iOS 15.1, MacOS Monterey: Bluetooth (Device Not supported)

Products I own:

iPhone SE 2020

MacBook Pro M1 13"

Installed the latest operating systems, and have run into the problem where the iphone and macbook can see each other in the bluetooth discovery menu. The pairing handshake works, then once connected, the connection immedietly drops. When I try to connect again, Iphone says the macbook is not a supported device, and the only option I have is to forget the device.

Apple Support states that this is not an isolated issue, but it would be nice to use my hotspot instead of having to rely on public wifi. I have tried to delete the bluetooth history files but that option did not work. Is there any work around, or will I need to wait for Apple to provide a patch?

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Oct 28, 2021 9:53 PM

Top-ranking reply

jpdemers

Level 1

144 points

Posted on Apr 17, 2022 9:04 PM

I got hold of an Apple engineer and asked about this. He says that iPhone pairing is NOT SUPPORTED in MacOS Mojave or later. All file transfers (e.g. AirDrop) are handled by WiFi, which requires both devices to be on the same network (router). Bluetooth does need to be turned on, apparently because there's some low-level chatter going on, but there is no pairing. (I suspect it's being used for security checks of some sort.)

Apple advice that calls for pairing an iPhone with a Mac is only intended for High Sierra and earlier; sometimes this is not made clear.

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iOS 15.1, MacOS Monterey: Bluetooth (Device Not supported)

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