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iOS 8 Causing Widespread Bluetooth Connectivity Issues in Cars

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Apr 12, 2001
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iOS 8 has caused significant issues for some people who connect their phones to their cars and other devices via Bluetooth, according to numerous reports on the Apple Support forums and MacRumors' own user forums. MacRumors has also been receiving complaints on a near daily basis about the ongoing Bluetooth problems that iOS 8 users are seeing.

It appears that after upgrading to iOS 8 or purchasing a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, users have trouble pairing their phones to their car audio systems. The devices are seeing several different issues, refusing to pair entirely, neglecting to play audio over the speakers, or disconnecting when a call comes in.
Now when I am connected via bluetooth, I place a call, and it says it's going over bluetooth, but it doesn't interrupt my car's music, and the audio doesn't play over the speakers. The only way I can talk to the person is if I press the Audio button on the phone and select speakerphone or iPhone as if it wasn't connected to the car.
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An ongoing thread on the MacRumors forums suggests that a wide range of different automobiles are having Bluetooth connectivity issues with devices running iOS 8 and iOS 8.0.2, including Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, and more.

bluetooth.jpg
The Bluetooth pairing problems are not limited to automobiles, as iOS 8 users have also reported issues pairing with headphones, speakers, headsets, and more.

According to one iPhone 6 owner experiencing issues, Apple support is aware of a compatibility issue between the Bluetooth "used on the iPhone 6 and some car/navigation Bluetooth." Apple is said to be working on a fix for the issue, but in the meantime, some users have had temporary luck logging out of iCloud, forgetting connected Bluetooth devices, using the "Reset All Settings" and/or "Reset Network Settings" option on their iPhones and restarting, re-pairing their devices with their Bluetooth devices, and then logging back in to iCloud.

Attempting to use "Reset All Settings" should be done with caution, however, as some users have noticed that all of their iCloud Drive documents have gone missing after using the feature.

iOS 8 has not been Apple's most stable release. The operating system has seen several issues, including a major HealthKit bug that caused the company to pull all HealthKit-enabled apps just ahead of the public release of iOS 8 and a significant issue with the iOS 8.0.1 update, which disabled the cellular connection and Touch ID of many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users.

iOS 8.0.2, released last week, fixed several major issues including the HealthKit bug, and Apple has plans to release another update in the near future, having already seeded iOS 8.1 to developers.

Update: According to some users who have installed iOS 8.1, the new update fixes the problems with Bluetooth.

Article Link: iOS 8 Causing Widespread Bluetooth Connectivity Issues in Cars
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/01/ios-8-bluetooth-connectivity-issues/
My system connects via Lightning instead of Bluetooth, but I've also had trouble. Since I got my iPhone 6, whenever I connect the phone, I have to wait about ten seconds. I'll get a message that says "This device is incompatible with this iPhone." I then disconnect and reconnect it and it works after that. It's very bizarre.
 
As a huge Apple fan, I have to say this is the worst roll-out of products and services in the company's history. And right when they needed to blow the world away...
 
I remember Walt Mossberg mentioning Bluetooth connection problems with his car in his iPhone 6 review, even before it was out.
 
I was having these issues with 8.0.x.

I filed a bug report with Apple - they didn't respond, but it's now fixed in the iOS 8.1 beta.
 
I was having issues with my Beemer and 6 Plus. Streaming music through the lightning cable was jerky and Bluetooth connectivity to the phone was awful and I wasn't receiving text messages through idrive either. Bought an iPhone 6 and that's working flawlessly with my car so work that one out if you can
 
Mostly works with 2014.5 Camry, but text alerts do not come up on screen any longer which is annoying. There have been a few quirks with it auto pairing but that has only happened once or twice since getting the 6. Overall iOS8 roll out has been a embarrassment. :(
 
I have a problem with my Ford Sync (basic, not the touch version). The remedy is to turn off bluetooth wait a few seconds and then turn it back on. The only real problem I guess I have is that it won't automatically pair every time. It seems to be hit or miss.

EDIT: This only seems to be a problem with my iPhone 6. I didn't notice it with my iPhone 5S on iOS 8.
 
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Whitelobster said:
As a huge Apple fan, I have to say this is the worst roll-out of products and services in the company's history. And right when they needed to blow the world away...
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Yeah, but look at how much thinner the phone is. That's like super important!
 
Had this issue with an aftermarket JVC head-unit. Worked perfectly fine on my iPhone 6 before 8.0.2. Since then, I can't make or receive calls in the car.

No combination of rebooting and resetting the phone or head-unit got it to work. Updated to 8.1b1 (yay developer account0 and I was able to make and receive calls again.

So the good news is, 8.1 doesn't have the issue.
 
Whitelobster said:
As a huge Apple fan, I have to say this is the worst roll-out of products and services in the company's history. And right when they needed to blow the world away...
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Well the iTunes update that wiped out users hard drives was probably worse, but yeah...death by a thousand cuts.
 
I've never seen so many public issues with iOS (and even OS X) before iOS 8, besides Maps in iOS 7, especially in subsequent public builds. What the hell happened to your quality control, Apple?
 
Mackinjosh said:
And the hits just keep on coming. Maybe test your stuff next time, Apple.
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You should probably use a few Windows machines and devices to experience the hell that comes with them before you start chastising Apple over something minute.

I'll take these minor issues over that ANY day. ;)
 
paulrbeers said:
I have a problem with my Ford Sync (basic, not the touch version). The remedy is to turn off bluetooth wait a few seconds and then turn it back on. The only real problem I guess I have is that it won't automatically pair every time. It seems to be hit or miss.
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Hmm,...my 2013 Mustang with the basic Ford Sync has shown no problems so far...
 
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