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Released April 2010 / 2.4, 2.53 GHz Core i5 or 2.66 GHz Core i7 Processors

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No Bluetooth after replacing WiFi/Bluetooth Airport module & cable

Folks.

I’m looking for some help or suggestions here on fixing my mid 2010 MacBook Pro. I ordered a replacement WiFi/Bluetooth module and cable from iFixIt and still nothing.

I tried to reset PRAM and the SMC controller and I’ve even rebuilt this machine from a new drive (SSD), thinking something with the software was hosed.

Does anyone have any suggestions on fixing Bluetooth? The WiFi portion works fine, but I consistently get the “Bluetooth not available” message.

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Can you go into your 'About this Mac' > System Report > USB section. Expand the upper section and the click on the Bluetooth UDB Host Controller section if its visible and paste a snapshot of it here for us to see Adding images to an existing question

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Dan, I uploaded a screen shot of both the USB and Bluetooh sections of the System Report. I do not see a Bluetooth UDB Host controller.

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It might be a filter along the bluetooth circuit..I’ve seen that a few times on 2009 13” Pros but never so far on the 15”. However the symptoms seem the same.

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Thanks for the input, but I'm not sure how that applies to the 15" model.. As I understand it, all of the circuitry is in the Wifi/Bluetooth module, and it connects to the main board with a ribbon cable.

I'm seriously beginning to wonder if my upgrading to El Capitan (now High Sierra) has something to do with it. I lost the bluetooth sometime after upgrading to El Capitan.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is some kind of scheme Apple cooked up to get people to buy new computers. I'm half tempted to slap in another drive and reload this thing with Snow Leopard (what it shipped with) and see if I get my Bluetooth back.

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@jmestrada69 There isn't much difference between 13" and 15" in bluetooth circuitry. The module still connects to the logic board and it goes as everything else to be elaborated by the system, other components supply power, etc..it's just a module that does the radio part of the job.

I can't be sure of anything without testing, of course, but from logic board repair experience I have had several 13" and one dual core i7 15" which I fixed by replacing filters. Apple didn't intentionally do anything special to break Bluetooth, most machines I dealt with in the last three years didn't have such issue despite running El Capitan or a later Os. Nor it seems a very common problem reported on this forum either.

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I think you’ll need to review the ribbon cable connectors I’m suspecting you have a bad pin

Here’s a snippet of the schematic

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As you can see the Bluetooth logic takes a different path than the WiFi even though its part of the same assembly.

As you don’t have a problem with the trackpad I think we need to focus on the pathway Vs a bad component first.

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Joaquin Estrada will be eternally grateful.
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