BTServer causing high CPU utilization

okay, follow up here - looks like BTServer is launched when I have the ipad simulator running when doing xcode work. quitting the simulator will also end the process.

might be a necessary service for the ipad simulator, but whoa.. lets take it easy on the cpu, mmkay? 🙂

yup, i had this problem too. i have a new 2.2ghz macbook pro and while at a coffee shop, i noticed my battery draining very quickly, and a look at activity monitor showed that BTServer was running away with high-cpu utilization. i killed off the process and didn't notice any loss of functionality.

not sure what it was supposed to do with so much freaking cpu cycles!!!

is this for bluetooth? i dont even have bluetooth on. im not happy about this having to be something i'd need to keep a eye on when i'm trying to maximize my battery life. 🙂

I'm having this same probem myself on a new MacBook Air running 10.7.1. I'm a developer as well, so that makes sense if it has something to do with the iOS Simulator. Hopefully Apple will update the software soon to fix this problem. In the meantime, I've just been using Activity Monitor to quit the BTServer process. My fan slows down right away when I do.

I also noticed this issue a short while ago. But with a slight difference from what some of the guys above wrote – iPad simulator was already shut down almost 6 hours ago, and since then the MacBook has been sleeping until now.

I don't think it has anything to do with Lion. I'm having the exact same problem under Snow Leopard 10.6.8

I think it is something in recent betas of iOS5.

I'm a developer too, and this problem only appears when I leave the iOS simulator open (if unused).

p

Just confirming I have this issue, too. And that killing BTServer works.

I have noticed this since installing Xcode 4.2 w/iOS 5 beta 6. It has occurred on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard and a MacBook Air running Lion, so it seems OS-independant. Also, the iOS simulator is not necessarily running at the time of high CPU usage, but has been launched since rebooting. Sometimes, simply relaunching the simulator does the trick.

Cool down, little Air, coooool down.

I recently noticed the same issue, and a lot of the supporting details match - dev working a late build (aug 2011) xcode 4.2, running iOS simulator. BTServer doesn't always start going crazy, but on my 2010 macbook air it will occasionally start taking up 150-170% cpu in activity monitor, and I'd kill the process to good effect.

Tried quitting iOS simulator and that does the trick as well. I just wish there was a way I'd get notification that it's going crazy sooner than waiting for the fan to start ramping up and the battery draining.

Just had this problem, and I have indeed launched the iPad simulator since rebooting my machine. I was doing some coding work in the morning, went to lunch and had some meetings, came back to find my machine running at 97º C (!!) and the fans both raring away at 6,000 RPM. Killing btserver in the Activity Monitor quickly brought things back down to normal.

I'm on 10.7.1 and Xcode Developer Preview 4.2 Beta 7.

Same problem here: high CPU load caused by the BTServer process even in Xcode 4.2 GM on Snow Leopard.

The problem seems to always appear when waking up a MacBook from sleep with the Simulator left running.

Me too with XCode 4.2/iOS5 release. Ironically makes iOS developing on the move - i.e. on a Macbook Pro using battery power - very inconvenient. Battery life is ridiculously small when the simulator is running now. Plus fan comes on within seconds in any situation.

I have been having the BTServer problem for some time now as well. It did not go away with the new XCode (4C199). I'm running OS X 10.6.8

I can kill it, but it comes back right away. XCode is not even running. (When I 1st read this thread a month ago I could kill BTServer and it would not come back right away...I think it came back when I launched XCode and iPad simulator, but I'm not sure because I did not pay as much attention back then since it seemed to work and I figured the problem would go away when the new XCode came out.)

Hi Creative MessDev

I have never submitted bugs to Apple - do they have a public interface to their bugs so we can follow the state of the bug report?

I am experincing the same on a MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard and Xcode 4.2 (and MonoTouch if at all important).

Everytime my Mac goes to sleep/standby and maybe sometimes in between, the Activity Monitor shows approx 200% cpu usage for BT Server - and the fans are going crazy. (Which in this case is not a good thing)

Very annyoing, and problably not good for hardware to reach max temperature several times a day.

So I am very keen on finding a solution to this, and thus following the state of the bug or attach myself to it to bumb it a bit in priority.

I finally figured out how to disable it.

sudo edit /DevIos5//Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneSimulator5.0. sdk/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.BTServer.plist

There is a 'disabled' key set to false by default.

Setting it true will prevent BTServer from being started.

Hope it helps,

You can submit a bug to Apple at https://bugreport.apple.com. Unfortunately there is no way to follow it publicly but I will post an update as soon as I hear something.

Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a try.

Yes. Here too. Just had this start happening today. (I got around to updating XCode 4.2 + iOS 5 to full release last night)

System Profiler showed BTServer hogging over 250% (?) CPU. Fans whirring like ****.

I'd usually blame Flash for this sort of thing, but I had quit all browsers.

The System Profiler revealed that the iPhone simulator was using it, even though it was not running at all.

When I manually launched the simulator to see what might be going on, the BTServer terminated and the fans went off. Something must have gotten 'stuck'.

Something from the XCode 4.2 / iOS5 stuff is definitely causing this, since I upgraded last night.

OS X 10.6.8 - Macbook Pro 2.8 GHz i7 w/ 4GB RAM