrible problems with using Bluetooth headphones (Airpods and others) with my AppleTV 4K. Every few minutes I get intermittent dropouts in audio, they last a total of about 3-10 seconds during which time I can hear every other syllable or word of the movie/show I'm watching.
Click to expand...

I've never experienced this. I think your AppleTV is haunted. :) Or possibly there's a lot of radio interference there. You should see if you can get them to swap it.
 
I was experiencing very frustrating Bluetooth connection issues with the wireless keyboard and mouse that came with the new iMac I purchased in April of 2019. It was so unpredictable that I left the old wired USB keyboard plugged in alongside the new one, along with a wireless dongle mouse, so that I could reset the module every time it happened, which was multiple times daily. Then, about a week ago (August 2019) Apple issued a software update for OS X Mojave, which fixed issues with Macs waking from sleep mode - and - VOILA! - I have not had the issue since. The USB keyboard and dongled wireless mouse are now in storage - and the newer wireless accessories work consistently. Glad this wasn't in my head, and is finally fixed.
 
I have been having issues with my BT mouse and keyboard. I use a Logitech mouse because I like having two buttons. I tried everything but nothing worked until this. It’s now working perfectly. Thanks!
 
This is a great tip. Was trying almost everything to fix the bluetooth issues with all devices I had from a Mac Mini, the reset solved everything. Thanks!
 
alexpetcu87 said:
Hi. I don’t know why but I can’t see Debug after I press Shift + Option + Bluetooth Icon. I’ve tried different things but don’t show up, anyone have an idea ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Are you on Big Sur or Monterey? I just upgraded to Catalina to Monterey and I can confirm that Shift+Option+Click Bluetooth no longer reveals the Debug menu. You still get the extra details that Option+Click gets you, but Shift+Option+Click no longer shows anything extra.

You might be able to get an older copy of Xcode Additional Tools, like 11.4 where they still included a the Bluetooth Explorer, and then use Bluetooth Explorer's "Modify Software Configuration" or "Controller Options" menu to reset the bluetooth module. Here's some screenshots:

1651863462560.png

1651863472610.png

But Bluetooth Explorer was made before Big Sur was released, so no idea if it'll still work. I haven't tried. Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back