Bluetooth Not Available

also once in a while the BT disappears from the menu bar...so need to go to preferences and select to hide it, and show it, and then it re-appears. strange.

Have you tried in Network>System Prefs turining off all other options like Internal modem,Ethernet etc.Restart while resetting PRam?If this doesnt work it may need to go in for a repair.Also try logging in as new user,to see if it happens there.

I had same problem (though I do not require bluetooth for kbd and mice). I eventually called the Apple Assistance - just bought a new iMac ...

The solution that worked for me was the following.

Reset the open firmware as detailed within http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42642. The only thing you need to know is that you need to restart by pressing and holding the Command-Option-O-F keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

" ..........
at the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-nvram

Press Return.

At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-all

Press Return.

Example
0 > reset-nvram
Press Return
0 > reset-all
Press Return

........"

note: zapping the PRAM did not work.

hope this work for you

hi again

tried logging as different user, resetting PRAM and NVRAM, switched ethernet off (couldnt turn off internal modem - didnt c option for that, although the internal modem was in red colour, so i guess that same as OFF)...

...nothing helps...

maybe i should try different Bluetooth dongle, such as DLink or something more branded than what i have.

if anything was a problem then USB ports, but they're seem fine as all other USB devices work OK, never had any problems.

sometimes when i take out and put in BT into port it shows message that BT gains too much power and that USB port will be deactivated...so now i put BT into an active USB hub...but still does not resolve the BT not available issue...

This worked absolutely as advertised. It is now, as suggested, in my Documents folder.

A (probably not very) interesting note: Every month, I run my PB17" battery down to dead, then re-load (per Apple literature). The other day, I unplugged my Mac and left it for the day. When I returned the battery was, as expected, dead. After plugging in and re-starting, my Bluetooth was "not available".

I wondered about the significance... and perhaps there is some. The Shift-Ctrl-Option process for "re-setting Power Management" seems eerily coincidental.

I'm just very pleased that someone posted a working solution here... it certainly isn't easily found among the Apple documentation.

Thanks, all.

I have a first hand solution to this problem.

I updated my bluetooth firmware, it didn't work, screwed up bluetooth. I couldn't figure out how to fix this, did everything I could. finally, upon re-installing the system software, bluetooth still didn't work. I tried all the methods I read on here, and didn't have much luck.. so my friends... this is my solution to my problem, which might work for you too... unplug your computer for 30 seconds, and plug it back in. (sometimes the easiest solution is the hardest to find).

Bluetooth works fine. everything back to normal.

I hope I saved someone the trouble that I went through.

I am having the same problem on my 12"PB. Running OSX 10.3.7 and Bluetooth firmware 1.5

Restarting did not help.
Powering off and on did not help.
Removing battery for a few minutes did not help either.
My bluetooth still shows up as not available and now my computer "kernel panics" about every hour. I think this happens because of the bluetooth problem.

Any help?

With a new iMac G5 with OS 10.3 and built in Bluetooth, my wireless keyboerd and mouse worked well for a few days. Now when I open System Prefs there is no Bluetooth symbol and when I open the keyboard and mouse icon, Blutooth is not available as an option. Restarting does not help. When I open the bluetooth files in the Utilities folder I am told " No Bluetooth Hardware found".
I hope the 10.3.7 update fixes this problem. My vendor has not had any experience with it. Has anyone had any luck with a work around?

This may sound too simplistic, but after a PRAM & NVRAM didn't bring up my missing bluetooth on my new iMac G5, I chatted with an Apple tech support guy and he said to remove all cables from the Mac including the power cable, press the power button to discharge the PSU (power supply unit) and leave it for two minutes.

After all cables are reconnected and powered up the Blurtooth re-appeared.

I hope this helps some of you 🙂

LG

Go to the following link christophe v., "Bluetooth Not Available" #33, 12:31pm Dec 19, 2004 CDT which is message #23 of this same discussion to find a solution

or

go to the following link to find out details and other solutions christophe v., "Built-in Bluetooth module not available", 03:57pm Dec 25, 2004 CDT

cheerio 😉

Thanks for your info, however the resetting using your mentioned method had no sucess for me, thats why I made the following posting within this thread.
london_geezer, "Bluetooth Not Available" #39, 04:21pm Jan 19, 2005 CDT

LG

Just had the same problem with Bluetooth unavailable. My son was using Garage Band with a Radium keyboard; when he quit he said the keyboard and mouse stopped working (they are Bluetooth).

Followed the suggestion to unplug all, power switch and time. Problem solved, glad we had multiple Mac and could scrounge a USB keyboard and mouse. Thanks for the suggestion.

after updating to 10.3.8 my bluetooth sometimes is not available after sleep. sometimes it is. Anyone else the same problem?

When I try to apply the 1.2 firmware update the bluetooth module becomes unavailable and stays that way even after a restart. A complete shutdown and cold boot restores it but if I can't update then I'm not going to be able to use the headset I just bought. I would appreciate any suggestions

I, along with a lot of other people it seems have lost and now found my bluetooth.

I ran my powerbook down completely and lo and behold no bluetooth. The removal of the battery trick amazingly brought it back. Apple tech support were no help and don't even speak English very well. (The perils of having your entire european support in one country I suppose), but all is now well thanks to these pages.