Why does my Bluetooth keep disconnecting on my Mac?

Usually interference on the 2.4 GHz band, an accessory low on charge, or a stale saved pairing. Check the charge first with system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType, then move USB 3 drives and hubs away from the Mac — Apple names them as a source of interference with wireless devices.

Why do my AirPods keep disconnecting from my Mac?

Check that both AirPods are charging in the case, since one bud that never charges behaves like a connection fault. If they also cut out on your phone, the fault is with the AirPods. Apple's guidance for headphones that cut out is to unpair them and pair them again.

Can a USB hub cause Bluetooth to disconnect?

Yes. Apple's guidance says to move USB 3 and Thunderbolt 3 devices, including any USB hubs, farther away from your wireless devices, and to avoid placing them on top of your Mac. Using shielded cables and switching off unused USB 3 devices helps too.

Should I delete the Bluetooth plist file on my Mac?

The reason usually given for it does not hold up. On the Mac this page was written from, /Library/Preferences/com.apple.bluetooth.plist was 321 bytes holding seven settings, with no record of any paired device in it. Forget the one device that misbehaves instead: Control-click it in Bluetooth settings and click Forget. Apple notes you have to connect it again if you want to use it later.

How do I check my Bluetooth accessory's battery on a Mac?

Click Control Center in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth. You can also run system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType in Terminal and read the battery lines. Not every accessory reports a level — many third-party devices report nothing.

Mac Bluetooth Keeps Disconnecting? Causes and Fixes

Your headphones cut out mid-call. The mouse freezes for a second, then comes back. It feels random, and it usually is not.

Ten-second check first: does the same accessory drop on your phone or iPad? If it does, the fault is the accessory — skip to that section. If it only misbehaves on the Mac, start at the top.

First, look at what your Mac sees

Before changing anything, check the state of the device and its charge. Open Terminal (⌘ Space, type Terminal, Return) and run:

zsh — Terminal

% system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType

Sample result

Bluetooth:
    Bluetooth Controller:
        Address: <redacted>
        State: On
        Chipset: BCM_4388C2
        Firmware Version: 23.5.224.1466
        Transport: PCIe
    Not Connected:
        AirPods:
            Case Battery Level: 9%
            Left Battery Level: 100%
            Right Battery Level: 100%
            Minor Type: Headphones
        Wireless Keyboard:
            Minor Type: Keyboard

Real output from a Mac, shortened. The hardware addresses and serial numbers are removed, the device names are replaced with generic ones, and some rows are left out — the controller's ID and services lines, and the other paired devices. Devices are grouped by whether they are connected right now. The battery lines are the useful part: this case is down to 9%. Not every accessory reports a battery level — plenty of third-party ones report nothing at all.

You can see the same charge figure without Terminal: click Control Center in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth.

Something is crowding the airwaves

Drops at a desk but not on the sofa, or only when a drive or hub is plugged in.

Bluetooth uses the 2.4 GHz band — the same stretch of radio that older Wi-Fi uses. Apple names power cables, microwave ovens, fluorescent lights, wireless video cameras and cordless phones as common sources of interference.

The one people miss is USB 3. Apple's guidance is explicit about it: move your USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 devices, including any USB hubs, farther away from your wireless devices, and avoid placing them on top of your Mac. A cheap unshielded hub or an external drive sitting under a laptop is a genuine cause of dropouts.

Fixmove USB 3 drives, docks and hubs away from the Mac and off the top of it, use shielded cables, and switch off USB 3 devices you are not using. Then move the accessory into line of sight — Apple notes that a metal surface between a Bluetooth mouse and the computer is enough to make it perform poorly.

If your Wi-Fi is struggling in the same room, the two problems share a cause. Moving your Wi-Fi devices onto the 5 GHz band frees up 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth — see Wi-Fi that keeps dropping.

The accessory is low on charge

Drops get more frequent through the day, and a charge fixes it for a while.

A headset, mouse or keyboard running low does not simply switch off. It loses the connection, reconnects, and loses it again, often for an hour or more before it stops entirely. The charge reading in the command above is the fastest way to rule this in or out.

Fixcharge it fully and use it for a day. For AirPods, put both in the case and check that both are charging — one bud that never charges behaves exactly like a Bluetooth fault.

It drops around sleep and wake

The accessory is gone after the lid has been shut, and only comes back after switching Bluetooth off and on.

Accessories do not always come back cleanly when the Mac wakes. A device can sit in the list looking connected while no sound or movement actually reaches it, or stay missing until something prods it.

Fixturn Bluetooth off and on again in Control Center. If it only happens after sleep, and your Mac also wakes on its own, the sleep behaviour itself is worth a look — see a Mac that keeps waking from sleep.

When it is the accessory, not the Mac

The same device drops on a phone, a tablet or another computer too.

This is worth establishing early, because it means nothing on the Mac needs changing. Pair the accessory with a phone and use it for a while. A device that cuts out there as well has a fault of its own, or is simply at the edge of its range.

Apple's own guidance for headphones that cut out is to unpair them and pair them again. For AirPods, Apple documents a full reset. The order matters — the lid has to be shut for the first step and open for the button:

Put the AirPods in their charging case, close the lid, and wait 30 seconds.
On an iPhone or iPad paired with them, open Settings > Bluetooth. If the AirPods appear in the list, tap the More Info button beside them, then tap Forget This Device. If they do not appear, skip this step.
Open the lid of the case.
On AirPods 1, 2 and 3, and AirPods Pro 1 and 2: hold the setup button on the back of the case for about 15 seconds.
On AirPods 4, AirPods 5 and AirPods Pro 3: double-tap the front of the case once while the status light is on. Double-tap again when it flashes white, and a third time when it flashes faster.
When the status light flashes amber and then white, follow the steps on your device's screen to reconnect them.

Fixtest it on another device first. If it drops everywhere, repair or replace the accessory; if it drops only on the Mac, carry on down this page.

The saved pairing has gone stale

One device misbehaves while everything else stays connected, often since an update.

Your Mac stores what it knows about each paired device. When that record goes bad, the Mac keeps trying to use it and keeps failing. Clearing it affects that one device only.

Fixin System Settings > Bluetooth, Control-click the device and click Forget, then pair it again. Apple is clear about the cost: you have to connect it again if you want to use it later, so have any non-Apple pairing instructions to hand before you start.

Guides elsewhere tell you to delete the Bluetooth preference file from the system Library folder. On the Mac this page was written from, that file held seven settings in 321 bytes, and no record of any paired device. There is no reason to expect deleting it to reconnect anything, so we do not suggest it. Forgetting the one device that misbehaves is the targeted version of that idea, and its cost is known.

The short version

Run system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType and read the battery lines.
Charge the accessory fully before blaming the Mac.
Move USB 3 drives, docks and hubs away from the Mac and off the top of it.
Test the accessory on a phone — if it drops there too, the Mac is not the cause.
Turn Bluetooth off and on after sleep.
Forget that one device and pair it again. Deleting Bluetooth preference files is not the fix it is widely said to be.

Commands in this guide are standard, read-only macOS diagnostics unless noted; anything that changes your system is called out. When in doubt, back up first with Time Machine.

Bluetooth keeps disconnecting on your Mac? Find the cause