Level 1

0 points

USB Bluetooth adapter stops working after 10.8.5 upgrade

For several months I've been using an IOGear USB Bluetooth adapter and a USB KVM to share my Magic Trackpad between a Mac Mini and a MBP, both machines happily running 10.8.4.

Tonight I upgraded my MBP to 10.8.5 and now Bluetooth is apparently disabled when I have the USB adapter plugged in:

Now I'm left with the unappealing decision of using my Trackpad with only my Mac Mini, my MBP, or constantly repairing it with either to share.

I've been shockingly happy with this little trick, but I guess it was too good to last. Anyone have any ideas why using a USB Bluetooth adapter would stop working? Maybe I need a different adapter now?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Sep 12, 2013 9:22 PM

Top-ranking reply

MacPro_de

Level 1

58 points

Posted on Sep 14, 2013 4:57 AM

After patching the file

/System/Library/Extensions/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/BroadcomBluet oothHostControllerUSBTransport.kext/Contents/Info.plist

using TextWrangler by adding the correct product id of my ANYCOM USB-550 Bluetooth adapter it now works again.

Anycom USB-550

idProduct: 8531

idVendor: 2652

I just duplicated a complete key / dict area in this file (I used the Targus one, because it uses 8532 / 2562).

When you use TextWrangler with CLI commands from BareBones (not the version from the AppStore) you can edit system files and the file permissions will not be altered.

After saving the file you will need to delete the kernel extension cache and reboot.

I did this using the Terminal:

sudo rm -R /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.kext.caches

Then you will need to reboot your Mac.

After that your Bluetooth USB Adapter should work again.

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37 replies

Gervaso

Level 1

0 points

Sep 21, 2013 12:38 AM in response to MacPro_de

That was my thought as well, but before opening the Broadcom kext, I found that that the CSR kext already has the correct entry (and there wasn't much I could do there). I have made a backup copy of all the files and I'm able to restore them whenever I want anyway. What puzzles me is how is possible that a patch (thought to fix some issues and improve the user experience, along with other things) actually manages to break things that were working perfectly previously. From now on I'll think twice before updating my Mac OSX.

I'll keep looking/trying and I'll post the solution (if I'll ever find it) as soon as I manage to fix the problem.

Gervaso

Level 1

0 points

Sep 21, 2013 1:47 AM in response to Gervaso

This is the string that you can already find in the original kext:

<key>CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController</key>

<dict>

<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>

<string>com.apple.iokit.CSRBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport</string>

<key>IOClass</key>

<string>CSRBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport</string>

<key>IOProviderClass</key>

<string>IOUSBDevice</string>

<key>idProduct</key>

<integer>1</integer>

<key>idVendor</key>

<integer>2578</integer>

</dict>

It looks perfectly fine (idProduct and idVendor are correct), but still, it doesn't fix the problem. The device is seen as on (and the small blue LED on it blinks) but I can't seem to find any bluetooth device nor can I deactivate it.

Pancho12

Level 1

8 points

Jan 7, 2014 3:53 PM in response to KOLIBERk

I have a Mac Pro 5.1

Bluetooth and Magic Mouse and Ati Radeon HD 5770 have a problem.

More often, my screen flickers. The Magic Mouse jumping every now and then on the screen AOC Monitor.

Graphics card has been replaced from Apple.I firmly say it is because of Bluetooth.Sorry for my bad englisch :-(

Greetings from Germany

AndyMP

Level 1

19 points

Jul 29, 2014 8:58 AM in response to jaap254

After reading this thread, I'm hoping somebody can help with this issue. I have a BT Adapter: Belkin F8T065bf, Broadcom 2070 Chipset and am running OSX 10.9.2 (so I know this is the wrong forum now but it's the most relevant thread). The driver details are already in the info.plist file (so Apple presumably supports this device straight out of the box) but I still can't get the adaptor to work. My Mac is already using the internal bluetooth for devices such as my trackpad so I'm assuming that there isn't a conflict here? If so, how do I solve that problem? Any help is appreciated.

Sep 14, 2013 3:31 PM in response to AwwwPuddin

Great.

I forgot to mention in my post, that you will need to convert the id(s) from hexadecimal to decimal to be able to use them in the Info.plist. Good, that you did it now.

Sep 16, 2013 3:34 PM in response to sebkulu

Begs the question - which BT adapter DOES work out of the box? Looks like I need to buy a FOURTH dongle...

jaap254

Level 1

0 points

Jan 22, 2014 4:59 AM in response to AwwwPuddin

Is there a bluetooth 4.0 smart dongle that works out-of-the-box for OSX 10.9.2?

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USB Bluetooth adapter stops working after 10.8.5 upgrade