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Level 1

23 points

El Capitan - Bluetooth Not Available

I've been looking through the forums and I'm seeing several references to folks running El Capitan getting the bluetooth icon with a lightning bolt through it, and a drop-down menu that just states "Bluetooth: Not Available". I have a MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid-2015).

My additional symptoms are:

There is NO Bluetooth Preference Pane. It's gone.
There are various errors in /var/log/system.log:
- Oct 6 09:00:57 ohcpisvp kernel[0]: Sandbox: AssetCacheLocato(1222) deny(1) file-read-data /Applications/Utilities/Bluetooth File Exchange.app/Contents/MacOS/Bluetooth File Exchange/..namedfork/rsrc
- Oct 6 09:00:57 ohcpisvp kernel[0]: Sandbox: AssetCacheLocato(1222) deny(1) file-read-data /Applications/Utilities/Bluetooth File Exchange.app
- Oct 6 09:00:57 ohcpisvp kernel[0]: **** [IOBluetoothFamily][SearchForTransportEventTimeOutHandler] -- Missing Bluetooth Controller Transport!
Running System Report shows "No Information found" under Bluetooth

This started with an upgrade from Yosemite to El Capitan (retail App Store). Bluetooth operated fine previously.

Disk Utility returns clean.

There is no longer a "Fix Permissions", as El Capitan instantiated the "System Integrity Protection" capability, removing fix permissions (and permanently fixing permissions on all system files).

I have tried the two solutions that were posted elsewhere:

Reset SMC (Shutdown, press CNTL-Option-SHIFT-Power, let all of them go simultaneously, then power up)
Delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist

The SMC reset, initially, seemed to return Bluetooth functionality, but putting the system to sleep and re-awakening it caused it to disappear again, since them it's been offline.

Looking to see how many other folks are experiencing this issue, so we can get some attention on it (especially since it seems to have been a common occurrence during the Betas), and to see if anyone has a sticky solution? Resetting the SMC every time I boot seems a bit ridiculous.

-Rob

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Oct 6, 2015 6:24 AM

101 replies

Fil-mac

Level 1

13 points

Oct 25, 2015 4:55 AM in response to Fil-mac

iMessage is refusing to work but at least Bluetooth seems to be working with FileVault disabled

Nov 9, 2015 1:18 AM in response to pickerin

I had this problem, and neither resetting the SMC nor deleting the Bluetooth plist worked for me. There's an Apple support article somewhere that I found which says to try removing all USB devices and restarting the machine. I unplugged everything that was attached to my machine (inc. display and power as a few articles suggested removing the magsafe connector when resetting things), and that seemed to have worked.

Nemo62

Level 1

0 points

Nov 11, 2015 12:35 AM in response to pickerin

I have the same problem as you. I have followed all the same procedures as you with the difference that while the Bluetooth is still not available I can use my Magic Mouse for all functions except the vertical scrolling. Perhaps the software deliver should fast provide an appropriate patch.

Nemo62

Level 1

0 points

Nov 11, 2015 1:03 AM in response to pickerin

I have upgraded with a lot of trouble finally ending up installing El Capitan 10.11.1. I have the same problems as described by Pickerin. I have followed all the same procedures as Pickerin with no results as far as the availability of Bluetooth is concerned. The only difference is that while the Bluetooth is still not available I can use my Magic Mouse for all functions except the vertical scrolling. Perhaps the software developer should fast provide an appropriate patch good for all users.

Nov 11, 2015 3:06 AM in response to mister_saxon

Update to this - I have stopped using my external USB3 powered hub and have not had a repetition of the problem. I am now using an un-powered USB2 hub for my slow peripherals (which is most of them, let's be honest) and I am not having any issues.

I might try the USB3 hub without power and see if that a. even works at all and b. causes the issue to reoccur. I'll keep you posted.

Nov 11, 2015 6:26 AM in response to greg_icit

I had exactly same problem, once I unplugged usb devices and rebooted bluetooth is working again!

Nov 13, 2015 3:18 PM in response to strathamnh

I've been having the same issue. After upgrading my iMac (21.5-inch, late-2012) to 10.11.1, and my iPhone 6 to the latest iOS, neither device connects to my Sony STR-DN840 receiver, over Bluetooth or AirPlay. But, my Bluetooth Logitech mouse and Apple Bluetooth keyboard are both working just fine. We do not have a tethered mouse or keyboard in the apartment, so Bluetooth-less rebooting of the computer would be a tad problematic. I'm hoping someone comes up with a stable solution, or Apple gets a fix out to us ASAP.

Nov 13, 2015 3:58 PM in response to Monsignore

A friend suggested a solution that seems obvious in hindsight: I went through the basic steps necessary to connect my stereo receiver with my home WiFi network. For good measure, I rebooted my iMac. Whichever of those did it, I can now playiTunes via Bluetooth through my stereo. 😎

Nov 25, 2015 11:15 AM in response to pickerin

I found a solution to your problem (I had the same one) that worked wonderfully.

http://osxdaily.com/2014/02/17/fix-bluetooth-not-available-error-mac/

Moof666

Level 1

107 points

Dec 4, 2015 4:45 AM in response to msc03

@msc03:

If you consider the article irrelevant, send feedback to Apple to point out that they made a typo. In fact, it is NOT A TYPO and is relevant, because there is some relationship between BlueTooth and USB 3.0.

Moof666

Level 1

107 points

Dec 4, 2015 4:49 AM in response to pickerin

@pickerin

SMC is not a red herring, if the user happens to disconnect all USB devices when resetting. Then the SMC reset steps happen to include all the steps in the Apple article.

Moof666

Level 1

107 points

Dec 4, 2015 4:52 AM in response to msc03

@msc03:

As to your finding some SMC reset instructions "elsewhere", does that mean not Apple's instructions? I notice there are PLENTY of incorrect instructions for SMC reset coming from Youtube and blogs. Why would you need those sources, when you already have Apple's support pages?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411 (resetting SMC Intel-based notebook Macs)

Dec 16, 2015 6:05 PM in response to pickerin

i've been seeing this problem on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013) since upgrading to El Capitan. i got excited when i saw "Fixes an issue that may cause Bluetooth devices to disconnect" in the 10.11.2 release notes ( About the OS X El Capitan v10.11.2 Update - Apple Support ), but alas, i'm still seeing the issue.

luckily i don't use bluetooth often with my MBA, but for those that do and are tired of rebooting, running these commands in a Terminal window should get things working again:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/BroadcomBlue toothHostControllerUSBTransport.kext

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/BroadcomBlue toothHostControllerUSBTransport.kext

ansalto

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2015 7:31 AM in response to Marc Bejarano

Hi, yesterday I updated to el Capitan 10.11.2 and bluetooth stop work, it's appears like No Available.

I tried resetting PRAM and SCM, also delete the bluetooth.plist in /library/preferences.

And it's still no available...

MacBook Pro Retina, 13 inch (early 2015)

Dec 25, 2015 1:39 AM in response to pickerin

Never seen the Bluetooth unavailable before today. Had to "turn it off then turn it on again" and Bluetooth is restored.

*Has* to be an issue with El Capitan which I "upgraded" to a week ago.

El Capitan - Bluetooth Not Available