Is it possible to rename an USB or Bluetooth audio device?

Question

I am using a Bluetooth headset. To charge it, I need USB, and when connecting that, it appears two times as audio device - obviously once as Bluetooth device, once as USB device. Both audio devices show up with the exact same name. This is no huge problem, but everything sometimes gets confusing and weird. If I'm in video conferences and busy with other stuff, I don't want to spend even seconds to fool around with that.

Is there a way to permanently rename such a device? I assume both a Bluetooth and an USB device has a unique ID which is the actual way for the laptop and the device to communicate; I guess the name is just a human-friendly label. At least the Bluetooth device is surely a persistent thing inside the Mac, since it knows that it has coupled with the device before.

If that is not pssible, is there a way to permanently block a specific USB device from ever showing up as audio device at all?

Answer 1

After any Bluetooth device is paired and connected, Go to Preferences->Bluetooth and right-click the device you want to rename. From the context menu, select the ‘Rename’ option.

Answer 2

To change the name of your USB Device you will need to reprogram the microcontroller in your USB Device with the name of your choice.

You'll have to reflash or edit the device's firmware again, which isn't trivial unless your gamepad happens to have open source firmware, but even then you'll need some know-how on how to edit, build, and flash it.

1. So to make it as easy as possible, open the Audio MIDI Setup.

2. Go to the "+" and press "Create device with multiple outputs" and select your device.

3. Rename the created main device to whatever name you want. It should now be found in the sound system settings under your chosen name.