Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 21, 2017
2,148
4,329
Back End of Beyond
I just received an iMac Pro in pristine condition for an incredibly low price. The only issue it has is that bluetooth will not turn on (something I knew when purchasing it). I would like to see if that can be fixed. When checking the System Report I see this:

Bluetooth Controller:
Address: NULL
State: Off
Chipset: BCM_4350C2
Discoverable: Off
Firmware Version: v0 c0
Product ID: 0x0001
Supported services: 0x382039 < HFP AVRCP A2DP HID Braille AACP GATT Serial >
ransport: UART
Vendor ID: 0x004C (Apple)

Which is the same as what I see on my iMac 2020 when the bluetooth is off, except that the Chipset is BCM_4364B3 and the Firmware Version there is listed as v79 c4198.

So is the bluetooth on the Pro toast or does it just need firmware installed? It came with Monterey 12.0.1 installed and I updated that to 12.4 just too see if it would install the missing firmware but no go.

Any ideas?
 

Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68030
Oct 13, 2021
2,528
5,146
Possibly damaged or missing. I have no idea if the BT module is separate or user replaceable but if so check out the iFixit website for possible parts/instructions.
 

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 21, 2017
2,148
4,329
Back End of Beyond
On the iMac Pro it isn't a separate module that is user replaceable, but is part of the same chip as the Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is working but bluetooth is not. It's not super important to me since I use a wired keyboard, mouse and trackpad, but would be nice to get working.
 

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 21, 2017
2,148
4,329
Back End of Beyond
So I figured I'd give the diagnostics a try but I'm running into a problem trying to get that to actually run.

The instructions are to shut down the iMac then:
  1. Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold the D key on your keyboard as your Mac starts up.
  2. Release when you see a progress bar or you're asked to choose a language.
So far I've seen one of three things happen:
  1. The iMac starts in recovery mode.
  2. The iMac looks like it wants to start in recovery mode but even leaving it on for hours it still shows the spinning globe.
  3. The iMac shows a globe with an exclamation point and says support.apple.com/mac/startup -2003D
I'm stumped at the moment.
 

appltech

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2020
688
167
Baked firmware/microcode on that BT module. The same story as with baked iPhone broadbands, where iPhone stops making the calls and a reset destroys it completely
Anyway, you can try with NVRAM reset (from a Terminal run nvram -c | or | sudo nvram -c)
 
  • Like
Reactions: johannnn

rpmurray

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 21, 2017
2,148
4,329
Back End of Beyond
Baked firmware/microcode on that BT module. The same story as with baked iPhone broadbands, where iPhone stops making the calls and a reset destroys it completely
Anyway, you can try with NVRAM reset (from a Terminal run nvram -c | or | sudo nvram -c)
Thanks, I gave that a try but no go. I got:

nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted​

but a quick check showed that all the other variables were cleared before I restarted.

I did finally get the diagnostics to run by using option-D instead of just D. It reported no hardware problems.
 

jsts

macrumors member
May 20, 2011
41
7
Georgia
I have same situation on classic Mac Pro 5,1 (2012): bluetooth (bought in 2018 on Ebay) BCM943602 CD PAX on the Monterey 12.4 does not work, shows "off", the "Enable" button in the system settings does not react (on Mojave, it works).

Bluetooth Controller: Address: NULL State: Off Chipset: BCM_4350C2 Discoverable: Off Firmware Version: v0 c0 Product ID: 0x0001 Supported services: 0x382039 < HFP AVRCP A2DP HID Braille AACP GATT Serial > Transport: USB Vendor ID: 0x004C (Apple)

At the same time Wi-Fi works successfully. Did you have a solution?
 

jsts

macrumors member
May 20, 2011
41
7
Georgia
Ah, I found the answer (1, 2, 3). The problem is that Monterey removed support for the old USB 1.1 bus used in the MacPro5.1 for Bluetooth data (BT is connected to the USB 1.1 port). Now I'm trying to figure out if OpenCore can be used to solve this issue.
 

AndreiC1011

macrumors newbie
Jan 16, 2024
10
1
Ah, I found the answer (1, 2, 3). The problem is that Monterey removed support for the old USB 1.1 bus used in the MacPro5.1 for Bluetooth data (BT is connected to the USB 1.1 port). Now I'm trying to figure out if OpenCore can be used to solve this issue.
Have you managed anything with the bluetooth? I am having the exact same issue... 1 week ago it was working for me on OCLP Monterey, made a new install and now it is not working...
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.