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MacBook Pro Mid 2012 readily connects to all my modern Bluetooth devices except it doesn't see my new Sony SRS XB43 speaker.

I turn off any devices that my MBP tries to connect to so only the Sony speaker is available with its Bluetooth light blinking to indicate attempting to pair, but it has never shown up on the MBP Bluetooth list.

The speaker readily connects to my iPhone 6 Plus.

From the Sony specs page:

Bluetooth

Communication System
Version 5.0

Compatible Profiles
A2DP/AVRCP/HSP/HFP/SPP

Supported Codecs
SBC,AAC,LDAC

From MBP system report

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 7.0.6f8
Hardware, Features and Settings:
Name: Mr’s MacBook Pro

Address: 14-10-9F-D0-3B-20
Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes
Handoff Supported: Yes
Instant Hot Spot Supported: Yes
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Transport: USB

Chipset: 20702A3
Firmware Version: v156 c5918
Bluetooth Power: On
Discoverable: On
Connectable: Yes
Auto Seek Pointing: On
Remote wake: On
Vendor ID: 0x05AC

Product ID: 0x8286
Bluetooth Core Spec: 4.0 (0x6)
HCI Revision: 0x171E
LMP Version: 4.0 (0x6)
LMP Subversion: 0x229C
Device Type (Major): Computer
Device Type (Complete): Mac Portable
Composite Class Of Device: 0x38010C
Device Class (Major): 0x01
Device Class (Minor): 0x03
Service Class: 0x1C0
Auto Seek Keyboard: On

Is there a way to manually enter the device address of the speaker to my MBP?

I have restarted MBP, debug Bluetooth on MBP to reset module, restarted again, turned speaker off and on etc.

Is the MBP so old now it cant see modern Bluetooth devices? I havent been able to test this idea yet with a modern Mac to see if it can discover the speaker.

Any help much appreciated thank you

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  • Welcome to Ask Different. What version of macOS do you have? According to the SRS-XB43 User Guide (helpguide.sony.net/speaker/srs-xb43/v1/en/contents/…), " the unit is compatible with iOS 10.0 or later. A BLUETOOTH connection is not available on the devices with iOS 9.x or earlier." which hints to a lack of support for older OS.
    – jaume
    May 18, 2021 at 6:01

1 Answer 1

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Thankyou for the level of detail you've provided. Saying that, it's unclear from Sony's spec page as to backwards compatibility.

Your MacBook can do up to bluetooth 4.0, the speaker is 5.0, which according to the standard is backwards compatible with 4.0 & 4.1.

When you say you've debugged bluetooth on MacBook, what steps did you use?

The bluetooth module is combined with wifi, so if you reset it I'm imagining you needed to setup wifi again?

If your investigation doesn't go anywhere, an option would be to buy a small usb bluetooth 5 dongle. You may need to tell the Mac to ignore the built in module. Details here. Force OS X to use Bluetooth dongle instead of built in controller

Hope you are able to resolve it. If not usb adaptors are pretty cheap.

Sorry should've added that specifying an address in bluetooth is not really a thing. device and service discovery are really the only path to connecting any bluetooth device.

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  • Thank you Michael, steps to debug bluetooth, Holding the Shift + Option (Alt) keys on your Mac's keyboard, click the Bluetooth symbol in the top-right corner of the macOS menu bar. Locate the revealed Debug submenu and hover your mouse cursor over it. Click Reset the Bluetooth module. restart your Mac.
    – Swenny
    May 19, 2021 at 3:42
  • How did you determine bluetooth version 4.0? Is that the "LMP Version: 4.0" in his system report? I have also an old MacBookPro8,3 with OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) on it and want to get a bluetooth speaker but am worried it won't work...
    – user9645
    Jan 12 at 16:18

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