No bluetooth or usb on older mac mini help

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No bluetooth or usb on older mac mini help

Older Mac Mini help. Hello- I have a late 2012 model mac mini. I know it's old but with the upgrade last year to SSD and upgraded Ram it still runs great for our family. That said, I mistakenly allowed an OS update to run. It installed fine but I now have no connection via USB or Bluetooth so my wireless keyboard and trackpad do not work, and when I try a logitech keyboard/mouse it does not even recognize the USB-A dongle as being connected. So it boots but I have no control over anything. I have hard restarted many times. It goes to a screen for about 5 seconds asking which drive to booth from before switching to the apple logo and the boot bar. During this screen the cursor responds, but as soon as it begins to boot, and of course after done booting, I get nothing. It's as if all USB and bluetooth connectivity is turned off during the boot. I have done every google and AI search I can think of and can't seem to come up with anything. Any thoughts?

Posted on Nov 12, 2025 7:26 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 12, 2025 7:47 AM in response to kfp673

What OS version is currently running on the mini?

Please tell us about the boot drive options that are given at reboot.

If you have external drive(s) connected, then try booting with those disconnected.

Do you have Time Machine backup of this Mac?

If so, you might try booting from that drive and compare the result. TM backup drives through 10.15 Catalina may be bootable devices.

Using your wired USB keyboard and mouse, you should also try booting in safe mode.

Safe mode will often correct weird software behavior by forcing the OS to clear caches, do disk repair and other self-maintenance and housekeeping and temporarily disables third-party mods.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

TIP - Use a wired USB keyboard for this.

Does the same thing happen while in Safe mode?

You can exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then reevaluate the problem.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,196 points

Nov 12, 2025 12:00 PM in response to kfp673

"I'll see if I can get a wired keyboard but seems like I'm stuck. Thanks again!"

Does your bluetooth keyboard have rechargeable batteries? If so then connect it with its charging cable and it will run as a wired keyboard.

Unfortunately you can't do that with the mouse.

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Answer 3

kfp673 Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 12, 2025 9:58 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thanks for the reply. The issue is I can't seem to accomplish any of those things.

For OS, Sorry but I can't remember. It was an update that prompted on my mac yesterday so I would assume the latest. Yes I have time machine, but I have no access to the cursor to do anything so I can't boot from that. I don't have a wired keyboard and mouse. I can go buy one I guess but I'm concerned it still will not work as the 4 USB-A ports also do not seem to be registering. They provide power but no bings or any sign that USB is working. remember that I did try with logitech keyboard that has a USB dongle and again nothing after the boot.

Regarding safe mode, when I hold shift during a power on, it will bring me to a black screen and the only option is booth from the mac HD. Usually on this screen the mouse works, not always but usually, but it does not have the "boot in safe mode" option as usual, and it starts booting within 5 seconds even if I don't click anything.

I'll see if I can get a wired keyboard but seems like I'm stuck. Thanks again!

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