Reviving broken Bluetooth
QMy MacBook Pro’s Bluetooth has stopped working, and shows a squiggly line through its icon. How can I fix it?
AOne quick solution, which may bring it back like magic, is to reset the Mac’s System Management Controller (SMC) as detailed at bit.ly/mac349smc, which shouldn’t upset anything else. If that doesn’t help, restart your Mac in Diagnostic mode as described at bit.ly/mac349dgno to check whether it’s a hardware problem.
Think back to when this problem started. If it occurred after a macOS update or upgrade, then it’s likely to be the result of a failure to install the necessary software. If that’s the case, try downloading and installing the latest
Combo updater for that version of macOS. If you don’t think this is related to a macOS update, ensure that you have a good recent backup, as made by Time Machine, perhaps, then restart in macOS Recovery as described at bit.ly/mac349rcvrmo. There, using Disk Utility, select your startup volume and run First Aid. Once that’s complete, consider re-installing your current version of macOS.
That should fix it unless you still have software installed which is causing the issue. Try starting in Safe mode to test for that, if all else has failed. If that restores normal Bluetooth function, you’ll need to work out what extension or other third-party software you have installed and is clashing with macOS.
Identifying a software conflict can be very difficult, and it may be quicker to wipe your drive and perform a clean macOS installation.