From the home era to today’s work, Bluetooth plays a vital role in getting things done from home. For a smooth workflow, you need to connect accessories such as keyboard, mouse, microphone and headphones. Overall, it is a reliable technology. But at some point, you may have difficulty establishing a Bluetooth connection with one or more of your devices.
The easiest way to solve the Bluetooth connection problem is by unpairing and setting up the device from scratch. If the Bluetooth device still works with the Mac, read on to fix the problem.
1. Restart Your Mac
Let’s start with the basics. Often times, the most basic steps like restarting your Mac can fix a Bluetooth connection issue.
You can restart your Mac under Apple menu > Restart. It will fix almost any Bluetooth issue, especially those where the Bluetooth module crashes.
You should also remove all USB devices from the Mac and try your luck with the Bluetooth connection.
2. Reconnect the Bluetooth Device
If your device is not connected to your Mac, turn off your Bluetooth device and turn it back on to see if it reconnects. This is also a good time to check the battery level on your device. If it does not have enough power, charge it.
3. Restart Bluetooth on Mac
If your device doesn’t reconnect, you can restart the Bluetooth radio on your Mac. To do this, click the Launchpad icon in the Dock and go to System Preferences > Bluetooth.
Now click Turn Off Bluetooth and then Turn On Bluetooth.
You can also do this from the Bluetooth settings menu in the menu bar. Click the Bluetooth icon, click Turn Off Bluetooth, and then click Turn Bluetooth On to restart.
4. Delete PLIST Files
macOS stores information about Bluetooth devices in two files on your hard drive: one private to you and one used by all users on your Mac. You can delete these files to fix Bluetooth problems on Mac. Follow the steps below.
Stage 1: On Mac, open the Finder menu.
Step 2: Go to the menu bar and open Go > Go To Folder.
Stage 3: Type /Library/Preferences in the address bar.
Step 4: Search for a file named ‘com.apple.Bluetooth.plist’ and drag it to the Trash.
Step 5: Click Go Again > Go To Folder and type ‘~/Library/Preferences/ByHost’ in the address bar.
Step 6: Look for a file that starts with com.apple.Bluetooth followed by numbers and letters (ending with .plist) and drag it to the Trash.
Step 7: Disconnect any USB device and turn off your computer.
Now turn off your Bluetooth devices and restart your Mac.
5. Restart Mac in Safe Mode
Restarting your Mac in safe mode can fix device Bluetooth issues. Go through the steps below.
Stage 1: Shut down your Mac.
Step 2: Turn on your Mac and immediately hold down the Shift key.
Stage 3: Release the Shift key when you see the login screen.
Step 4: Your Mac is now in Safe Mode. Test your Bluetooth now. Does it work?
Step 5: In both cases (working or not), restart your Mac normally. Doing so will exit Safe Mode. So restart your Mac but don’t press any keys.
Step 6: Test Bluetooth again when your Mac boots up.
6. Remove Registered Bluetooth Devices
If turning your Mac off and on again doesn’t work, turn your Bluetooth devices off and on again.
There is another reason to remove devices – if you are connected to too many devices this can cause connection problems. Although seven is said to be the maximum number of Bluetooth devices, you may run into problems when you go above three or four as some devices need more data than others.
Stage 1: Open System Preferences > Bluetooth.
Step 2: Click the x button next to each device and clear the Bluetooth device list.
Stage 3: Try connecting the Bluetooth device once again and see if it works.
7. Update macOS
I started noticing Bluetooth disconnection issues on my MacBook Air when I updated my device to the latest macOS Big Sur update. Apple is usually quick to fix such annoyances with future updates. If you are in the same situation as me, you should download the latest patch available from the System Preferences menu and install it on the device.
Connect Bluetooth Device to Mac
A sketchy Bluetooth connection is a headache for any user. If you encounter such obstacles, review the above troubleshooting tips and fix the Bluetooth problem on Mac. While we’re at it, let us know which cheats worked for you in the comments section below.
