MacBook Air 2015 No Bluetooth Found

[jasongoldworthy]

Hi guys I have a MacBook Air 2015 model

and for some reason the Bluetooth isn’t found or working but WiFi is fine ??

can anyone suggest anything ?

or should I replace the WiFi module ?

THanks

 

[Raz0rEdge]

I believe the Airport module provides all wireless connectivity here, so WiFi and Bluetooth.

The first thing to do is the Hardware Test following these instructions. Post back what the results are and we can proceed from there.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

hi thanks for the reply ive run the apple hardware test and it don't detect any issues (other than not being on the mains lol)

its running Mac OS Big Sur,

latest of course,

thanks for the help so far.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

It's odd that the hardware test would scrutinize each functionality, cuz while the Airport hardware is present, it clearly has partially failed.

Looks like iFixIt has the Airport card for $60 and instructions (13", 11") on replacing it that don't look too bad. So might be worth a shot.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

hi thanks again,

ive ordered the airport card now and shall see what happens when it arrives as I said the wifi is working with no issues that ive noticed its just bluetooth is missing / not found even in the about this Mac,

 

[ferrarr]

I believe there are two different antennae connections, so it may have been disconnected.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

@ferrarr if the antenna was disconnected, I would imagine that the BT devices wouldn't work, but that wouldn't prevent the Mac from even seeing the BT component at all.

 

[MacInWin]

Did you reset the SMC? That sometimes restores hardware connections.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

Hi guys I’m going to sound a noob here but how do I reset the SMC on these MacBook air’s as I have cleaned it out new thermal paste and I did disconnect the battery so that could be why

thanks for any further help

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Follow this.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

Thanks guys I’ll give this a try in the morning,

would it also cause the Bluetooth hardware to not show up ?

as I said previously the WiFi is fine and there are no other issues

 

[Mac Man 2007]

intersting article including rebooting bluetooth module and replacing some plists and as a last resort a $20 mini USB bluetooth dongle

Bluetooth Not Available on Your Mac? 7 Fixes Worth Trying

Is Bluetooth not working on your Mac? Learn how to troubleshoot Mac Bluetooth problems and get your devices connected again.

www.makeuseof.com

 

[jasongoldworthy]

well guys replaced the wifi card and its now working perfectly

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Awesome, that's a fairly cheap fix to keep the machine going for a few more years hopefully.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

I just noticed that the original airport card has some sticky substance on it ??

so I'm wondering if that's why it stopped working ?

also I just noticed some corrosion on the apple SSD so it was working but was going green on some of the contacts
on one of the chips so I've removed it and put it in a ultrasonic bath will also use some isopropyl alcohol to dry it off,

I have checked everywhere else inside and the water stickers are still white so they haven't tripped,

but I don't know how its gotten damp ?