How to Fix: Bluetooth Won’t Turn Off on Mac

Bluetooth is one of the best wireless technologies on the Mac device that is used for exchanging data between users. We all need Bluetooth to provide a wireless connection between the two devices. As Bluetooth is wireless, it is very convenient to use anywhere to share photos or videos, or any important files.

Some users find the issue of not turning off the Bluetooth in macOS. I know it is quite frustrating when you try to click the icon on the menu bar to turn off the Bluetooth but nothing happens. This issue has been found mainly in macOS High Sierra, if you find this issue in newer macOS versions then we can simply fix it with just a few steps.

• Issue with High Sierra:

One of the common problems that we have faced is using a certain version of the High Sierra. Now, if you are still seeing this issue and your Mac is still not updated from High Sierra. Then you can do is to check your current version and the best solution is to update your Mac system to the newest macOS update.

Updating to the newest version may solve this issue. The users with the version of High Sierra have been facing the problem of not turning off the Bluetooth. But, it turns out that it was a bug in macOS in which Bluetooth is turned off. However, the Bluetooth is off, but it still shows users that it is on. This is a bug that has been fixed with macOS updates later on.

If there is no newest macOS update or you are unable to fix with macOS updates then you can just do one thing is to reboot your Mac and then it will show the status correctly and you can check that if the Bluetooth is really On or Off.

If restarting the Mac doesn’t solve the problem, then you may try the following solutions given below:

Delete ‘com.apple.Bluetooth.plist’:-

1. Go to the Desktop and type com.apple.Bluetooth.plist in the search box menu.
2. It will find this file under Libraries/Preferences.
3. Once it has been found, delete it or drag it to the trash can.
4. Restart your Mac and you can now see that Bluetooth is turned off.

When you reboot your Mac, it will create a new com.apple.Bluetooth.plist file. What happens is sometimes, this file can get corrupted and this is the reason for causing the Bluetooth issues. So, deleting that file and creating a new one can fix the Bluetooth issue right away.

Remember that, the above-given steps will remove all of the devices from the Bluetooth connection list and they will need to be repaired.

Reboot your Mac:-

Restarting your Mac is a simple yet effective solution; you can try rebooting your Mac before anything else. Maybe, the problem can be very simple and small and can be fixed by restarting. Try rebooting your Mac and see if that fixes the Bluetooth turn-off problem or not. If not, then you must try to fix it with other possible solutions.

Update macOS:-

As we are talking about the versions, it turns out that the Bluetooth issues are not just occurring due to the High Sierra macOS. But, it might be occurring because of some other glitch or file corruption problem. Whenever you are having trouble or an issue like this the first thing you can do is to check whether the Mac has come across any new latest updates or not.

If any updates are available click to update your Mac maybe not having the system up to date is the reason for facing all the glitches and corruption. I hope this solution helps you to fix this problem.

Reset the Bluetooth Module:-

Updating the macOS version doesn’t seem to fix this problem? then you must reset the Bluetooth Module. A reset may fix this issue.

1. Press and hold the Shift + Option keys and then click the Bluetooth symbol on the upper right side of the screen. Or else, you can enable Bluetooth by going to System Preferences. Click on Bluetooth and then select Show Bluetooth in the menu bar.
2. Select Reset Bluetooth Module, which is under a submenu called Debug.
3. After the reset is complete, make sure that you can turn Bluetooth off.
4. If not, restart your Mac through the Apple menu > Restart and check again.

Disconnect from All Bluetooth Devices:-

Every so often an available Bluetooth connection is a reason which can prevent you from turning the Bluetooth off. However, there is a way to fix this by disconnecting all the Bluetooth devices. Don’t know how to remove it? There is an easy way to disconnect the device and helps you to turn off the Bluetooth. Follow these steps to remove all devices.

1. Press and hold the Shift + Option buttons and then click on the Bluetooth symbol on the upper right side of the screen.
2. If you don’t see a Bluetooth symbol on your screen then, you can enable Bluetooth by going to System Preferences. Click on Bluetooth and then select Show Bluetooth in the menu bar.
3. Select the Remove All Devices option.
4. After selecting the Remove All Devices option, a pop-up message appears where you can click on the OK button to accept and continue.
5. All of your Bluetooth devices will be disconnected and can be removed from the computer.
6. Finally, after the devices have been removed. The last thing you can do is reboot your Mac and surely you can turn off the Bluetooth now.

Reset NVRAM or PRAM Memory:-

Resetting your NVRAM and PRAM can also allow you to sort out all the issues your system is facing like glitching and bugs. Follow the steps below to reset this.

1. Close down your Mac from the Apple menu.
2. Turn it back on and press and hold the Option + Command + P + R key all together till you hear the Mac starting sound.
3. Now, check whether you can turn off your Bluetooth or not.

Make sure that this solution works on some Macs only. On Macs with an Apple Silicon chip NVRAM/PRAM can’t be reset.

Reset SMC:-

The last resort of yours is to try resetting the SMC, the System Management Controller. Resetting SMC can also prevent your Mac from system glitches and bugs. If you are still facing Bluetooth won’t turn off the situation after trying every solution then, resetting the SMC is the last step you can do. Learn the following steps to do so.

1. Turn off your Mac through the Apple menu.
2. Press and hold the Shift + Control + Option + Power buttons altogether.
3. After that, free the keys at the same time.
4. Shut down your Mac.

However, if you have Mac with Apple silicone then, you can’t use this solution. But, there are different methods available to solve this problem. Which one is your favourite method?

Conclusion: 

It can be pretty stressful and annoying when you can’t turn off the Bluetooth. There are many reasons to keep turning off Bluetooth. Leaving your Bluetooth on all the time can be dangerous as anybody can try to get into your phone and might steal your data. So, you should turn off the Bluetooth if you are not using it. If you are having an issue with turning off the Bluetooth, hopefully, one of the above solutions helps you to solve this problem. Thanks for reading.