16-inch MacBook Pro Bluetooth issue

I bought the new 16-inch MacBook Pro when it first came out and was happily using it until a week later my bluetooth stopped discovering devices, in particular my Magic Mouse and iPhone. I tried everything from resetting nvram, smc, resetting the bluetooth module, removing bluetooth.plist, downloaded bluetooth explorer and reset a bunch of settings etc and even went to the extent of completely formatting the computer and installing osx from scratch to no avail. Hardware diagnostics showed no hardware issues as well. The bluetooth device was showing up fine in System Report but it just wasn't discovering anything. I have a work laptop (2017 MacBook Pro) which I use side by side and it was working fine.

Long story short, I was able to replace the device at the Apple store I bought it at since it was within the 14 day return policy window. So I put it down to just being unlucky.

It's been a few weeks since then and I now have the same issue with the replacement laptop. This time though I think I know what triggered it.

I have a CalDigit dock that I use for my work laptop and occasionally have a usb bluetooth device attached to it for some work I do in virtual machines. The issue occurred when I connected my new MacBook to the dock along with the bluetooth dongle. The usb bluetooth dongle worked fine however when I disconnected the thunderbolt dock from the MacBook I noticed the bluetooth icon in the top right hand corner changed to an icon with a zigzag across it, obviously due to bluetooth device being disconnected.

Since disconnecting the external bluetooth device I'm having the same issue as I had previously, my MacBook Bluetooth device won't find any devices and is not recognized by other bluetooth devices like my iPhone/other MacBooks. I've gone through the whole process as before, and have resorted to a clean install of osx to no avail. I've even compared bluetoothd console logs between the working MacBook I have and the now broken one, the only difference is the working MacBook is able to detect devices when they are advertised, whereas the MacBook Pro 16-inch does not.

Digging into this, it seems as though OSX by default switches to any attached USB bluetooth device when it's plugged in and then when disconnected, it reverts back to the onboard device. This works fine on my old MacBook as I've been using the USB dongle for a while now without any issues. I initially thought that there may be a software issue with the internal bluetooth device not switching back properly but I would have thought a clean install would have fixed it so there must be some sort of hardware issue specifically with the new MacBook Pro 16-inch.

I'm pretty frustrated now as I've now gone through two 16-inch MacBook Pro's with bricked bluetooth devices that I'm fairly certain was caused by connecting an external bluetooth dongle via thunderbolt. I'm pretty sure onboard devices shouldn't die just because a third party device was connected/disconnected.

Has anyone come across this yet with the new MacBook Pro 16-inch? I'm going to visit the Apple store tomorrow to see what they can do but I'd prefer if I didn't have to send my laptop away and just find a fix myself if there is one. If not, I thought it'd be good to post my experience here in case anyone else comes across this.

MacBook Pro 16", macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 14, 2019 2:09 AM

Top-ranking reply

Simon Roberts6

Level 1

19 points

Posted on Jan 18, 2020 6:30 AM

I had exactly the same problem (down to every detail) and I think I just found a solution.

I'm also using a CalDigit dock and USB bluetooth stick and I'm on my second MBP 16. The first was replaced under AppleCare after the bluetooth module became apparently dead.

The built-in bluetooth came back to life by running system diagnostics (hold down D during boot). After the subsequent restart, without the USB bluetooth adapter attached, I noticed that bluetooth was seeing some devices in the area but still not connecting to anything. I deleted and re-paired my Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard 2 - now all is working again.

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341 replies

Apr 13, 2020 10:30 AM in response to jdharris56

Like I mentioned before @jdharris56 i`m a windows guy and i bought the mac for my surface book and this was for sure the last mac I own.

Here, in germany, the said on chat twice that I cant send it it in and I should bring to a store nearby me...then they look up and found out that the next store is roughly 110 kilometer (about 160 US miles ) from my home PLUS due to corona virus I cant drive there because of the quarantine.

So what is the solution ? Sit there and wait til I can drive there 2 times to bring and pick it up? Who pays me for this? Never experienced such a bad service...

Best thing is - what happens when it is repaired? I always have to be scared that I forget to pull my BT receiver from my dock ..otherwise this thing blows up again? Pretty cool solution as far as you ask me. I really would like to go to the store and when I pick it up i will again attach my BT dongle there and let it blow up again...really. Here in germany if the same error occurs 3 times in a row and It cant get fixed you have to get your money back...thats what the law here says.

Maybe the best solution because not attaching a dongle anymore is really crap - because I know it will happen again.

Apr 18, 2020 8:08 PM in response to hairdresser06

I have exactly the same problem.

WTF apple... Tried everything, restarting PRAM, SMC, boot into diagnostics mode. Nothing. BT is completely dead, can't find any device.

BT Explorer shows no Host Controler.

May 19, 2020 5:53 AM in response to jjcinaz

I'm afraid they don't give a ****. My 3500€ laptop is at repair since March the 1st. Yesterday I got Apple Europe (Ireland) customer services on the phone, they don't offer anything but "wait" (meanwhile new machines are on stock).

This story is likely to end in a trial, and even worse, an unhappy user.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

May 19, 2020 6:30 AM in response to hairdresser06

hairdresser06 wrote:

This story is likely to end in a trial, and even worse, an unhappy user.

The 2011 AMD GPU problems are well documented. The nVidia GPU (GT series) issues are also similar. It is very hard on the end-users. There is no easy solution for a new model, and the current supply chain issues do not help either.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

May 19, 2020 10:00 AM in response to Dalogan72

Dalogan72 wrote:

I hope they find a solution but I really doubt that, money has been spent already they don’t care anymore.

After 2010, I only bought refurbished Macs. The only exception has been a 2018 Mini. My experience has been to wait for at least a year after a new model is released, before I consider a purchase. The 15-in line-up is a much more stable lineup.

May 24, 2020 7:56 AM in response to christian_ch

Hi christian,

I just had a look to see if you might be onto something there. I checked my Wi-Fi in my System Information and it also shows as null. However on my brand new 2020 MacBook Pro 13" it also shows null and that works fine.

I had done a full reinstall by nuking the T2 Firmware and it hadn't solved it on mine.

I wonder if I do a few complete installs if it might work?

I had just bought the 13" as a backup so once I get it all setup, ill try it on my 16" with the faulty bluetooth.

Jamie

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

May 24, 2020 8:25 AM in response to jamiefromkirkcaldy

jamiefromkirkcaldy wrote:

I had done a full reinstall by nuking the T2 Firmware and it hadn't solved it on mine.

A 2019 iMac does not have an Apple T2 Controller. See About the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support and iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications for reference.

I wonder if I do a few complete installs if it might work?

It is worth an experiment. The power issues on the 16-in MBP are unrelated to the 2019 iMac experiment. Posts in this discussion have tried to erase/re-install macOS on the 16-in MBP, but without positive results.

neno91

Level 1

4 points

May 27, 2020 1:48 AM in response to christian_ch

Why does Apple seem to ignore that the issue even exists. For me this is serious enough to call for a recall. The computer has a major flaw somewhere. And Apple don’t even seem to care. The issue is several months old. No response other than replacing logic board, and this without fixing the real cause of the problem.

jberian

Level 1

4 points

Jun 1, 2020 2:57 AM in response to jamiefromkirkcaldy

Hi christian_ch!. Have you been able to try with Mojave's kexts?.

I sent all the information about this issue to Apple's engineers a couple weeks ago using one of their tools (that was provided by someone from their call center) and I haven't had any response so far.

I also just updated to the latest OS version (10.15.5) and the issue still remains...

Jun 1, 2020 5:46 AM in response to jeremías49

Well at first I thought it was the usb dongle but now on Mojave I can plug the dongle without any problems. My issue started when I plugged it while using Catalina but I don't know because a fresh installation on catalina don't fix the issue... It's a little weird to be honest. Maybe my problem is different from yours.

JuJuBoSc

Level 1

4 points

Jun 1, 2020 8:08 PM in response to christospappas

Alright so I received my MacBook Pro 16 last Monday and now I'm stuck in the same boat... this is ridiculous, I just paid 6k for a laptop that can't handle plugin in a bluetooth dongle?

What the **** Apple, now what? Am I really supposed to ship it back to replace the WHOLE logic board? c'mon...

JuJuBoSc

Level 1

4 points

Jun 2, 2020 10:19 AM in response to jamiefromkirkcaldy

So I got a call with different Apple service this morning, finally ended up with a really kind tech guy that actually checked this thread over the phone with me.

I'm waiting for the Apple Store in Montreal to re-open so I can get a replacement model directly, no solution so far to fix the issue, no way I'm going to pay anything for an 6k$ one week old machine with an AppleCare+...

Jun 2, 2020 10:19 AM in response to jamiefromkirkcaldy

This company is obviously going down regarding customer service and having good hardware. I do remeber those good old days about having a nice working Apple Care, those days are gone. They are just milking the brand now. It is what it is. This product is a lemon.

Jun 2, 2020 10:23 AM in response to JuJuBoSc

pay for ? what? Why should you pay anything!?!?

I always thought APPLE is the holy grail : -)

I was wrong - same for phones ...im android user...currently have a pro max 11...

For me Android is much more intuitive

Jun 2, 2020 10:39 AM in response to aLegend2k

I sadly don’t know enough Japanese to be able to argue my point.

its because the Diagnostics they ran said the MacBook passed all tests.

I do think they believe it’s just software and feel that a restore should fix it. I have reinstalled 3 times and it hasn’t fixed.

I hope that once they see it’s not Software they can then replace the Logic Board and I don’t have to pay anything.

Apple hasn’t announced opening of Apple Stotes here yet and I was fed up waiting.

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16-inch MacBook Pro Bluetooth issue