Recently I bought a refurbished iMac (27", 2013, Catalina). I want to rename my Magic Mouse and my Magic Keyboard but the name of the previous owner comes back every time. I read the previous solutions but these do not work for Catalina. I see the name of the previous owner in the bluetooth preferences but I cannot change that. What should I do?
iMac 27", macOS 10.15
That sounds like its pragmatic for apples revenue only.
I had the points wrong, here is the official intuitive lennox way to do it
1 Connect Device
2 Go to settings, right click on device, dont click the menu, leave it open
3 Turn off device
4 Select "rename" in the still open right click menue
5 rename the device and close the pop up
6 Turn device back on and connect
I tried it 5 times now and it works for me. It would be great if you could double check on your side so the next person looking for this doesnt spend 3 hours figuring it out or $$$ for renaming a BT device.
That sounds like its pragmatic for apples revenue only.
I had the points wrong, here is the official intuitive lennox way to do it
1 Connect Device
2 Go to settings, right click on device, dont click the menu, leave it open
3 Turn off device
4 Select "rename" in the still open right click menue
5 rename the device and close the pop up
6 Turn device back on and connect
I tried it 5 times now and it works for me. It would be great if you could double check on your side so the next person looking for this doesnt spend 3 hours figuring it out or $$$ for renaming a BT device.
This procedure worked for me. 2018 MacMini, Magic Keyboard 1, 10.15.4
However, since the Magic kbd is my only input device, I had to modify the procedure:
Before starting, write the new name in Word or Notes, then copy it to the clipboard.
Use the mouse to highlight the name and paste over the new name while the kbd is off.
Then, turn it back on and reconnect it in Bluetooth settings.
Voila, this time the new name sticks.
I had the same issue with a used magic mouse I bought. I tried all different things renaming it. Here is what worked for me:
1 Connect the Device
2 Turn Off the device
3 Go to settings and rename the disconnected device
4 Turn On the device
5 Connect
Let me know if it worked for you
I found a solution that worked for me:
In system preferences, you can search for "keyboard accessibility" and there you can turn on the "accessibility keyboard". It will then appear on your screen. Then click on the properties of your Magic Keyboard and click on "change name". Remove the batteries from your keyboard, causing the connection to be disconnected. With your mouse and the Accessibility keyboard you can now type in a new name. The old name will remain but that is only for a while. Then you say "done". Close the preferences. Put the batteries back in your keyboard, connect them to your Mac and check the name of your keyboard. Successful !!!
I used Richard's method, it worked. I first turned on the Accessibility Keyboard, then I used it to rename my physical keyboard. I renamed it within the Keyboard setting (System Pref>Keyboard>Set up Bluetooth Keyboard) Make sure the keyboard that you want to rename is turned on.
Although temporarily working on the device on which the procedures were followed, none of the solutions involving Catalina worked for me for good.
The only way I was able to rename my device (Apple Keyboard A1314) and see the name stick even when connecting to other BT devices was using an older version of Mac OS.
The fact that I could not rename a BT device through Catalina and other PCs/Smartphones was driving me crazy. Then I installed El Capitan on a SD card that was lying around and was able to rename it through the conventional method.
AFAIK, all other methods only work temporarily or just on one device.
Here are some helpful links to guide through installing older versions of Mac:
macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/download-old-os-x-3629363/
macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/bootable-mac-installer-3575875/
Seen this question being asked several times lately. It's really easy to rename a Magic Mouse or Keyboard.
I tried all ways including your suggestion and reset all devise factory settings, also removing devices... it works and shows it is renamed and when you close settings and open again it the the same old name... my macOS version is 10.15.3 (19D76) should be a bug to fix...
Fantastic! I have searched all over and your instructions are the only ones that worked! Follow the steps...It works!
I solved the problem with the used mouse by buying a new Magic Mouse 2. Just a pragmatic solution. But the problem with my keyboard is not solved. According to your advice, I should turn off the keyboard. So there was no possibility to rename my (disconnected) keyboard. I presume I should use a second (connected) keyboard to rename the first keyboard. But you cannot rename a disconnected keyboard: In the preferences file of the (disconnected) keyboard I can only "disconnect" (again) or "remove". So, no solution for this problem. Thanks anyway.
This is the official solution. As you can see in the discussion above, this solution is not always correct. I, for instance, used it many times, but it never worked. The solution I gave on March 27th is the only working one.
This work for me too.
Is soo easy.
Before this explanation I tried a lot of kind of tips, but this strong works.
My observations: I do this process at a MacBook, otherwise isn't necessary start a keyboard accessibility because the Macbook has one native.
The second point is about the mouse, that happened the same, because the Macbook has the Trackpad.
So easy. Thanks so much!
This seems to work initially, but it is a bit of a hack. While it changes the name in macos bluetooth properties, the keyboard and trackpad still have the old name. You can see this if you try to pair the keyboard or trackpad with another device (the old name will show up) or if you un-pair and re-pair you keyboard/trackpad to macos. When I originally purchased the keyboard/trackpad, Mac OS changed the device name, but I'm not sure why I can't change it again. I haven't tried an older Mac OS yet to see if it is an issue with Catalina, but it is a mildly irritating issue.
Thanks for providing a work around, but my point is that it's a work around. It doesn't solve the underlying issue. My keyboard/trackpad still carry the old custom names when I transfer them to other devices.
I tried this method too, of course. But for me it didn't work. The keyboard kept his old name, although I changed it in the keyboard settings. So I had to invent another way, using the "accessibility keyboard". And that worked.
renaming my Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard
