De-Toothing a Mac
Converted from the old blog.
In this article I describe how to disable Bluetooth functionality for all users in OS X.
A java programming teacher at work ran into an issue where his students were using the built-in Bluetooth hardware in their iMacs to share work. He was rightfully concerned that this would occur during tests.
All of the Bluetooth settings in OS X are per user, and Workgroup Manager was of no use. Students use Active Directory domain accounts, so config file tweaking wouldn’t help.
After a little Googling we found this solution. Short of removing the Bluetooth hardware from the computers themselves, this seems to be the most effective method of disabling Bluetooth functionality for all users.
Simply remove the following files from /System/Library/Extensions :
IOBluetoothFamily.kext
IOBluetoothHIDDriver.kext
Remove the following files from /System/Library :
Extensions.kextcache
Extensions.mkext
If you removed them using the command line, reboot the machine. If you drug them to the trash, select “Secure Empty Trash” from the Finder menu and reboot the system.
To restore functionality, the files could probably be restored, but it’s just easier to re-image or rebuild the system altogether.
