Set up Peripherals for Mac

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction: Mac: Setup Peripherals

There are many peripherals and accessories that you can connect to and use with your Apple Mac computer. This guide will go over how to setup and add common popular accessories and peripherals to your new machine.

Please ensure you have any and all cabling your new peripheral or accessory came packaged with in case it is necessary for initial setup.

2. macOS: Enable Bluetooth

1. Click the System Preferences icon.
   

1. Click the Bluetooth icon.
   

1. Bluetooth properties will open.
2. Ensure that Bluetooth status reads Bluetooth: On. If it is off, click Turn Bluetooth On to enable it.
   

1. Your computer will automatically begin searching for Bluetooth devices that may be in range.

3. macOS: Pairing: Magic Mouse

1. Connect the mouse to your Mac using the Lightning-to-USB cable. Plug the Lightning end into your mouse, and the USB end into your Mac.
   

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2. Flip the switch on the bottom of the mouse. You'll see a green light above it, indicating it's on.
   

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2. Wait for the device to pair. Your Mac will automatically pair the mouse with your computer.
   

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2. Allow the mouse to charge. The mouse will charge while it's plugged in. Disconnect it once the charge is full.
   

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2. Once the mouse is unplugged, it can be flipped over and used normally with your Mac computer.

The Magic Mouse 2 will not function while plugged in.

4. macOS: Bluetooth Menu Bar Icons

The Bluetooth menu bar icon in the upper-right of your display displays the status of Bluetooth and connected devices:

• Bluetooth is on, but there are no devices connected to your Mac.
  

• Bluetooth is on and at least one wireless device is connected.
  

• At least one wireless device has a low battery. Click the Bluetooth icon to identify the affected device, then replace its batteries.
  

• Bluetooth is off. Click the Bluetooth icon using a wired mouse or trackpad or the built-in trackpad on your Mac notebook and select Turn Bluetooth On.
  

• Bluetooth is offline and unavailable. Restart your Mac. If the Bluetooth status doesn’t change, disconnect all USB devices and restart your Mac again. If Bluetooth continues to show as unavailable, you might need to get your Mac serviced.
  

5. macOS: Pairing: Magic Trackpad

1. Flip the switch on the trackpad. You'll see a green light, indicating it's on.
   

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2. Connect the trackpad to your Mac using the Lightning-to-USB cable. Plug the Lightning end into your trackpad.
   

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2. Plug the USB end into any available USB port on your Mac.
   

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2. Wait for the device to pair. Your Mac will automatically pair the trackpad with your computer. You will receive a Ready to Use message once complete.
   

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2. The trackpad is now fully paired and can be used without the cable from this point forward. Don't forget to charge the trackpad whenever it is low on battery.

6. macOS: Pairing: Magic Keyboard

1. Turn your Magic Keyboard on.
   

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2. Now connect your Magic Keyboard to your Mac with the supplied lightning cable.
   

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2. Plug the USB end into any available USB port on your Mac.
   

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2. You will see a Connected message appear on-screen. This will disappear on it's own.
   

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2. Your Magic Keyboard is now connected to your Mac! You may disconnect the lightning cable as you can use this Magic Keyboard wirelessly. But don't forget to charge the keyboard whenever it is low on battery.

7. macOS: Pairing: AirPods

Pairing your AirPods with your iPhone also pairs them with your Mac. That's because iCloud will sync the pairing to any Mac on macOS Sierra. Manually pairing your AirPods with your Mac may not be necessary at all.

If your AirPods are not connected to your iPhone, you can pair them directly with your Mac.

1. With your AirPods in their case, open the lid.
   

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2. Press and hold the setup button on the back of the case until the status light flashes white.
   

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2. Click the System Preferences icon.
   

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2. Click the Bluetooth icon.
   

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2. Select AirPods in the Devices list, then click Pair.
   

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2. Your AirPods will then show as Connected and are ready to use with your Mac.
   

8. macOS: Pairing: Bluetooth Audio Device

This step applies to many different bluetooth audio devices including headsets, headphones, speakers, etc. Depending on the device you are attempting to add, the screens you see may be slightly different than the ones depicted here.

1. Place your Bluetooth audio device into pairing mode. This process will vary depending on what kind of device you have. Refer to your device's documentation for specifics on how to accomplish this.
   

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2. Click the System Preferences icon.
   

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2. Click the Bluetooth icon.
   

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2. Bluetooth properties will open.
3. Ensure that Bluetooth status reads Bluetooth: On. If it is off, click Turn Bluetooth On to enable it.
   

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2. Available Bluetooth devices will begin to appear in the list.
3. Locate the device you wish to pair in the list and click Pair.
   

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2. Once connected, the device will display Connected within the device list. It is now available to your Mac to output audio to.
   

9. macOS: Connect External Hard Drive

1. Physically connect the USB cable that came with your external hard drive to the drive itself.
   

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2. Connect the other end of the USB cable to your Mac computer.
   

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2. An icon will pop up on the desktop of your Mac computer that will represent the hard drive that was just connected to the machine. Depending on what kind of drive you connected, this icon's appearance and label will vary.
   

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2. To access the contents of this drive, simply double-click the icon. A Finder window will open to display it's contents.