Bluetooth issues with Magic Mouse and Keyboard

[Munke]

Hi.

I recently purchased an old iMac from late 2014 to use for school work and media consumption. Now all was going great until the bluetooth on both the Magic Keyboard and Mouse started acting strangely.
They would randomly disconnect and reconnect, only for much of their "apple" functionality to fail (brightness control, gestures etc). The keyboard behaviour seems to match this thread on apple.com.

Now ive tried to disconnect and reconnect the devices, change batteries and resetting the bluetooth module, all to no avail.

If anyone has any idea as to what could be causing this, it would be of great help, thanks.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's "go your own way" bluetooth connectivity solution:

1. Get a 3rd party USB bt adapter that's compatible with the Mac OS:

Amazon.com: Usb Bluetooth Adapter Mac Compatible

Amazon.com: usb bluetooth adapter mac compatible

www.amazon.com

2. Get a USB3 extension cable, 3-6ft long:

Amazon.com: Usb Extension Cable 3ft

Amazon.com: usb extension cable 3ft

www.amazon.com

3. Put the adapter at the end of the extension cable and plug it into the Mac. Set it up and run that way.

(some "fiddlin'" will be required to DISABLE Apple's built-in bt -- use of terminal may be required)

Actually, my BEST advice is to NOT USE BT AT ALL.
Get a WIRED USB keyboard and a mouse that is either wired or Logitech with its "unifying recevier".
Use those instead.
No BT problems!

 

[Munke]

Fishrrman's "go your own way" bluetooth connectivity solution:

1. Get a 3rd party USB bt adapter that's compatible with the Mac OS:

Amazon.com: Usb Bluetooth Adapter Mac Compatible

Amazon.com: usb bluetooth adapter mac compatible

www.amazon.com

2. Get a USB3 extension cable, 3-6ft long:

Amazon.com: Usb Extension Cable 3ft

Amazon.com: usb extension cable 3ft

www.amazon.com

3. Put the adapter at the end of the extension cable and plug it into the Mac. Set it up and run that way.

(some "fiddlin'" will be required to DISABLE Apple's built-in bt -- use of terminal may be required)

Actually, my BEST advice is to NOT USE BT AT ALL.
Get a WIRED USB keyboard and a mouse that is either wired or Logitech with its "unifying recevier".
Use those instead.
No BT problems!

Thanks for your response.

I actually tried to do an internet recovery, cause i figured the firmware was totally cooked, but the issue persisted. So it's either an issue with the software, or more likely, the bluetooth module.

Im going to buy a USB BT adapter later today and see if that works

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Im going to buy a USB BT adapter later today and see if that works"

It may work, or may not.

"The key" seems to be WHERE the BT transmitter/receiver is located.

That's why you ALSO NEED the USB "extension cable" -- so that you can relocate the BT module AWAY FROM the Mac, and closer to the devices with which you are communicating.

 

[Munke]

OP wrote:
"Im going to buy a USB BT adapter later today and see if that works"

It may work, or may not.

"The key" seems to be WHERE the BT transmitter/receiver is located.

That's why you ALSO NEED the USB "extension cable" -- so that you can relocate the BT module AWAY FROM the Mac, and closer to the devices with which you are communicating.

Thanks for the tips! Unfortunately nothing has worked. And I have seriously done just about everything.

The BT transmitter didn't work at all. MacOS wouldn't even recognise it, let alone use it.

I tried resetting NVRAM, that didn't work.

Tried deleting all BT Plists, that didn't work.

So I installed a fresh version of MacOS through internet recovery, thinking that the firmware could be cooked, but the problem persisted.

My thought was that this must be a hardware issue then. So I bought a replacement "Airport" and ripped the iMac open to replace it, well that didn't work either.

After the replacement I did all the other steps again, but nothing has worked. I did however notice that the "apple functionality" now remains, and that BT is significantly faster at detecting and connecting to devices, but that doesn't mean much when it disconnects every 10 or so seconds.

It's seriously a shame since this computer is super nice, and BT is an essential part of my experience with it.

If you or anyone else has any idea as to what the flip is causing this, let me know, cause I'm seriously getting a headache from it now.

 

[Fishrrman]

You're not going to like this post.

My "best advice" to you is:
STOP USING bluetooth.

Get a wired keyboard.
Get either a wired USB mouse OR a Logitech mouse that uses their own "unifying receiver" technology. These ARE NOT bt and work fine.

BT is a weak-radio technology and my prediction is that it's NEVER going to "get better" on the Mac.

You had best re-adapt your lifestyle to use something else.

See... I TOLD YOU that you weren't going to like this post.

 

[Munke]

You're not going to like this post.

My "best advice" to you is:
STOP USING bluetooth.

Get a wired keyboard.
Get either a wired USB mouse OR a Logitech mouse that uses their own "unifying receiver" technology. These ARE NOT bt and work fine.

BT is a weak-radio technology and my prediction is that it's NEVER going to "get better" on the Mac.

You had best re-adapt your lifestyle to use something else.

See... I TOLD YOU that you weren't going to like this post.

Sold the iMac which bluetooth didn't work on and bought a newer one where it works, no lifestyle change for me thx