Help! My Mac Pro has lost Bluetooth

Only one fix here that has been consistent for me:

• Shut down the MP
• Unplug the AC cable
• Press and hold the power button for 10 secs (I do this twice)
• Replug the AC cable
• Reboot
• Immediately after the chime, turn off and back on any bluetooth devices

I have to do this quite regularly with my BT Magic Mouse on my MP 5,1.

Yes fixed this also for my MP 5.1 with my Magic Trackpad. It happen a day after I installed the update to 10.6.8.

Thanks Tim for the help, i wanted use my MTP and was getting frustrated.

Glad to have helped guys! This was killing me and I actually replaced 2 Magic Mice (No one at the Genius Bar argued that the mouse wasn't bad...) before I uncovered it via deep reading.

Hi Adwiz - I am wondering if you guys have to keep doing this unplug/press/hold PWR plug back in and reboot over and over? I am. I have to constantly remember to unplug my Mac Pro, hold the power button until I hear a soft "snap" and replug the power and re-boot in order to have Bluetooth load and my MagicMouse work. Occassionally I also have to re-boot several times to get my Mac Pro to recognize and load my CalDigit HDElement (miniSAS RAID). The issue seems related. I posted on this a while and gave up and recently it's almost becoming my stand mode of operation. Seems rediculous! Any fixes that really FIX the issue?

I do this freelance video production job twice a year in Kona HI, and for that job I fly my Mac Pro and my CalDigit RAID etc. and for the entire week I'm cutting video, it doesn't need to be reset by way of unplugging it from power. Its so weird, but for the rest of the time I'm home, it happens all the time! I use two serious uninterrupted power supplies that regulate and condition power, and even in Kona I use a UPS as well. It's pretty standard for editing because you don't want to risk a blackout while running FCP and also running the SAS RAID - its just bad.

Once I go through the process, it almost always works, but I simply wish I could skip the whole boot-up unplug thing. Recently, I have been having to do it over and over to make the Mac Pro see the CalDigit HDElelment - a miniSAS RAID - it comes with a hardware RAID card, and all this stuff has worked for quite a while except the Bluetooth issue which has always been an issue.

What do you think?

This was the best and simplest solution I have used to resolve an issue with my MP. My only concern... why does this happen in the first place. One day the bluetooth is working the next its not. What going on with this??

Hi Adwiz,

I just wanted to say thanks for your post.

I had the following issues:

1. Bluetooth vanished from system preferences.
2. The wired apple keyboard stopped responding every second bootup.
3. The magic mouse stopped worked due to the bluetooth issue.
4. The front USB ports stopped working.
5. Iphoto stopped importing photos from my Iphone.

After applying your fix everything has gone back to normal.

Can you explain why this fix works?? My Macpro is still under warranty - is it worth getting it checked out??? Have spoken to Apple Tech support regarding the problem but just got blank looks.

this just happened to me for the first time since I've used a MBP......wow! Your tip worked great, I just hope I don't have to start doing this on any kind of regular basis. My magic mouse loses connection quite a bit, but it's the first time my machine said there was no bluetooth hardware found....strange stuff

I very pleased that the thread has stuck around and still helps people. I'm actually still having to do this with brand new 6,1 Mac Pro units.

For Desktop Macs, dropping the AC power, then discharging the Power Capacitors by pushing the power button (with AC power disconnected) quickly gets all the internal voltages back to near Zero.

Then when AC power is re-applied and the Mac is powered on, a System Management Controller (SMC) Reset will be accomplished.

The SMC is responsible for power, clock generation, temperature measurement, fan speed control, and low-speed data (such a keyboard input) Management.

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For notebook computers with a non-removable battery, pressing the keys at the bottom left of the built-in keyboard (Shift-Control-Option) while the notebook is off but connected to the power adapter uses a Hardware assist to accomplish this Reset without the need to remove the battery to drop power completely.