Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth Connectivity Workaround

Suffering Bluetooth connectivity woes on your 2018 Mac mini? Apparently, you’re not alone. a cursory search online will show that many Mac mini users are suffering from the same issue. Below is a video from Neil Spencer Bruce where he details his experience and another workaround to this frustrating problem.

For me, it was in the form of having frequent disconnects when attempting to pair my wireless AirPods to my Mac mini. While I’m unsure what the specific problem is, I did some research online and discovered that the problem stems from signal interference from the USB-A ports on the Mac mini. While it’s incredibly frustrating to experience Bluetooth connectivity issues “out of the box”, I did find a workaround to make Bluetooth work properly again.

Previously, I had the Anker USB hub plugged into one USB-A port on the Mac mini, while using the other USB-A port to connect my Das Keyboard. Now, my Mac mini only utilizes one of my USB-A ports (the far right one). This port is connected my Anker 7 port USB3 hub. All of my USB devices (keyboard, Snowball microphone, etc.) are then plugged into the Anker USB hub.

Additionally, I’ve turned off the “Allow Handoff…” option under System Preferences > General.

I did not have to alter any of my network settings. My setup has both WiFi and wired Ethernet active. (I keep WiFi active since my Apple Watch needs such a signal to unlock my Mac mini.)

With this workaround, my AirPods properly pair and stay connected to my Mac mini. I have about 10 feet of range before the signal clips. And that’s with my Mac mini enclosed inside a Mac IIci case.

Bottom line: buggy Bluetooth is unacceptable in a new machine. I really hope that Apple issues a firmware update to correct this issue.

-Krishna