Can a Bluetooth Scanner Car detect your sleeping Mac? This article explores the possibility of Bluetooth detection in sleep mode and discusses methods to prevent it.
Macs offer a setting “Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer” found in System Preferences > Bluetooth > Advanced. This setting, enabled by default, suggests that the Mac might be receptive to Bluetooth signals even while asleep. However, the description indicates this feature applies only to already paired devices like keyboards, mice, and trackpads. This raises the question: could a Bluetooth scanner car detect a Mac despite these limitations?
The functionality of Bluetooth scanners remains unclear. Can they detect a Bluetooth signal from a sleeping Mac even without prior pairing? For complete confidence, disabling Bluetooth entirely during sleep mode might be necessary. One method involves using Keyboard Maestro, a macro utility, and blueutil, a command-line Bluetooth utility.
A Keyboard Maestro macro triggered on sleep can execute the command /usr/local/bin/blueutil --power 0 --discoverable 0. This command disables both Bluetooth power and discoverability, ensuring the Mac is undetectable by Bluetooth scanners. Upon waking, another macro can re-enable Bluetooth using /usr/local/bin/blueutil --power 1 or enable Bluetooth and discoverability with /usr/local/bin/blueutil --power 1 --discoverable 1.
While logical arguments suggest a sleeping, unpaired Mac shouldn’t be detectable, the existence of specialized Bluetooth scanners that might detect even passive Bluetooth signals can’t be ruled out. Further, older macOS versions and Mac hardware allowed paired devices to wake a sleeping Mac, even with the lid closed.
In conclusion, while the likelihood of a Bluetooth scanner car detecting a sleeping Mac is low, using tools like Keyboard Maestro and blueutil to disable Bluetooth during sleep provides absolute certainty against detection. This offers peace of mind for users concerned about Bluetooth security and privacy.
