iPhone 12 Pro Max Bluetooth Issues

Hi, I have a very similar issue. I had bought and updated my iPhone 12 Pro Max (IOS 14.4) (Early Oct 2020 Manufacturing) over the air from my old iPhone XS two days back.

1. Followed a step-by-step process to connect my Tag Heuer Connected Watch only to find it no longer connects.
2. I tried connecting the same to my wife's iPhone 12 Pro Max (IOS 14.3) and this time the watch connected seamlessly.
3. I tried connecting other Andriod Bluetooth devices to my iPhone12 Pro Max, and I am unable to view them under Bluetooth> available devices. While I am able to connect the same devices to my wife's iPhone 12 Pro Max.
4. I then contacted customer care and after showing them the above through screen share, they concluded that this is a 3rd party issue and mentioned to me that I need to contact the 3rd party manufacturer for the same.

It's very clear to me that this is not a 3rd party issue. If it was a 3rd party issue the watch would have not connected to my wife's iPhone 12 Pro Max.

I think this is either or a combination of the following issues :

A. The issue is with the IOS 14.4 update

B. This is a hardware issue.

C. Or a Combination of both

Details of the issue that I am facing: When I transferred my data from my iPhone Xs over the air to my iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Bluetooth settings were transferred over as well. If so and in ideal circumstances, the Bluetooth devices should connect. But the strange thing is that it is not even showing up in the available Bluetooth device list. What's even stranger is that I can see that the watch is connected as per the control center. Another proof of the same is that the Wear OS app on my phone is suggesting that I need to forget the watch and reconnect. Unfortunately, as the watch does not appear under the Bluetooth settings menu, I am unable to forget the watch.

Apple needs to address this immediately and I don't think it's correct to pass it on as a 3rd Party issue. Do let me know if there is a solution to the same?

(P.S. I have reset the watch to factory settings every time before connecting it to each of the iPhone 12 Pro Max.)

I cannot connect my 12 Pro Max to my cars Bluetooth (hands free calling only). It’s been driving me crazy.

I also have an issue with the echo auto. The phone keeps thinking it’s a pair of headphones instead of a Bluetooth speaker and keeps turning down the volume after a certain period of time.

It’s so annoying and I’ve been back and forth with Apple support and their engineers and they basically told me to contact Amazon—even though it works fine on my XS Max and 6s+.

This is so annoying and needs to be addressed immediately. When I’m driving this is a safety hazard.

I’m having the same issues but with almost all my devices.. I transferred everything from my old iPhone X to this 12 pro max and after setting up this new phone tried connecting to my work vehicle with Bluetooth and nothing. Sound system nothing. It doesn’t recognize any devices but it recognized my tv.. not sure what’s going on with Apple but this is kind of rediculous

This happened to me this morning also. No devices showed up, including the one I had just turned on. I was kind of hoping that when I restored my back up, it would restore the list of Bluetooth devices that were known to the phone, but no joy. However, after multiple tries, and waiting a significant amount of time, many minutes, my Jambone JamBox finally showed up.

I actually have tried many different things to get this working. Have gone as far as erasing the phone and setting up as new with no data and still have the issue. I keep saying there’s something wrong with either the Bluetooth chip or the software for the Bluetooth chip. And I was super p.o.’d when they told me that “it’s not our job to make the phone work with your 3rd party device, it’s the 3rd party devices manufacturers responsibility to make sure their device is compatible with the phone.”

And I get this, but they basically stopped helping me when engineering told them this. It seems like it’s something Apple needs to work on when I had no issues on 2 older devices and only have the issue on the 12 series phones.

🤦🏻‍♂️

No Bluetooth problem here with a new 12PM, so this is likely a hardware fault or more likely a corruption of some sort. Try going to Settings/ General/ Reset/ Reset Network Settings. That won't erase any data on your device, but you may have to sign back into Wi-Fi networks you've previously signed into (and change the name of the iPhone if you previously changed it to anything other than "iPhone"). That ought to clear this up, unless it is a hardware issue.

I'm having the similar issue. I upgraded from the iPhone X to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, they are both running iOS 14.2.1. I'm having issues mostly with calls and slight issues with streaming audio. When I'm on a call, I'm having a static noise in both hears and people claim to have a hard time hearing me. When I'm stream audio, the i get a loud chirp when switch between apps or when streaming stops.With both Phone call and audio streaming, the bluetooth will disconnect randomly and won't allow me to reconnect. It's almost like they are out of range. None of the issues occur when I'm using my iPhone X.

I am having problems with my bluetooth headset dropping out constantly. Disconnects and then pairs back over and over and over. Extremely frustrating. I turned bluetooth off in all other devices followed all the advice, but it still happens. Then I tried my headsets with another iPhone, and they work just fine. It’s something with this very expensiveIPHONE 12 PRO MAX, and Apple is getting away by saying it’s a conflict with other devices.

I have spent 2 hours on the line with Apple Support on this subject and none of their remedies worked. Based on that I was not prepared to go for their last resort fix, which was to restore the phone to its factory settings.

I spent most of the day experimenting and discovered this fix, which worked for me at least and is so easy it's worth a try:

• Go to icloud.com and sign in.
  • If you click on the link to your account. you will see all your Apple devices.
  • It was unclear to me from the names assigned which was my new and which was my old phone, so I clicked "find phone" on each name to be sure. I have no idea if this step is relevant, but that's what I did.
• Sign out.
• Try again to pair your iPhone 12 with your devices - mine all worked with no hassle.
• Sign back into icloud.com. All my bluetooth devices are still paired.

It may be a complete fluke, and I may discover tomorrow morning that it doesn't work anymore. But it only takes a few minutes so it's worth a try.

Good luck

had the same problem, i did two things not sure which fixed it, but its fixed.

1. switched off my old phone
2. renamed my new phone the same name as my old phone

immediately my new phone recognised bluetooth devices.

Steps we followed for our PLT backbeat headset 2100 fit-

1. force reboot the iPhone

press and release volume up button.

press and release volume down button.

press the power button. Swipe to shut down the Phone.

2. start the phone.

3.turn on Bluetooth in the phone.

4. turn off Bluetooth headset.

5.turn on Bluetooth headset and keep pressing or holding the on button and you will see the phone discovering the device.

6.select the device to connect and pairing.

this is how it worked.

I have my iPhone X and my iPhone 12 Max Pro in front of me (both with iOS 14.3), along with a 3rd party Bluetooth 4.2+ device (K9). Both iPhones are on. I turn on the Bluetooth device (K9) and both iPhones see it available for pairing. When attempting to pair the iPhone 12 to the device it displays an error (see photo). The iPhone X pairs quickly to K9 without issue. Both iPhones pair with my Apple Watch and are both currently paired to another 3rd party Bluetooth device (Ember 2.0 Mug).

Is iPhone 12 hardware having issues with backwards compatibility to Bluetooth 4.2?? The Bluetooth specs state 4.2 is fully backward compatible with 5.0 devices. Again, my iPhone X with identical iOS version pairs without issue.

Apple Inc.: Please respond with A SOLUTION or FULL EXPLANATION to my problem, not a copy/paste from some Google search or level 1 tech support doc telling me to reset my network settings (I have already done that) or restore to factory settings (I have done that already as well) or some other deflection of the issue. I am going to return my faulty iPhone 12 in one week to get my $1399 refunded otherwise.

My case is probably the worst case out there!!

I have done EVERY SINGLE THING suggested in the threads. I have even restored the entire iPhone, and yet my phone does not recognize ANY Bluetooth devices. It continues to ‘search and search and search’!

This is really really a big pain. I will have to go to Apple Care, or simply return the phone and go back to my 6S!

Sad!!!

I had the same issue - I have a pair of over ear headphones in the app for my headphones, I had to reset the devices that my headphones were paired to. Once I cleared that list, it immediately connected my phone. In short, reset your headphone so they are like new.

I have the same problem, my iPhone 12 Pro Max does not see any bluetooth devices at all....not the case with my old 6s...cannot pair with the car, cannot pair with anything. Only one solution I can think of is to send the thing back!