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Q: 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:

  1. There is NO Bluetooth Preference Pane.  It's gone.
  2. 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!
  3. 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:

  1. Reset SMC (Shutdown, press CNTL-Option-SHIFT-Power, let all of them go simultaneously, then power up)
  2. 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

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Q: El Capitan - Bluetooth Not Available

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  • by greg_icit,

    greg_icit greg_icit Nov 9, 2015 1:18 AM in response to pickerin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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.

  • by Nemo62,

    Nemo62 Nemo62 Nov 11, 2015 12:35 AM in response to pickerin
    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.

  • by Nemo62,

    Nemo62 Nemo62 Nov 11, 2015 1:03 AM in response to pickerin
    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.

  • by mister_saxon,

    mister_saxon mister_saxon Nov 11, 2015 3:06 AM in response to mister_saxon
    Level 1 (17 points)
    iTunes
    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.

  • by strathamnh,

    strathamnh strathamnh Nov 11, 2015 6:26 AM in response to greg_icit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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!

  • by Monsignore,

    Monsignore Monsignore Nov 13, 2015 3:18 PM in response to strathamnh
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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.

  • by Monsignore,

    Monsignore Monsignore Nov 13, 2015 3:58 PM in response to Monsignore
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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. 

  • by The Didio,

    The Didio The Didio Nov 25, 2015 11:15 AM in response to pickerin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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/

  • by Moof666,

    Moof666 Moof666 Dec 4, 2015 4:45 AM in response to msc03
    Level 1 (89 points)
    Wireless
    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.

  • by Moof666,

    Moof666 Moof666 Dec 4, 2015 4:49 AM in response to pickerin
    Level 1 (89 points)
    Wireless
    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.

  • by Moof666,

    Moof666 Moof666 Dec 4, 2015 4:52 AM in response to msc03
    Level 1 (89 points)
    Wireless
    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)

  • by Marc Bejarano,

    Marc Bejarano Marc Bejarano Dec 16, 2015 6:05 PM in response to pickerin
    Level 1 (5 points)
    iOS Apps
    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

    --

  • by ansalto,

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

  • by Glennny2Lappies,

    Glennny2Lappies Glennny2Lappies Dec 25, 2015 1:39 AM in response to pickerin
    Level 1 (5 points)
    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.

  • by Dimitrios Tourtouras,

    Dimitrios Tourtouras Dimitrios Tourtouras Jan 4, 2016 4:07 PM in response to Marc Bejarano
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jan 4, 2016 4:07 PM in response to Marc Bejarano

    Beware as this would only work (if it does at all) under the assumption that said system comes with a Broadcom bluetooth controller. AFAIK there's several Atheros bluetooth implementations used in Apple configurations out there, where using the aforementioned command would yield no result in the best case scenario (I'd hate to think of the worst-case-scenario though)..

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