Bluetooth audio stuttering on Sierra

Same here. All was good before MacOS Sierra. Now bluetooth headphones and bluetooth speaker are having problems. Nothing else has changed other than the upgrade to Sierra. This happens on a MacBook Pro (Retina) Late 2013, and an iMac 27" 5K, Late 2014

I'm having the same problem too! It's bugging me because I use my rMBP during work hours for music in the background, now I have to use my iPhone which has substantially lesser battery life. I'd love to know how this gets resolved.

I'm experiencing the exact same issue. Upgraded to Sierra on my Mid 2015 MacBook Pro/Retina. Bought new House of Marley bluetooth headphones last month. Used them with El Capitan and no issues.

Followed all prescribed steps plus others and still no change. Tried another pair of bluetooth headphones (different brand) and still have the same issue.

Removed all bluetooth devices from preferences and only paired my headphones. Same problem. Turned off all devices around me (iphone, speakers, wifi...) Same problem.

Agree with you. El Capitan didn't have this issue. I hope Apple finds a fix.

Hi, Barido.

Try this - Problems with macOS Sierra? This fix may help you.

It got rid of all my macOS Sierra weirdness.

Hope this helps,

- BrainSel 🙂

As noted elsewhere, you've regurgitated stuff that has been posted many times before. In this case, it also appears that you have not even taken the time to directly address the issue - namely bluetooth audio stuttering.

This link might offer more of a solution than anything else I've found to date - http://osxdaily.com/2015/12/15/reset-bluetooth-hardware-module-mac-osx/

I have tried it and there appears to be an improvement.

I think there is an issue with the upgrade process failing to install certain things properly..and there is a definite improvement after resetting the NVRAM and SMC. There is much more to the procedure, though. Follow it from top to bottom...it worked for me.

Problems with macOS Sierra? This fix may help you.

My own experience on two different systems was no audio, cruddy audio, sluggish behavior, network issues, slow boot, slow shutdown...just to name a few. After going through the fix, I have not experienced any of the issues I had before.

Just sharing the love and trying to help,

BrainSel 🙂

FWIW, I realize it's not quite the same thing but I use Bluetooth to stream audio to my AV Receiver from my 2015 MacBook. I have no stuttering or other audio anomalies so I suspect the issue may be the devices receiving the Bluetooth signal rather than anything to do with Sierra.

Thanks for that. It is always a possibility but I have a pair of bluetooth headphones and a bluetooth speaker that are from different manufacturers. They are also different to the headphones identified in an earlier post.

It is also noted in the interweb that the problem might lie with the devices along with a suggestion that the firmware be updated. However, in my case, at least, there is either no firmware update available or the firmware cannot be updated.

Since the problems only manifested themselves since the update to MacOS Sierra, it seems logical to suspect the problem lies there. Rebooting the bluetooth module appears to have resolved the issue for now.

Hopefully it will remain fixed for you.

I have this exact same issue, since upgrading to Sierra my audio out using Spotify over bluetooth stutters like a skipping CD.

My AudioEngine B1 is sat right next to my MBP it isn't a distance or interference problem and it wasn't a problem in ElCapitan, the problem started after I installed Sierra.

I have the exact same problem since el Capitan.

Bluetooth audio working smoothly when only my JBL Pulse 2 is connected. When I also pair my Magic Keyboard the stuttering begins and can only be fixed by disconnecting the keyboard.

There are many "fixes" that attempt to solve the problem on the web. Some happen to work for some people but only for a short time period.

I have yet to find a definite fix for this problem.

I SHOULD NOT have to disconnect my keyboard to listen to non stuttering bluetooth audio.

If you can link me some solutions I maybe haven't tried yet I'd be happy.

I have had this problem since I upgraded to Sierra. I tried the the NVRAM and SMC without luck, also resetting Bluetooth did not help.

Well - after googling for a solution today I once again did a reset of the bluetooth module, rebooted and turned off wifi and it finally worked! I have zero stutter now. It was impossible to listen to music before this on my Macbook Pro. I have also enabled wifi again and still no stutter.

i have the same issue since i upgrade to sierra on my macbook air.. i am using a bluetooth speaker to listen to music. and its sound nasty, very bad... my speaker works fine with my iphone and any other device that i pair with it. was working fine with the previous OS, i did try debug and reset the bluetooth from the mac and retry to repair the speaker and test it.. issue continues

My experience: had the same stuttering issue when I tried my new Beats Solo3's w/ Sierra. At the same time I had issues which required a completely new main board and new monitor. Flash drive was erased. I backed up from Time Machine and this time used a different Bluetooth headset. Same exact stuttering!! I guess, a better test might be to do a fresh install and check that state. Maybe something that was backed up in Time Machine is causing the issue??? I'd hope that a fresh Sierra install would work OK.

Same thing here, iMac 5K, late 2014. After Sierra install (clean install with formatting the disk), I have bluetooth audio stutter and Magic Mouse skips and jumps also. Bluetooth module reset helps (so does a reboot), but then the issue reappears. When will apple learn to update the OS without breaking basic things like bluetooth that used to work perfectly in the old version of OS?