iPhone 11 on iOS 13 having Bluetooth connectivity issues

Turning off Hey Siri worked for me, for now...Thanks! I like most called Apple and they were NO help!. I tried everything else then post and tried it and it worked. Finger crossed it will keep working. After a bit I will call Apple support back and tell them your solution. Thanks again!

Hi guys,

Theres a lot of replies here, so I hope this doesnt get lost in the mix, but I wanted to share what worked for me when I first got my iphone 11 and it didnt connect properly to my 2016 WRX bluetooth car stereo.

It gave a message to the effect of 'this bluetooth device isnt supported' and controls wouldnt work such as switching to next song. Even though it did connect and play a song, it wasnt working properly or effective.

I tried updating to 13.1 as suggested above but no dice. Finally I forgot the device on both the car and in my iphone and reconnected, this time when the message came up asking if I wanted to synch contacts, i said NO. This time it connected perfectly and has been working correctly. I'm not sure if this entirely is the reason why it works now and im not sure what that feature is, but it is working now and I hope this helps someone :D

We had a bunch of issues when we moved my spouse from her android to iPhone11. I've had an apple phone since day one, and never experienced any issues with Bluetooth.

Her issues were primarily car connect problems, and it seemed to occur in either my 2020 Jeep, or her 2017 Veloster, where the android device worked fine.

We both have model 11's of the phone. I have the pro, she has the non pro. For me it was get in and go. Just had to remove the iPhone X profile and add the 11. For her, it would not work. We tried everything mentioned in this forum, but I could not get anything stable expect car play, which works great with either device. In the end, I removed all settings (phone stuffs) from the Jeep, then reset the entire Uconnect system inside the vehicle. Following that, I removed the battery terminals for 15min, and that did the trick. No more issues. Why? Who knows.

The Hyundai was the biggest issue, but the easiest to fix. There's the typical menu option where you can add/remove the phone, and another menu option for Bluetooth settings. Because we cleared her old android phone from the system, those secondary settings reset to default. It's critical that those settings be changed in order for the phone to connect when you first start the car. Not sure if this applies to all Hyundai vehicles, but these changes enabled her to use the phone in both autos without issue.

For those with other types of cars/trucks, it may be worth while digging around in your menu screen to ensure there are no hidden BT options.

Aside from that, ensure that all BT devices are removed before you start and while it probably does little, try to reset network settings on the phone.

Bluetooth is an evolving standard that changes every few years. The newest iphones have the latest implementation of this technology, whereas car manufactures take longer to update. Even a new 2020 may have a older Bluetooth chip on board, and certainly that 2013 model will be even older. As the spec evolved, so did the speed, and capabilities. While they claim backwards compatibility where the iphone 11 should be able to connect to say a 1.0 spec, its not always that easy. There are over 30 thousand members on the BT list, and that makes for a lot of different devices on the market. I have a Sony smart speaker from 2008 that uses BT 2.1, but its just not 2.1 that could be the problem, but also any BT chip that has energy saving features. I can use my old S3 from Samsung with that Sony speaker, and my iphone 5 works ok as well. After that, none would work, including my wifes old S5 from Samsung. While none of this should apply to the latest gadgets, especially airpods, it would certainly apply to automobiles.

I have a solution!

I had no issues with my older phone and once I got my brand new iPhone 11 Pro, I couldn’t hold a Bluetooth connection! We trouble shooters multiple things. Apple Care told me that my “back up may be corrupt.” So finally, as a last resort, I ERASED my phone to factory settings! Once I tested the Bluetooth in my car again, it was perfect. It held the connection! Once I tried to reload my “backup” info back into my phone, the problem came back! He was right! Somehow I had a corrupt “backup.” It sounds ridiculous, but it worked. So I have an empty phone that works perfectly on Bluetooth. Bittersweet! Save your photos and notes in iCloud. Use Google Photos if you’d like. This way you can have them easily accessible through your factory reset phone!

This might not work for everybody but this is what an Apple engineer told me to do. You must restore from a laptop via Apple in iTunes. First backup your phone into iTunes. Then Do a full erase. (The same as if you are selling your phone). Then restore from iTunes. (NOT CLOUD OR ANOTHER PHONE OR IPAD). This is because when doing a restore from a laptop or computer iTunes downloads the latest program and firmware.

I did this and so far my problem seems to have been solved. My Bluetooth earpiece stayed connected ok but people I was speaking too couldn’t hear me. Now they can. I don’t know if it is permanent but one can hope. I don’t know about the connection to your car, my taxi doesn’t have that. Good luck all.

I cured my 11 by doing a full restore from iTunes. Not the cloud or another phone or pad. Otherwise you could be copying the error. I pulled the lead when my memory was empty then reconnected for full restore. That way no old program was in my phone. Good luvk

Check under Settings --> General --> About and see if your modem firmware is 1.03.12. If it is then 'forget' and re-pair the problem device. I did that and, so far, the issue I've had with my two Plantronics headsets is either gone or the frequency has been reduced.

(Credit for this goes to Waldo1979)

SOLVED.

I went to the nearest Apple Store, I had already done all the tests they would do (the Genius Bar attendant said it) so he said "I'll replace your iPhone".

With the first iPhone I had dropped calls and the sound was lower and darker, but I couldn't know it as I couldn't compare with other iPhone 11 Pro Max.

No issues with car Bluetooth or Bluetooth earphone.

I had this issue for months. On both my original 11 and the replacement 11. Updated software all over the place. Reset everything. Set up as new phone. Reset my car system. The only thing that solved it was when I stopped wearing my Apple Watch. As soon as I started leaving it at home, wireless CarPlay started working perfectly. The watch stays in my bedroom and now I never have issues with my Bluetooth speaker in my office on the other side of my house. Nothing else changed — same car, same phone, same iOS update, same Bluetooth speaker, just no Apple Watch. The Watch is a Series 2 Nike+ version. I've had the watch since it came out and always keep it on the latest Watch OS never ever had an issue like this until the day I got the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

I have no idea why this helped or solved the problem. But after 9 months of trying literally everything else, it's the only thing that had any effect. It seems ridiculous to me that I have to stop using one Apple product so another Apple product will work correctly. You can't blame Bluetooth or anything else for that; it's clearly an Apple issue that Apple needs to fix.

[Edited by Moderator]

I had Bluetooth problems but had a lightbulb moment when preparing my iPhone 11 for return to Apple. I did a restore, first with online instructions, the with an Apple rep on the phone. Each time I was left with a screen showing the lightning charge lead and a laptop. Could not restore. “LIGHTBULB”

I thought what would happen if I literally pulled the plug when it had cleared the memory. So I waited for the bar o go across but before the restore started. After all if it didn’t work, or I buggered it up even more, it was due to go back under warranty. So after disconnecting I switched the phone off, counted the usual 12 seconds, then switched back on. Reconnected to iTunes and did a restore. I didn’t use cloud. I restored a fresh program. Not only did my phone come back from the dead but it has, up too now, cleared my Bluetooth problem.

My thought is that there is a bogey in the software from the start but by clearing it all out and reloading the latest from Apple it did the trick. Well, it has to my phone anyway.

JUST THOUGHT I WOULD MENTION IT. I know that disconnecting anything like that is not a good idea, usually, but what do I know? I’m only a London Taxi Driver. Not an I.T. Expert. WORTH A TRY????

13.1.1 update is available. Do it now and see if that fixes the problem Bee

Delete the car from your phone and the phone from your car, then re-pair.

If you can't connect a Bluetooth accessory to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

The Bluetooth issue was resolved after upgrading to iOS14, at least for me and during the several attempts I did today after upgrading.

Hopefully this is finally resolved for everyone!

I had no problems with my iPhone 11 Pro connecting after upgrading to iOS 14, it corrected the issues with iOS 13. I've also had no problems with the iPhone 12 Pro connecting to my hands free.