Is bluetooth reliable for you? What hardware are you using?

[LarTeROn]

I started using MacOS since Sierra. The entire time I've had trouble various trouble with bluetooth. I'm using a Microsoft mouse right now, and I often have to sudo pkill bluetoothd every morning to get it to connect. It's like this on Montrey, and I don't expect it to get better after all these years when I update.

I heard that unofficially, Apple bluetooth stuff tends to be more reliable, but I hate the magic mouse.

I'm thinking of buying a Keychron M3, which AFAIK, has paid the Apple tax for Apple's bluetooth 'drivers'(?), rather than the generic support, so this should be better in theory, and it's much high DPI so it should be better. But will it?

What are your experiences with Bluetooth?

I'm also thinking of getting an M3, but this bluetooth hassle, along with poor repair support is putting me off.

 

[Fishrrman]

My opinion only.

Bluetooth is a "weak signal" radio technology to begin with.
And... it's been problematic with some Macs since their designs were first released (example, the current Mac Mini case).
I predict that this is never going to be "fixed" on the Mac. It is what it is.

If you don't want "bluetooth problems" with the Mac, the best way to avoid them is... DON'T USE Apple's built-in bluetooth (wherever possible).

Use either:
- hard wired connection
- another radio frequency (such as Logitech's "unifying receiver" for their products)
- a 3rd-party bt adapter mounted at the end of a USB "extension cable". This brings the source of the bt signal "away from" the Mac and closer to the actual devices being used.

 

[LarTeROn]

If anyone else is stuck with this, you can

#sudo visudo
ALL ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/pkill bluetoothd

And then set some sort of shortcut to quickly launch that command. Suggestions? I put a script on my desktop, associated to terminal, but that leaves a terminal window open.

The other suggestion still using bluetooth is to use a 3rd party adapter dongle and basically replace the built in Apple hardware. Messy, and it seems to be a bit unreliable, including across o/s upgrades. Agree that avoiding bluetooth is best, if possible.

 

[smirking]

I've had all sorts of BT connectivity issues with my input devices on my MBPs going back a number of generations. M1 MBP works much more smoothly with Bluetooth devices than any of my previous Mac laptops and some of that may be due to that the fans never turn on.

I've noticed that with my Intel MBPs, my Bluetooth troubles seemed worse whenever the fans kicked on. I don't know if the fans themselves were the source of the interference or if the system load that kicked on the fans interfered with Bluetooth.

When I buy a wireless mouse, I always want one that has an option of connecting with a USB receiver just in case the Bluetooth doesn't get a strong connection.

I recently bought one of these Elecom Bluetooth trackballs and I haven't had any issue keeping the signal:

ELECOM Trackball Mouse Wireless, Ergonomic Mouse, 3 Device Connection, Wired (USB), Bluetooth, Track Ball Mouse, Thumb Control, Compatible for PC, Laptop, Mac, Windows, macOS, EX-G Pro (M-XPT1MRXBK)

Trackball mouse with 8-Button Function Designed with a high-performance gaming optics system sensor and lens This trackball mouse bases on ergonomics, effectively reducing user’s wrist strain and muscle pain The ball is held in place by the ball bearings, but can easily be popped out of the devic...

www.amazon.com

I have one older Logitech trackball mouse that uses a USB receiver that worked flawlessly with my Intel MBPs, but when I tried it with my M1 MBP, it occasionally behaves like it's suffering interference so the jittery motion I've seen in the past may not entirely be a Bluetooth thing. The reason why I have that Elecom trackball is because my old Logitech trackball was driving nuts.

It could be that some devices do just work better on your Mac, but I'm not so sure about your assumption that the Magic Mouse has no problems.

I've read the same complaints from users of the Magic Mouse and I have the first Magic Mouse myself. It getting skippy on me all the time is one of the reasons I never use it anymore... well that and it's one of my less favored mice.

 

[Sorinut]

I have a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, both Logitech, and they work perfects with my M1 Air connected via usb-c to a Dell Monitor.