Cannot Connect Third Party Wireless Bluetooth Devices to Apple Watch Series 5 with watchOS 6.1

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Cannot Connect Third Party Wireless Bluetooth Devices to Apple Watch Series 5 with watchOS 6.1

Has anyone else had Bluetooth connection problems with an Apple Watch Series 5 and watchOS 6.1? I can't get any wireless Bluetooth device (headphones/earbuds, speakers) to pair since the upgrade from 6.0.1 to 6.1. Specifically, I'm having problems with Bose SoundSport earbuds - the same earbuds connect to my phone and a Fitbit without any problem. After dozens of attempts, they'll connect to the watch, but the audio will either not play or be choppy and distorted, and the connection will continually drop.

I had no such problems with watchOS 6.0.1, and I have no problem connecting the watch to my phone via Bluetooth - that connection is stable.

I've done everything I can think of...turn Bluetooth on the watch on/off, turn the watch on/off, turn all connections on my phone off while trying to connect the watch, and I've reset/erased my watch 4 or 5 times, restoring to my various backups and setting it up as a new watch. Nothing has worked.

Is this a known regression from 6.0.1?

Apple Watch Series 5, watchOS 6

Posted on Nov 1, 2019 6:21 PM

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Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,491 points

Nov 1, 2019 6:51 PM in response to tsm4sh

Are those devices paired to the iPhone you use with the Watch? Is it nearby when you are trying to pair to the Watch? It could be interference between the two devices. Make sure that you are not connecting to the iPhone. Go into Bluetooth settings on the iPhone and make sure that it is disconnected from those headphones, then try pairing with the Watch again. You may also need to reset the headsets to factory, they may have a restriction as to how many devices they can pair to.

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Answer 2

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,491 points

Nov 1, 2019 7:10 PM in response to tsm4sh

I didn't say there was something wrong with the headphones, what I meant was the interference with other devices and trying to connect to things they are already paired with can cause an issue with attempting to pair. The other thing was to try and reset the headphones to factory, because many devices can only hold information about pairing to a finite number of devices. Since the Watch does not show a list of devices that have been paired to it, but you can go to Bluetooth on the Watch to check the pairing after you have paired. I'm guessing it is interference, and you will probably have to reset the headphones before you attempt to pair to the watch again.

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Answer 3

tsm4sh Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2019 9:04 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Right, there shouldn't be, but there's a fairly large firmware change with 6.1. I can connect other devices now (forgot I had a Sony wireless speaker too) as long as the devices are far enough away from the watch! Strange bug...

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Answer 4

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,491 points

Nov 29, 2019 7:19 AM in response to JennieMPM

Interesting that both of these are Bose products. Have you reached out to Bose Support to ask them questions about the problems that you are experiencing with their product. They may have more information than you can get here from fellow Apple Users. Especially since the OP says Apple did not see an issue with diagnostics.

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Answer 5

tsm4sh Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2019 7:51 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Unfortunately, there's no real way to reset the headphones. Bose's documentation says so as well. You can only power cycle them to "reset" the internal CPU. That doesn't seem to help either though :(.

I just got off a call with Apple Support to bring it to their attention...I sent them diagnostics and there's no red flags. While on the phone with them, the earbuds did connect for a few seconds, but then they immediately disconnected. As someone who's worked in the software industry my entire career, I'm leaning towards it being a bug with 6.1.

But, your reply gives me a thought for something else to try...I'm going to rename my watch (since my old watch and this one have the same name) to see if that has any effect...

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Answer 6

tsm4sh Author

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9 points

Nov 1, 2019 8:52 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Interesting...once I get the earbuds connected, the connection will be stable and the audio won't be distorted as long as I'm >10' from the watch. If I get close to it, the audio craps out and earbuds disconnect. It's still gotta be a 6.1 issue - I suspect that 6.1 is throwing out a stronger or different type of signal for the AirPods Pro support, and that change in firmware is causing the interference / connection instability with 3rd party devices.

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Answer 7

tsm4sh Author

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9 points

Dec 10, 2019 4:07 PM in response to JennieMPM

Hi JennieMPM, if your issue involves connecting your iPhone to a Bose speaker, then it's a different problem than the one I've described here.

My problem is unique to an Apple Watch Series 5 and watchOS. I don't have any problems connecting Bluetooth devices to my iPhone (X) or other capable devices, just my Apple Watch Series 5, running watchOS 6.1 and newer. I can connected Bluetooth devices to my Apple Watch Series 5, but the watch has to be 10-15' away from the devices for the connection to stabilize, but that defeats the purpose.

watchOS 6.1.1 does not fix this bug. Here's to hoping 6.1.x or 6.x will...

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Answer 8

tsm4sh Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 1, 2019 7:03 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks Chris. Yes, all the devices are connected to my phone and can connect to other things, so they're not the problem. In fact, they do connect to my watch, it just take 15 or 20 tries. However, once connected, they don't work and disconnect. Yes, it's right next to my watch when I try to pair, I've even tried turning off my phone during the pairing, but that doesn't help either. watchOS 6.1, or the watch itself, is definitely the source of the problem. The watch I have is a replacement - I got an express replacement through AppleCare+ so I assume it's brand new. By the time I got the replacement, 6.1 was rolled, and I didn't have a chance to try and connect things on it with 6.0.1. However, my original Series 5 connected to the same devices just fine with 6.0.1.

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Answer 9

ChrisJ4203

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237,491 points

Nov 1, 2019 7:59 PM in response to tsm4sh

Unfortunately, I have no additional thoughts. I do not use 3rd party headphones with my Apple Watch, I use AirPods. I've used the AirPods with all of my Apple Watches, I had an original, then an Apple Watch 3, 4, and now a 5, and I've not experienced a problem of late. I had a pair of the original AirPods, and now have the second generation ones. The only one I had a problem with was shortly after getting the AirPods originally and I had them try to connect to both my iPhone and iPad at the same time, and got a great deal of interference and skipping. Once I realized it was establishing a connected back and forth between the two devices, which was causing the skipping, I turned off one of them and connected and have never experienced a problem since. If you are close to an Apple store, you can also try going in and getting a little help there.

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Answer 10

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,491 points

Nov 1, 2019 8:57 PM in response to tsm4sh

Well, I don't remember seeing any other posts like this, but you are welcome to contact Apple Support back and report your feelings. I'm not sure that there would be a difference in the signal going to the AirPods versus the Bose device. Good luck troubleshooting this further.

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Answer 11

Nov 28, 2019 11:43 PM in response to tsm4sh

Getting exactly the same problem with a Bose speaker. Tried turning stuff off, un-pairing, separate floors to connect - no solution. So tempted to lose the phone!

hopefully someone will come up with a solution before then please.

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Cannot Connect Third Party Wireless Bluetooth Devices to Apple Watch Series 5 with watchOS 6.1

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