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Bluetooth between two iPads not working

Hi! I have two iPads that were paired with each other for several months. They connected via Bluetooth. This morning they somehow became unpaired. I turned Bluetooth off and set them both as discoverable. I got a message saying that “pairing unsuccessful. Ipad is not supported.” I made sure all software was updated, restarted, and tried again. It still gives me the same message. Anyone have any ideas?

iPad, iOS 9

Posted on Mar 25, 2021 6:46 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 25, 2021 6:58 AM

What, specifically, are you attempting to achieve by pairing an iPhone and iPad over a Bluetooth connection?


Contrary to popularised myth, it is technically possible to mutually pair two iOS/iPadOS devices. However, for the majority of applications, Bluetooth pairing of an iPad and iPhone is entirely pointless. If your intention is to use Cellular Hotspot features of your iPhone, this link is optimally achieved using the native WiFi hotspot connection - this being a largely automated process. Hotspot connections over WiFi offer substantially greater throughput, range and reliability.


How to set up a Personal Hotspot on your iPhone or iPad – Apple Support


If you still wish to pair your iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth, you first need to manually enable the hotspot feature on your iPhone:

Settings > Mobile Data > Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join - set to ON


Next, Bluetooth for both the iPad and iPhone must be placed in Discovery mode:

Settings > Bluetooth (accessing this page will automatically place the device in Discovery mode)


Whilst both iPad and iPhone are in Discovery mode, you can mutually pair the devices.


Again, I must stress, unless you have an unusual “edge case” where use of WiFi is impractical, pairing of iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth is largely pointless.


5 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 25, 2021 6:58 AM in response to ami121

What, specifically, are you attempting to achieve by pairing an iPhone and iPad over a Bluetooth connection?


Contrary to popularised myth, it is technically possible to mutually pair two iOS/iPadOS devices. However, for the majority of applications, Bluetooth pairing of an iPad and iPhone is entirely pointless. If your intention is to use Cellular Hotspot features of your iPhone, this link is optimally achieved using the native WiFi hotspot connection - this being a largely automated process. Hotspot connections over WiFi offer substantially greater throughput, range and reliability.


How to set up a Personal Hotspot on your iPhone or iPad – Apple Support


If you still wish to pair your iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth, you first need to manually enable the hotspot feature on your iPhone:

Settings > Mobile Data > Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join - set to ON


Next, Bluetooth for both the iPad and iPhone must be placed in Discovery mode:

Settings > Bluetooth (accessing this page will automatically place the device in Discovery mode)


Whilst both iPad and iPhone are in Discovery mode, you can mutually pair the devices.


Again, I must stress, unless you have an unusual “edge case” where use of WiFi is impractical, pairing of iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth is largely pointless.


Bluetooth between two iPads not working

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