Fixing the Razer Orochi Bluetooth connectivity problem on MacOS Sierra
I recently bought a Razer Orochi 8200 (aka 2015/2016 version depending who you talk to) to use for my MacBook on the go. I’ve always been a fan of the Razer Orochi and Razer hardware in general. However, when I started having troubles with my then Razer Orochi 2013 and its Synapse 2.0 drivers not playing nicely with MacOS El Capitan, I had to look for a replacement and steered away from Razer for a while. Since then, I’ve never really found a good alternative to the Razer Orochi. It is probably the best option if you are looking for a good Bluetooth notebook mouse. Therefore, here I am again with the Razer Orochi 8200 which is supposed to now play nicely again with MacOS’s Bluetooth stack when I first used the Orochi on my Mac. But as the title of this post has suggested, I immediately was faced with the Razer Orochi Bluetooth connectivity problem on MacOS Sierra.
Trying to figure out the Razer Orochi Bluetooth connectivity problem
The Razer Orochi 8200 paired successfully with the MacOS without any problems. So it isn’t a case of MacOS not able to support the Bluetooth 4.0 LE standards, which it obviously does. Case in point, see the screenshots below.
Razer Orochi on the Bluetooth devices list but not connecting
And when I Alt-Click on the Bluetooth icon at the menu bar, the same thing shows. It is on the list of Bluetooth devices but I’m not able to force it to connect to the Mac. It seems that the Razer Orochi 8200 does not advertise itself as a Bluetooth HID (Human Interface Device) which most mouse typically would. So, I’m not sure if this might be the reason why it’s not connecting.
Alt-Click on the Bluetooth menu bar icon – The Razer Orochi is actually there
Is Synapse 2.0 the problem?
Thankfully no. Not this time. The Razer Orochi 8200 works perfectly in the wired mode and Synapse 2.0 (version 1.68.20 as of this writeup) didn’t crash MacOS this time. Also, I also have another friend that has the same setup as mine, MacOS Sierra and the same version of Razer Orochi working fine. So it should work.
Perhaps the Bluetooth Explorer utility can help?
I was actually more curious as to what was really happening with the mouse. Was the Bluetooth chip even working post pairing? What was the MacOS actually seeing from the Bluetooth perspective. To answer those questions, I instantly fired up the Bluetooth Explorer. The Bluetooth Explorer is a hardware testing utility that comes with the installation of XCode. So if you don’t already have it on your MacOS, you can either search for it in the Apple’s Developer site or just download it here from my dropbox.
Just search for Bluetooth Explorer in Spotlight and you’ll find it
Since the Razer Orochi 8200 runs on Bluetooth 4.0 LE, I used the “Low Energy Devices” tool to see what I can find out on the missing mouse.
Bluetooth Explorer Low Energy Devices
The Low Energy Devices tool allowed me to scan for nearby Bluetooth 4.0 LE devices and lo and behold, the Razer Orochi was found! And look, there is a “Connect” button on the tool too!
Scanning for the Razer Orochi in the Low Energy Devices tool
I’m pretty sure by now, you’d guess what happened next. Yes. Your’s truly has managed to fix his Razer Orochi Bluetooth connectivity problem on MacOS Sierra and is now writing this post with the Razer Orochi 8200 too.
Phew!
Razer Orochi working fine over Bluetooth
So now that everything works, I can safely recommend the Razer Orochi 8200 as a great option for a Bluetooth mouse for your notebook, including MacBooks.
can you please tell me where to find bluetooth explorer? im on mac os sierra on the latest macbok pro with touch bar. i have the razer oroch bluetooth problem
You might need to install the additional developer tools that includes it. You can usually find the download in the Apple Developer’s site. But I got it downloaded in my Dropbox here. Try and see if it works for you.
it doesn’t seem to work, bluetooth explorer…it opens but nothing happens
When you run it, nothing opens by default. You have to go to the menu bar and open the right utility as I’ve shown in the article.
thanks. , its works
Thanks for your tutorial. I even went to the Razer forum and still couldn’t find a solution. Your simple solution works very well!
First of all, thanks a lot, i had the same problem as you and you managed to solve it! But i would like to ask you if happened to as well that after you connects the mouse and it went inactive and you have to reconnect it, it does not reconnects automatically, you need to put on pairing mode again.
It mostly reconnects itself again. There was only one instance where I had to force the reconnection again since I found out how to fix it.
This worked great, thanks very much. 🙂
I have downloaded the bluetooth explorer app and it is still empty and I get nothing from the utility in the menu bar either, despite both the orochi and a keyboard being connected. The mouse is dropping out every minute or so, which renders it unusable… any pointers on why the app isn’t working? It seems to be a bit dead on support within the app store, which is a concern (especially after having to pay for it to try and fix this issue)
Can you send any screenshots showing the empty bluetooth explorer? It provide you with everything I mentioned in the post if you’ve installed the Bluetooth Explorer tool correctly.
Thank you so much ! It works great !
After launch bluetooth explorer it didn’t show up in menu bar either in my case, however toggling app through cmd+tab will bring it to front.
Glad it worked for you.
I followed your instructions all almost all is ok. My mouse do not want to grab and drag. Any idea to overcome this?
How do you mean does not grab and drag? Is it able to connect and you are able to move the pointer and click?
Yes I’m able to move the mouse and click left and right button. Also scroll and and change sensitivity. I cant grab a window and move on the side. I cant grab a file and drag to another folder. When I try to hold left button it will act as I’m clicking very fast. When I use a wire all is ok.
I had this same problem with my original Orochi (the first edition) and never got to figure out how to fixed it. In fact, I suspect that it’s a hardware issue with the button. At the time, there was already a newer version of the Orochi released, so I decided to just upgrade to the newer version.
If your mouse is still under warranty, I recommend getting it RMAed with Razer for repair.
FWIW I have the same issue regarding being unable to drag the Orochi 8200. Wired mode is totally fine; bluetooth (fixed due to this article, thanks!) does not. So it seems to be software rather than hardware.
Update OSX to the latest, and remove Razer Synapse then restart. the default OSX driver will make Orochi 8200 well.
Tips: you have to active the mouse bluetooth by press the four side buttons for reconnecting each time.
Your post is a life saver, thank you so much!
Glad it helped. ?
Hey Ken, so I have the same problem; I just bought the Atheris for my new MB and for some odd reason the system can detect it but the signal seems to be dropping all the time, I’ve heard that synapse is getting a new update in October too but it docent seem to be the problem. The Bluetooth explorer can also detect it but is useless with regards to pairing the mouse. T
I had one too. To pair the Atheris, you have to reset the mouse’s Bluetooth. Only then it will pair. To do so, press both side buttons and the DPI button.
But I’ve decided to give up the Atheris on the Mac. Even after pairing, it would always get disconnected over Bluetooth. And when it’s connected and working, it skips 90% of the time. It’s extremely annoying.