iPhone won’t connect (bluetooth) to Macbook Air after Sierra update

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Level 1

23 points

iPhone won’t connect (bluetooth) to Macbook Air after Sierra update

While it’s perfectly possible the issue is unrelated to the Sierra OS update, the problem began after my Macbook Air updated to Sierra. I’ve searched to see if there’s a known issue but can’t find anything that’s relevant to my issue.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far.

First, I powered off iPhone, then powered off Macbook. I even powered off my Apple Watch just in case. I’ve turned blue tooth off of both devices. I’ve tried doing this several times. Turned it back on both devices (several times). Macbook finds iPhone right away and tries to pair but iPhone rejects Macbook, saying “blahblahblah’s Macbook Air is not supported".

The iPhone is still pairing with my iWatch and my car’s stereo, etc. It’s just the Macbook that it won’t allow a connection to.

The Macbook sees the phone and keeps trying to connect but isn’t allowed by the iPhone.

I do have a ca 2011 iMac that I will try pairing the phone with since it can’t be updated to a new OS anyway but it will take some time since it’s not been used in a while.

Any suggestions or advice greatly appreciated. All I’m trying to do is use Air Drop which is turned on on both devices. Very frustrating.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.3), iPhone 6+ IOS 10.2.1

Posted on Mar 6, 2017 10:51 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

155,060 points

Mar 12, 2017 11:53 AM in response to Crabitha

All I’m trying to do is use Air Drop which is turned on on both devices

Please read Use AirDrop to send content from your Mac - Apple Support. Bluetooth has to be "on" but it is not required to pair the devices.

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Answer 2

Crabitha Author

Level 1

23 points

Mar 12, 2017 11:56 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks, I’ve been using AirDrop for a long time and that is what I can’t get to work because my iPhone doesn’t ‘see’ the macbook. The macbook sees the iphone though.

I made sure AirDrop is turned on in both the macbook and the iphone so I just don’t get it. I love AirDrop.

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Answer 3

Khosröw

Level 1

4 points

May 4, 2017 1:13 AM in response to Crabitha

Hi, i just fixed the problem!

i tried everything on internet but my bluetooth stuck "on" after turning on and couldn't connect to my iPhone! here is solution for me:

1- Shutdown your macbook (Restart doesn't turn off your bluetooth)

2- on login screen hold "Shift" and login, you should enter "Safe Mode" (it appears red on top right of login screen, search internet if you can't enter safe mode)

3- in safe mode bluetooth works perfectly fine, just connect and disconnect your iPhone several times like everybody else then turn your bluetooth off and shutdown.

4- login normally and bluetooth should be fix and works fine! 😉

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

155,060 points

Mar 7, 2017 5:13 PM in response to Crabitha

I don't know why you would need to do that, but you can certainly pair an iPhone with a Mac:

It seems to me that you already performed some reasonable troubleshooting steps. Perhaps an NVRAM reset is justified: How to reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support.

I don't happen to have a mid-2013 MBA to test at the moment, but it should work just as well as it should on your iMac.

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Answer 5

Jul 26, 2017 10:42 AM in response to rweaver53

rweaver53 wrote:

Did not work for me. iPhone will not connect so I cant use Apple Pay on my laptop.

You don't have to connect your iPhone to your laptop to use Apple Pay. You need a MacBook Pro with TouchID.

Set up Apple Pay on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 6

getangar

Level 5

4,548 points

Jul 26, 2017 11:09 AM in response to Crabitha

I have contacted the Apple Support and the engineer told me that it's "normal" (looks strange to me but that's it). I have this problem to my MacBook Air 13" (the current generation) and with a MacBook Late 2009 both with macOS Sierra.

Again, the engineer from Apple's support told me to use AirDrop and this do not requires to pair the devices.

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