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Bluetooth mouse won't reconnect

Hello,

I had some problems with Wifi in macOS Sierra, hence I reinstalled the macOS thru Internet Recovery (Option-Command-R) on Macbook Retina, But before that I erased user data on my harddisk. Then during recovery I went thru Mac OS X El Capitan to macOS Sierra step by step.

And after that on the freshly installed OS I got a problem with the ArcTouch Bluetooth Mouse that was previously working fine all the way in El Capitan and Sierra. The mouse can be successfully connected to macOS but it never reconnects after reboot or sleep. The only way to make it back again is to remove and pair then.

I've tried SMC and PRAM reset. Nothing helps.

I reinstalled once again the macOS thru Command-R. It didn't help.

I removed all paired devices and reset Bluetooth module. (thru Shift-Option-BT_icon_click -> Debug). Didn't help.

Checked twice my mouse under Windows 10. It gets connected and reconnects every single time after reboot or mouse turning off/on. So, this is not the mouse's problem.

What are my options then? Any solutions or just wait for 10.12.1?

P.S.

By the way. I'm not quite sure if all that mess with recovery solved my wifi problems. But that's another story about my wifi becomes laggy or apps lose connection while wifi is up and running or apps stay unconnected after waking the mac. All I could do with wifi was to reconnect or off it and on then. I need to check it, whether it has been solved or not.

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Oct 22, 2016 4:35 AM

Best reply

deejerydoo

Level 1

24 points

Posted on Sep 27, 2017 8:24 PM

This is a classic example of two of the world’s leading lights, in technology, behaving badly/ineptly or some could say in collusion, by default, not necessarily with any malicious aforethought (one for the lawyers), perhaps…

The scenario runs like this:

Apple releases an update to its OS which changes the way it handles Bluetooth pairing. They will often do this regardless of any adverse effects these changes may cause to third party Bluetooth devices. Let’s face it, they often release updates that break their own Bluetooth devices, never mind third party ones.

This causes Bluetooth pairing issues with multiple vendor’s Bluetooth devices.

At this point the vendor of the Bluetooth device has two options:

Officially end support for MacOS for the device and update their product support information on their Web site, to reflect this.
Work with Apple to resolve the issue, whilst updating their product support information, detailing the known issue, until the issue is fixed and they are able to maintain proper support for the device on MacOS.

What has happened here is that Microsoft and Apple have not worked together, for whatever reason, to fix this bug. Add to this, Microsoft have not done the right thing and updated their product support information, for this device, on their Web site, to reflect either a known bug, that is being worked on, or official end for support of the OS, for this device.

In essence this is an example of both vendors not valuing the hundreds of people (check the thread counts for this issue on both the Apple and Microsoft support forums, as well as third party forums) who have, are and will continue to experience these problems, now and with future generations of Bluetooth devices. Ultimately, Bluetooth devices are seen as almost disposable peripherals. If the OS vendors break them, with OS updates, that change the way Bluetooth devices are handled, then they pretty well expect you to move on and buy another device that will work. This ongoing situation benefits both Apple and Microsoft, as well as other Bluetooth peripheral vendors, as it guarantees a reasonably significant percentage increase in sales of Bluetooth devices. In the end, the ultimate losers are, as usual, us suckers, at the bottom of the technology food chain.

The irony is that Bluetooth devices are often sold as the premium end of the peripheral market, with inflated prices to suit. Thereby making them less of a disposable device than cabled or RF wireless devices, which will undoubtedly work for you for longer, with fewer of these vendor driven, "built in obsolescence features”, AKA crappy Bluetooth support.

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82 replies

Dec 5, 2016 3:23 PM in response to elliotblock

So how does this work? Does apple ever respond with an answer or do people just keep piling on? Seems like a waste of time so far.

Dec 6, 2016 7:55 AM in response to stainlessstill

Same exact issue here with the same exact mouse!!!!!!!too....

Dec 6, 2016 8:14 AM in response to larryroffers

No answer so far.

macOS 10.12.2 beta 5 is out.

Haven't tried it. But hope that we are almost there.

If they don't resolve the issue upon release that will be a complete waste of everything.

Dec 11, 2016 5:48 AM in response to stainlessstill

Same issue, same mouse.

It worked fine in El Capitan and continued to work after the upgrade to Sierra. The issue started when I paired the mouse with Windows (Bootcamp). From then on, the mouse works just fine in Windows, but not in OS X with the problems described by the original poster. Removing the bootcamp partition didn't help either.

Dec 13, 2016 12:23 PM in response to stainlessstill

macOS 10.12.2 hasn't solved the problem 😟

Now it is an obvious waste of time.

Has it been solved for someone here after an update?

Dec 13, 2016 1:05 PM in response to stainlessstill

Guess, we should all post our feedbacks as bug reports here http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html or even in their issue tracker if one has access there as a dev.

Have no other way to draw their attention.

Dec 13, 2016 4:59 PM in response to stainlessstill

Just to pile on I have the exact same issue here!

Dec 23, 2016 10:19 AM in response to stainlessstill

First thing I tried after the latest update was to turn the mouse off and on again and hope the issue would be fixed. It didn't. I'm wondering if there's any other mouse with the same issue.

It's annoying to come back to work after a short coffee break and find a non-functional mouse that needs re-pairing.

I'll have to buy a different mouse despite liking this one, which is infuriating because it works just fine with other machines.

Dec 23, 2016 3:36 PM in response to stainlessstill

exact sam issue with the same mouse

c0heed

Level 1

8 points

Dec 28, 2016 4:10 AM in response to stainlessstill

I have exactly the same problem! It's so annoying, I have to turn off bluetooth and start it again to make my mouse work again.

emechip

Level 1

4 points

Dec 28, 2016 11:13 AM in response to c0heed

After system re-sets the issue disappeared until the next day. When MacBook Pro late 2014 opened from sleep, bluetooth mouse no longer recognized and forced to delete it and re-pair to the same mouse. Has been an issue since 10.12.2.

IAmLego

Level 1

4 points

Dec 29, 2016 9:50 PM in response to stainlessstill

Just to add to the pile, exact same problem.

2016 TouchBar MacBook Pro 15"

macOS 10.12.2

brand new Arc Touch Mouse

It pairs, and works perfectly for a little bit, then if it sleeps or is turned off it won't reconnect with out being repaired.

I've also noticed it occasionally seems to have massive lag spikes where it jutters around the screen.

I tested it on a Dell XPS 13, and it worked perfectly, repairing no worries. So the mouse hardware is fine.

Further more, just to add to the issue it just randomly disconnected, I opened up mouse settings and it showed up, then I went to click on the 'primary button' setting just to experiment, and it freaked and macOS dropped it. Resurrected by, you guessed it, a repairing.

Who knows how long this will last.

Couple of random notes:

1. I was using a Razer Orochi prior, and it had issues reconnecting quickly. Although it did tend to get there eventually, it was far from instant. I attributed that issue to the Orochi because it wasn't the best built mouse, but now i'm thinking macOs is just rubbish.

2. I've been using AirPods on my mac with out any issues during this whole exercise.

3. It seems the juttering is most common when the bluetooth settings window is open.

4. During the course of writing this it just disconnected. Batteries are fresh.

emechip

Level 1

4 points

Dec 30, 2016 4:38 PM in response to IAmLego

It depends on which Mac! Using Logitech MX Master fully charged:

For the iMac 5K Retina late 2014: on wake from sleep, the bluetooth mouse connects only when the bluetooth preference pane is opened in System Preferences -- simply by opening the pane, the mouse reconnects. Tried leaving System Preferences open but hidden (minimized), but no good -- still need to show the pane to get the reconnect. Don't have to do anything in the pane -- if you can see it, the mouse reconnects. Weird.

Back to MBP Retina late 2014: After system re-sets the issue disappeared until the next day. When awakened from overnight sleep, bluetooth mouse no longer recognized and forced to delete it and re-pair to the same mouse. Has been an issue since 10.12.2. This variant of the issue is exactly like IAmLego's above.

Jan 6, 2017 2:44 AM in response to c0heed

if it's just turning off bluetooth and turing it on again I wouldn't mind that much..

I have to delete my mouse from bluetooth devices, and re-pair it again......

that ***** a lot!

Tulam

Level 1

4 points

Jan 6, 2017 5:01 PM in response to dan1el_nl

Same issue with the msft designer BT mouse doesn't reconnect after reboot or wake from sleep the mac. Having to re-pair each time it happens . Very frustrating. Any solution yet?

Bluetooth mouse won't reconnect