Bluetooth unavailable post 10.11.4 upgrade

Thanks Chaël, I want to avoid Re-Install, but good to know that posibility.

After reinstalling from Recovery HD, your iMac was in version-status of delivery, e.g. 10.11.3 ? You did NOT update zu .4?

If yes, the 10.11.4 seems to cause the prob.

Maybe it's helpfull to others, how to navigate to BT-PList:

Finder > go to (you`ll find it a the top of screen) > Computer > Library > Preferences

(You need your iMacs Password to copy, replace etc)

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hi Peter ,

After the socalled 'Reinstall OSX' from Recovery HD I got (again) the 11.4 version !

(not the 11.3 that was on the Mac when I received the Mac - I later did the regular 11.4 update from the App Store ... then the BT problems began)

So I believe the beauty of it (reinstall from recovery hd , which implies a download also from apple) is : you get a brand new 11.4 system

PM

I got the new late 15 Mac in Feb with osx 11.3

One month later I updated this new Mac with 11.4 and the next I noticed the bluetooth problems.

The same day I updated this new Mac with 11.4 , I also updated an old (2010) Mac that had 11.3 .. with 11.4 , and that old Mac does not have BT problems.

Yesterday I did the Reinstall OSX from Recovery HD on the new Mac ... the message I got was that extra components were downloaded which would take some 3.5 ... 2.5 hours , but after 1 hour when I came back from a walk all was finished , and I logged in my account and checked to find system 11.4 again

Good news - Thanks Chaël

During the Re-Install: Could you opt-out unnecesserily features?

(e.g. at Snow Leopard times I opted out X11, Rosetta, all languages without German and English)

No I believe - no choices for the system (so that is simple)

I had an option to choose the language sometime when starting the Recovery HD procedure or starting the Reinstall OSX (can't remember all , because I was still on the phone with Apple support during the start )... and I did choose English (which I also use for my OSX) but I think this choice was just for the communication of the install procedure (like agreeing for the license conditions)

IT is just 1 option : ReInstall ...

Today again no connection of trackpad and keyboard when starting up my Mac. At the login window I had to plug in my Trackpad and click Restart .. and following that restart bluetooth connection was back and I unplugged the trackpad. Next for a brief extra test I shut down the Mac and switched it on again after a brief pause : both keyboard and trackpad had again bluetooth connection.

See below : today - day 3 after Reinstall (after no problems saturday night / sunday / monday) .. I again had no bluetooth connection when switching on my Mac first time today ..

I'm not surprised Chaël - it becomes clearer that the 10.11.4 in combination with the late 2015 iMac causes the problem.

My Retina-27'-Mac: 3,2 GHz with 256 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM.

Please let's compare, look at "about this Mac", (I added some explanation in brackets):

Boot-ROM-Version: IM171.0105.B07

SMC-Version (System): 2.33f10

Apple Bluetooth-Softwareversion: 4.4.4f4 17685

(Broadcom) Chipset: 20703A1

(Broadcom) Firmware-Version: v114 c4547

(Host Controller Interface) HCI-Version: 4.1 (0x7), HCI-Revision: 0x11C3

(Link Manager Protocol) LMP-Version: 4.1 (0x7) LMP-Subversion: 0x2172

But I believe, not the BT-Modules with Apple and Broadcom-Firmware makes the problem, but any other component, during booting.

While the BT-problem occurs the BT-section is completely empty - as if the BT-Module would be unplugged !

Therefore I add my data of USB 3.0 Bus:

Driver for Host-Controller: AppleUSBXHCISPT

PCI Device-ID: 0xa12f

PCI Revisions-ID: 0x0031

PCI Manufacturer-ID: 0x8086

Bluetooth-USB-Host-Controller:

Product-ID: 0x8294

Hersteller-ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 1.14

Speed: Up to 12 MBit/s

Manufacturer: Broadcom Corp.

OK Peter - Same iMac but with 4 GHz i7 - 1 TB SSD , 32 GB RAM

I compared all your data (Boot-Rom etc etc ) - and my Mac has all exactly the same specs , except for the SMC version :

Tomorrow I'll email again to the contact, that received my faulting and running BT-PList and ask about what Apple did.

I'll mention this thread again and hope, they may use the information about BT/USB-Versions.

It's two weeks now that I "learn to love" cabled mouse & keyboard ...

I contacted Apple Support today - only option now to rule out a hardware problem is a clean install - that is : erase internal harddisk , and reinstall OSX ... any move user data back manually. I will keep this in mind for later. When I started using this new Mac I installed all my data and apps and prefs during the standard installation procedure with my old Mac connected (as a target disk) to the new Mac .. so all my old data/prefs/and apps were reinstalled.

My question for you now : when you started using your new Mac : did you reinstall your old user data / apps / prefs also from your old Mac or a Timemachine backup (or perhaps carbon copy clone) ? Or did you start with a fresh system ?

When my iMac arrived, I installed without any import of data from an old mac.

Again I emailed today, but no response.

Now I'm disappointed of Apple:

- It may happen, that - although 10.11.4 saw 7 betas - an update causes problems to some machines

- But I dislike their no-responce-policy. I don't expect an instant solution, as problems are sometimes complex.

- But I expect an "email of intent", saying, we are investigating, thanks for your technical details, we pipelined it to our engenieers and keep you informed.

My idea of that BT-fault is:

When booting, the handshaking by the board with the peripherals / interfaces stucks, at least at USB 3.0 driver. Because the completely empty BT-section shown by "over this Mac" looks, as if someone had unplugged the Broadcom module cable. It's an software bug since 10.11.4

Hotline told me the instruction, to create a separate partition and by starting with pressed command + R (and by the way: here BT-keyboard works) do a reinstall, according to them it's the combo 10.11.4 that now is downlading.

Then I have to execute an image, that apple emailed to me. It will log OS-data, so their engeneers can investigate - "hopefully" the failure occurs! We agreed to phone Saturday. I'll report.

I finished reinstallation, but when booting it, finder crashed. No command-line on top of the screen, so no "apple" to choose powering down. I could power down by keyboard-shortcuts.

Tryed again. Same. >>> I "nuked that partition tohell".

Awaiting 11.10.5 or any patch before I enjoy my workaround:

• BT survives Stand-By.
• If I power down, I have to start and immidiately re-start by cable mouse, then BT is fine.

I had the same issue when my 27" 5k Retina was delivered last week, also get a flickering issue on loading bar at boot (256GB SSD), gets around a third of the way loaded then flicker's on/off a black screen, then continues to fully load to logon. Called Apple and iMac was replaced (as it was 2hrs out of the box). New iMac delivered today, working fine until 10.11.4 was installed and now I have the same bluetooth / flickering issues occurring.

Any of you guys having the same flickering issues also as part of the 10.11.4 upgrade at boot? Trying to tie issues down to software or if I have been unlucky enough to get what Apple considers a defective system twice.