Mac – Bluetooth Automatically Pairs with “Broadcom Bluetooth Device”

audiobluetoothmacmojave

I'm experiencing a very annoying issue (Mojave 10.14.1).

When I am staying at a hotel (which I do frequently for work), my computer constantly pairs with devices called "Broadcom Bluetooth Device". It doesn't just discover them – it automatically pairs with them and immediately interferes with legitimate connections to my AirPods or other bluetooth headphones. It breaks and chops the audio into complete, unintelligible, stuttering uselessness.

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I have to manually disconnect these things every 1-2 minutes.

I've looked for a few solutions:

  • One mentions turning Handoff "off". My Handoff is, in fact, off.

  • Another mentions that this issue only crops up when a browser window is open; this happens to me regardless.

  • Another mentions using Terminal to 'sudo write' the DontPageAudioDevices value in the bluetooth .plist file in my library to '1'. I have done this, and it fixed the problem partially: the connections to this device have become less frequent, and my computer will automatically disconnect after a few seconds, but usually not quick enough to prevent it from disrupting my audio just the same.

I'm running out of places to treasure hunt for a solution. I don't know why my computer is so stubbornly determined to connect to these random, unknown devices to the point of disrupting fundamental user experience.

Does anybody have a legit solution to force my computer to cease this behavior? This seems like a massive bug that doesn't have a lot of attention. Any help is appreciated.

Best Answer

Running Mojave 10.14.5 and also experiencing the EXACT same issues as described.

Currently tried deleting bluetooth preferences files, resetting the bluetooth module, and restarting my macbook to see if I run into the same issues.

If same issues persist, then hotel rooms may be a pain in the a** till a concrete solution is found.


UPDATE


Followed answer in this post to add a MAC address to the "IgnoredDevices" in the bluetooth.plist file and it seems to be working.

Using the terminal, Type sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist IgnoredDevices -array-add ''

Good Luck!