Bluetooth is a wonderful technology for short range wireless connections to devices, be it headphones, speaker systems, keyboards, mice etc. a large number of devices can all connect to your Mac. The problem is that sometimes these devices don't always behave or respond as expected, which can make using them pretty frustrating.
Sometimes the issue is with the device itself - so check any manuals that come with it for reseting, at other times it's environmental. The range of typical Bluetooth devices is about 10 meters, so move closer if you are having drop outs. It's also low power, so can't push through walls and other thick materials. It also sits on frequency ranges that are used by a lot of devices, so you can try relocating or turning other devices off to see if the connection improves.
Sometimes though the problem is with the Mac itself. You can try the classic remove the device and add it back from the Bluetooth pane in System Preferences. Although it might seem that that is the limit of your troubleshooting options, there is a hidden menu that you can access to give you some further troubleshooting steps.
The Bluetooth Debug Menu
There is a hidden 'Debug' menu in the Bluetooth menu bar icon, so we first need to make sure that it is enabled. This is found at the bottom of the Bluetooth preference pane in system preferences where there is a tickbox labelled Show Bluetooth in menu bar. Make sure it is ticked and we are good to go.
Normally when you click on the Bluetooth menu bar icon you are presented with three sections. The first allows you to switch bluetooth on and off. The second lists the devices that are 'paired' with your machine and allows you to connect or disconnect them. The third allows you to open up the System Preference pane associated with Bluetooth.
However if you ⌥ + ⇧ + click the menu bar icon, you get a very different looking menu with some new sections in it. The first section is purely informational - it lists the version, name of the system, and the physical address of the Bluetooth hardware. Second to last you get the ability to directly send a file to a device, or browse a device via Bluetooth, but the second option is the one we are interested which is labelled Debug.
The Debug menu reveals the following three options:
- Reset the Bluetooth Module - this does exactly what it says, resets the Bluetooth module itself, putting it back to factory settings. Use this option first to see if it solves the problem as it leaves the settings for your connected devices alone.
- Factory reset all connected Apple devices - If the first option doesn't solve the issue for an Apple Bluetooth device use this one. Selecting it sends a command to all of the Apple Bluetooth devices telling them to factory reset themselves.
- Remove all devices - Our last resort, a quick and easy way to remove all of the currently paired Bluetooth devices, allowing you to add them back in one by one, hopefully allowing you to identify which device is causing the problems. Sometimes doing this procedure solves the connectivity issue.
What to Do If There Is a Hardware Fault
If after following all of the possible 'Debug' options the device still doesn't behave as expected then there may be a fault with the device itself. You should follow whatever repair/warranty procedure the manufacturer of the device has in place.