Are you looking for CPU hungry processes or out of curiosity have a look into the Activity indicator thrown and found the bluetoothd process? Then you might be wondering what that is. Only in rare cases does bluetoothd consume a large amount of processor and memory. If this is the case for you, you will find a few solutions here. But first, let's clarify what bluetoothd actually is and why the process runs on the Apple Mac under macOS.
Note: In OS X, the process was called "blued".
Chapter in this post:
- 1 The bluetoothd process on the Mac: Bluetooth Daemon from macOS
- 2 High CPU load due to bluetoothd: What's going on?
- 3 The difference between blued and bluetoothd
- 4 Solve more Bluetooth problems on your Mac
- 5 Summary of bluetoothd on the Apple Mac
- 6 My tips & tricks about technology & Apple
- 7 Similar posts
The bluetoothd process on the Mac: Bluetooth Daemon from macOS
The name of the background process belonging to macOS is set bluetooth for the radio link of the same name and d for "Daemon" together. A daemon describes a process that is started automatically by the system and is important for the interaction between the machine and its users. More about it here: What is a daemon?
The bluetooth daemon bluetoothd takes care of the connections with Bluetooth devices (mouse, keyboard, speakers, headphones, graphics tablet, iPhone, iPad, HomePod, game controller, etc.), assigns appropriate network addresses and enables communication between Mac and radio device during the eventual use. So the process is wanted and necessary, you don't have to worry about it.
The counterpart for physically connected devices: hidd process on Mac
High CPU load by bluetoothd: what's going on?
As already mentioned at the beginning, the case where Bluetoothd goes crazy and permanently uses double-digit percentage values on the CPU is extremely rare. However, if the process causes a high CPU load, the first thing you should do is locate the device responsible. Open to it System Settings -> Bluetooth and disconnects from the last paired Bluetooth device.
If this reduces the CPU load, you have already found the reason. The first step is to connect the device again. If the problem occurs again, disconnect it again and also delete it from the list of Bluetooth devices on the Mac (right-click -> To ignore -> Ignore device). Then restart the Bluetooth device and pair it with the Mac again.
If none of this helped, you should also restart your Mac. Finally, if restarting the Mac doesn't help, you can reset the NVRAM and SMC on Macs with Intel processors. To explain this in detail here would go beyond the scope. That's why I refer you to these two instructions at this point:
- Instructions: NVRAM, PRAM and SMC Reset on Mac without T2 chip
- Instructions: SMC reset on MacBooks with T2 processor
The difference between blued and bluetoothd
There is basically no difference between the two daemons, both of which perform the same tasks on the Mac. However, come blued only in older operating systems, and bluetoothd in the more recent ones. I haven't found any reliable information about the reason for the name change. I also couldn't determine the exact time when Apple changed the name from blued to bluetoothd.
But at least the daemon should be in OS X 10.11 El Capitan still called “blued”. Away macOS 10.13 High Sierra I then find articles that report on “bluetoothd”. I couldn't determine exactly whether the Bluetooth daemon was in macOS 10.12Sierra nun blued or bluetoothd is called. If you use this system, please take a look and leave a comment :)
Solve more Bluetooth problems on your Mac
If your Bluetooth problems are not related to high resource utilization, but rather to general connection problems, lag or connection interruptions, then we have a few solutions for that too. From resetting the Bluetooth module to deleting certain .plist files to the rather counterintuitive disconnecting of USB accessories, everything is included: Bluetooth Problems on Mac - 5 Measures That Can Help!
Summary of bluetoothd on the Apple Mac
On the Apple Mac, the bluetoothd process is a daemon required by macOS that manages the connection and communication with Bluetooth devices. It is usually a stable background process that does not cause any problems. If there is a high system load, individual connected devices or a bug can be identified as the reason. Restarts and a fresh connection should be the first attempts at solving this problem. For additional problems and connection complications, there are further solutions in a separate post.
My tips & tricks about technology & Apple
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After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.
