reset a Mac’s Bluetooth settings
Bluetooth generally is a helpful expertise for short-range connections, generally often called private space networks (PANs). We use Bluetooth for health bands, earbuds and headphones, hotspot tethering, and enter peripherals.
But generally your Mac appears to get the fallacious thought about a number of gadgets. Even after unpairing and re-pairing, you’ll be able to’t make a connection. Or, worse, macOS received’t allow you to take away a paired machine from the Bluetooth choice pane.
Apple hides Bluetooth reset choices within the Bluetooth menu:
- In macOS by means of 11 Big Sur, maintain down Shift and Option and click on the Bluetooth menu within the menu bar. (If that menu doesn’t seem, open the Bluetooth choice pane and test “Show Bluetooth in menu bar.”)
- In Big Sur, you’ll be able to as an alternative click on to open the Control Center after which maintain down Shift and Option as you click on the right-pointing arrow within the Bluetooth lozenge.
- Starting in macOS 12 Monterey, nevertheless, a extra sophisticated command-line course of is required, described beneath.
IDG
You have three reset choices. If you’ve an intractable downside, I counsel beginning with “Reset the Bluetooth module” after which restart your Mac. This ought to clear up most issues with no additional intervention.
If you continue to have gadgets you’ll be able to’t take away or pair correctly, attempt “Remove all gadgets.” You then should re-pair any Bluetooth {hardware} you employ together with your Mac.
The third of these reset choices, “Factory reset all related Apple gadgets” permits you to nuke the settings on Apple keyboards, earbuds, headphones, trackpads, and mice unexpectedly and restore them to their manufacturing unit state.
Reset Bluetooth in macOS Monterey
Apple eliminated the shortcut to entry a reset possibility in Monterey for causes finest identified solely to the corporate. The answer isn’t a lot more durable, nevertheless:
- In the Finder, select Go > Go To Folder.
- Paste into the sector /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist and press Return.
- That file might be highlighted in a Finder window. Drag it to the Trash.
- Restart your Mac.
Ask Mac 911
We’ve compiled a listing of the questions we get requested most steadily, together with solutions and hyperlinks to columns: learn our tremendous FAQ to see in case your query is roofed. If not, we’re at all times in search of new issues to resolve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, together with display captures as acceptable and whether or not you need your full identify used. Not each query might be answered, we don’t reply to e mail, and we can not present direct troubleshooting recommendation.