Big Sur does not work with Bluetooth

My Bose Headsets will connect to my iMac for about 6 seconds, then disconnect.


2019 Imac


What I've tried but does not work:


Chat with apple support


Turn on and off BT

Reset the BT module

Remove all BT devices

Reset Bose Headphones removed all other BT devices it stored

remove all peripherals except keyboard and mouse

Reset NVRAM

Reset SMV

Tried connecting without any peripherals

Tried connecting with all other devices in the building shut down.

Connected headphones to other devices like my iPhone, a Windows laptop, all have 100 percent connect and function rate. including a little Raspberry Pi.

Tried connecting with a Logitech 800 headset that also connects to all the other items.


At some point, it has to stop being my fault.


I have come to the conclusion that Big Sur has an issue with Bluetooth, does not function with other than the wireless keyboard and mouse, and that there is nothing left for me to do to make it connect. It simply doesn't work.


Since my bluetooth headphones are mission critical for me, there is no other option than restoring the previous and functioning version of MacOS, and continue working rather than trying endless dead end tricks that repeat the original problem to get it to function.


I'll revert and hope that Apple gets around to fixing this problem.


Bummer



iMac 27″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 17, 2020 10:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 20, 2020 7:25 AM

Update: I was able to fix the problem with the following steps:


  • Open Terminal app
  • Type in: sudo rm -rf /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/HAL/
  • Restart your iMac


Hopefully this works for you. It was a huge relief for me.

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44 replies

Dec 17, 2020 6:28 AM in response to Michael Coslo

Thanks Michael but I spoke too soon, neither the AirPods or iPhone would stay connected for more than a minute. So I cleared the list of devices and reset bluetooth, now it's refusing to connect at all!


I am so cross with Apple for releasing an untested OS. Now I want to try an older OS to see if I can connect that way and it won't let me revert either grrrrr. Whoever decided this was ready needs to get on with fixing it.


So what are you using Michael and how is it that your bluetooth connections seem to work or were you clever enough not to update yet?




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Big Sur does not work with Bluetooth

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