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I have a Apple Magic Keyboard and Trackpad 2 connected to a MacBook Pro 2014 via USB. If I open up Bluetooth preferences I can still see both of these devices listed.

I'd like to completely disable any Bluetooth communication and use USB as the only communication channel.

How can I achieve this?

Allan
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potato
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  • Curious, and perhaps a confirmation. Does the trackpad still work without connecting via bluetooth? – KYu Mar 26 '19 at 15:08

1 Answers1

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If I open up Bluetooth preferences I can still see both of these devices listed.

Yes. These are the Bluetooth devices that you system has remembered. Just because they are listed doesn't mean they are connected.

If you want to remove a device, go into System Preferences -> Bluetooth, then select the device, right (or Option) click it, then select "Remove"

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I'd like to completely disable any Bluetooth communication and use usb as the only communication channel.

Turn off Bluetooth and plug in a USB keyboard/trackpad.

You can turn off Bluetooth by going to the same screen and clicking the button "Turn Bluetooth Off"

As for the keyboard and track pad, they are both Bluetooth 4.2 LE (Low Energy) devices. This means they don't transmit anything unless they are paired (or pairing) with another device. They sit in "listen mode" until it receives the signal to being broadcasting. Basically, there's nothing to turn off.

Allan
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    Thanks for taking your time. Is it also possible to stop keyboard and trackpad from emitting any bluetooth signal at all? Basically, if you can see it under bluetooth settings, that means that it it is emitting messages. – potato Dec 12 '18 at 20:18
  • That means it received a packet from the computer and is responding. I added info to the answer that addresses that point. – Allan Dec 12 '18 at 20:29
  • I appreciated this answer. after turning bluetooth off on the Mac my Magic devices were connected to, I was not able to discover them via my phone, tablet, or alternate laptop. – John Harrington Sep 10 '22 at 01:59