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shblet343 Author

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

Best reply

Anthonyri

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Dec 9, 2017 4:27 PM

I just bought this used 2012 MacBook Pro, the owner set it back to factory settings. and everything was fine but when I wanted to connect my headphones (via bluetooth) and opened the system preferences bluetooth wasn't there in the first place. it tried you trick but it didn't work, you got another solution for me?

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44 replies

mig.mac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 5, 2015 2:22 PM in response to Rod Fox

Almost a year later and this solved the issue for me on Mavericks (10.9.5)

Thank you Rod Fox

Jan 12, 2015 3:32 PM in response to Rod Fox

Thanks Red Fox. This also worked with Yosemite although the computer did restart whilst holding down all four keys..

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.

Mar 20, 2015 10:13 AM in response to Rod Fox

Thanks a lot Rod! 谢谢！

Mar 26, 2015 9:17 AM in response to Rod Fox

This resets the SMC. (System Management Controller)

You do it differently on portables vs desktop machines. On a desktop machine it's a bit easier, you shut your mac down. Wait a second. Unplug the power cord. Wait 15 seconds. Plug it back in and start up your mac.