iMac Bluetooth Won't Connect To My Mouse and Keyboard

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Level 1

33 points

iMac Bluetooth Won't Connect To My Mouse and Keyboard

Can't get Magic Mouse or Bluetooth keyboard to connect to my 2014 27-inch iMac. The Bluetooth settings panel will show that it's seeing the keyboard or mouse but cannot connect with them. The problem started a couple of months ago so I bought a new apple keyboard and mouse but the problem persisted.

Running MacOS 11.7.11 and have tried reinstalling the OS and resetting the Pram and the other Mac basic troubleshooting.

Is this a software problem somewhere? Do I need to revert to an earlier version of the OS? What do we think is going on?

Thank you

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Feb 24, 2026 1:48 PM

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Answer 1

MrHoffman

Level 10

155,899 points

Feb 24, 2026 2:34 PM in response to TommyBadger

Does the gear work when wired to the iMac?

Bluetooth can be subject to interference, and an old iMac can also have Bluetooth hardware issues. Some leaky USB cables and USB devices can also interfere with Bluetooth, for instance.

See if an alt-click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar gets the RSSI for the Bluetooth connection. RSSI of -70 and higher is decent, while -90 and lower not so much.

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Answer 2

Feb 24, 2026 5:12 PM in response to TommyBadger

Re: “The problem started a couple of months ago so I bought a new apple keyboard and mouse but the problem persisted.”

With rechargeable Magic Keyboards, I believe that plugging them into your Mac using a cable that can carry data will automatically pair them to the Mac. Did you try that with the keyboard?

Also, Apple has a bad habit of raising minimum system requirements for their keyboards and mice each time they release new ones. If you bought an Apple USB-C keyboard or mouse, chances are that its Apple Store description says that it requires something newer than Big Sur.

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