El Capitan - Bluetooth not discovering devices even though Airdrop still works

Question

Level 1

7 points

El Capitan - Bluetooth not discovering devices even though Airdrop still works

My bluetooth on my macbook pro mid 2014 won't find any devices even though airdrop does work.

I have a macbook air sitting right next to me that works but my macbook pro can't find anything. connecting to Personal Hotspot through iphone 6s is not working either...

any ideas?

Tried the shutdown and unplug all usb trick, didn't work.

Tried resetting SMC. Didn't work.

Tried resetting PRAM. Didn't work.

Tried updating latest version of El Capitan. Didn't work.

I'm at a loss.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 11, 2016 9:39 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 17, 2017 4:52 AM in response to wuzzapcom

Hi, how did you fix this please? My BRAND NEW jet engine of a mac, running El capitan, cannot connect to any of my apple devices (how ridiculous is that!?). No joy with anything posted here. Many thanks...

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Answer 2

adb1312

Level 1

12 points

Jul 11, 2017 12:40 PM in response to Jdowell

Ive got a mid 2012 13" Macbook pro with el capitan. Ive had this issue since I've installed it (8 months ago). Total pain, beyond ridiculous. I reboot , debug, re connect devices and the MacBooks bluetooth module. Nothing works. Pathetic how theres no official aid for this issue.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 12, 2016 8:53 AM in response to harry.huu

Please back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Move the selected item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Restart the computer and empty the Trash.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

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Answer 4

harry.huu Author

Level 1

7 points

Jan 12, 2016 9:01 AM in response to Linc Davis

Yeah I forgot to mention I've tried deleting Bluetooth.plist multiple times too and it doesn't work.

My first thought was that the airport card was faulty, but then that doesn't make sense since airdrop still works. That leads me to believe that this is a problem with my El Capitan install and that I should probably do a clean install.

I tried doing a reinstall of El Capitan but it didn't fix anything.

I've also tried first aid for the harddrive.

Clean install of El Capitan might be a last resort, but looking for other suggestions.

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 12, 2016 10:56 AM in response to harry.huu

You have two Macs. If a BT device is paired to one of them, it generally won't pair to the other. You would have to delete the existing pairing.

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Answer 6

Jan 14, 2016 5:21 AM in response to Linc Davis

I have the same problem, Macbook Pro 13-inch 2015, El Capitan.
I can`t pair my Sony bluetooth headphones and JBL speaker, Macbook don`t see them.
I have tried to reset smc and pram and i am pretty sure that they are actually not paired to any device.

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Answer 7

harry.huu Author

Level 1

7 points

Jan 14, 2016 11:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

I wish that was the issue, it is not. Nothing gets discovered by my macbook, phone, trackpad, nothing.

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Answer 8

Jan 15, 2016 3:27 AM in response to harry.huu

Oh, sorry, i didn`t got this. Do you have this problem right now or was this problem about two macbooks?

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Answer 9

Jdowell

Level 1

4 points

Jan 15, 2016 10:59 AM in response to harry.huu

Also having the same issue with my Macbook Pro Mid 2012 OS 10.11.2, If I turn off the Bluetooth for a day or so I can get it to recognise different devices, and will work great for about a day, Then the devices wont reconnect on the next boot. Tried deleting the device and reconnect without success, I can see the device on my phone (apple 4s Ios 9.2) I have also noticed that my Wi-fi is dropping in and out after installing El Capitan. I've also tried all the suggestions above without success.

Does anyone know if Apple is working on a software patch, reading other blogs and help sites for Mac this seems to be a software issue rather then a hardware one.

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