If you own three different identical Apple Magic Keyboards, or multiple pairs of AirPods, the standard Mac Bluetooth menu simply lists them all as “AirPods” or “Magic Keyboard.” If you need to troubleshoot a specific device that keeps disconnecting, you need to know exactly which piece of hardware you are looking at.
Every single Bluetooth device in the world has a unique, globally distinct UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) or MAC Address. macOS hides this highly technical information from normal users. You can safely extract these hidden hardware identifiers to definitively track and troubleshoot your exact wireless peripherals.
How to Safely Extract Mac Bluetooth Device UUIDs
You must use the System Information profiler to extract the raw Bluetooth radio data.
- Look at the top-left corner of your Mac screen and click the Apple Logo.
- Before clicking anything else, press and hold the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard.
- While holding the Option key, click the first menu item, which has magically changed from “About This Mac” to System Information…
- A complex hardware diagnostic window will open. Let go of the Option key.
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, look under the Hardware category and click on Bluetooth.
- The main pane will now populate with raw data directly from your Mac’s Bluetooth radio antenna.
Scroll down to the Devices (Paired, Configured, etc.) section. You will see the human-readable names of your devices (like “Dave’s AirPods”). Directly underneath that name, you will see a field labeled Address: followed by a 12-character code (e.g., A1:B2:C3:D4:E5:F6). This is the exact, unchangeable hardware ID of that specific pair of headphones. You can use this ID to identify the exact peripheral, even if you rename it in the Bluetooth menu.