Bluetooth adapter mac usb

Bluetooth 4 Adapters for MacOS (updated January 2023)

Note: If you’re only needing to stream Audio over Bluetooth, you might want to check out the Bluetooth 5 (audio only) options. See here.

It’s not uncommon for the internal Bluetooth on MacBooks (and even Mac desktops) to have issues. Sometimes this occurs after the computer comes out of sleep, or when connecting/disconnecting a Bluetooth device. It can also occur when you have numerous USB devices plugged in. My MacBookPro periodically loses Bluetooth entirely. Hovering the mouse over the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar will say, “Bluetooth: Not Available”. The Bluetooth options icon completely vanishes from System Preferences. So there’s no way to try turning it off and on. I’ve written a few articles on ways to try and fix these issues. But in many cases it might be a better option to just install a new Bluetooth adapter. If your Mac currently only supports Bluetooth 2.0 or 3.0, the added bonus is you’ll get upgraded to Bluetooth 4.0. It’s more reliable, more energy efficient, has better range, and various other benefits. There’s only two USB micro Bluetooth adapters I know of that reliably support Mac OS.

Best Mac Tips recommends this adapter, or for a less expensive option, try the TP-Link UB400 Bluetooth 4.0 dongle shown further down the page.

Hideez Smart Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter for Mac and Windows

The Hideez Smart Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter for Mac and Windows is one of the few that are MacOS compatible. The product is claimed to be compatible with MacOS 10.7, MacOS 10.8, MacOS 10.9, MacOS 10.10, MacOS 10.11, MacOS 10.12, MacOS 10.13, MacOS 10.14, MacOS 10.15. Basically every version of MacOS since 10.7.

This adapter is very compact, as seen in this photo.

Note: You may need to follow the instructions at the end of this post to get your Mac to use an external adapter.

I see people with Mac Minis are reporting in the Amazon reviews that this adapter works as soon as they plug it in. So chances are you won’t need to make any other changes to your Mac Mini with this USB Bluetooth adapter.

Best Mac Tips recommends this adapter, or for a less expensive option, try the TP-Link UB400 Bluetooth 4.0 dongle shown further down the page.

ADDED JAN 2023

Smart Bluetooth Adapter for Mac and Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP – Hideez Dongle for Desktop, Laptop, Mouse, Keyboard, Headset – Low Energy USB Bluetooth

This is another Mac compatible option from Hideez. The Smart Bluetooth Adapter for Mac and Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP – Hideez Dongle for Desktop, Laptop, Mouse, Keyboard, Headset – Low Energy USB Bluetooth is another option I’ve discovered for you which indicates it is MacOS compatible. The product is claimed to be compatible macOS 10.7 (Lion) and beyond. The full list Hideez state it’s compatible with is: macOS 10.7 (Lion), macOS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) macOS 10.9 (Mavericks), macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) macOS 10.12 (Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra) macOS 10.14 (Mojave), macOS 10.15 (Catalina) macOS 11 (Big Sur), macOS 12 (Monterey), macOS 13 (Ventura).

I see a five-star review confirming it worked well on a 2008 Mac running El Captain (macOS 10.11)

Note: You may need to follow the instructions at the end of this post to get your Mac to use an external adapter.

This is usually around the same cheap price as the other Hideez adapter (above). So take your pick. The other one looks slightly more compact in size.

ASUS USB-BT500 Bluetooth 5.0 USB Adapter

This is a Bluethooth 5 dongle. It was mentioned in the comments to this article that the ASUS USB-BT500 Bluetooth 5.0 USB Adapter worked well on a new (2021) Mac Mini. I am still finding out whether that was an M1 or Intel Mac Mini. But I assume it’s running Big Sur (macOS 11.x), which would suggest the ASUS USB-BT500 Bluetooth 5.0 USB Adapter is compatible with Big Sur. This adapter gets a high rating on Amazon. But there’s little mention of its use on Mac.

I’ll post more info here once I know more.

The others I’ve listed on this page, this adapter is very compact, as seen in this photo.

Note: You may need to follow the instructions at the end of this post to get your Mac to use an external adapter.

Best Mac Tips doesn’t recommend this adapter until more reports come in regarding Mac compatability.

Best-Mac-Tips recommends this adapter or the Hideez Smart Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter for Mac and Windows (the first adapter in this article, above)

BEST PRICE! — The TP-Link UB400 Bluetooth 4.0 dongle works on Mac computers (A LITTLE KNOWN SECRET)

TP-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC(UB400), 4.0 Bluetooth Dongle Receiver is the best priced quality brand bluetooth dongle on Amazon. TP Link states it only works on Windows. But, here’s the secret — it also works on Mac. In the reviews and elsewhere I searched online, people have stated it works in these situations (and likely many that are similar):

• Apple Macbook Pro Mid-2012 running macOS Catalina 10.15.7
• Works on old Macs like 2002 PowerMac G4 MDD
• Working on latest MacOS Catalina on an older MacBook Pro
• Tested on macOS 10.15.2 and 10.15.4 beta (works)
• Works on macbook pro early 2011 (High Sierra)
• Works on macOS 10.15.5

One thing I did note is a few people said it had issues (like stuttering audio) when used on USB 3.x ports. That it needs to be used in a USB 2.0 port. Keep that in mind.

This adapter is typically selling for under US$10. So it’s a very affordable option.

(Added to this page May 29, 2021)

Avantree DG80 Bluetooth 5.0 USB Audio Adapter (Audio Only)

This adapter, Avantree DG80 Bluetooth 5.0 USB Audio Adapter (Audio Only) claims to work on Mac. But there’s currently no reviews stating this, nor any Questions & Answers where this is discussed. Also it only works for audio devices (no mice or keyboards, for example). So it’s good only for Bluetooth headsets and speakers.

Note: You may need to follow the instructions at the end of this post to get your Mac to use an external adapter.

Best-Mac-Tips does NOT recommend buying this Bluetooth adapter.

Avantree DG40S USB Bluetooth Adapter

The manufacturer of this adapter expressly states it is not Mac compatible. It’s called, Avantree DG40S USB Bluetooth Adapter, and it’s available on Amazon. I have, however, seen numerous people reporting online that it worked on their Mac, and there’s also people saying the same in the Amazon reviews. So try this option at your own risk. I’d suggest searching online to see if you can find anyone with your particular Mac computer saying it worked.

Note: You may need to follow the instructions at the end of this post to get your Mac to use an external adapter.

How to make your Mac use an external Bluetooth adapter

Because your Mac still has its internal Bluetooth adapter, you’ll need to make it switch over to the external USB Bluetooth adapter. There’s a couple of ways to do that.

One involves using software called Bluetooth Explorer (BTE). Apparently it works with numerous other adapters or dongles. For most users it’s going to seem rather complicated getting Bluetooth Explorer onto their system. It comes as part of Apple Xcode, which you need to set up an Apple Developer account to access. What’s more, you will need to use BTE to perform the handover to your external BT adapter every time you restart your computer. That’s not my cup of tea, but if you want to go down that path there’s a great article here that explains how to do it.

Another option is to apply the following command in Terminal.app:

sudo nvram bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior=always

It will prompt you for your password. Enter that. Then restart the computer. Under most circumstances it will remain active after restarts, although I seem some people reporting online that sometimes it does not (perhaps after a failed shutdown or system crash).

To undo this change use the following command in the Terminal.app:

sudo nvram -d bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior

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