How To Fix M1 Mac Bluetooth Issues In macOS Big Sur 11.0.1
Last updated on December 3rd, 2020 at 04:27 pm
Posted in Bug Fixes by Tyrone on November 26, 2020
M1 Mac Bluetooth issues?
Are you experiencing Bluetooth issues on your M1 Mac? Is your brand new computer not connecting to Bluetooth accessories? Or you do manage to connect the peripherals, but the connectivity is intermittent or laggy? Is your wireless mouse, keyboard or headset unexpectedly disconnecting from macOS Big Sur? This is a common macOS 11.0.1 problem plaguing Macs that are equipped with the new M1 Apple Silicone chip.
The M1 Mac Bluetooth problems occur with both third-party Bluetooth accessories as well as Apple peripherals like the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, Trackpad and even with the AirPods and AirPods Pro wireless earbuds. The entire range of M1 computers sold by Apple seem to be affected, according to this Reddit topic. including the MacBook Air, Pro as well as Mac mini.
How To Fix M1 Mac Bluetooth Issues
Here are some troubleshooting tips and workarounds that you can apply to improve this situation:
1. Use A Wired Keyboard / Mouse To Boot
In some cases the Bluetooth connectivity refuses to work from the get go. This means that you need a wired keyboard and mouse to complete the Mac setup. After the initial boot, you can attempt to pair your wireless keyboard and mouse again. They should work. However, do expect for the Bluetooth connection to fail again if your reboot your Mac. Keep your wires close, because you will need them to type the administrator password.
2. Use The Unifying Receiver
Logitech’s dongle is a good workaround. It uses a similar pairing technology to the Bluetooth system and will help you to connect your peripherals to a M1 Mac. If you don’t want to use it as primary option, have it at least available as a backup solution in case you have to reboot.
Tip: The unifying receiver also helps to go around intermittent Bluetooth connectivity when the accessories actually connect. A reader has reported that his mouse is often laggy but the jumpiness never occurs when the unifying receiver is used.
3. Use Apple Watch To Unlock Mac
If you own an Apple Watch and aren’t using it to unlock your Mac, you should start doing it now. This will spare you from connecting the wired keyboard to type the administrator password. More details about how to do this are found here.
4. Avoid Multiple Bluetooth Connections
It seems that the M1 Mac Bluetooth issue occurs more often when you use multiple wireless connections. Unfortunately, until this gets fixed by Apple with a software update, try to avoid using more than two Bluetooth accessories. This is also a reason why the macOS Big Sur Bluetooth bug is surfacing more often on the M1 Mac mini, because an extra Bluetooth accessory is often required.
When the wireless keyboard and mouse are joined by a third wireless device like the AirPods or Apple Trackpad, the Mac M1 is highly likely to experience intermittent Bluetooth connectivity.
5. Avoid Volume Button
We’ve noticed that the macOS Big Sur Bluetooth bug will cause the Apple Magic Mouse as well as keyboard to instantly disconnect when the Volume icon is clicked in the menu bar!
Fix: If you do click and the peripherals get disconnected you have to turn them off, wait a couple of seconds and power them back On.
Updated (December 3)
6. Disconnect Wi-Fi
Apparently, disconnecting Wi-Fi on your M1 Mac helps with the Bluetooth connectivity issues. As soon as you turn Wi-Fi off, your Bluetooth accessories are able to connect. They do remain connected if you turn Wi-Fi back On!
How To: Open the macOS Big Sur Control Center from the menu bar and disable Wi-Fi. Turn it back ON from the same panel, after you successfully connect your Bluetooth devices!
Credits: Hedley has shared this trick in the comments section!
Did you manage to fix your M1 Mac Bluetooth issue with one of the tips provided above? Have we missed out on something? Do you have a better workaround? Don’t hesitate to use the comments section and let us know!
Related: Is your Mac M1 displaying ‘An Error Occurred Preparing The Update’ when you’re trying to restore it? Here is how to fix it!
You might be also interested in how to fix iPhone not connecting to Mac in macOS Big Sur!
On new MacBook Pro 13″ M1 – If I disable wifi , then connect my AirPods o Bluetooth all works great . I then reenable wifi and AirPods continue to work
Hedley, thanks for sharing this. We’re updating the fix no. 6 with your contribution!
Turning off Wifi, connecting Logictech Master 2 with MBM1 on blue tooht, then wifi back on worked! Thank you!!!
Great. Thanks for confirming!
Nothing worked on my 2017 MacBook Pro MacOS Sur. Major issue with Bluetooth on 2017 MacBook Pro MacOS Sur. AirPods Pro keep loosing sound intermittently. Bose Q35II having same issue yet working better than aipods pro. Logitech mouse – MX Anywhere 2 and keyboard – K780 wireless Bluetooth connectivity is failing – disconnects and reconnects intermittently. Now using both with unifier. Ran diagnostics with “D” . No issues found. Deleted com.apple.Bluetooth.plist. Did not work. Connected only the Aipods Pro. Sound is intermittent. Apple, fix it! before releasing a winter product.
Thanks for sharing this. Keep us updated if anything changes. We will also share as soon as Apple issues a fix in an upcoming software update.
I have the same Bluetooth audio connections. Tried AirPods first, then QC35s, and I also have the cutout issues. Keyboard is a Corsair K70 Lux (wired), and a Razor Naga Trinity (wired) mouse. I’ve tried many of the stated fixes but the issue persists.
Stubacca, thanks for sharing this. This isn’t an ideal fix, but have you tried to use a Bluetooth audio adapter with your Mac? Like: https://amzn.to/3pl3T2s
Also happening on a 2018 15″ Macbook Pro Intel Core i7 16gb RAM with a Basilsk X Hyperspeed as my mouse. Have to turn off about 30 sec then turn back on. Will work intermitently then all of the sudden freeze up. Sometimes it starts working again other times I have to power off the mouse then back on.
Ro, thanks for sharing. Have you tried to disconnect WiFi, before connecting your mouse and then re-enable WiFi. Is the connection still on and off?
Also, logged out and logged in out of all my Apple devices(2017 Macbook Pro, Ipad, iphone and iWatch)
i still don’t have the Airpods playing music continuously.
I have an M1 Mac mini. I started out using a Logitech mouse and keyboard with the unifying receiver and NO Bluetooth devices.
The mouse behavior was terrible, it was constantly getting stuck, rapidly catching up, going slow. I switched out mice, but it didn’t help. I hadn’t heard about the Bluetooth problems, so I figured that maybe the Logitech receiver wasn’t fully compatible with the M1.
So I purchased a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard and Apple’s Magic Mouse. It’s the same behavior with them and the Mac OS update today seems to have made it far worse.
Tim, thanks for sharing your Bluetooth issues with us. Not sure what else to suggest. Do you think that a restore would help? Let us know if you manage to pinpoint the issue.
I was also having bluetooth issues with my m1 mac mini. Audio was stuttering and lagging badly (the only bluetooth device I use is a speaker). Normally I use ethernet, but I tried turning wifi on for a few minutes and then turning it off again, after this my bluetooth problems seemed to be fixed. Before this I tried com.apple.Bluetooth.plist, which didn’t seem to fix the problem. The wifi thing might have been a coincidence and the problems might come back later, but it’s been good for a few hours now.
Jason, thanks for sharing your experience with Bluetooth issues on M1 Mac. Do get back to us and let us know if the fix is permanent or the problems came back?
I had the common Bluetooth problems with the M1 Mac Mini and used a wired mouse and keyboard to avoid them. Things seem better since I updated Big Sur 11.1.
Sami, thanks for confirming!
I am also having bluetooth issues with my phones. I Can’t pair my Sony WH-1000XM3 with my Macbook air M1, 16gb. It doesn’t even appear on the preference list of bluetooth. While, on my windows 10-based computer, I have no issue with it. What a disappointment considering the high cost of computer.
Joao, thanks for reporting. You sure that your Sony headphones aren’t paired and connected to another nearby device when attempting to pair with Mac? Same goes for the macOS Big Sur machine. Make sure that no other Bluetooth headset is nearby and connected, without you noticing it.
I have the same problem here…. been running the New 13″ mac book pro (16g ram and 1THD) for about a week now. all three of my bluetooth audio devices will not hold and cycle every 10 or 15 seconds to connected and not connected. I have original air pods, a set of air pods pro, and also Aftershocks blue tooth. all three don’t work. this is very frustrating!!!
All three of these devices have worked flawlessly with my previous 13″ Maxed out 2012 Mac book pro. (all the way through Mohave). never had any problems with bluetooth connections and holding the connections. Same with iPhones and also with iPad Pro…. all those work just great.
I even disconnected (forget this device) to all of my other devices in case it was trying to jump. Not a real fix.
I selected (de-checked) auto wake up with blue tooth. I tried so many things that were suggested and nothing has even come close to working.
Being hardwired with headphones is a real drag while I’m at work trying to get work done and I don’t want to subject my colleagues with my audio choices via speaker blasting them! : (
Steve, thanks for confirming this. You haven’t mentioned if you updated your new mac to macOS Big Sur 11.1?
Not sure what else to suggest at the moment, what about an unifying receiver?
Hi,
I have the same problems with the connection of my Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Trackpad.
I contacted Apple support and they told me to check it in safe mode and with a new user and if that didn’t help reinstall Big Sur.
She told me that Apple is not working on any solution because they don’t have the problem on their issue-list!!
Please report the problem to Apple support so they do know it exists!! (my mouse disconnected while typing this message!)
Thank you very much, regards, Guy
Guy, thanks for your feedback. I just submitted another feedback request regarding this issue. Let’s hope that it will be addressed soon.
Just to add to the frustrated litany of other users. New Mini M1 and at first, nothing other than my Apple mouse and keyboard would connect. A week later, I got first my Beats and then my Sennheiser headphones to connect. The problem of intermittent problems, especially with the keyboard, persists.
I tried my Hideez USB/Bluetooth dongle and I could not get the Mini to use it, despite the well known nvram command that worked fine on other Intel Mini’s.
Any know which dongles do work with the M1?
Rob, you’ve updated to Big Sur 11.1, correct?
Hi Patricia,
Yes, this was the very first step when I unpacked the box. I set up a single account and then updated, then moved some files and settings, and then installed all the apps from scratch. The cleanest install I have done in a long time!
I can execute the nvram command but it does not change anything, even after I reboot. I have used the same dongle on a 2014 Mini and it works as advertised.
Rob, thanks for clarifying this. Not sure what else to suggest at this moment. Do update us if you make any breakthrough.
Is this only an issue with the M1 Macs? I hate the fact that this MacBook seems to disconnect my keyboard and mouse randomly. It’s frustrating and I cannot believe all these reviewers aren’t talking about this when they’re praising these laptops.
Pete, what’s your MacBook model? The Bluetooth issues seem to be most frequent on Mac’s with the new Apple Silicon chip. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they occur on Intel-based machines too.
I just purchased a new min-mac M1 with Big Sur. My Magic Mouse connects and disconnects repeatedly. After searching for solutions, here is what has worked: My wife and I share a computer room. She has a Mac Powerbook. If her computer is on, not necessarily active, but awake, it interferes with my blutooth mouse. When I put her computer to sleep, the problem stops immediately. As soon as her computer wakes up, the mouse freaks out. It is as though the mouse can’t hold it’s blutooth connection if there is another device in the room.
William, thanks for sharing this. Interesting find! Can anybody else confirm this behavior?
After trying for a while, I was able to connect both keyboard and mouse to my new M1 MacBook Pro.
The keyboard was the first to connect, just after I disconnected it from my old Intel MacBook Pro and turned Bluetooth off on my old MacBook.
Maybe it helps to further limit the amount of BlueTooth devices nearby.
Freek, thanks for sharing this. We will update your findings in the main article.
Waking up my iMini M1 chip – the computer responds but bluetooth wireless keyboard&mouse do not work > after connecting with a usb keyboard I am able to proceed > then the wireless devices do connect and work. What is our solution?
Alfred, assuming that you upgraded to Big Sur 11.1 there isn’t much that you can do until Apple releases a new fix.
Not just a problem with M1 macs. I have a new 2020 iMac 27″. Apple Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard lose connection multiple times a day. So frustrtating to spend almost $3K on a computer to have these problems. I was on the phone with Apple and they were no help at all. They said to bring it in and they’d look at it, but tried to blame it on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi interference and said it was likely a problem for my ISP to fix.
I have noticed that when my mouse and keyboard lock up, there is a new Bluetooth “device” connected. Just a code, no name. The number is different every time, and isn’t anything I own. It connects at random, bricks all my BT devices, goes grey after about a minute, then everything comes back. Big Sur 11.1 seems to not have a way to make BT not discoverable. Wonder if that would help.
Steve, thanks for sharing your feedback. Good point with making Bluetooth not discoverable. We’re looking into this.
Hey I was about to return the third mouse. !!! thanks for the tips!!
Glad we could help. Enjoy it!
Tip 6 worked fine for me, all others failed.
Thanks for confirming Dave.
It’s happening the same thing all the time 5-6 times per day disconnect and connect back Magic Mouse 2 on Macbook Pro 16 inch with Big Sure the problem is the Big Sure Mac Os, not M1. On the same Macbook with Catalina, I did not have this issue but we had plenty of others like CRACKING SOUND FROM THE SPEAKERS. But now the sound is good and then came another issue with the new one… disconnecting all the time the magic mouse.
Thanks for sharing your Big Sur feedback. I’m sure that all these glitches will be fixed in upcoming updates.
I have a new M1 Mac mini and the bluetooth issue is important = it only has 2 USB ports and my old one had 4 so BT devices are predicated!
Yes, that makes sense. The Bluetooth bug has to be fixed asap.
I had a m1 mac mini – same problems. Really hated that I had to connect a wired keyboard to unlock after the mini went to sleep. Honestly, I can’t believe the reviewers gave this thing more than a 5/10. The problems I had with it are unbelievable in 2021.
I found a fix – I returned it to BestBuy, started using a Windows 10 computer that connects to ANYTHING you want with no problem, doesn’t drop connections, can actually change the volume on attached speakers (for the love of god its 2021). Everything just works. Save yourself the headaches and just get a computer with an OS that works with everything.
Forgot to mention that I couldn’t use DP connection to my 1440p 144hz monitor – the color would get all washed out. So had to use HDMI and lower refresh rate.
Sorry to hear about your problems Edmund. Thanks for sharing them. Enjoy your new computer!
Thank you. Disconnected the wifi and then tried connecting the Logitech MX Master 2S mouse through Bluetooth. It worked.
I use a 2018 Mac mini, and suffer the same issues with both my Apple keyboard and Logitech MX ergo mouse. Lags or disconnects all the time. Running Big Sur 11.3.1
Thanks for reporting. Have you try to contact Apple support and see if they offer any solution? Keep us posted please.
Is there a fix for this? Big Sur 11.4 and nothing. Cannot use my Bluetooth headphones because of it.
What Mac computer are you using?