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More Mac Mini Bluetooth Woes!

C

crhendo

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 28, 2009
48
20
After nearly two days of testing, I can confirm that the 2012 Mac Mini is even more sensitive than the 2011 Mac Mini when it comes to Bluetooth interference. I must admit that I hadn't actually noticed the problem on my 2011 Mac Mini because luckily my Bluetooth devices hadn't randomly disconnected like they have been on my brand new 2012 model.

In my case there are two culprits causing me grief. The OWC 6G Extreme SSD and the Newer Technology Mini Stack (also from OWC). If I remove both from my 2012 Mac Mini then my Bluetooth range magically reappears and I can work again from anywhere in my Home Theatre. With them both installed my range drops to about 5 feet. If I substitute the USB3 cable supplied with the Mini Stack with a thicker one of my own then my range increases noticeably but unfortunately not enough for my needs.

Any guidance on "proven" effective methods for shielding the OWC 6G would be most welcome.
 
Yours may become one of numerous user reports we see about "weak Bluetooth" on the new Mac Mini line.

There will be all kinds of yelping for Apple to provide a "solution", but in truth it's probably a weak design that can't be "fixed".

What I'd suggest as a solution:
Buy one of the little "dongles" that plug into a USB port and give you Bluetooth capability. These run about $10-15, and from time to time I see one on dealmac.com for only $1 or $2.

Just plug it in, and connect via that one, instead. It's on the outside of the case, so shouldn't be affected by internal design considerations.

I got one for my old PowerMac g4. Seems to work ok, at least most of the time (I would attribute some of the glitches I experienced to the fact that I'm using very old hardware and software). It has good range, too -- I can be downstairs in one room, and send upstairs to the g4 without problems.

Again, for one or two dollars (on special), this may provide a decent "workaround", if no other fix is found...
 
Fishrrman said:
What I'd suggest as a solution:
Buy one of the little "dongles" that plug into a USB port and give you Bluetooth capability. These run about $10-15, and from time to time I see one on dealmac.com for only $1 or $2.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this. I was hoping to avoid it. I have tried three different Bluetooth Dongles and so far Mountain Lion doesn't recognise any of them. Is there anyhting special that I need to do other then just plugging them in?
 
"Thank you for this. I was hoping to avoid it. I have tried three different Bluetooth Dongles and so far Mountain Lion doesn't recognise any of them. Is there anyhting special that I need to do other then just plugging them in?"

Can't answer about Mountain Lion. I use a Bluetooth dongle on an old PowerMac g4 running OS 10.4. I use it to connect to either my Intel iMac (OS 10.4, 10.6, or 10.7), or my MacBook Pro (10.6). Can't report on 10.8.

They don't even show up in System Profiler while running ML?
It's possible that Apple has changed the OS in some way that might make 3rd-party USB/Bluetooth dongles incompatible, but not sure just how that would be….
 
Have you searched the manufacturers websites to look for an OSX driver for the bluetooth dongles? That might provide a solution, though I'll admit it would be better if it just worked automatically.

David
 
yeah im having mad bluetooth issues here with my mini! worked fine with my white core2duo imac. but now it's like 50cm away and hangs every now and then...never does it when it's real close...gonna get a targus bluetooth dongle and plug this into one of the unused USB ports on my keyboard...will solve the issues ! plus i wont notice it there....and always right next to my mouse !
 
Open bluetooth preferences. Select device, and click on 'show more info'. d.pr*/yymd

Then click on the cog again, and 'add to favorites'. d.pr*/sWT

Hope it works:rolleyes:
 
Same here....I ordered the OWC shielding ($5.99), but have not gotten it because they are out of the foil!! Too bad Apple isn't repairing this for us...the Intel White Paper explains the whole thing....
 
crhendo said:
Thank you for this. I was hoping to avoid it. I have tried three different Bluetooth Dongles and so far Mountain Lion doesn't recognise any of them. Is there anyhting special that I need to do other then just plugging them in?
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that any of dongle would work in addition to the internal bluetooth. You would have to first disconnect the internal one.
 
Does this affect the 2014 minis? I have an '11 but hopefully will upgrade in the next few months. Just wondering if this has been sorted.
 
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newellj said:
I know I'm replying to an older post, but I want to mention that I installed this kit and it was wholly ineffective - made no difference at all. Installing some ferrites on USB3 cables did the trick.
Click to expand...

Yes, it seems that ferrite cores like the ones available from Amazon.com and better USB 3.0 cables are good solutions for the interference problem.
 
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