Bluetooth between iPhone 13/iPad Pro (running 15.1) and Macs running Monterey (12.0.1)

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Level 1

12 points

Bluetooth between iPhone 13/iPad Pro (running 15.1) and Macs running Monterey (12.0.1)

We've been able to verify that every Mac upgraded to Monterey 12.0.1 no longer allows iPhones or iPads running IOS or iPadOS 15.1 to connect via Bluetooth (iMac Pro, Mac Pro7,1, iMac). The phone reports the Mac as incompatible and forces a "forget". The Mac seems to connect for a few seconds then loses the connection. Resetting the module (safe boot, remove plist) has no effect, rebooting/resetting the iPhone has no effect. None of the standard Bluetooth troubleshooting steps has any effect at all. The two systems seem incompatible at this point. All out other peripherals seem to work so far -- even on both the Mac and iPhone.

This is VERY consistent across dozens of systems and phones. Is anyone else seeing this or is it something in our environment?

Posted on Oct 29, 2021 10:13 AM

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Answer 1

KiltedTim

Level 10

226,644 points

Nov 1, 2021 4:35 PM in response to Diacritical

No, I mean NEVER. As in, that has NEVER been a feature of iOS. Bluetooth pairing is not used in the connection between iOS devices and Macs. If the devices are signed in with the same iCloud account, you can use air drop to transfer files, etc.

It has not changed. iOS has never supported the bluetooth file transfer protocol.

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Answer 2

Jan 7, 2022 6:08 AM in response to TheRealSpork

I have the same problem too with macOS Monterey and iOS15.2 , but for your purpose of using mobile hotspot, Wi-Fi tethering is better option.

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Answer 3

Nov 2, 2021 9:17 AM in response to Diacritical

You have never been able to pair an iPhone to a Mac.

It has never been supported.

Not being able to do it in Monterey is expected, since it is not now and has never been supported.

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Answer 4

Diacritical Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 1, 2021 4:01 PM in response to KiltedTim

If by “never” you mean “since last week” then, yes. Otherwise, I’ve been doing it for a very long time. I have apps that comm over Bluetooth (or did). You might ask yourself why so many people see this as a change. The reason is… wait for it…. It’s a change. And it still works on Big Sur and it’s predecessors.

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Answer 5

monal256

Level 1

8 points

Dec 13, 2021 3:04 PM in response to KiltedTim

So I am seeing this issue mention above and when I upgraded to Big Sur and then on Monterey the issue presist, but on Catalina it used to work very smoothly. Today even after updating iPad to 15.2 and when testing to connect via Bluetooth on Monterey... It does not work. So many of my apps connecting my MacBookPro and iPad does not synch. This is very annoying.

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Answer 6

KiltedTim

Level 10

226,644 points

Nov 1, 2021 8:03 AM in response to Diacritical

You have NEVER been able to pair and iPhone and a computer using bluetooth.

What are you hoping to accomplish by doing so.

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Answer 7

Nov 2, 2021 9:25 PM in response to KiltedTim

Apple support this for Bluetooth Tethering, refer to https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/blth22/mac

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Answer 8

Diacritical Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 1, 2021 7:27 PM in response to KiltedTim

Don’t need it for airdrop or any iCloud-enabled apps. Still used to have it for other apps and no longer do. Not sure why you’re so insistent that something that worked fine for many years never existed. Glad you don’t need it. You’d miss it otherwise. BTW, who said anything about file transfer? You assume way too much. Bluetooth is good for a whole lot more than that.

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Answer 9

KiltedTim

Level 10

226,644 points

Nov 2, 2021 4:56 AM in response to Diacritical

Diacritical wrote:

Don’t need it for airdrop or any iCloud-enabled apps. Still used to have it for other apps and no longer do.

Such as?

Not sure why you’re so insistent that something that worked fine for many years never existed.

Because it never did. You have never been able to pair an iOS device with a computer using bluetooth. It simply never happened.

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Answer 10

Diacritical Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 2, 2021 9:03 AM in response to KiltedTim

Wow -- you seem very resistant to new (old) information. I've attached two helpful screen shots of a very real iPhone connected via Bluetooth to a very real iMac running Big Sur. This does not work with Monterey.:

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Answer 11

KiltedTim

Level 10

226,644 points

Nov 4, 2021 5:02 AM in response to TheRealSpork

TheRealSpork wrote:

That's just... not true. It's been used for years for mobile hotspots, and it's used on iPadOS for Side Car. Neither one is working currently with the M1 Pro Max Macbook I just got.

Neither one of those require 'pairing' the devices using bluetooth. It's handled differently.

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Answer 12

Nov 4, 2021 1:58 PM in response to victor_ma

if I would be able to do that, that would solve my problem

Nov 2, 2021 9:25 PM in response to KiltedTim

Apple support this for Bluetooth Tethering, refer to https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/blth22/mac

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Answer 13

wjling

Level 1

8 points

Dec 16, 2021 11:42 PM in response to Diacritical

I have the same connection error when I try to connect my personal hotspot with bluetooth. It seems that I should connect my iPhone and my Mac first before I can connect hotspot with bluetooth, but I can't unfortunately.

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