Bluetooth AVRCP broken?

[gotenks]

Hello guys,
I have updated yesterday to iOS 6. All seems okay but the Bluetooth AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), which used to work GREAT on my Pioneer headunit (AVH-P2400BT) when I was on iOS 5.

I can't move back/next and no metadata are being sent anymore.

I'm considering of downgrading while Apple is still signing iOS 5.1.1. Anyone have the same issue?

 

[KnackeRED]

Same on my bluetoothed VW car stereo, no longer displays track info from my iPhone 4. Did on 5.1.1. Not tried using back/forward from the car controls yet

 

[gotenks]

Same on my bluetoothed VW car stereo, no longer displays track info from my iPhone 4. Did on 5.1.1. Not tried using back/forward from the car controls yet

I don't know what to do. Downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 or hope Apple will address this issue with their next firmware (fix) release?

 

[KnackeRED]

I don't know what to do. Downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 or hope Apple will address this issue with their next firmware (fix) release?

No biggy for me, I have my phone on a dash mount. It plays without juddering, which from other posts, was my main concern. I don't really need to see whats playing, I can hear it, so functionality over presentation works for me

 

[gotenks]

I'm just wondering if it's an issue with my Pioneer headunit and iOS6 or it's just an iOS6 issue.

If anybody else has the same issue, please post.
If anybody has AVRCP working on iOS6 with their car stereo, please post.

 

[yugffuts]

I'm just wondering if it's an issue with my Pioneer headunit and iOS6 or it's just an iOS6 issue.

If anybody else has the same issue, please post.
If anybody has AVRCP working on iOS6 with their car stereo, please post.

I have the same head unit as you (AVH-P2400BT) and the same problem. On IOS 5, bluetooth audio worked fine. The phone automatically paired when the car was started, played music/podcasts, and I could pause, skip forward/back from the head unit.

On IOS 6, the head unit controls don't work. Pausing the head unit will stop the audio, but the phone continues to play the music (it used to pass the pause to the phone). Skip forward/back do nothing. Also, the album/artist/song information are not displayed on the head unit anymore.

I'm pretty disappointed that this got worse. I was hoping it would get better; display album art, allow some navigation options through the head unit...guess not.

So far, all I tried was deleting the phone from the head unit & re-pairing the device, but that didn't change anything. I don't see any firmware updates for the radio, either. I'm going to switch back to the wired connection and hope a fix comes out soon.

BTW, I'm not thrilled with the interface of the radio, either. Are you aware of any way to adjust the UI to make more sense and/or better use of the space?

 

[purd002]

iphone 4s with iOS 6 works identically in my 2012 VW Sportwagon. It does not work in our other vehicle with a Pioneer AVH-P4400BH head unit. No audio information is passed and all audio controls (play/pause/skip) are not functioning. Phone calls and controls are not affected.

There are several other threads here and on apple discussions regarding the issues without a fix. Here is one:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1446259/

If you search further back you can see the same sort of issues between ios 4 and ios 5 as well. Most seemed to be addressed gradually by firmware updates of the actually stereo units

 

[gotenks]

BTW, I'm not thrilled with the interface of the radio, either. Are you aware of any way to adjust the UI to make more sense and/or better use of the space?

Sorry I don't. I don't think the UI is very bad anyway, and the unit has a great price IMHO considering what it has to offer.

iphone 4s with iOS 6 works identically in my 2012 VW Sportwagon. It does not work in our other vehicle with a Pioneer AVH-P4400BH head unit. No audio information is passed and all audio controls (play/pause/skip) are not functioning. Phone calls and controls are not affected.

There are several other threads here and on apple discussions regarding the issues without a fix. Here is one:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1446259/

If you search further back you can see the same sort of issues between ios 4 and ios 5 as well. Most seemed to be addressed gradually by firmware updates of the actually stereo units

This is very BAD. We should let Pioneer know of the issue then. I actually hoped it was a general issue (confirmed it is not if your 2012 VW Sportwagon works fine) and an iOS update could fix it. I could downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 but as soon as I'm going to get the iPhone 5, I'm screwed.

 

[CharlieBrandt09]

I have a similar problem with my Kia UVO unit.

In ios 5, when I plugged my phone into the unit through USB, I can stream and control Pandora flawlessly.

Now, it starts out fine with it plugged in, but immediately pauses and wants to switch to BT streaming, which then limits my control (and also takes album art, etc off screen)

 

[purd002]

This is very BAD. We should let Pioneer know of the issue then. I actually hoped it was a general issue (confirmed it is not if your 2012 VW Sportwagon works fine) and an iOS update could fix it. I could downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 but as soon as I'm going to get the iPhone 5, I'm screwed.

If true it is bad. Pioneer's facebook page is getting slammed from angry customers and I urge you to do the same. You may be in luck as reports from some of the early arrivals haven't reported any problems . . .

 

[gotenks]

I have just contacted both Pioneer in my country, Italy, and Pioneer USA. This is what I've sent:

Hello,
I have updated my iPhone 4 to iOS 6 and the bluetooth AVRCP on my Car Receiver AVH-P2400BT stopped working all of a sudden.

I can't show song metadata on the receiver anymore (no song name, artist or album name) and the playback control doesn't work too (next/previous song). Are you already aware of the issue with the latest Apple update?

If you want to drop them an email, follow this link: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/AboutPioneer/Contact+Us

Let's keep us updated on what answer we receive from them.

 

[yugffuts]

I have just contacted both Pioneer in my country, Italy, and Pioneer USA. This is what I've sent:



If you want to drop them an email, follow this link: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/AboutPioneer/Contact+Us

Let's keep us updated on what answer we receive from them.

I sent a similar message to Pioneer USA. To be fair, this seems like an Apple problem, but I guess we might as well poke at them both & cross our fingers.

 

[Krevnik]

I sent a similar message to Pioneer USA. To be fair, this seems like an Apple problem, but I guess we might as well poke at them both & cross our fingers.

It could be Apple, it could be Pioneer. I've yet to see this issue with iOS 6 on the head units I've used (Kenwood X994 & base Subaru head unit on a 2013 OB).

However, I may have seen it on a Kenwood nav unit, I'm not sure, as I only got a minute with it and the UI was not exactly intuitive.

Apple did add support for AVRCP 1.4, which may have introduced a bug in their AVRCP implementation, or may have exposed a bug in some head units that don't fully support 1.4 (none that I'm aware of do).

 

[yugffuts]

Looks like Pioneer is on it...from their Facebook:

Pioneer is currently finalizing iOS6 compatibility for our AppRadio App while also working with our App partners to update AppRadio compatible applications to iOS6 compatibility. This will take some time. Until this is done we would recommend to keep using iOS5 on your iPhone, in order to ensure an optimal experience on your AppRadio.

 

[gotenks]

I decided not to downgrade iOS to version 5. I'm getting the new iPhone 5 anyway so my only hope is that Apple/Pioneer can fix it.

If you guys get any official reply from these companies about the issue please post.

 

[og1]

i have a pioneer 2400bt as well and have lost the controls/data display over bt. i refuse to accept this being a pioneer issue as it worked flawlessly on all previous versions and devices. how was this not caught in beta/dev testing?

 

[Krevnik]

i have a pioneer 2400bt as well and have lost the controls/data display over bt. i refuse to accept this being a pioneer issue as it worked flawlessly on all previous versions and devices. how was this not caught in beta/dev testing?

Not everyone has the same head units, and not all head units produce the issue. Considering how many models have BT support, how many models (and what years/makes) should Apple test? How many people even tried Bluetooth streaming that had beta access?

Personally, I'd bet it is an Apple issue too, but because the AVRCP support went from 1.3 to 1.4, I can't completely rule out an existing bug in the head units that is refusing the connection. I still have diagnostics mode enabled for bluetooth on my device (was capturing for a BT bug I reported to Apple in the 5.x timeframe), so I might try to find one of these affected devices and capture a log that might shed light on why AVRCP doesn't work with them.

 

[gotenks]

Not everyone has the same head units, and not all head units produce the issue. Considering how many models have BT support, how many models (and what years/makes) should Apple test? How many people even tried Bluetooth streaming that had beta access?

Personally, I'd bet it is an Apple issue too, but because the AVRCP support went from 1.3 to 1.4, I can't completely rule out an existing bug in the head units that is refusing the connection. I still have diagnostics mode enabled for bluetooth on my device (was capturing for a BT bug I reported to Apple in the 5.x timeframe), so I might try to find one of these affected devices and capture a log that might shed light on why AVRCP doesn't work with them.

AVRCP support went from 1.3 to 1.4 since iOS 5 according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history

That is interesting, do you have any devices affected so you can try the BT logger?

 

[chipfiev]

I'm seeing the same problem w/ a Kenwood DNX6190HD. I can connect w/o issue and playback works fine when I control things on my iPhone but I get no data from my phone on the receiver's display and no control over playback via my head unit or steering wheel controls.

After seeing this issue, I did see a firmware update from Kenwood...but that did not improve my situation at all.

I do hope Apple can correct this...I have more faith in an update from Apple than from Kenwood.

 

[Krevnik]

AVRCP support went from 1.3 to 1.4 since iOS 5 according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history

That is interesting, do you have any devices affected so you can try the BT logger?

Yeah, the addition of 1.4 is new to 6, and why I brought it up. Since none of the AVRCP stuff works, I suspect one side or the other is simply rejecting the connection to the AVRCP 'socket' outright.

I don't. However, I can probably still find one of the affected models at a local store to capture logs with (the 2400BT looks promising).

 

[gotenks]

Yeah, the addition of 1.4 is new to 6, and why I brought it up. Since none of the AVRCP stuff works, I suspect one side or the other is simply rejecting the connection to the AVRCP 'socket' outright.

I don't. However, I can probably still find one of the affected models at a local store to capture logs with (the 2400BT looks promising).

Wiki says iOS 5, not 6. If you can test AVRCP with the 2400BT would be great!

 

[Krevnik]

Wiki says iOS 5, not 6. If you can test AVRCP with the 2400BT would be great!

Wiki is wrong in that case. Artist metadata being displayed on the head unit is AVRCP 1.3, which was added in 5.0. AVRCP 1.4 (AVRCP Browsing) is new for 6.0, and pretty much nothing supports it right now.

 

[CrzyP]

I have a VW and I can see titles and skip tracks. My issue is the audio comes in choppy and distorted. There is no way for me to enjoy my music over Bluetooth.

 

[gotenks]

I have a VW and I can see titles and skip tracks. My issue is the audio comes in choppy and distorted. There is no way for me to enjoy my music over Bluetooth.

Audio is fine on Pioneer AVH-P2400BT but AVRCP is definitely not working.

 

[somemightsay]

Just wanted to confirm I see these symptoms (no metadata, or control from in-dash unit) for an Alpine CDE-133BT. On an iPhone 4S that was working great on iOS 5.1.1. FYI There is a long thread on the apple discussion forums about this.