Bluetooth crashes in MacOS Sonoma (M1 MacBook Pro)

i had the same issue with my Bluetooth mouse and keyboard freezing. Even though it seemed as if the computer was frozen, it wasn’t. I have another computer on the same monitor, so when I changed inputs and came back, the mouse and keyboard worked for a little while. So, I disconnected them from Bluetooth, and Forgot them. I then ran Onyx maintenance, which clears caches etc, and reboots the Mac. After that, I put the mouse and keyboard in discovery mode and reconnected them. So far so good…

watzlav wrote:

All Bluetooth devices from all manufacturers disconnect at random, but always all at once. The problem started after upgrading from macOS 13.X to macOS 14.X. How is that a hardware issue, please do explain, I’m all ears!

It means either your Mac incapable to run the new macOS correctly, or your Mac has a hardware problem, or both. The Bluetooth module in your Mac is malfunctioning. Check it with an authorised technical service.

A fairly reliable workaround is to reboot your Mac twice a day. I know that is not a solution and more like having an old Windows computer, but at least your keyboard and mouse won’t disconnect as much.

It also feels like this issue is less aggressive when there are processes running that prevent the Mac from sleeping deeply. If, for example, you run a process that monitors a directory for changes then the Mac can actually go to sleep, and bluetooth will probably stay connected reliably while you use it and while it sleeps. It appears this is a problem that only occurs after macOS has hibernated, but does not happen if your Mac just slumbers.

Its getting worse with time or updates, it looks like. I think we should _politely_ write bug reports to Apple to get their attention: Feedback - macOS - Apple

Issue still there with Sonoma 14.4.1 but fixed with Onyx maintenance.

I'm also using a Keychron keyboard. Have switched it to cable mode, let's see if that fixes the issue.

I have exactly the same issue, all started with Sonoma. I thought 14.1 would fix it, but issue is still there. This is now like the finder issue on Monterey if I remember correctly which was only fixed at update 12.6 or something.

I thought it might have been a buggy upgrade from Ventura, or maybe one or two dodgy installed software causing this issue, so two days ago I wiped my Mac Studio and setup as brand new, no restore from backup. It was all good for a day and half, now the bluetooth "hang" bug is back. Magic Mouse, keyboard and trackpad unresponsive. When you screen share from another Mac, the Mac is working and hasn't frozen, as it looks like the Mac has frozen, then like a minute or later bluetooth connects again, sometimes not at all.

I chatted with Apple and they are aware of the issue. However, it would give the issue a higher priority if more people got in touch and notified them they have the same problem.

I also noticed that with macOS 14.0 devices would auto-reconnect after BT crashed, but with macOS 14.1 devices do no longer automatically re-connect and I often have to power-cycle my keyboard and mouse to get them to connect again.

Caffeine81 wrote:

Of course I rebooted the MacBook many times before I tried the maintenance tool. A reboot only helps temporarily but doesn't fix the problem at all.

Then it could be a hardware problem, maybe the bluetooth module is malfunctioning. Better check your Mac at a technical service.

Then it could be a hardware problem, maybe the bluetooth module is malfunctioning. Better check your Mac at a technical service.

I doubt it. It suddenly started with Sonoma. There are many reports of users (also on other sites) that BT problems started with Sonoma. I think this is a software issue.

If it is a Bluetooth issue, it could always be a hardware issue. People complain, for it is easy to complain than look for a solution. Find another bluetooth device and try to connect with it. It could be the Bluetooth device that's malfunctioning and/or the Bluetooth module in the Mac. I'm running Sonoma 14.1.1 on a 4 1/2 year old MBP, even some Chinese, Korean Bluetooth devices connect and stay connected. The Apple devices connect absolutely well.

I have this problem with my BT keyboard and Magic Trackpad. As I said many people started to report this problem starting with Sonoma. I doubt all their HW devices started breaking then... Also this is not the first time that a major macOS version introduced some BT problems that were fixed with a minor version later.

watzlav wrote:

Leave the people alone who are reporting issues.

You report issues to Apple through Feedback assistant, not here. Users can't help you with hardware problems, especially over the internet. Take it to a authorised technical service, personally.

chdsl wrote:

…Users can't help you with hardware problems, especially over the internet. Take it to a authorised technical service, personally.

It. Is. Not. A. Hardware. Problem. Apple Support actually agrees, they suggest downgrading to macOS 13!

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Perhaps at some point it will be recognized that there are quite a number of users whose (new) computers have had Bluetooth problems as described here since the update to Sonoma. In all cases that I have read about here and in other forums - and this is also the case with my Mac Studio - Bluetooth fails sporadically. All devices connected via BT then stop responding at the same time.

And because this is a whole series of cases that did not occur before Sonoma and also affect different Mac models, it cannot be a hardware problem but must have something to do with Sonoma.

However, it is also the case that many other users do not notice the problem because it only occurs sporadically.

Let's be realistic - Sonoma is knitted with a hot needle. I've never had so many problems with any other system version since 10.2, even in combination with software that doesn't come from Apple.

I have now updated to 14.1.1, only time will now tell if the bluetooth bug has been fixed or not.