Bluetooth PAN interface missing

Hi everyone!

I was struggling with the very same issue today, and to my amazement didn't find anything on the web to help me. But I did manage to solve it, and here's what I did.
Keep in mind though, that my particular issue was with iPhone tethering and that I had deleted my Bluetooth PAN profile and couldn't get it back though I tried everything.

First, I created a new Location in Network, in System Preferences. (I deleted my previous Locations.)

What I did then was that I went into the /Library folders, both the one at /user/library and the one at root/Library and when there, I went into the "Preferences" folder.
I deleted the following files:

com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
com.apple.internetconfigpriv.plist
com.apple.NetworkUtility.plist
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
(Deleting these shouldn't cause any problems as far as I can tell, as they're just preferencefiles, and if you just keep them in the Trash you could always put them back if you need to.)

I also deleted the "NetworkInterfaces.plist" file, though I'm not sure if it was in Preferences or somewhere else. Hope you find it as I think that it might actually be the key here. And this file did require me to give my admin password to get it deleted.

After this I rebooted and logged in. Then I went to Bluetooth in System Preferences, and chose to setup a new device, which was my iPhone. (I had also chosen "forget this device" on my iPhone so that everything would be as fresh as possible.)

I then paired with my computer and as I did that I got a notification that a new interface, the Bluetooth PAN, had been added. And this time it actually came up in the Network pane in System Preferences!

So, at least for me, this was the answer to my Bluetooth PAN -issues.

Hope it helps!

-Aslak

Hi veo,

I guess I should've been more clear in my reply. I tried everything with 10.5.8, the problem was that when I paired my iPhone with my computer, although Bluetooth Setup told me that the Bluetooth PAN interface had been added, it did not show up in Network Preferences.
It wasn't until I deleted all the files (of which several were probably unnecessary to delete) that I actually did get the Bluetooth PAN interface into Network Preferences (and by this, getting the bluetooth tethering to work).

So for me, 10.5.8 didn't help at all. I had stupidly deleted the Bluetooth PAN interface when I was at 10.5.7, but as I said, updating to 10.5.8 did not resolve the issue for me.

Kind regards,

aslak

Spanky!

Great work, you figured it out. I couldn't find all of the files you mentionned, but the "NetworkInterfaces.plist" file was definitely key. It also asked for my password. The location of this file was /root/library/preferences/SystemConfiguration. Not to hard to find. Thanks!!

-Jerry

http://twitter.com/ZoomJer

Thanks for this, spankymonkey. Last week it took me forever to get internet tethering working until I found you had to use the Bluetooth PAN. Today for some reason the tethering wouldn't work and in my messing around I deleted the Bluetooth PAN, only to find there was no obvious way to bring it back. Your instructions have fixed this and now my iPhone tethering is back working again.

*Creating a new preferences.plist file was the most simple solution* to these two problems for me. This process BOTH recreated my Bluetooth Pan interface AND solved the issue of no Airport reconnect after system restart or wake from sleep.

Previously, I had deleted my Bluetooth Pan interface while testing tethering and didn't know how to get it back. I don't believe the version update of the OS matters. The System Preferences/Network settings need to be reset.

Recently, I also created the Airport reconnect problem for myself when I disabled my wireless SSID broadcast on my wireless network. My macbook running 10.5.8 would not reconnect itself after reboot or sleep. The one thing I tried that *solved both the Bluetooth Pan and Airport reconnect issues for me was to delete the preferences.plist file and then let OS X recreate it*:

Before starting, go to System Preferences/Sharing and take note of your "Computer Name". If needed, this is the name of your mac as seen on your network. The following procedure cleared my "Computer Name" and I had to reenter it.


1. Go to the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder/directory to locate your preferences.plist file.

2. Backup copy and then move, delete or rename your preferences.plist file. It will prompt you for your admin password to delete it. You can always copy your backup of this file back into this directory to go back to your old settings.

3. Restart your OS X system. On reboot, OS X will recreate the preferences.plist file and *will reset your System Preferences/Network settings*.

4. *You should now see the "Bluetooth Pan" interface listed in the System Preferences/Network settings after the reset*. You will also have to reconnect to your wireless network. In my case, I had to to reconnect to my hidden SSID network using the "Join Other Network..." option under Airport and save my settings. After testing, *your mac should now reconnect to your network upon reboot or wake from sleep*. At least it worked on mine.


You can always copy the backup of your preferences.plist file into the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder/directory to go back to your previous settings. Don't forget to restart your system.

This process resets ALL the different types of network connection interfaces listed if any had been deleted in System Preferences/Network settings. You should again see Airport, Bluetooth, Ethernet, FireWire, and Bluetooth Pan if they previously existed and were deleted on your system.

Don't forget, this will also clear your network "Computer Name" found in the System Preferences/Sharing settings. If needed, you will need to reenter your computer name to be seen on your network.

Hope this helps.

I have the same issue!
I have deleted the interface and now I can't get it back!!

Anyone?