Here's a complete guide to pairing Bluetooth devices with your Mac, plus what to do if you encounter Bluetooth connection problems when Bluetooth is not working or unavailable, and when pairing fails. Because their Airport cards have limited range as they've got only one antenna, I've tried to connect to Internet over my Android 7 phone's 4.5G and Bluetooth and Bluetooth-Tethering. On Mac mini G4 I've managed to easily connect to the Internet using Bluetooth Network method but on PowerBook, I get The Bluetooth network is unavailable error. Wait for the Windows workgroup to appear on your Mac. The network may take a few minutes to link your Mac to the Windows workgroup folder, which will display in your Mac's Finder sidebar below the 'Shared' section. After the Windows workgroup folder is displayed, you can access all the files in that folder from your Mac.
UPDATE:
![Network Network](https://thux.it/media/news/big/thu/thux-squadra-vincente-livigno.png.1200x628_q85_box-72%2C532%2C695%2C858_crop_detail.jpg)
In the comments a new workaround has been identified since my solutions don’t seem to be working anymore. Try making sure the hotspot is turned on on your phone! It’s a weird one, but it works!
The best way explanation I can come up with is because of the way hand off works in the Apple world, turning on the hotspot on an iPhone (Bluetooth being key for handoff to work properly) it triggers an update call to the Bluetooth stack. If anyone has any insight on my theory I’d welcome it in the comments!
Thanks for all who’ve commented with more info!
I love MacID, before I started using it I didn’t have a lock screen enabled nor a password. Bad, bad, bad; I know. Especially since this machine is my dev machine, and I obviously have the source code and design documents on it for all my projects. After a change in my circumstances that left my MBP in a situation that someone else could have accessed the computer (fortunately that didn’t happen) I enabled the lock-screen and started using a strong password; a bit of a pain in the ass. That’s when I found MacID, and soon forgot I had the lock screen enabled because I didn’t really even notice it.
I love MacID, before I started using it I didn’t have a lock screen enabled nor a password. Bad, bad, bad; I know. Especially since this machine is my dev machine, and I obviously have the source code and design documents on it for all my projects. After a change in my circumstances that left my MBP in a situation that someone else could have accessed the computer (fortunately that didn’t happen) I enabled the lock-screen and started using a strong password; a bit of a pain in the ass. That’s when I found MacID, and soon forgot I had the lock screen enabled because I didn’t really even notice it.
After updating my MacBook Pro to the latest and greatest OS X 10.10.4, I had lost the ability to pair my iPhone 6+ using bluetooth. This, unfortunately, disabled MacID and left back at having to enter my password each and e-v-e-r-y time I opened my MBP!
Macbook Bluetooth Unavailable
Well, after a lot of digging and trying different solutions, I finally fixed the issue!
![Unavailable Unavailable](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1HPkte_AKL1JjSZFCq6xFspXa3/WTXUP-Broadcom-BCM94360-PCI-Express-802-11AC-Dual-Band-1300Mbps-WIFI-DESKTOP-Wireless-Adapter-Bluetooth-BT.jpg)
The Problem:
When attempting to reconnect by bluetooth from MBP to iPhone 6+ (both updated OS) I was greeted by the notification above. Poopie.
Handoff still worked, along with Airdrop. No MacID though.
The Solution:
Following several suggestions from around the web, even asking the MacID developer for help, yielded no success.
Now, I want to take a moment and point out that even though the gentleman behind MacID had no obligation to help me out, he still tried! And, he was speedy about the offered help as well!
So along I went, without the use of my MacID, depressed and forlorn. Until today!
This is what worked for me and my setup, this may not work for anyone else but is here for reference and a hope that someone else will be helped by this info. If it helped you out, then leave a comment/let me know here.
- Turn off bluetooth on the Mac
- Delete the iPhone pairing (I’m not sure if any other pairings will need deleting as the iPhone is the only pairing I have on my MBP)
- Delete the bluetooth plist file:
- Open the Finder app
- Navigate to the preferences directory by pressing CMD + SHIFT + G and typing /Library/Preferences/
- Trash the file com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
- Shutdown your Mac
- Power on your Mac and immediately hold down CMD + OPTION + P + R until you hear the startup sound three (3) times
- Open the bluetooth preferences and repair the iPhone
All is fine now, I had to set up MacID again as I had removed my iPhone there as part of a failed troubleshooting attempt.
Now all is right in the world!
If this worked for you, or lead you in the right direction, I would like to hear about it! If you find an error or missing step, do let me know and I will update this post.
UPDATE:
In the comments a new workaround has been identified since my solutions don’t seem to be working anymore. Try making sure the hotspot is turned on on your phone! It’s a weird one, but it works!
The best way explanation I can come up with is because of the way hand off works in the Apple world, turning on the hotspot on an iPhone (Bluetooth being key for handoff to work properly) it triggers an update call to the Bluetooth stack. If anyone has any insight on my theory I’d welcome it in the comments!
Thanks for all who’ve commented with more info!
I love MacID, before I started using it I didn’t have a lock screen enabled nor a password. Bad, bad, bad; I know. Especially since this machine is my dev machine, and I obviously have the source code and design documents on it for all my projects. Xbox 360 controller mac os sierra. After a change in my circumstances that left my MBP in a situation that someone else could have accessed the computer (fortunately that didn’t happen) I enabled the lock-screen and started using a strong password; a bit of a pain in the ass. That’s when I found MacID, and soon forgot I had the lock screen enabled because I didn’t really even notice it.
I love MacID, before I started using it I didn’t have a lock screen enabled nor a password. Bad, bad, bad; I know. Especially since this machine is my dev machine, and I obviously have the source code and design documents on it for all my projects. Xbox 360 controller mac os sierra. After a change in my circumstances that left my MBP in a situation that someone else could have accessed the computer (fortunately that didn’t happen) I enabled the lock-screen and started using a strong password; a bit of a pain in the ass. That’s when I found MacID, and soon forgot I had the lock screen enabled because I didn’t really even notice it.
After updating my MacBook Pro to the latest and greatest OS X 10.10.4, I had lost the ability to pair my iPhone 6+ using bluetooth. This, unfortunately, disabled MacID and left back at having to enter my password each and e-v-e-r-y time I opened my MBP!
Well, after a lot of digging and trying different solutions, I finally fixed the issue!
The Problem:
When attempting to reconnect by bluetooth from MBP to iPhone 6+ (both updated OS) I was greeted by the notification above. Poopie.
Handoff still worked, along with Airdrop. No MacID though.
The Solution:
Following several suggestions from around the web, even asking the MacID developer for help, yielded no success.
Now, I want to take a moment and point out that even though the gentleman behind MacID had no obligation to help me out, he still tried! And, he was speedy about the offered help as well!
So along I went, without the use of my MacID, depressed and forlorn. Until today!
This is what worked for me and my setup, this may not work for anyone else but is here for reference and a hope that someone else will be helped by this info. If it helped you out, then leave a comment/let me know here.
- Turn off bluetooth on the Mac
- Delete the iPhone pairing (I’m not sure if any other pairings will need deleting as the iPhone is the only pairing I have on my MBP)
- Delete the bluetooth plist file:
- Open the Finder app
- Navigate to the preferences directory by pressing CMD + SHIFT + G and typing /Library/Preferences/
- Trash the file com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
- Shutdown your Mac
- Power on your Mac and immediately hold down CMD + OPTION + P + R until you hear the startup sound three (3) times
- Open the bluetooth preferences and repair the iPhone
All is fine now, I had to set up MacID again as I had removed my iPhone there as part of a failed troubleshooting attempt.
Now all is right in the world!
Mac Os Bluetooth Not Available
If this worked for you, or lead you in the right direction, I would like to hear about it! If you find an error or missing step, do let me know and I will update this post.