IPhone 4 Bluetooth Issues

I have the Bluetooth problem. I do something that helps for a while...

My Experience:
I didn't get the Bluetooth problem right away. Things were great at first. It appeared about a month after I bought a bluetooth headset, a Jabra Extreme. I noticed it werbeling. My bluetooth would disconnect every 10 minutes or so and reconnect 30 seconds later. Also my callers were telling me they could no longer hear me on my headset and my voice dialing became unusable. I changed my headset (to the Jawbone Icon) but that didn't help. I had my iPhone4 replaced and that helped for about a month then the problem reappeared again. I replaced my headset again (now to the Moto Finiti) and that didn't fix the problem.
* Another symptom is that when my bluetooth stops working I can no longer stream video from netflix over Wifi... 3G works fine though.

My Fix:
Finally I tried: backing up my iPhone4; restoring to factory settings and then restoring from backup. That fixed the phone again for a few weeks. Now I do that as standard procedure each time the problem returns. Its a hassle but its only once every few weeks and I know of no other fix.


My observations lead my to believe this is an iPhone4 Bluetooth software problem.

I hope a solution is forthcoming from Apple.

Just got off the phone with Jawbone support. By the way, I LOVE JAWBONE SUPPORT. Every time I've contacted them I've had an A+ experience.

Anyway, they confirmed for me that Apple has told them that they acknowledge this Bluetooth connectivity issue, and they are working on fixing it in the next iOS update (4.3). Since 4.3 Beta3 was released today, hopefully the full release will come in the next few months.

crossing my fingers...

bj

Problem is weak signal from iPhone 4. Restarting the phone will resolve the problem for a while. History: Had issue with Jawbone Prime. Switched to Bose BT1, problem returned, Bose replaced their headset twice. Finally tested extensively with Motorola W385 with no issues. Went back to iPhone 4 and problems returned. Details of problem: Very low blue tooth range, bluetooth drop out from belt clip to headset, being able to hear other party fine but they could not hear me. Problem is intermittent. Seems to happen more later in the day. Was never able to duplicate bluetooth range of Motorola with iPhone but after restarting iPhone4 was able to obtain 60+ feet with phone inside metal building and me outside.

In using the Sony for another week, no problems to report. Great signal strength, no dropouts, no complaints from those I'm talking to - VERY long battery life. I'm sure there is an issue with Apple's BT software, but for whatever reason, Sony and Apple seem to play perfectly together.

Try resetting the phone - holding the home button and power button until it shuts down and re-starts. If it doesn't find any bt devices, assuming you have one or more in your possession, take the phone and your devices to an Apple store and have a genius look at it. Perhaps the phone is defective. If it isn't they should at least be able to isolate the fact that it is a bt issue and start a case for you. Hopefully they will figure out the problem for the next iOS release - it would give me a couple of options for bt devices I now own (although I am really digging the sony I started using - without problems).

I just bought my iphone 4 last week and found out that my Plantronics 925, which worked great with iphone 3g, has a problem connecting with iphone 4 and has the muffled sound as well. Haven't contact apple about this issue yet. After did a little more research, I found out that most of the iphone 4 users have the same problem. How could Apple ignore all these complaints? I am really disappointed. If I had done my homework before, I wouldn't have bought the iphone 4.

Unbelievable that Apple still hasn't fixed this problem. I've been through:

3 iPhone 4's - always on the most current software set up as a new phone (not restored from a backup)
1 Jawbone Icon
2 Plantronics Voyager Pros
1 Plantronics Voyager Pro+

All of which have exhibited terrible bluetooth performance with the iPhone 4. Others are right - it does seem a little better after rebooting the phone, and this has been my resolution every time people start complaining that I sound like a cyborg or after the headset disconnects from the phone, but it's a very short fix. I am on the phone a lot for work as I work from home and the problem occurs quite frequently. Keeping the phone in my pocket doesn't seem to work and it's sometimes even bad when the phone is a couple of feet away from me on the couch or table. However, the connection is consistently bad if I walk more than 10 feet away from the phone while using the headset.

I've tried turning wifi off on the phone, unplugging my wifi router at home, using the phone while plugged in vs. on battery, etc and nothing seems to help. I've even turned off all the lights in the room (CFL bulbs - possible EMI interference) just to see if that would have any impact - none. The problem is intermittent but occurs with every combination of potential fixes that I've tried.

I give up. The iPhone 4 is absolute crap as far as I'm concerned. I never had any of these problems with my 3G.

EVERYONE NEEDS to realize, those headsets WON'T WORK WITH iPHONE 4. It's simple.

WHAT DOES WORK with my 2 iPhones is the Sony Ericson bluetooth (wireless) headphones HBH-is800. I got them from china and I'm fixing to order a 2nd set for myself to give me more battery time and 2 chargers; 1 for house, 1 for vehicle. I bought a friend a set and he loves them with his 3 gs. They're inner ear and the acoustics are great. On a call, if I can't hear because of ambient noise I just stick in the other ear. They are attached to each other by a 20" line and an adjustable clip I clip to the back of my collar. They've been working great for me for over 6 months.

I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan with Uconnect and the calls are excellent. Sometimes it go a little nuts, just initial connectivity, no sound degradation though. Very consistent.

Contacted Apple Support today about Bluetooth issue. Was immediately told it was a software issue and to restore my phone. Apple needs to redesign the radios in the iPhone 4. First we get the issue where the phone will not work without having a case covering the phone and now Bluetooth problems. I have owned every iPhone ever made and while I like the aesthetic design of the iPhone 4 the best, it is the worst radio design I have ever seen. I am a 100% Apple supporter and hate to say this but Apple needs to do something about this quickly because you know what they say about one bad Apple! I hope someone is listening.

Temporary fixes below

I noticed this problem recently when I started using the jawbone era, I used icon before and did not notice it.
Right now the Bluetooth headset is unusable if I put the iPhone 4 in a pocket opposite the side where my headset is on my ear. Only when the phone is under the headset, then Bluetooth works.

I have improved Bluetooth reception by doing the following:
(many of these have been mentioned previously)
1. Turn on wifi - I don't remember whether they are the same antenna, but turning on wifi improves reception
2. Free memory - apple banned the free memory functions in apps such as istat, but if you have it, this works every time.
3. Turn off and on phone - same as freeing memory, but takes much longer
4. Double press home button to go to app manager. Hold on to an app to get it to juggle. Then start closing apps. - this also frees up memory and allows the Bluetooth to work better
5. Reconnect Bluetooth by turning off and on the headset
6. Do not restore the phone to factory. Freeing up memory is a bigger culprit. This is why restoring from factory only works for a while when memory usage is low. Once memory gets back higher the problem returns.

A new ios update would surely be welcome if it fixes the issue, but hope this helps.

Since my last post on 1/19 I had the problem once again, later the same day.
I did a few things and since it has been trouble free?
I even damaged my Plantronics Pro + and bought a new BlueAnt T1 and paired it with no issues.
Here is the steps I took.
1) Forget Device
2) Reset network settings
3) Restored phone to original settings
4) Paired the headset again.

Why it works now I don't know. My phone/bluetooth habits or time haven't changed. I constantly step out of range of the phone and when I get back in range it re-connects.
I can't explain the change, and the steps I took this time are about the same as every other time.

Fingers crossed. This is the longest it has worked since I bought the 1st I4 in Nov. 2010.

An update to my earlier posts - I continue to have perfect service with the sony vh110. Absolutely rock solid connections and no static or muffled complaints from people I'm talking to. I get a full day of use out of it too, without charging. I'm remained hesitant to walk away from the phone while talking, as just going into a supply closet 6 feet away used to disconnect me or at least make my voice garbled, but no longer is this an issue. There is clearly something about that makes the sony connect perfectly with the iPhone.

I have the same problem, on my previous iphones my Apple bluetooth headset worked fine, but ever since I started using the iphone4 (and still on 4.1) the headset volume is so low and muffled it is ridiculous and this is an Apple headset, one would think Apple products would work with Apple products!! this is stupid!!

Well I made it from 1/19 to 2/9 on 1 reset. Yesterday I started noticing a loss of range and today total loss, 6" was too far away.
Took 3 steps.
1) forget device
2) reset network settings
3) Restore phone to factory settings and reload.
Let's see how long it lasts this time.
Less than a couple of days, Apple gets to send me another new one.

Before doing the "3 step method" I was just doing a "reset network settings, that fix only lasted 1-2 days.
So far the 1/19 - 2/8 is by far the longest I have had trouble free BT with my I4.

I will continue to post as failures occur.