cannot use bose mini II soundlink

xiaoliang50,

Thank you for letting us know this information. If your MacBook Pro is able to connect to other Bluetooth devices, you could try resetting your Bose speaker to factory settings and try connecting again. You could also see if it needs a firmware update. The articles below should be helpful:

• Checking the software or firmware version - SoundLink® Mini Bluetooth® speaker II
• Updating the software or firmware of your product - SoundLink® Mini Bluetooth® speaker II
• Resetting your product - SoundLink® Mini Bluetooth® speaker II

Let us know if those help. Best wishes.

Hi,

I experienced this issue with the same OS version, 11.2.2, for a different bluetooth speaker and headset.

Mine was fixed by an SMC reset, a suggestion I found here.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252397876?answerId=254554975022#254554975022

An SMC reset is achieved by clicking on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen, then selecting shutdown.

Once shutdown, close the lid for 30 seconds, then power up. The original instructions are here. I reset my bluetooth devices at the same time.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252114787?answerId=254165944022#254165944022

When I powered up, I made sure all external peripherals were disconnected, as USB devices have the potential to interfere with Bluetooth. This may have changed for USBC, but I have USB-A/B peripherals also.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/io/universal-serial-bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html

The first bluetooth device connected after a first SMC reset. For the second bluetooth device, I had to perform another SMC reset for it to show as available. It took a few connect attempts to connect to the second device, once it was showing as available.

Hey there, xiaoliang50.

We understand that your Bose speaker is either not showing as an output device on your MacBook Pro or it shows for a few seconds then disappears.

Are other devices like headphones or other speakers able to work without any issues with your MacBook Pro (if available)? Also, if you haven't already, you can see if restarting your MacBook Pro helps: Log out, sleep, wake, restart, or shut down your Mac It may seem like a simple step, but it can sometimes resolve issues. Also, let us know if turning Bluetooth off and on again helps.

Take care!

You can also press shift+option and click on the Bluetooth menubar icon, then choose Reset Bluetooth module. And the Bose product support page for this device. Note that Bose's product literature (and PDF user guide) for this device talks about connecting to mobile devices (e.g. phones and tablets). Nothing mentioned about connecting to a Mac or Windows PC via Bluetooth.

MarkonIOS wrote:

Is resetting the Bluetooth module more that turning it off, and back on?

I don't know. There may be some NVRAM in the Bluetooth module that does not get reset by cycling power to it, or perhaps not.

Bose apparently had no manufacturing intent that this speaker would be paired with a computer and may have left out Bluetooth codecs or functionality for that compatibility. I suggest you contact Bose and attempt to get a straight answer from them about suitability for pairing with macOS Big Sur — in case there are things they know that we do not.

Is resetting the Bluetooth module more that turning it off, and back on?

I tried turning off Bluetooth, and turning it on before the SMC reset, but it did not work.

Thanks. I did not know you can reset the Bluetooth module this way.

xiaoliang50,

We're glad the reset helped with your Mac and Bose speaker can now work together without any issues. Thank you for using Apple Support Communities!

Have a great rest of your week.