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6woody7 Author

Level 1

8 points

Bose companion 3 and Mac mini OSCatalina

I have an old Bose companion 3 multimedia speakers which I am trying to set up on my mac mini currently running OS Catalina. But the mac is not 'seeing' the Bose when I open the Sounds, output.

Any ideas?

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 9:38 AM

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Bose Companion 5 not working with latest Mac OS (Ventura) I just wanted to resurface a solution to this problem that another member posted some time ago, and which is in a closed thread. The original message read: "There are many threads over the Internet discussing issues with Bose Companion 5 when connected via USB. I found no answer in those discussions, but I found a solution and I'd like to share it here. All the old threads are locked, so I can't post a reply, so here we are. Chances are you exactly know what I'm talking about if you found this page in your search engine results ;-) What was happening: My Companion 5 frequently stopped working after a little while of having the music paused, or when I switched audio outputs (think listening music via speakers, then making a call via headphones, then wanting to switch back to loud music via speakers - the second time no sound went out until I disconnected and reconnected the USB cable). I am running a 16" Macbook Pro with all the latest updates. The issue occurred when the speaker was connected using a USB-C to USB-A dongle and then USB-A to USB-B cable. All my issues disappeared when I used USB-C to USB-B cable without any dongles." I wanted to let all know that using a USB-C to USB-B cable (without dongles) indeed resolved this issue for good. I had sent Bose my subwoofer unit for repair, but the issue persisted. But using the previously mentioned cable solved all issue immediately. Posting here in case it is helpful to anyone.
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1 reply

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Dec 23, 2020 2:21 PM in response to 6woody7

Hello 6woody7.

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you are having some trouble with connecting Bose Companion 3 Multimedia speakers to your Mac mini. We will be glad to assist.

Please see the following resource for some steps that can help resolve this:

If you can’t hear sound from your Mac speakers

Cheers.

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Bose companion 3 and Mac mini OSCatalina