USB ports not working and Bluetooth turned off

Question

USB ports not working and Bluetooth turned off

Problem:

My bluetooth has been turned off and my USB inputs are not working.

Troubleshooting performed:

I have restarted the iMac with no devices connected hoping that the Bluetooth wizard would start up recognizing their are no peripherals connected. The wizard does not pop up.

I have manually shut down the iMac, unplugged the power cord, then let it sit for 10 minutes before rebooting, with no success.

I used an old Pro Mouse and Pro keyboard from an old Mac that I have, but the iMac is not impacted by them. I verfied both the old mouse and keyboard work on my wife's MacBook.

I also plugged my iPhone into each of the USB ports and the phone never shows that it is charging nor is it recognized in iTunes.

The iMac appears to be functioning fine; alerts are popping up for LinkedIn, Facebook, and email; the DVD player started playing when I put one in. I just don't have the ability to control it with a Keyboard or Mouse.

Any advice?

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Mar 26, 2014 7:30 AM

Reply

Answer 1

sheila_m.

Community Specialist

Mar 28, 2014 2:42 PM in response to fanaticbuckeye

Hello fanaticbuckeye,

Thank you for the clearly stated details of the issue you are experiencing with the USB ports and Bluetooth connectivity on your iMac and the steps you have taken. You have taken some really good troubleshooting steps already. I found a couple of articles with additional steps I recommend for the issue you described.

I recommend following the steps in the section titled "Top troubleshooting tips" in both articles, but the following step specifically stands out to me for the issue you described (you can skip the steps you have already taken):

Restart your computer
Sometimes a simple restart of your Mac is all it takes to get things running smoothly again. You may also want to try resetting your computer's PRAM and NVRAM.

Bluetooth Quick Assist

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1153

USB and FireWire Quick Assist

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Sheila M.

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Answer 2

Aug 18, 2015 4:48 PM in response to sheila_m.

I Have the same exact issue. We have tried a usb mouse and keyboard but they don't appear to be recognized as they are only "mac compatible" and not apple specifically. Two questions:

what would the equivalent keys on a windows keyboard be for the pram reset. And would this work if they keyboard is not recognized?

Should this work on the Bluetooth keyboard if it has not fully booted?

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