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UberWeasel
20
Feb 20, 2016
Ok, so I ordered the Asus BT-400 bluetooth dongle and got it same day delivery. I've been using it for a little while on my 2013 Mac Pro and so far no disconnects. Sadly, it's not as simple as plugging it in and going. You'll need to download the "Hardware IO Tools for Xcode" from Apple. To do so, you first need a (free) developer account. Here are the steps I took to get the new dongle up and running:
1. If you don't already have an Apple Developers Account, sign up for one. It's free. https://developer.apple.com/register/ 2. Plug in your shiny new dongle. 3. Open System Preferences -> Bluetooth - keep this window visible. 4. Download "Hardware IO Tools for Xcode 7.1" from https://developer.apple.com/downloads/ 5. Open the dmg file and copy "Bluetooth Explorer" to your Applications folder 6. Start "Bluetooth Explorer" 7. Click Tools -> "HCI Controller Selector" 8. Pick your new dongle (It'll be the one NOT labeled "Apple") 9. Click Activate. In the System Preferences window you should see all your bluetooth devices disappear and then repair automatically. You should now be set.
This will probably work with other dongles, but YMMV. I can say this one seems to work.
I've been in touch with the Massdrop support team and they are going to put this info in the drop description as well. Hopefully this helps some of you!
Varholiaglimp
939
Feb 25, 2016
UberWeaselUberWeasel: I'll probably try your method with another bluetooth dongle once my White Fox arrives. Thanks for the detailed writeup.
UberWeasel
20
Feb 25, 2016
VarholiaglimpJust wanted to report in, I've been using it now for roughly 6 days of 8-10 hours each day without issue. I think the dongle was the ticket. I'm pretty sure it's a matter of what BT chipset some Macs use, and my 2013 Mac Pro clearly has one that the VB87M doesn't like. Be nice if we had a direct line to Varmilo to communicate this issue to them as I would be more than happy to be their guinea pig testing firmwares.
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