IOGear GBU521...won't find keyboard or trackpad

[gringojason]

I am about to go insane. I have spent hours on this, reading through the forums, searching for a solution and cannot find anything that works.

New build with 10.8.2 (ML)
Gigabyte UD5H
i7 3770k

I think those are all the details you need. I ran through all the guides (UniBeast, MultiBeast) here for my motherboard and all is running well...except for BT.

I got the IOGear GBU521 because it is supposed to work OOB. Sure enough, the system recognizes the BT dongle, but when I try to pair my wireless Apple keyboard and my Magic Trackpad, it does not find either of them. Just spins and says "Searching for Bluetooth devices".

So, this is what I have done to try to solve the issue:

- Pushed the buttons on both keyboard and trackpad to get the blinking lights (more times than I can count)
- Put in fresh batteries
- Moved the dongle from USB 3.0 to 2.0 (someone posted they will only recognize devices on 2.0)
- Moved to dongle from back to front for better range (devices are within 2 feet of dongle)
- Rebooted (numerous times)
- Rebooted with typing in: "-f UserKernalCache=No" in attempt to clear cache
- Checked the kext to see that device is there (it is, as expected in ML)

And nothing has worked. It simply is not seeing the devices. Please...before I go insane...does anyone have any ideas? Thanks...

Jason.

 

[gringojason]

Ok, I added something else to the list of things I tried: I formatted my drive and re-ran the UniBeast install and MultiBeast set-up. Same issue. Everything runs great. Bluetooth is there, but it will not find my Magic Trackpad or Apple Wireless Keyboard. "Searching for bluetooth devices", but nothing.

Any suggestions at all? Please help. Thanks...

 

[gringojason]

Solved: I ditched the IOGear and bought a "zoom" brand. Worked right OOB for me. I don't know what was up with the IOGear, but I tried 2 different units and could not get them to work.

 

[carpenge]

I am about to go insane. I have spent hours on this, reading through the forums, searching for a solution and cannot find anything that works.

New build with 10.8.2 (ML)
Gigabyte UD5H
i7 3770k

I think those are all the details you need. I ran through all the guides (UniBeast, MultiBeast) here for my motherboard and all is running well...except for BT.

I got the IOGear GBU521 because it is supposed to work OOB. Sure enough, the system recognizes the BT dongle, but when I try to pair my wireless Apple keyboard and my Magic Trackpad, it does not find either of them. Just spins and says "Searching for Bluetooth devices".

So, this is what I have done to try to solve the issue:

- Pushed the buttons on both keyboard and trackpad to get the blinking lights (more times than I can count)
- Put in fresh batteries
- Moved the dongle from USB 3.0 to 2.0 (someone posted they will only recognize devices on 2.0)
- Moved to dongle from back to front for better range (devices are within 2 feet of dongle)
- Rebooted (numerous times)
- Rebooted with typing in: "-f UserKernalCache=No" in attempt to clear cache
- Checked the kext to see that device is there (it is, as expected in ML)

And nothing has worked. It simply is not seeing the devices. Please...before I go insane...does anyone have any ideas? Thanks...

Jason.

I am having a similar issue with the same dongle. Except for me the MT pairs and works, it finds the keyboard but will not pair. Just thought I'd add this as an FYI even though no one in the community has responded. Yet.

 

[xpsycho]

I am using the same board, chip, and USB dongle and mine are working perfectly.. I found out that as long as you have the GBU512 in a USB 2.0 slot then it will work fine. Just set up the trackpad first by holding the button on the side during the whole process. DO NOT HOLD IT UNTIL SYNC or it won't work. you must hold it and the green light must stay on in order for it to work. Then the same goes with the keyboard. Hold the button even when typing in the code.. Once that is done, it will work..

Good luck.

 

[psutoad]

I was wondering if you ever had any joy over getting your IOGEAR adapter to work? I've been stumped on this for a few days now, and haven't found anything to help

 

[oculto]

I researched a lot about this and i found that iogear GBU521 is not compatible with USB 3.0 ports or even USB 2.0 ports when using XHCI ENABLE in BIOS, with route all USB ports to XHCI driver (mavericks or windows) with properly create virtual USB 2.0 hubs to all back compatibility devices. In this mode, iogear GBU521 are recognized by the system (mavericks or windows) but not pair any devices.

with XHCI DISABLE or set to MANUAL (some BIOS allow user to route some ports to EHCI and other to XHCI) you can pair any devices with GBU521, but if it was plugged on a chain (like monitor->keyboard->GBU521) all devices in that chain will drive by EHCI USB 2.0 mode, even if they are USB 3.0 capable, like DELL U2713H monitors hub and card readers in the same chain.

it also won't work if you plug it on a USB 2.0 native if in BIOS XHCI was enabled. You can see what driver (EHCI or XHCI) are manage the device using system report (mavericks) or device management (windows). Follow the three, if iogear is under a XHCI device with control USB 3.0 and 2.0 hubs, it won't pair anything.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
1) mavericks/windows new XHCI driver (by the way, intel develop a new USB 3.0 exclusive to series 8 boards)
2) change to another brand bluetooth 4.0 with the same chipset (BCM20702) and test...
3) re-route all USB manually, if your bios allow it, and put iogear GBU521 alone in a single native USB 2.0 hub controlled by EHCI driver. In this case, you probably loose some USB 3.0 capabilities if there is one single USB 2.0 devices on a chain plugged at 3.0 port (blue).


BE AWARE, if you put iogear GBU521 on a USB 3.0 (blue ones) with XHCI ENABLE, it will be burned in less than 2 minutes. it will become hotter, hotter and die...

 

[Mari0]

One more suggestion before you will buy another dongle: try a USB 2.0 powered socket. (could you charge a phone in this socket?)

 

[toleda]

In this mode, iogear GBU521 are recognized by the system (mavericks or windows) but not pair any devices.

Excellent research. Same issue with other BT 4.0 USB dongles. A Mavericks OOB working BCM 2070A02 USB dongle is GMYLE (TM) Micro USB Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle Dual Mode w/ Low Energy Technology.

 

[jwk]

Excellent research. Same issue with other BT 4.0 USB dongles. A Mavericks OOB working BCM 2070A02 USB dongle is GMYLE (TM) Micro USB Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle Dual Mode w/ Low Energy Technology.

I'm not clear about what you are saying here toledo- are you saying that you have a GMYLE w/ BCM2070A02 in Mavericks does not exhibit the same pairing problem that the GBU521 does?
Do you consider the GMYLE BT4.0 a better choice than the GBU521?


This thread is very surprising to me. I have a Gigabyte UD5H (I have a Rev. 1.1 board) with i7-3770K and Mountain Lion 10.8.2 and a ioGear GBU521 just like the thread starter and have had absolutely no problems with it. I don't use a wireless keyboard with it, just a Magic Mouse. I have a wired Apple branded keyboard plugged into one of two USB2 ports above the Firewire and eSATA connectors on the motherboard rear panel and the GBU521 is plugged into a USB2 port on the keyboard. Sleep and wake from sleep using the Magic Mouse or keyboard work and I have left this build sleeping for up to a week and it awakened with one click of the Magic Mouse. There is a slight delay from the time it wakes up until the mouse cursor becomes active (2 or maybe 3 seconds)- I don't know what is 'normal' for a real Mac.

The GBU521 worked so well for the UD5H, I bought several more for several Gigabyte H67N-USB3-B3 builds I have. The GBU521's are plugged into the front panel USB2 ports. I use Apple Wireless Keyboards and Magic Mice with them and have experienced no problems pairing or in actual use. I haven't tested the range with them, but one of the later builds is in my A/V rack in living room and works from across the living room flawlessly with Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse.

All of the GBU521's were purchased in January or February of 2014, and they are the English language retail packaging only, not the English/Spanish version packaging. I don't know if any of this makes a difference; I noticed all of the posts in this thread are from 2013, and don't know if IOGEAR made any changes in their production run.

BTW, I am not a fan of the Apple Magic Trackpad, so I can provide no information about how that product works with the GBU521.