iPhone 11 on iOS 13 having Bluetooth connectivity issues

Hi jankolias oxyboy,

Same on my side - JLR did a software update 3 weeks ago and everything worked well until I updated to iOS13. I checked yesterday evening a small test drive:

• iOS12: my wife´s phone --> no issues
• iOS13: my phone --> interruptions for music and phone calls

Apple support tried to guide me with the reset and diagnostics. Diagnostics I accepted but the reset not as I told them that it is a known issue and I provided a links to different forums including the Twitter so they do not loop me with troubleshooting and so on...

Just to capture full details for people reading this far. My experience:

• iPhone 11 Pro running iOS 13.1
• intermittent connection issues and crackling with 2011 Acura TSX
• I deleted all bluetooth profiles on phone and in car. Reset phone and setup as new iPhone. Upgraded to iOS 13.1 then restored from backup
• have reset network settings, all of the typical bluetooth troubleshooting stuff
• Turned off "hey Siri"
• Bluetooth connection with Jabra Elite 65T Active has no issues
• Connection issues in car happening on both public release iOS 13.1 and beta 13.1
• Previous iPhone X running iOS 13.1 beta had no connection issues with car

I have a Genius Bar appointment in 3 hours. Will see what happens.

As I mentioned before I think I fixed it

1. backup to computer using iTunes
2. restore iPhone as new - not from backup
3. when iPhone is new again, restore from the backup you did on your computer using iTunes.
4. remove Bluetooth pairing from iPhone and vehicle and then repair.

i have been driving around in my wife’s Mazda now for 30 min or so with her phone with no dropouts.

if it disconnects again I’ll repost

That sounds like the correct resolution.

I wonder if anyone has experience with the vehicles in question and Androids with an enabled BT 5.0 profile running Android Oreo or Pie, and/or if there are difficulties pairing with said BT 5.0 devices.

When past major iOS releases have occurred, with commensurate updates to newer BT profiles, there have also been several issues:

• If an issue is determined to be Apple's bug, Apple will fix the issue.
• If an issue is determined to be a head end manufacturer's issue, they will need to fix the issue.

I updated to 13.1.2 It looks like "MOST" of my issues have been fixed with this latest update. My 2012 Scion xB stock stereo is now not dropping or getting garbled calls. My iFrogz headphones are now staying connected when paused in Pandora.

The only remaining bug(s) I'm seeing are:

1. Hey Siri is somewhat spotty. Like the phone isn't hearing me sometimes. Very random.
2. When placing a call via Hey Siri in my car, the bluetooth connection between my iphone 11 and my scion xB, will connect/disconnect several times before the dialing sound starts. Once the dialing starts, it stays connected.

It's an interesting report about the Jaguar XE, since my Range Rover has the same system (JLR).

Even if a car needs a software update then Apple should have issued a warning:

• Don't upgrade to iOS13 because you might loose bluetooth connection with several cars;
• Don't buy a brand new iPhone 11 (that will have iOS13) because it might not work with your car.

So the message to anyone thinking of buying an iPhone (11 or even an older model) is DON'T BUY because you might not get bluetooth working. It's a risk. Maybe you're lucky, maybe not...

Such an expensive phone should not be a roulette!!

13.1.2 is out and this may be the fix!

Here are Apple's update notes for iOS 13.1.2:

iOS 13.1.2 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone. This update:

• Fixes a bug where the progress bar for iCloud Backup could continue to show after a successful backup
• Fixes an issue where Camera may not work
• Addresses an issue where the flashlight may not activate
• Fixes a bug that could result in a loss of display calibration data
• Fixes an issue where shortcuts could not be run from HomePod
• Addresses an issue where Bluetooth may disconnect on certain vehicles

Partially true.

• The iPhone 8., 8Plus, X, XS, XS Max, Xr, 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max implement Bluetooth 5.0.
• The iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7 and 7 Plus implement Bluetooth 4.2.

A brief summary:

Amar InfoTech: Differences Between Bluetooth 5 vs 4.2

All Bluetooth implementations are supposed to be backwards compatible, but that only works if everything was implemented properly on both the sending and receiving device.

However the one factor that is irrefutable is if the device, no matter its age, locks up or resets while talking to any other device, that device has issues that the vendor should fix.

For example,:

• If when paired the radio causes your iPhone to lock up, Apple needs to fix that.
• If the iPhone causes your car headend to fix, the headend manufacturer needs to fix that.

UPDATE!

Just had a chat with Apple in the Netherlands and came to the conclusion that it is probably a software bug. So submitted a feedback form.

This is what I found out via troubleshooting:

• My Casio watch was connecting and disconnecting continuously on my 11Pro with iOS 13.1.2
• Other devices did have a stable connection on my 11Pro with iOS 13.1.2
• I know for sure that when I was still running iOS 13.0 last week on my old 6s my Casio watch had a stable connection.
• My old 6s is now also running on iOS 13.1.2 and there also my Casio watch connected and disconnected continuously.

As my old 6s used to have a stable connection with my watch on 13.0 and now not on 13.1.2 I conclude it must be a software problem.

As we couldn't find any reason why specifically the watch and my car don't have a stable connection on 13.1.2 and the other devices do I conclude that it is probably a bug.

Soon 13.2 will be there. Hopefully that solves it...

iOS13.1.3

• Fixes an issue where Bluetooth may disconnect on certain vehicles
• Improves connection reliability of Bluetooth hearing aids and headsets

My main BT issue was the first one. I'll find out if Apple really took care of the issue in about 3 hours.

I have very similar issue when connecting Iphone on latest IOS 13.1.3 (iphone SE NP862DN/A) to my Plantronics Voyager 8200.

Connection is unstable, drops many times - can't really use it.

This is especially when headset is connected to 2 bluetooth devices:

• PC (works without any issues with this type of setup)
• Iphone (constant issue)

tried 2 different Iphone SE - same issue

Tried old Android Nexus 5 -- no issue

I just recently converted to an iPhone 11 Pro from a 6S, and am frustrated as are many because everything was flawless on my 6S, as well as on my iPad mini 4. The iPad still works fine with no issues even after iOS 13.1.3 upgrade. I have not had issues connecting to my Chevrolet vehicles, but I have had the same problem with several 3rd party Bluetooth items, my most annoying was my Sony MDR-XB950N1 headset. I finally found the solution after a week of troubleshooting. The fix for mine was:

If you are using a third party Bluetooth accessory such as Jaybirds and are having trouble establishing the Bluetooth connection, you may not be alone.

Please follow the sequence of steps to help pair the device

1. Power off the external headsets
2. Turn off Bluetooth in the iPhone settings
3. Turn Bluetooth back on in the iPhone settings
4. Hold the power button ON, on the Jaybirds, and CONTINUE holding it on, even after the buds tell you the status; “Power On, xx% charged”…
5. Within a few seconds, Your iPhone Bluetooth screen should “discover” the earbuds.
6. You can release the Power Button on your Jaybirds

The same steps should work for other models such as your JBL Flip. The key is to keep pressing the ON or the Start button until the iPhone discovers your device.

Instructions were from:

https://appletoolbox.com/bluetooth-problems-with-ios-12-how-to-fix/

I hope this helps some with their connection issues.

I'm so bummed, the issue came back. It was working last night after 13.2.2 and today it stopped again.

• when i synced the contacts it had a section in the BT section of what i wanted to sync and i could also turn it off but that has disappeared as of this morning.
• I had to re-pair around 10-12 times before i was able to get it back to where it was working. syncing contacts and turning off didn't do anything
• When I went to pump gas and restarted the car again, it stopped working so back to square one. gonna report this to Engineers again.

:(

I also had problems with the disconnects form the nav head unit in my suburu. Later updates resolved that.

Then I had problems with the music skipping, lagging, cutting in and out and static.

I finally resolved this by doing two things not sure if one or both fixed it.

Here is what I did

1. Disable wifi on the head unit in the car (only used to update the maps and I normally do this via usb thumbdrive so no loss there)
2. Disable the Listen for Siri option

No skips, not cuts or etc when listening to music for about 3 days, before it was every few minutes or seconds.

I said ignorance of parts of the protocol by third parties may be the root cause of the issue, but I have no conclusive data one way or the other. People had asked how this could happen, and I gave one scenario.

Apple did make the decision to go forward with the protocol because that's how progress happens. You know who else is using the new protocol? Android phones, many of which are experiencing the same issues. If you don't adopt new standards as a tech company, you get left behind and die.

I have no personal stake in this issue (knowing someone that works for a company does not require fan behavior towards that company), but if you prefer:

• Apple is not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.
• Google is not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.
• Huawei is not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.
• Microsoft is not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.
• Samsung is not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.

Name a company, and they're not responsible for fixing other companies' broken products.

That is the reason a protocol specification exists - to ensure interoperability if everyone properly implements the protocol.

The contrary is also true - the protocol isn't going to be modified if the market leader(s) get it wrong - the market leader(s) will need to fix their own broken products.

Microsoft used to try that kind of bullying in Windows and it never worked.