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Bluetooth on ios 8 can't connect with iMac 10.9.5

I upgraded my iphone 5s to ios 8 over the weekend. When I tried to connect my iphone 5s using bluetooth to my iMac at work running OSX 10.9.5 (the very most recent available production release), the phone won't connect. I have told them to both forget each other and repaired, and also reset network settings on the iphone per some of the car-based threads. However when I pair the iPhone shows as connected very briefly on the iMac (never on the iPhone) and then goes to Not Connected on the iMac. This is with the two devices sitting with 2 feet of one another. This worked correctly prior to the upgrade to ios 8

iPhone 5s, iOS 8

Posted on Sep 22, 2014 12:12 PM

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Posted on Sep 22, 2014 1:48 PM

Same issue observed with multiple iOS 8 devices against 10.10 (14A361c) and 10.9.5.

31 replies

Sep 28, 2014 3:58 AM in response to misanthropic789

I have same issue. Mavericks on iMAC and iPhone 5s are both updated to latest. Prior to IOS 8, my iPhone would connect via bluetooth, where I can sync whatever via iTunes - my phone would show up in iTunes when I was in bluetooth. Now it connects for a few seconds then disconnects...User uploaded file

When I turn Hotspot on (which I never did) the bluetooth will connect but my iPhone still missing from iTunes, cannot sync, etc.

Keeping in mind bluetooth does still work because my apple keyboard is still using it with no issues.


Dear Apple,


Fix now.


Thanks

Sep 28, 2014 9:14 AM in response to Leniwm1

I have the same issue:


Neither an iPhone 6 nor an iPhone 5s, both running iOS 8, will connect AND HOLD THE CONNECTION to my late 2013 MacBook Pro running os 10.10.


Both phones will appear in the scan and both present the pairing code sent by the laptop but neither will hold the connection. The bluetooth logo at the top of the mac screen shows the connection for a second or two but it drops almost immediately. Re-trying to connect sometimes (not always) gives the message "this device not supported".


Curiously, both phones will pair, connect and work fine with the hands-free phone system in my car (VW Touareg).

Sep 28, 2014 1:44 PM in response to dbs

Apple has chosen not to implement some of the Bluetooth profiles, such as file transfer profile. Currently they support only HSP/HFP (Headset Profile / Hands Free Profile, for phone calls) - A2DP/AVRCP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile / Audio Video Remote Control Profile) for stereo music, HID (Human Interface Device) for keyboards, and perhaps a couple of the lower-level messaging profiles. Internet sharing most likely won't be added as a generic Bluetooth feature since that is already addressed with the hotspot capability.

Sep 28, 2014 2:35 PM in response to Leniwm1

Apple has never supported syncing data from iOS to iTunes over Bluetooth, iTunes syncing only works over WiFi or a direct USB cable connection.


iOS: Syncing your data with iTunes


The only use of Bluetooth between an iOS device and a Mac or Windows PC that Apple currently supports is for mobile hotspot (and even that is not usually recommended, using WiFi or a USB cable is much faster). You cannot connect an iOS device to a Mac or PC via Bluetooth to transfer files/data, as WiseJD states the required Bluetooth profiles are not supported, and never have been (this is not new behaviour in iOS 8).


iOS: Understanding Personal Hotspot

Oct 9, 2014 12:31 AM in response to dartagnan_no1

It all depends on what you are trying to do with iOS, Bluetooth and the Mac. You don't say what it is you're trying to do which makes it hard to assist you.


You don't use BT to sync data with a Mac and iOS device, you use iTunes on the Mac connecting to the iOS device over either WiFi or a USB cable, if that's what you're trying to do. You can't currently (until OS X 10.10 is released, probably in week or so) use AirDrop to transfer individual files between Macs and iOS devices, only Mac <-> Mac and iOS <-> iOS, and even AirDrop only uses BT to establish the link between the two devices, the actual data transfer is done over an adhoc WiFi connection. In the meantime the same sort of single-file transfers can be done using apps such as DropCopy on the Mac and iOS, Dropbox and iCloud Documents & Data if that's what you're after.


The short answer is that aside from personal hotspot there is really no point in connecting Macs and iOS devices via Bluetooth, everything else between them is done via WiFi or cable connections, or over the net using WiFi/cellular connections, and even personal hotspot is usually done over WiFi rather than Bluetooth as it's much faster. Bluetooth is primarily for connecting peripherals like headsets, wireless speakers, keyboards, mice and so forth to Macs or iOS devices, it's not used for data transfer.

Oct 22, 2014 12:03 AM in response to dheiber

Some of the Continuity and Handoff features use Bluetooth, but they don't require that the iPhone/iPad and Mac be paired, Bluetooth is simply used to detect the presence of the other device nearby, the actual data is sent over WiFi (most if not all the features require both devices be connected to the same WiFi network and logged into the same iCloud account). Other features like Instant Hotspot and call transfers don't require Bluetooth to even be on.

Oct 22, 2014 3:48 AM in response to misanthropic789

Bluetooth pairing still broken for iPhone 6, iOS 8.1, and Mac OS 10.10.


Though some Continuity and Handoff features do not require Bluetooth pairing, Personal Hotspot does (unless you want to tether with a Lightning cable) If I recall correctly, I believe the new personal hotspot feature was even presented in the keynote at WWDC14. Should be embarrassing that it still doesn't work.

Bluetooth on ios 8 can't connect with iMac 10.9.5

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