Level 1

26 points

Bluetooth missing from system preferences?

Hello.

I've seached for ideas everywhere but am not having much luck.

I'm running a 27" iMac OSX, 10.8.3 (12D78) Mountain Lion

w/3.2 GHz i3

12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

A few days ago, my magic mouse lost it's scoll, swipe, zoom, and right click abilities. The batteries were low, so I dismissed it. I have since replaced the batteries, and then noticed that the bluetooth icon is missing at the top of the screen/staus bar. I looked in system preferences, and the Bluetooth icon is also missing from there. Under the Mouse pane, there is no options for the magic mouse, only tracking speed and click speed.

I searched the archives and it appears it's a pretty common occurance. The difference is my BT mouse still works, only as a regular mouse. (Single click and pointer tracking).

I first tried a timemachine restore, with no luck.

Next, I tried a reboot. No luck.

I tried the SMC reset. No luck there either.

I know the BT is working somewhat, because after I reboot the system, the mouse pointer doesn't move, but if I click and hold the mouse buttom for a few seconds, I get control over the mouse, but like I said, with no options or extra abilities. But even with the mouse moving, there is no BT icon either on the staus bar or in system preferences.

Any ideas on what to try next?

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Apr 12, 2013 11:57 AM

44 replies

Apr 22, 2014 8:53 AM in response to Rod Fox

Shazam! The "Rod Fox Fix" had my bluetooth back to normal as soon as I heard the reboot chime.

13" MBP, Retina, early 2013, with Mavericks 10.9.2 (current as of this post).

For the record, I had no joy moving Bluetooth.prefPane file to either desktop or trash.

steevb

Level 1

0 points

Dec 26, 2014 3:35 PM in response to Rod Fox

I am using Yosemite 10.10.1 and lost the Bluetooth preference pane just as shblet343 describes. Suggestions in this thread included "Take your Mac to the Applestore" and "Reinstall your system". I am so happy I kept reading because Rod Fox's suggestion WORKED!! 🙂 It was much easier and safer to hold down 4 buttons for 5-6 seconds. Thank you Rod Fox.

shblet343: Please mark Rod Fox's answer with "This solved my question" or at the least "This helped me". It deserves to be called out.

Jeb85

Level 1

0 points

Feb 9, 2015 7:17 PM in response to Rod Fox

This worked for me. I had installed a SSD drive loaded with mtn lion and all of a sudden the "bluetooth not available" issue appeared on startup. Followed directions per Rod Fox and all is well! Running mid 2009 MBP with 10.8.5

Cheers!

Mar 4, 2015 8:48 PM in response to Rod Fox

I'm trying to solve this problem for a friend in another state (so I can't troubleshoot anything on my own system). When you say "power button," what are you referring to? The power button on your Mac or on the wireless keyboard? I'm assuming this move has to be performed with a wired keyboard, but he doesn't seem to be having much luck.

Property

Level 1

13 points

Feb 27, 2016 6:07 AM in response to Rod Fox

Thanks Red Fox. The SMC reset you suggested worked on a 2012 MacBook Pro Retina running OSX 10.11. It had been showing no Bluetooth Preferences Pane and in the System Profiler showed under Bluetooth: "No info"

jim1348

Level 1

13 points

May 17, 2017 11:43 AM in response to Rod Fox

Rod Fox, excellent. Worked like a charm. Initially, my BT mouse wouldn't connect on start up. Then I lost BT in sys prefs. I followed your instructions and now mouse come on at start up.

Thanks very much,

Jim

Jan 9, 2018 7:10 AM in response to Rod Fox

This worked for me! Computer didn’t turn off after holding all four down. It just continued to boot regularly. But Bluetooth was fully restored. I had tried trashing plist etc and nothing else worked. But this did!

shblet343 Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 12, 2013 12:59 PM in response to Paul_31

There is no BT pane to check mark. If I go to customize view, it still does not show.

shblet343 Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 27, 2013 6:05 PM in response to Old Toad

shblet343 Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 12, 2013 12:03 PM in response to shblet343

I should have mentioned that I'm using the USB numeric keyboard, so the mouse is my only BT devise paired to this computer.

Paul_31

Level 6

14,172 points

Apr 12, 2013 12:32 PM in response to shblet343

I wonder if somehow the BT preference pane has become hidden. Check System Preferences>View Menu>Customise and make sure Bluetooth is ticked.

shblet343 Author

Level 1

26 points

Apr 12, 2013 1:27 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

It's just funny, (or at least to me) that the BT mouse still has basic functions, yet everything I check says there is no BT available in this computer.

Road Trip...

Thanks for all the help.

Old Toad

Level 10

215,184 points

Apr 27, 2013 5:10 PM in response to shblet343

Reset the System preferences to create a jpg or png file for screen grabs. The forum won't take tiff files.

Old Toad

Level 10

215,184 points

Apr 28, 2013 9:12 AM in response to shblet343

I'd try the combo updater in any case and see if that won't jump start it in the System Prefs.

Oct 17, 2013 1:58 PM in response to shblet343

shblet343....Did you problem get resolved or not? I see I know have the exact same problem. Let me know please.

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Bluetooth missing from system preferences?