84 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2021
WORKINGMAC RESET A MAC’S BLUETOOTH SETTINGSTo access
Bluetooth’s
reset
options,
hold down
Shift and
Option and
click the
Bluetooth
menu in
the menu
bar.
In any version of macOS, hold down
Shift and Option and click the Bluetooth
menu in the menu bar. (If that menu
doesn’t appear, open the Bluetooth
preference
pane and
check
“Show
Bluetooth in
menu bar.”)
In Big
Sur or later,
click to
open the
Control
Center and
then hold
down Shift
and Option
as you click
the right-pointing arrow located in the
Bluetooth lozenge.
You have three reset options. If you
have an intractable problem, I suggest
starting with “Reset the Bluetooth module”
and then restarting your Mac. This should
clear up most problems without requiring
any further intervention.
If you still have devices you can’t
remove or pair properly, try “Remove all
devices.” You then have to re-pair any
Bluetooth hardware you use with your Mac.
The third of those reset options,
“Factor reset all connected Apple
devices,” lets you nuke the settings on
Apple keyboards, earbuds, headphones,
trackpads, and mice all at once and
restore them to their factory state. ■In Big Sur or later, you can access the Bluetooth settings in the Control Center.