Troubleshooting Bluetooth 1.5: "Allow other devices to browse" workaround

We previously reported on a relatively minor issue where the "allow other Bluetooth devices to browse" option is turned on by default - a potential security risk.

However, we've now heard from a number of readers that unchecking "allow other devices to browse" can solve problems with some Bluetooth devices.

Dave Bastedo writes "After the Bluetooth 1.5 update, our Bluetooth mouse wouldn't work. I reinstalled the update as per MacFixIt and it worked that day but not the next. During some of this time we were sharing files through airport between the affected computer and another mac in our home. [...]

"Saturday bluetooth could not discover the mouse, but seemed very preoccupied during its attempt to discover devices. I finally had to shut down. Yesterday, I went to bluetooth and unchecked the 'allow other devices' and lo and behold, the mouse was discovered and worked. I don't know that this change prompted bluetooth to work, but it is interesting that bluetooth works now where it didn't for several days before."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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