Bluetooth connection problem between MacBook 14" M2 PRO MAX and iPhone 13 PRO MAX

[ac1califas]

My MacBook 14" M2 PRO MAX can't connect to my iPhone 13 PRO MAX via Bluetooth to my I get a message saying, "Macbook not supported." The same thing happened when I tried connecting my iPhone via Bluetooth to my MacBook Air-M1.

The MacBooks do connect with other Bluetooth devices. And the iPhone does connect with other Bluetooth devices also. Bluetooth seems to work on both the MacBook and the iPhone - but they can't connect to each other over Bluetooth.

When I connect the iPhone and the Macbook with a cable, they do recognize each other.

Did anyone else experience this Bluetooth connection problem and have suggestions?

 

[fatTribble]

So I don’t remember ever explicitly connecting my iPhone and MacBook. If they needed Bluetooth when, for example, doing a copy/paste between the two it would just work. I never had to manually do anything. Maybe it would help to know what you’re trying to do after they’re connected.

 

[jz0309]

My MacBook 14" M2 PRO MAX can't connect to my iPhone 13 PRO MAX via Bluetooth to my I get a message saying, "Macbook not supported." The same thing happened when I tried connecting my iPhone via Bluetooth to my MacBook Air-M1.

The MacBooks do connect with other Bluetooth devices. And the iPhone does connect with other Bluetooth devices also. Bluetooth seems to work on both the MacBook and the iPhone - but they can't connect to each other over Bluetooth.

When I connect the iPhone and the Macbook with a cable, they do recognize each other.

Did anyone else experience this Bluetooth connection problem and have suggestions?

what are you trying to do that requires a BT connection? never saw the need for it ...

 

[Mr. Dee]

So I don’t remember ever explicitly connecting my iPhone and MacBook. If they needed Bluetooth when, for example, doing a copy/paste between the two it would just work. I never had to manually do anything. Maybe it would help to know what you’re trying to do after they’re connected.

I believe AirDrop depends on Bluetooth, so if that's not working, you won't be able to easily move files between both devices.

 

[chabig]

Airdrop doesn’t require an explicit Bluetooth connection.

 

[iMacDragon]

Indeed, I don't believe Apple have ever supported explicit bluetooth pairing between iphones and macs, only implicit pairing via icloud.

 

[ac1califas]

@jz0309 @fatTribble @Mr. Dee @iMacDragon @chabig

Thanks for responding. I want to set up a personal hotspot over Bluetooth. Per Apple, connecting a Mac to an iPhone over Bluetooth is possible for a personal hotspot connection (please see attached photo from Apple's website confirming this). Also, on a previous Mac, I connected my MacBook to my iPhone over Bluetooth for a personal hotspot connection, but that was before my M1 and M2 Macs. However, I do not believe it is a limitation of M1 or M2. I suspect I have some configuration issues, although I checked everything on the MacBooks and the iPhone. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mrmacuser69]

@jz0309 @fatTribble @Mr. Dee @iMacDragon @chabig

Thanks for responding. I want to set up a personal hotspot over Bluetooth. Per Apple, connecting a Mac to an iPhone over Bluetooth is possible for a personal hotspot connection (please see attached photo from Apple's website confirming this). Also, on a previous Mac, I connected my MacBook to my iPhone over Bluetooth for a personal hotspot connection, but that was before my M1 and M2 Macs. However, I do not believe it is a limitation of M1 or M2. I suspect I have some configuration issues, although I checked everything on the MacBooks and the iPhone. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Are they both on the same Apple ID? Why can't you just use WiFi for the personal hotspot instead of bluetooth? You could also just plug your iPhone into the MacBook and personal hotspot will work through that.

 

[chabig]

I second the Wi-Fi hotspot. But if you’d like to keep the phone battery charged, connect with a Lightning cable and network over USB.

 

[ac1califas]

@mrmacuser69 @chabig

Yes, the hotpot works with both wifi and with a cable. However, for my use case, wifi is not possible and the cable is not convenient, although both would work. With a previous Mac, I have connected my iPhone to my Mac over Bluetooth - so I know it works plus Apple confirms that it should work. But it doesn't work for me now on my newer iPhone and Macs. I am just trying to figure out if there might be some specific configuration that has helped others connect their iPhones to a Macbook via Bluetooth

 

[chabig]

Confirm that you’ve followed these instructions to the letter, even resetting network settings on the phone.

If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) - Apple Support

With Personal Hotspot, you can share the cellular data connection of your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) with another device. If you need help with Personal Hotspot, follow these steps.

support.apple.com

 

[msmyth]

I have the same issue between iPhone 14 Pro and a M2 Pro MacBook - direct connection won't work, and handing over calls from iPhone to Mac during the call results in a dropped call. I've been on to technical support but to be honest it's exhausting being passed from pillar to post being asked the same 'throw everything at it' troubleshooting checks.

 

[WillyJP]

I just discovered that my new MacBk Air M2 and my iPhone 13 can't Air Drop (either way). All the Air Drop instructions say "be sure Bluetooth is turned on" (it is), but looking into Bluetooth settings, the iPhone and Mac aren't connecting. When you get them both searching and hit the "connect" button on the Mac Bluetooth dialog box, I get, on the phone a message that "Mac Book Air not compatible". Searching the Apple user forum, I see literally hundreds of posts over teh past year with this same issue. So what's the deal? Clearly a LOT of users can't get their Macs and iPhones to connect via Bluetooth. And I suspect this has something to do with why I can't AirDrop between them. Yes, I'm signed into the same Apple ID. Both devices are connected to iCloud and my router shows both of them connected on the same wi-fi LAN. So wi-fi seems OK and Bluetooth doesn't. Is that why I can't AirDrop? Why has this issue gone on so long without any response from Apple?? CORRECTION: the message that appears on the iPhone when I hit "connect" in the Bluetooth dialog on the Mac is: "MacBook Air is not supported" WHY NOT??

 

[dmccloud]

I just discovered that my new MacBk Air M2 and my iPhone 13 can't Air Drop (either way). All the Air Drop instructions say "be sure Bluetooth is turned on" (it is), but looking into Bluetooth settings, the iPhone and Mac aren't connecting. When you get them both searching and hit the "connect" button on the Mac Bluetooth dialog box, I get, on the phone a message that "Mac Book Air not compatible". Searching the Apple user forum, I see literally hundreds of posts over teh past year with this same issue. So what's the deal? Clearly a LOT of users can't get their Macs and iPhones to connect via Bluetooth. And I suspect this has something to do with why I can't AirDrop between them. Yes, I'm signed into the same Apple ID. Both devices are connected to iCloud and my router shows both of them connected on the same wi-fi LAN. So wi-fi seems OK and Bluetooth doesn't. Is that why I can't AirDrop? Why has this issue gone on so long without any response from Apple?? CORRECTION: the message that appears on the iPhone when I hit "connect" in the Bluetooth dialog on the Mac is: "MacBook Air is not supported" WHY NOT??

If you are trying to connect via the bluetooth settings, that's why you're having issues. I was just able to transfer photos both from my M2 Max MBP to my 13 Pro Max and vice versa by using the Airdrop app (Mac) and the share > Airdrop option from within the Photos app on my iPhone. The photo sent via Airdrop from my phone went directly to my Downloads folder, and the screenshot sent from my Mac went to the Photos app on the iPhone.

 

[WillyJP]

I think I didn’t make that clear: I am unable to AirDrop between my phone & my new MacBk Air w M2 chip. Doing it exactly as I always did w my recently departed 2018 MacBk Pro w intel chip and as you describe. In trying to troubleshoot the problem and read up on it, every list of things to check says “make sure Bluetooth is on on both devices.” Well it is on, but when I try to see if the two devices are actually connected via Bluetooth, I get the result described. Looking into that, on the Mac user forum I find hundreds of complaints about that with no apparent solution. Many users find that the can’t any longer hand off phone calls between their iPhones & Mac, which is not something I’ve done. But many attribute it to the source of the same AirDrop problem I’m having. I don’t know how AirDrop works, but I can check off all the troubleshoot steps (Wi-Fi working, firewall not blocking it, etc, etc) and the only one that seems to have a glitch is the Bluetooth connection which fails and sends the “MacBook Air not supported” message on the phone. So I suspect that maybe has something to do with why it won’t AirDrop. I can Air Drop between my M2 MacBook Air & my wife’s 2020 Intel MacBook Air. But when I try from my phone to my MacBook Air, selecting AirDrop from the list of send options below the open photo, I just get a “waiting” message below the icon and it never sends.

 

[Yr Blues]

Any fix for this? I used to use my iPhone as an internet hotspot for my MacBook. Not anymore.

 

[WillyJP]

I'm not certain how long ago, but sometime between February when I was posting about not being able to AirDrop from my iPhone 13 to my M2 MacBk Air, the problem was corrected. I'd guess sometime in late March, early April. And not corrected by anything I did differently. I suspect that one of the OS or iOS updates fixed the problem. I do believe that somewhere in the flood of tech "news" that comes through in email, I vaguely recall something about Apple's "Air Drop Fix." Not sure of any details, but now AirDrop-ing between my phone & my MacBk Air is working.

PS: my M2 MacBk Air is offering me my iPhone's hotspot right now....and it works if I choose it. AFAIK, THAT was never not working, although I have to confess I so rarely use it that it could have been out of commission for awhile and I didn't notice.

 

[RayMyers]

Any fix for this? I used to use my iPhone as an internet hotspot for my MacBook. Not anymore.

Why not? I still do that and it works just fine

 

[dmccloud]

Any fix for this? I used to use my iPhone as an internet hotspot for my MacBook. Not anymore.

The hotspot feature uses WiFi, not Bluetooth. So any issues with bluetooth should not effect your ability to hotspot.

 

[iMacDragon]

The hotspot feature uses WiFi, not Bluetooth. So any issues with bluetooth should not effect your ability to hotspot.

I think bluetooth is still used to jump start the hotspot between devices on same icloud account

 

[Yr Blues]

The hotspot feature uses WiFi, not Bluetooth. So any issues with bluetooth should not effect your ability to hotspot.

I never had to use WIFI before I upgraded from Mojave. I would sit in my car with my MacBook and connect to my iPhone via BT and the internet worked perfectly. Now I'm being gaslit online.