I’m still excited about that Bluetooth headset I got last week, but I did encounter a little problem with it. Rather, I encountered a problem with Mac OS X and the Bluetooth headset. I don’t remember all the precipitating details, but the obvious threshold event was when Gizmo Project complained that it couldn’t find the headset. I tried deleting the configuration and re-pairing, but aside from some momentary linkages, it was all for nada.
I looked at the Logitech support pages for the device, but those led nowhere, so I checked Apple’s Bluetooth discussions. There I found this entry from Oliver de Peyer, a user with a Jabra BT200 headset. Here’s how he described the problem:
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.
Though we were using different headsets, Oliver described the exact same symptoms I was experiencing. Fortunately, he also found the answer. In an October 7th posting, he reported what he’d learned and how to fix it. His post included a lot of detail, but for users like myself whose only Bluetooth device is a headset, it can be sumarized in the following three commands:
- Delete this file:
/var/root/Library/Preferences/blued.plist(you’ll need to usesudo)
- Delete this file too:
/Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
- Reboot, though you might try logging out. One way or another, you’ll need to restart the Bluetooth-related processes.
Oliver’s post is much more detailed, and anybody who depends on Bluetooth mouse or keyboard should probably check it out before trying anything I’ve suggested. Actually, please don’t try anything I’ve suggested, as I don’t want to bear the burden of responsibility.