Bluetooth tethering does not seem to work

Question

Level 1

80 points

Bluetooth tethering does not seem to work

I have a MacBook Pro Retina 15" mid-2014 running El Capitan 10.11.3. I also have an iPhone 6s running iOS 9.2.1. I am able to 'tether' the MacBook to the iPhone in order to access the Internet via the iPhone's mobile data connection using both a USB/lightning connection and a WiFi connection using the Personal Hotspot feature of the iPhone. Works just fine!

However, although my iPhone and Mac are paired, tethering via Bluetooth does not work. It appears to work in as much as the iPhone shows a connection to the Personal hotspot and the Mac shows that it is connected to the iPhone via Bluetooth but on the Mac there are no network interfaces showing with any sensible IP address and the Mac does not have any network access. I'm sure this used to work in the past, but I have not tried it for ages; certainly not since recent OS upgrades on both the Mac and iOS. It's not a huge deal since the other tethering choices work just fine but it is a bit perplexing and I would like it to work.

Any thoughts on how to debug this?

Posted on Feb 26, 2016 3:00 AM

Reply

Answer 1

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Feb 27, 2016 9:58 AM in response to ChrisJenkins

Hi ChrisJenkins,

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities! I'm sorry to hear that you are having these issues with your iPhone and your MacBook Pro. If you are having issues with a Bluetooth connection to your Personal Hotspot (but other connection methods appear to work fine), you may find the troubleshooting steps outlined in the following article helpful:

If you can't connect to Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth

Follow these steps to pair your devices and connect to Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth.

Pair your devices

On the device providing the Personal Hotspot, tap Settings > Bluetooth.

Make sure that Bluetooth is on and that the bottom of the screen says Now Discoverable.

Keep this screen open. Then, on the device that needs to connect to Personal Hotspot, use these steps:

iPad or iPod touch: Tap Settings > Bluetooth. Tap the device that provides Personal Hotspot to pair your devices. You can't share your cellular data connection with another iPhone using Bluetooth.

Mac with OS X: Choose Apple Menu and click System Preferences > Bluetooth. Next to the device providing Personal Hotspot, click Pair and follow the onscreen instructions.

PC with Windows: Click the Bluetooth icon in the Notification area, choose Add a Bluetooth Device, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Connect to Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth

On your Mac, click in the menu bar. Choose your iOS device that provides the Personal Hotspot, then choose Connect to network. You can confirm your connection in System Preferences > Network. If you can't connect, skip to the next section.

On your Windows PC, click in the Notification area, then choose Join A Personal Area Network. If you can't connect, skip to the next section.

Get help if you still can’t connect to Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth

For both devices, turn Bluetooth off and back on:

On your iOS device, tap Settings > Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth off and back on.

On your Mac, click in the menu bar, then turn Bluetooth off and back on.

On your PC, choose Settings, click , and turn Bluetooth off and back on.

If you still can't connect, use these steps for each of your devices:

On the iPad or iPod touch that needs to connect to Personal Hotspot, tap Settings > Bluetooth. Tap beside your other device, then tap Forget this Device. Next, restart your iOS device.

On your Mac, click in the menu bar. Choose Bluetooth Preferences, select the device that provides Personal Hotspot, and click to remove it. Restart your computer.

On your PC, choose Settings and click . Select Show Bluetooth devices and click the device that provides Personal Hotspot. Then click Remove, click OK, and restart your computer.

Restart the iOS device that provides Personal Hotspot.

Get help with Personal Hotspot in iOS - Apple Support

Regards

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Answer 2

ChrisJenkins Author

Level 1

80 points

Feb 29, 2016 1:26 AM in response to brenden dv

Hi brenden dv,

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what they issue was but it is resolved now. I had to unpair/pair the iPhone and the Mac a few times plus I restarted both and eventually it started working. Not the most reliable thing in my view and not an ideal experience but at least it does now work.

Chris

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Answer 3

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Mar 4, 2016 2:15 PM in response to ChrisJenkins

No problem, glad to help, and glad to hear you were able to get everything back up and running.

Cheers

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