iOS4: now bluetooth not working anymore with my car.

My iPhone 3G paired always fine, through all operating systems, with my Volkswagen OEM Bluetooth Handsfree.

After upgrading to 4.0 the contact names appear as strange character combinations. Have hard-reset the iPhone several times, eliminated the coupled devices at both ends and re-paired, eliminated my exchange account and created it again. In spite of this the problem continues.

On the other hand, the contacts continue to synchronize properly with the OEM Radiosat Classic Bluetooth of my wife’s Twingo. This made me think that, maybe, I should try to update the firmware of the Volkswagen unit but I have read that the same problem is experienced in the last models like Golf VI.

It is clear to me that there is a compatibility problem with certain Bluetooth handsfree units but not with all of them. Probably, the ones using the most recent protocols are working fine so question is whether Apple is going to sort this out.

If not I will have to come back to 3.1.3 (btw not a risk-free decision since the process is not supported by Apple) which I will do sadly since the Catalan language was for the first time implemented in OS 4.0

Kind regards from Barcelona

I had the same problem after upgrading to iOS4. I use plantronics bluetooth device. It wouldn't connect even though under settings >> general >> bluetooth the device was listed. I deleted the device from the phone and repaired. Worked fin after that.

Also having problems on my 3GS after upgrading to ios4. It doesn't pair with my car until I turn bluetooth off and on in settings on the iphone, then select my car from the devices list. It used to connect automatically every time.

Hello

the iOS 4.0.1 update does not fix the problem of garbled contacts on the car kit.

Bought a new Honda Accord a few weeks ago...
my old iphone 3G synced up immediately with the bluetooth in the car and worked perfectly
Bought a new iphone4 yesterday and it does not 'see' any bluetooth devices in the car.

I talked to someone with applecare tonight and the person seemed baffled that this was possible. I said I couldn't be the first person in the world to have a problem with the new phone syncing with the bluetooth in a new car....he said i might be....after reading these posts clearly there is a problem with the ios4

Please fix it soon apple. Thanks

2008 Ford Explorer MS Sync DITTO here.

I too am having bluetooth issues with my iphone 3gs and ios 4. The bluetooth icon in the bar actually _ disappears randomly_. If I go into settings -> general, I cannot even select the bluetooth item under Network. It doesn’t say ‘on’ or ‘off’ beside Bluetooth, and if I tap it, it doesn’t select or anything. Usually I can shut down the iphone and restart it to make the icon and suddenly reappear, but this bug is so annoying!

I never once experienced this issue with any previous version of the iphone os/ios.

Sadly I have to report exactly the same issue in my Mercedes CLS 2010 for the bluetooth telephony - couldn't even get it to connect no matter what I tied on my iPhone 3G running iOS4.
I can't afford to not be connected in my car without a hands free phone, so downgraded my iPhone 3G to 3.1.3 (Google it and you'll find its actually quite easy to do) and the bluetooth is working perfectly now, along with the iPhone being back to its speedy self in general operation.

So disappointedly for me there is no benefit for an iPhone 3G to be upgraded to iOS4 as it stands, and with the iPhone 4 being still half baked with this bluetooth bug in the software and the physical antenna issue I think I'll be sticking with my old-skool iPhone for a few months yet. I am just glad i resisted from an impulse purchase on the new iPhone 4 or I would be one very annoyed person right now!

I am having the same problem. Bluetooth worked fine until I upgraded to iOS4 and my new Mercedes Benz can not find my phone, and the phone can't find the car. My friend's 3.1.3 connects fine in a couple of minutes. Mercedes say it is an Apple problem. I can't wear the fines for using my phone without a hands free in the car!
PLEASE FIX THE PROBLEM APPLE! I can see that I'm not alone in this!

OK - I have just fixed the problem by reverting my iPhone to the previous software 3.1.3. Apple won't let you do this, so I had to do some research. The link below will tell you how to do it. Don't take any notice of the 'update' italic message - I followed the steps one after the other, and it worked fine! Just one problem - I don't have a backup in itunes from my pre-4.0.1 firmware. So I can't reload all my settings - you might be lucky and still have one. But I connected to my car fine and all is working. Good luck!
http://lifehacker.com/5572003/how-to-downgrade-your-iphone-3g[s]-from-ios-4-to-ios-313

Having the same problem. iPhone 4 will connect to the after market Motorola HF850 bluetooth in my car but usually drops it again within a few minutes. I thought it might be dropping when my phone locked, but I set my phone to never lock and it still constantly drops the connection. Please fix, cannot keep this phone if it does not work with bluetooth!

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11927721

I cannot play music through my bluetooth any more after the ios4 update.

I can make and receive phone calls through the bluetooth but when I play music, nothing happens.

i have a pioneer head deck.

what was changed with the bluetooth a2dp in ios4?

has anybody experiencing the issue with contacts display been able to install iOS 4.1 beta 3, to see if the problem is fixed in this beta release ?

thanks

Yes I've experienced the same issue with my Pioneer deck, after updating to ios4, bluetooth hands free, and audio streaming hasn't been pairing properly.

After many attempts to repair both hands free and audio, I gave up.

Since ios4 really slowed down my 3G device, I decided to just rollback the device to ios3.1.3 (Which is not officially supported by apple.) You can find articles on how to do this on lifehacker.com But beware, when you do the rollback, all your app settings (login credentials, game records) are all reset. You also must resync with iTunes to get all your apps back, so make sure you have a backup.

After the rollback, everything seems to working fine. Bluetooth now pairs with handsfree and audio automatically consistently, the UI on the device is more responsive. So if you like your iphone 3g, be kind to it and keep it at ios3.1.3 🙂

This is so simple. I had an iPhone 3G which I connected to my in-car bluetooth. I couldn’t make calls because the iPhone did not have A2DP support. When this was added in v3.x then I could use it as was clear as a whistle. Now upgraded to iOS4 and it’s like taking a step back in time. I’m back to where I was – I cannot use my iPhone in my car with bluetooth as I sound like I’m in a tunnel and the volume fluctuates like there’s no tomorrow. Also missing is the ability to control the bluetooth volume, this was available in v3.x – and I can’t believe that Apple can say that this is not their doing?! Explain that one!