Mac “not supported” trying to make Bluetooth connection

Question

I’ve spent a couple of hours going through forums and support sites trying to resolve this. I’ve tried all of the simple solutions (mostly to reboot the iPad and Mac) and am still stuck.

Attempting to connect my iPad Air 4th-Gen to my Mac Mini 2014 (Monterey) results in failure, and an indication that the Mac Mini is “not supported”

Dead in the water here.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

See if this gets it:

Images

Mac - iPad BT MIDI with MDP2.png

Comments

Ta-Daaah!!

Yes indeed. Couple of questions though. This appears to NOT be a Bluetooth connection, at least it isn't showing up in the Bluetooth connections on either the iPad or the Mac. Is it Bluetooth LE? Something else? Just asking so if I need to trouble-shoot something in the future, I know what sub-system this is running through.

Also, is this a one-and-done, or do I need to follow this procedure each time I connect?

Finally (while I have you) this appears to be a bi-directional connection. Is MD2 set up to be able to read MIDI from the host, or can it only send MIDI messages? I'm not sure if the Mac app I'm working on sends state-changes on MIDI controlled parameters, but if MD2 can't process them, it's a moot point.

Thanks so much for your help.

Answer 2

See if this gets it:

Images

Mac - iPad BT MIDI with MDP2.png

Answer 3

re:  This appears to NOT be a Bluetooth connection, at least it isn't showing up in the Bluetooth connections on either the iPad or the Mac. Is it Bluetooth LE? Something else? Just asking so if I need to trouble-shoot something in the future, I know what sub-system this is running through.

- This IS a BT MIDI connection.  The BT connections you see under the BT menu on either MAC or iPad are audio or keyboard.  
- To see Bluetooth MIDI connections on the MAC, you look in AUDIO MIDI Setup / MIDI Studio.  
- To see BT MIDI on an iPad, you need to look in a MIDI BT app.

re: Also, is this a one-and-done, or do I need to follow this procedure each time I connect?

- The connection may be remembered, allowing skipping some of the steps.  You may be able to just turn on the "advertise" on the iPad, then click the connect in AUDIO MIDI Setup.  But sometimes not.  This is how Apple has configured the BT MIDI connection process.

re: Finally (while I have you) this appears to be a bi-directional connection. Is MD2 set up to be able to read MIDI from the host, or can it only send MIDI messages? I'm not sure if the Mac app I'm working on sends state-changes on MIDI controlled parameters, but if MD2 can't process them, it's a moot point.

- This is a two-way MIDI connection.  You can control MIDI inbound, outbound, or through in the MORE / CONFIG / CONNECTIONS menu.

Comments

Great...thanks!

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I am hearing the midimittr app may automate some of the BT LE connection process.  I have not tried it.  Looks like it is free.

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Thanks. I'll take a look at midimittr.

Answer 4

re:  This appears to NOT be a Bluetooth connection, at least it isn't showing up in the Bluetooth connections on either the iPad or the Mac. Is it Bluetooth LE? Something else? Just asking so if I need to trouble-shoot something in the future, I know what sub-system this is running through.

- This IS a BT MIDI connection.  The BT connections you see under the BT menu on either MAC or iPad are audio or keyboard.  
- To see Bluetooth MIDI connections on the MAC, you look in AUDIO MIDI Setup / MIDI Studio.  
- To see BT MIDI on an iPad, you need to look in a MIDI BT app.

re: Also, is this a one-and-done, or do I need to follow this procedure each time I connect?

- The connection may be remembered, allowing skipping some of the steps.  You may be able to just turn on the "advertise" on the iPad, then click the connect in AUDIO MIDI Setup.  But sometimes not.  This is how Apple has configured the BT MIDI connection process.

re: Finally (while I have you) this appears to be a bi-directional connection. Is MD2 set up to be able to read MIDI from the host, or can it only send MIDI messages? I'm not sure if the Mac app I'm working on sends state-changes on MIDI controlled parameters, but if MD2 can't process them, it's a moot point.

- This is a two-way MIDI connection.  You can control MIDI inbound, outbound, or through in the MORE / CONFIG / CONNECTIONS menu.