Prevent Bluetooth from re-enabling itself following macOS updates

mcmike567 wrote:

Ok. I am aware that this is required for Continuity, but I don't feel that really explains it because it does NOT automatically re-enable WiFi post-update if that was disabled -- it only re-enables Bluetooth, which means that if both were disabled pre-update, even post update you still aren't in a state where Continuity features would be functional. Either way, it's bad practice in my opinion to automatically revert settings changes that were deliberately made by the end user.

Clearly Apple feels this is how it should work, though. I installed blueutil and created an Automator app to run "blueutil -p 0" and set it to run on login. This doesn't seem to cause any ill effect if BT is already disabled, and worked for me when tested with just a reboot. We'll see if it works post-update the next time a macOS update is released.

you can file a bug report—  Product Feedback - Apple

mcmike567 wrote:

For several years now, it has been the case that for every macOS update, no matter how minor (most recently going from 14.3.1 to 14.4), when the system comes back up after the update, Bluetooth is enabled in Settings. This is despite the fact that I have had it disabled prior to running the update on the system. This behavior is not appreciated. How do I prevent this from happening? Also, can anybody shed light on why this even works this way? If I have Bluetooth disabled prior to running the upgrade, why does macOS assume I want it turned on afterwards?



This has been the case for updates going back at least to macOS 11, and has occurred on multiple systems, so I'm quite sure it's not a bug per se.

Both Bluetooth and WiFi being on is required for the many Continuity features—

Use Continuity to work across Apple devices - Apple Support

if you think it should be different submit your Apple Feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple