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Mac Mini Bluetooth Failures/Disconnects – Possible Solution

For the last few years, we've used a Mac Mini as a multi-purpose device in the lounge to let us browse the internet through our TV, stream music from other computers, use Spotify, watch iPlayer, play DVDs and record TV using Elgato hardware. We got a second-hand 2006 version with a 1.6GHz Core Duo from eBay, which wasn't really that expensive, considering how much it gets used, and immediately maxed out the RAM to give it the best chance of keeping up with Flash and other such monsters.

Unfortunately the Bluetooth hardware started failing regularly, after periods of as little as 30 minutes use. This meant that the wireless keyboard and mouse that let you browse from the sofa would lose their connection, and made the whole system quite irritating in daily use. Of course, a USB keyboard/mouse would let you carry on using the machine but they are not practical in the living room set-up, and the wireless solution is so elegant.

Some early digging for causes and solutions revealed this blog posting that suggested downloading SMC Fan Control, a free utility that allows you to specify the fan speed for your computer instead of having it automatically drop to the lowest safe speed. Some bright spark had noticed that the Bluetooth tended to cut when processor temperatures were too high, and showed that by increasing fan speed the temperature could be brought down, usually resulting in resumption of normal Bluetooth services. I tried this, and it definitely worked, but only for a while. The problem gradually crept back, and with really high fan speeds, I found the noise distracting whilst watching movies or listening to music. So I have fashioned a new solution that seems to have fixed the problem. It's not pretty but it has worked so far, and I thought I'd share it. As always, proceed at your own risk, I'm not responsible for any adverse outcomes of the method described here.

In the photo above, you can see that I have unscrewed and released a little circuit board that carries some of the Bluetooth module's electronics, and it's now floating about an inch above its usual position, supported by two cables. From my experience, it appears that this little board is the part that gets too hot and kills your connection. Note that this is not the main AirPort card, which is much larger and is buried deep in the bowels of the machine.

To release it, you will need to first pry the case off of your unplugged Mac Mini, perhaps following these instructions over at Method Shop. In fact, there are also a couple of pictures at their site which show how to remove the Airport antenna at the top right of the machine (the green circuit board in my picture), which you'll need to do in order to unscrew the little Bluetooth board pictured above. I put the screw from the Bluetooth board back into the slot where it came from and left the board flying high above everything else, where the air circulation can keep it cool.

As a result, I've decided to leave the case off the Mac Mini permanently, which is probably not ideal but I've had no problems so far and plenty of game modders run their PCs wide open so I'm not too fussed. As an aside, simply removing the Mac Mini case did not fix the problem in itself, despite me trying it for a few weeks - it wasn't until the Bluetooth board was "flying" that the disconnections stopped. If you were so inclined, you could possibly cut a hole in the top of the Mac Mini case and feed the wires through, allowing you to replace the lid with the board hovering outside. But I can't be bothered with that, and the machine is tucked away under our TV so it's out of harm's way. You can hear the fan more clearly now because the case that I've removed is intended to reduce some of the noise, but it's not unbearable and it doesn't need to run so fast anyway because the machine is naturally cooler. I don't notice it now during the quiet moments of a DVD.

So there you go, I thought I'd give something back to the people who always provide help on the internet. Hope somebody somewhere finds it useful!

And a parting thought - if you have a technology problem, Google it. Learn how to Google it good and hard. I seldom find that someone else hasn't already provided a solution that works.