Cannot pair bluetooth - iPhone to Macbook Air

John Galloway wrote:

Perhaps you could point to the post in this thread that mentions that uploaded photos via bluetooth/aidDrop do NOT appear in the mac photo app (as they would if up transferred with a cable where the camera appears in the iPhoto app) but only in the download folder?

That is not the topic of this discussion thread.

The topic of this thread is pairing an iPhone and a Mac via bluetooth, which is not possible or necessary.

Your question is unrelated to this discussion.

It has never been possible to sync an iPhone with a Mac via Bluetooth. WiFi yes. Bluetooth, no.

KiltedTim - seriously? Okay, perhaps you'd like to explain how this Apple Support document giving instructions on how to Pair your IOS device to your Mac isn't actually a feature IOS has ever had.

If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) – Apple Support (AU)

OK. I just fixed this same issue. On you MBP Go to FaceTime and be logged into the same iCloud act. as your phone is using. Also on your iPhone be sure to look at your settings menu >phone and be sure that under calls you have allowed wi-fi calling and calls ob other devices. Also, be sure that both devices are on the same network. Go to Siri on your MBP and tell her to call #. This worked for me.

I have since learned that KiltedTim is correct, you don't need to pair your MacBook and iPhone. However, there does seem to be a problem with the universal clipboard board between iPhone and Macbook since around mid-January. Since the Monetary release in January, it looks like the copy and past between the devices have stopped working. I've spent about 10 hours with Apple Support on this. They've taken logs and are working on the issue.

CuriousGeorge03 wrote:

I’m having the same issue with Ventura 13.0 and IPhone 14 Plus. I agree that it is not necessary for Desktop files, Photos, etc. But, it is definitely an issue for Mirroring for streaming content and apps that I cannot utilize on my laptop. I agree that a significant reason for having all Apple products is their ability to communicate electronically without issue. This is a major issue for me and others! Please fix with the next update. No need to have removed the capability anyway.

No, you cannot pair an iOS device and a computer, or even 2 iOS devices using Bluetooth. It is not necessary for ANYTHING. It is not necessary for Mirroring, it is not necessary for streaming content (I do both on a daily basis without pairing) because content streaming and mirroring use Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth. It is not necessary for Airdrop, for sharing messages between devices, for file transfer. There is NO function that you might want to do that requires pairing Bluetooth.

I read this (long and instructive) thread as I was not able to pair iPhone and iMac (or iPad) via BT. Do I understand correctly that it's impossible because all those devices are BT masters and cannot become slaves ? Was it always the case (that's what I understand here)?

In any case, documentation (as shown in various posts) and messages are a bit misleading. When pairing fails (for good reason) the message is "Pairing failed. Make sure iPhone is turned on, in range and ready for pairing". Which obviously it will never be…

oomappie wrote:

I would like to know why the iPhone and Mac will not pair. iPhone SE iOS 15.7.1; iMac OS Ventura 13.1

That's an easy question to answer: They don't pair because Apple didn't design them to pair.

Perhaps if you explain why you think you need to pair, someone can explain how to achieve your goal.

Yes, this is expected behaviour. What are you hoping to accomplish with Bluetooth pairing. While Bluetooth is utilized between devices, pairing in the traditional sense is not required.

Necessary to utilize AirDrop

Partial success for me. Doing the Reset Network Settings now means I can use my iPhone 12 Mini's personal hotspot (tethering) via direct WiFi link from my MacBook Pro, *without* having to turn Bluetooth off (which was previously the only way I could get it to connect). And the dialog box for 'There is a nearby wifi hotspot, do you want to join?' is working correctly now (previously would just throw an error).

But it's still not possible to connect the iPhone by Bluetooth — not for tethering, not for anything else. Pairing initiated from the MBP results in it momentarily saying Connected, then flicking back to Not Connected. Pairing initiated from the iPhone results in a message saying the MBP is 'not supported'.

Luckily for me, the tethering while BT is on is the thing I really needed. Doesn't matter to me if the link is by BT or WiFi, as long as it works, and as long as I can keep my MBP's bluetooth on (so that things like 'Device Left Behind' alerts don't get wrongly triggered, I can use my AirPods headphones, etc).

Yes, I discovered quite by accident that I had to have the WiFi on on the phone even though the internet in my house was not working. And choose my iPhone hotspot in the MacBook's list of WiFi networks available. The Bluetooth pairing did not link them but choosing my phone as a wifi in the computer's list of networks did.

Sorry. Tell that to Apple, then. They filled a bug report based on this exact issue and asked me to follow the issue on this forum.

As for reasons, just one reason is that I have BT security keys, such as the ones Google uses, that need to connect to both my iPhone and Mac to complete a key based two step verification process. As for the iPhone and Mac, iPhones can also be used as security keys. Not to be confused with the pop-up messages. I loved this feature because users should have two security keys and having one built into the iPhone was a great savings. See, this issue isn't just for me. It's impacting my entire office. We were all using these features until ios 15 rolled over to 16. Now I'm having to buy expensive USB-C security keys.

For more information on security keys and Apple, Google has a nice summary:

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6103523?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS

Update on my post: I did do a SMC reset on the MBPro and now it is connecting to iPhone-Hotspot with BT left on. Weird, I did so before and it did not solve the connecting issue, however supposedly it did solve it now.

alisonfromarbroath wrote:

My new iPhone 14 is not recognising MacBook & I have tried all the different ways suggested with no success

Did you read any of this thread? It has been explained that you cannot pair an iPhone to a Mac. So, I don't know what suggestions you're reading.