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10.4: Resolve Bluetooth headset issues after upgrade
Authored by: sarpeyer on Oct 06, '05 06:47:41AM

Can anybody help me with this question?

I've already looked through the archives - other people have had the problem I'll describe. However, I've tried several of the fixes suggested, and I'm still having problems. So I'm going to go into some detail in case there's anything specific to my setup that's causing problems.

I have a 2Ghz G5 iMac running Tiger, Mac OS X.4.
I have onboard BlueTooth on the iMac and I have an Apple BlueTooth keyboard and mouse.

I have a Jabra BlueTooth BT200 headset.

I can't get the iMac to connect to the BT200.

The headset pairs OK in the Bluetooth setup assistant but it is shown as "Connected: No" in BlueTooth preferences.
The headset does not display in the Sound preferences, so cannot be used as an input or output device.

Interestingly, if you press and hold the button on the BT200, it fleetingly does connect, but then goes back to "Connected: No". It never appears in Sound preferences.

I can even wake my iMac up from sleep by powering my BT200 off and on, although it still doesn't connect.

Other people who have posted to the archive say they got round this by zapping the PRAM or by rebooting into OF and entering reset-nvram and reset-all.

BUT this doesn't work for me! I still can't connect to my BT200.

Why have these methods worked for other people and not for me?

Is it because I have a Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse perhaps?

Why is the BT200 so finickty?

Some people have suggested updating the bluetooth software or firmware... but surely a brand new iMac with Tiger MacOS 10.4 would have the newest updates already?

Some other thoughts I have had... is the BT200 jammed in "passive" mode perhaps? Is it waiting for a signal from the iMac before switching to "active"? If so, why isn't it getting this signal?

One post I saw somewhere (can't remember where) said that they got a previously recalcitrant headset to work by leaving the bluetooth setup assistant to search for devices for a long, long time before clicking on their headset and proceeding to pairing.
By why should this make any difference?
And how long exactly is a long, long time?!
Intriguingly though, this matches some official Apple advice:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107104

- does Apple really expect us to go away and make a cup of tea whilst the setup assistant is scanning? Surely we can just click on our headset when it appears?
Please let me know what other people have been trying...

The idea of logging in in Unix in Unix and editing my blued.plist file or suchlike frankly makes me go a bit grey, as did other posters to this thread such as YuryG, vdl, and jmaginet.

Anybody care to hold our hand and talk us through it step by step?!

What I'm especially terrified of is killing my wireless keyboard and mouse by accident.

Tim-Hannon on Apple's own discussion board came up with a way of editing the plist without needing to go to the Unix shell - you can see it at
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?14@671.CLLzaEPESE6.1@.68b5bbec

- but I haven't had a chance to see if it will clear my problem yet. Also, Tim switches off bluetooth as part of his instructions - which will kill my mouse and keyboard presumably! Anybody have any suggestions?


A perusal of the Jabra website (http://www.jabra.com) points out that you can only pair to one device at a time anyway - so if I'm using the BT200 on my iMac then I have to turn BlueTooth off or unpair the BT200 on my 'phone, and vice-versa (of course, I've tried this already)

So, frankly, if the BT200 won't work, can somebody point me to a BlueTooth headset, available in England, that definitely WILL work with my setup? Maybe it would be easier to have two, one permanently paired to the 'phone and one to the iMac!

Thanks in advance,
Yours,

Oliver

G5 2Ghz iMac; Mac OS X (10.4); Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse



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10.4: Resolve Bluetooth headset issues after upgrade
Authored by: sarpeyer on Oct 07, '05 04:57:24PM

I finally got my BT headset to work in Tiger. Here is a quick guide, as much as I know and without any guarantee it will work:

Problem:
Bluetooth headsets pair with your Mac but then don't appear in Sound Preferences, so you can't actually use them for anything.

Origin of problem:
Tiger seems to store Bluetooth preferences in a hidden file, blued.plist. You need to purge this before trying to re-pair to your headset.

In addition, bluetooth devices persist in the browse device window of the Bluetooth menu bar even after you try to delete them. These preferences are stored in yet another file, com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
This second file is quite separate to blued.plist, and I wasted several days getting the two mixed up.



I would deal with com.apple.Bluetooth.plist before blued.plist.

My thanks to Tim-Hannon via discussions.info.apple.com for this, which I have summarised below.

To do this, first of all install the developer tools, if you haven't already done so. On my Mac, this was done by clicking on XCodeTools.mpkg at HD/Applications/Installers/XCode Tools

Now go to the Browse Device Window and place all of the headsets and other devices that you want to remove as favorites.

Now go to Bluetooth preferences and click on each of the favorites you have marked. For each, write down the device address, which will look something like "00-07-a4-0e-7e-9c" or suchlike.

Be careful not to write down the addresses of devices (such as mice and keyboards) that you want to keep connected!!!

Now go into your User/Library/Preferences folder and double click on the com.apple.Bluetooth.plist file.
This will open up the Property List Editor window.

One the file is open, click on the triangle marked Root and then the triangles marked Favorite Devices and RecentDevices.

From both of the Favorite Devices and RecentDevices lists, highlight the devices with the addresses that you wrote down earlier. You can delete them with the oblong delete button at the top of the window.

Now, save the file back to its original location. If your Mac complains that it doesn't know where to put the file, place it back in its correct position (User/Library/Preferences)

Now log out, and log back in again. The devices will have disappeared from the browse device window and bluetooth preferences.
So, that deals with com.apple.Bluetooth.plist, but believe me, the devices you want to delete, such as your headset, are still in blued.plist !


Now you can move on to deal with the blued.plist file.

A quick way to purge the file if you DON'T have a Bluetooth headset & keyboard:
Download and run the "bluetooth reset" Applescript from http://slicedapple.ath.cx/downloads

My thanks to Chris via xlr8yourmac.com for suggesting this.


However, this won't work if you have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse - your Mac won't let you jeopardize your input devices. So, if you have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse then you need to edit the blued.plist instead, and carefully remove the data for your headset.


Firstly, delete the pairing with your headset in Bluetooth preferences.

Then follow the Unix shell commands shown at http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050520082617274
(I.e earlier in this thread)

I have copied these instructions with some suggestions below, assuming the user doesn't use the shell much.
This involves mucking about with your Tiger system files so it is not for the fainthearted and you should back up any important data off your Mac before starting!!!
I have no idea how you could recover your Mac if you make a mistake, except for reinstalling MacOS from your installation DVDs... so you have been warned!


Enter the shell by clicking on the Terminal icon in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder.

Once you are in the shell:
type sudo sh

A password was requested, but on my Mac at least I could just press enter and continue.

type cd ..
type cd ..
type cd var
type cd root
type cd Library
type cd Preferences

type cp blued.plist plued.plist.backup
This makes a backup of the file with the name plued.plist.backup just in case of disaster

type plutil -convert xml1 blued.plist

type chown username blued.plist
Where username is your own OS X username

type pico blued.plist
(Or use another text editor such as Vi, if you prefer)

You can now see the contents of the blued.plist file.
Scroll down until you see your Bluetooth headset device. Delete all the lines for your device, which will start and end with <dict >and </dict>. Make sure you only delete the lines and <dict> and </dict> specific to YOUR device, not any others.
In PICO, you can delete lines using control-K and then save your changes with control-O and quit using control-X.
Now you are back in the shell.

type plutil -convert binary1 blued.plist
type chown root blued.plist

Quit out of the terminal program.

Restart your Mac from the blue apple menu.

Assuming your Mac restarts OK and that your mouse and keyboard still work, go to the Bluetooth Preferences and re-pair with your headset.

IMPORTANT: You must pair using your headset's basic headset mode, not the enhanced "handsfree" mode that some headsets also support. If you use the wrong mode, you will need to go back and edit the file all over again...
On my headset, a Jabra BT200, this involves holding down only the main headset button on its own until you see a continuous blue light.

You should see your headset's hexadecimal address flash up for a few seconds whilst the bluetooth setup assistant searches for devices, before your headset's name appears. This is good sign because it means the Mac is finding your headset from scratch.

After you select your named headset and pairing completes, don't be initially disheartened if your headset is listed as paired but not connected.
Go to Sound Preferences. You should, finally, see your headset visible as an input and output device. Select it... it should work now!! You can listen to CDs through your headset, or speak and listen through it on an iChat session (select the headset in iChat preferences)... and so on.

On my headset (a Jabra BT200) for instance, the headset is in passive mode with the the blue light flashing every three seconds, but after I select it in the Sound Preferences, the light flashes every one second, meaning it is in active mode.

You can even use your headset with more than one device (such as with your Mac AND your mobile phone) SO LONG AS you only have one device in use at a time.

So, if you usually have your headset paired with your phone, you must disconnect the headset from the phone (but you don't actually have tyo unpair it or delete its settings on the phone) before trying to use it with the Mac.
Conversely, if you deselect the headset as your input and output device in Sound Preferences on the Mac, it will go back into passive mode and you can then reconnect it with your 'phone (again, you don't actually have to unpair it or delete its settings on the Mac)

Good luck!

And remember - don't try any of this unless you're really sure what you're doing... please!

Oliver de Peyer



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