Q: No blu tooth pairing between iPhone6 and MacBook pro (El Capitan)

I have a similar problem: trying to make a Bluetooth connection between an iPhone 6 (iOS 9.1) and a Mac Book Pro (retina; OS X 10.10.5).

Here are some of the facts:

(1)  The MBP connects fine to an iPad Air 2 (iOS 9.1).

(2)  The iPhone connects fine to a Mazda car communications system.

(3)  The MBP sees the iPhone and can pair to it, but the resulting connection fails immediately or after a few seconds, and I am guided on the iPhone to "Forget this Device" i.e. the MBP.

(4)  The iPhone cannot see the MBP, either before or after pairing.

(5)  The iPhone and the iPad cannot see one another.

I spent an hour yesterday with Apple support, my query rising to the supervisor level. They tried all the usual techniques, such as resetting SMC and NVRAM, with no success. The supervisor tried with is own phone and was surprised that failed as well. The conclusion: it cannot be done.

At the end of our discussion, the Apple supervisor made a good point: he asked me why I wanted to link the devices this way as there are several alternatives.

Searching the web for ideas, I saw in iphone6 and bluetooth someone made the comment: "iPhones only pair to a limited number of things (e.g. Speakers, headsets, car systems)".

Elsewhere someone referenced iOS: Supported Bluetooth profiles - Apple Support; this seems relevant but I don't have the background to make use of it.

So it is stalemate for now ... unless anyone has any bright ideas.

Thank you for your attention PhotonPDX.

1) Actually I succede using AirDrop (bluetooth file transfer) from iPhone6 to MacBook Pro, but no viceversa.

I can wait any time without connecting.

If I try to establish a bluetooth network pairing between the two units, (as your mention in your point 3), it happens that (the MBP sees the iPhone and start pairing to it, but the resulting connection fails immediately or after a few seconds).

The units only see each other for a split of time, and immediately disengage.

Before upgrading to El Captain (buy the way an excellent OS) I was happily using AirDrop frequently, in both directions.

AirDrop is a very quick and simple way to move photos and pdf up and down.

I am missing it for MBP to iPhone6+ file transfer.

Thanks for your help anyhow

oldfrabix

With iOS 8 and later and  OS X Yosemite or later, there is no pairing. It is all handled automatically. Trying to pair it manually serves no purpose.

I found that if one was on a 2.4GHz network, and the other on the same network, but 5GHz, I could only use Airdrop in one direction.

Thank you Barney-15E

I agree that no pairing is needed. Does the GHz setting depends on SW?

Mind that until a few days ago I was able to AirDrop up and down from my iPhone 6+ and MacBook Pro in both directions.

Did my upgrade to El Captain change the GHz of my MacBook? Is something that I can change?

Where may I check the speed of BlueTooth of my devices?

Apologies for so many question marks, but your comment seems to be close to solving the issue.

Thanks and regards,

Frabix

frabix wrote:

 

Thank you Barney-15E

 

I agree that no pairing is needed. Does the GHz setting depends on SW?

Mind that until a few days ago I was able to AirDrop up and down from my iPhone 6+ and MacBook Pro in both directions.

 

Did my upgrade to El Captain change the GHz of my MacBook? Is something that I can change?

Where may I check the speed of BlueTooth of my devices?

Apologies for so many question marks, but your comment seems to be close to solving the issue.

Thanks and regards,

Frabix

Some wireless routers can transmit on both the 2.4GHz and the 5.0GHz band. On those routers some allow you to name them differently, or combine them under one name (SSID). If yours can transmit on both, and it puts both under the same name, you may have one device connected at 2.4GHz and the other connected at 5.0GHz.

It was something I had observed early on, but I don't know if it was the actual problem or just coincidence. I have my two signals with different names, so I keep all my devices on the same frequency.

Eventually I got a working Bluetooth link. It is likely very similar to what you previously used, but for what it's worth, this is what I did..

I prepared the MBP and iPhone, following various comments in the discussions. Probably most or all this was unnecessary.

• On the MBP,  System Preferences>Bluetooth and deleted previous link(s).
• On the iPhone, Settings>Bluetooth: ‘Forget’/delete any previous link;  toggle Bluetooth off and on.

Settings>Wi-Fi:  toggle Wi-Fi off and on;  Settings>Personal Hotspot:  toggle Hotspot off and on.

• On the MBP, reset  SMC and NVRAM.

Then these steps:

• On the MBP,  System Preferences>Bluetooth; pair with the iPhone.
• On the MBP, System Preferences>Network: check the Wi-Fi interface is working; add the Bluetooth PAN interface; click Connect and then Apply.

I found these last two steps can be slow and balky.

The Bluetooth link is now functioning and seems stable. AirDrop works in each direction. When the wireless connection is turned off, the iPhone switches automatically to cellular data and becomes a Hotspot for the MBP.  I know it is on Yosemite, not El Capitan, but the symptoms seemed similar. Incidentally, both devices were on a 5 GHz network.I couldn't get it to work without pairing, though I understand it should.

   iPhone 6 (iOS 9.1) ; Mac Book Pro (retina; OS X 10.10.5)

Update.

I upgraded to OS X 10.11.1 (El Capitan) and immediately tested Bluetooth-AirDrop.   Without changing any settings, I successfully sent a file to and from the iPhone ... and then the link disconnected.

I followed a modified version of what I had done previously with Yosemite:

• On the iPhone, Settings>Bluetooth - deleted the previous link to the iPhone.
• On the MBP,  System Preferences>Bluetooth - paired with the iPhone.
• On the MBP, System Preferences>Network - added the Bluetooth PAN interface; clicked Connect and then Apply.

The Bluetooth link seems stable now: I can AirDrop files each way and, if I turn off the Wi-Fi,  the iPhone acts as a Personal  Hotspot and seamlessly picks up the internet.

Fingers crossed.

Thank you Barney-15E

I continue with a mono directive AirDrop. (iPhone 6 to MBP).

I agree that pairing is not needed nor useful. Since after deleting the BT connection and without any pairing, my iPhone 6 sends quickly AirDrop files into my MBP.

The reverse is not happening yet.

I am not familiar with devices connected at 2.4GHz or at 5.0GHz. I am not able to discover this, but I probably will not be able to change any setting.

Many thanks for your info. I guess some new OS upgrade will fix this.

Best regards,

FraBix