Bluetooth connectivity issues

Update: I just plugged in a Broadcom USB Bluetooth dongle, and used the bluetooth explorer app for xtools to force MacOS to use the USB dongle over the internal bluetooth. All issues solved. I can now use my magic trackpad on the other side of the office (if I wanted to) and the Bose speaker connects without hassle now.

I have similar problems with my new 2018 Mac mini.

My old wireless apple mouse and keyboard were working mostly OK with a 2012 iMac. These were essentially unusable due to loosing connection/not being able to connect initially with the new Mac mini.

After resetting the Mac mini's bluetooth module and deleting some bluetooth .plist files as well as resetting the keyboard and mouse to factory settings, the performance was upgraded from unusable to annoying. Connecting now works fine but I still get occasional dropouts from both periferals and poor mouse precision/delays in response.

This problem has been driving me crazy since I picked up my new Mini last month. Mouse and keyboard drop in and out. Sometimes constantly, other times they work fine for hours. Have new batteries etc. I updated from an iMac 27" and I'm using all the same peripherals. Took several minutes to type this message with keyboard disconnecting and connecting while I tried to type. Who has time for this?? So disappointed with this new Mini. Please help.

I have experienced similar issues, specifically with my Magic mouse 2 becoming unresponsive & occasionally losing connection. In addition it is failing more frequently to unlock with my 3rd gen AppleWatch saying the signal is too week despite it being 2 feet away from the Mac Mini.

Anyone got this problem resolved? Hope more of you can call Apple for help, which I did, but the problem persists. In this way, they will be aware of this issue and a solution may come soon. If this is a software issue, an OS update will be issued; if hardwares, there may be a recall of some kind. I thought of sending mine in for repair but since this problem is so wide spread, sending it in too early may not be useful before they have a firm solution. Keep calling people!

I just got off the phone with Apple Support and the rep told me that they are aware of this issue and to expect a fix for it in the next macOS release. I am currently running 10.14.2

One interesting note: I was also told that this bluetooth issue does not occur when the wifi is turned off. Is everyone else who is seeing this issue, also using the wifi connection?

Since I am currently using wifi to connect to the internet, I plan to run a hardwired ethernet cable to my mini as a work-around. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is not a waste of time.

Having the same issue, making me want to return the Mac Mini. It will disconnect from my magic keyboard and Magic Trackpad periodically. It become worse if I am connecting my Mac Mini to Samsung Smart TV via HDMI cable. (will disconnect every few minutes). Try all the methods all I can find online, still don't work.

I had Bluetooth issues with my new MacMini 2018 from the beginning. The new KB was mostly OK (occasional disconnect, but rarely) and the new Magic Trackpad 2 was mostly OK (occasional disconnect; more frequent than the KB, but not by much). However, my older Magic Mouse was unusable. It was constantly disconnecting and reconnecting, and was really jittery when it was connected. It was worse when an external drive (USB-3) was hooked up and in operation.

I tried all the usual things - securing the batteries, deleting the mouse preferences, etc. Some of those things would work for a few minutes but then the problem would come back. Finally I started thinking about my WiFi router. It's a pretty old Airport Extreme, single band, on 2.4GHz. I've been wanting to upgrade it anyway, so I got a new (non-Apple) dual band router and hooked it up.

End of Bluetooth problems. As long as I'm signed in to the 5GHz network, all devices work flawlessly. If I switch to the new router's 2.4 GHz band, it works OK for a while but soon starts to degrade again.

This is not intuitive. What does the Wifi band have to do with Bluetooth devices? Well, it's above my pay grade, but I do know that USB-3 works on 2.4 GHz, so somehow the Wifi using that band messes up some BT connections. Regardless of why, this solution worked for me. AFAIK most routers are dual band these days so you probably don't even need to buy a new one. Just make sure you have a network on 5GHz and use that.

My Mac Mini has problems with a non-Apple Bluetooth mouse after I play a video with VLC. I leave a wired mouse connected so I can restart the Bluetooth . Ethernet, WiFi repeater bridge.

My older-gen Mini hated non-Bluetooth mice, using the alternate radio frequency dongle. It also hated when the USB connected Blu-ray drive was open (radio interference?).

Aha! Found the problem, using other groups and what I'm doing. Yes, there is a hardware problem. The USB ports on the mini are underpowered, and when too much power is pulled it also drags down the Bluetooth module. The fix appears to avoid USB ports farther away from the HDMI port, and for best effect get a powered USB hub or run USB adappters off the Lightning ports.

In my case, I have a hard drive running off the USB port, which is where my movies are coming from. This drains power from the Bluetooth.

Same!!!

I believe there is a fundamental flaw with the way apple handles bluetooth devices. I upgraded from my 2012 Mac mini, hoping things would be better, and I can't believe it's still having terrible bluetooth issues on the latest release.

Pretty much considering returning it!!! Never had to do this with an Apple product before. These things aren't a reasonable price when you compare to other companies offerings so it's a shame.

It's not the Bluetooth, exactly, it's the power supply which is shared between the USB and the Bluetooth. There's not enough oomph to keep everything running, since USB and Bluetooth seems to share. Suck out enough power to run the USB, and the Bluetooth module goes wonky, resetting when the power drops too low. I put in a powered USB hub (to one of the USB ports) and everything works great now. Is it a flaw? Yeah. Fatal? No, just annoying. Powered USB hubs are pretty common in all personal computers.

Sorry, I keep getting Lightning and Thunderbolt mixed up. Of course, the four Thunderbolt ports on the Mini are really for testing and gaining experience on what Apple is REALLY doing in San Diego, and it has nothing to do with new phone chips...

Yes, I've been experiencing frequent random disconnects from all my BT devices (Apple mouse and keyboard, Bose Soundlink phones). I thought it might be the Bose headphones which have been problematic on other computers, but it does this with just the mouse and keyboard. Mouse and keyboard reconnect usually within seconds, but often the mouse slows down and everything locks up for about a minute. I haven't been able to see anything suspicious in Activity Monitor. I've had my new Mini for 2 weeks, and hoping an update with cure this.

To be honest, I think it was the full re-install. I wiped everything before going into the shop to return the MBP. Once I was there, I was in the ridiculous situation of not being able to replicate the problem that had been driving me nuts.

I picked up a new router (damage aka costs: €170,-) right there and then, hoping that this would still be a better deal than a new Magic Mouse plus Keyboard (€250,-). I got back, installed the router, Mac's been running ever since. Either the machine got scared of being abandoned and is behaving since, or it's been the full-on hard drive wipe. Before that, the peripherals cut out sometimes every 10secs. For days, no matter what debugging etc I tried.