iOS 14 Headphone Volume limiter kicking in when connected to car Bluetooth aux adapter

Go to sounds and haptics>headphone safety>lightning adapters>Forget all adapters. Reconnect the lighting aux adapter and it will ask if you are connected to headphones or other device. click other device and it will stop automatically turning down.

This is finally fixed in iOS 14.4

Option to classify Bluetooth device type in Settings for correct identification of headphones for audio notifications.

you can reclassify under device’s Bluetooth options in settings now.

I'm not sure if this has been resolved (and I'm not sure that this will help), but you can check to see if you phone sees you car as a "speaker" or as "headphones".

If you go to Settings>Bluetooth and look under "My Devices" your device should be listed. Click on the "info" button (the blue circle with an "i" in it). On the next screen, you should se "Device Type" click on that and select "Speaker" (there shouldn't be any auto limits on the volume for a speaker because it's not as important to protect your hearing).

In settings next to connected device. There is an eye for information with a circle around it. Tap that and change the type of connection from headphones to car stereo. Then in the health app delete the post when it notifies you for each day

I was able to change the setting from headphones to car stereo and delete the notifications from the health app

I recently found another workaround in my car that's not ideal but better than nothing: First, set the volume you want on an FM radio station, then start playing the audio you want to listen to on your iphone, then once it's playing and without touching the volume knob, switch over to bluetooth on your car radio. The volume will be the same as it was when you were listening to the radio and can be set above the "safety limit" that Apple sets for you. But once you try to adjust the volume afterwards the safety engages again and your volume drops.

Definitely annoying and embarrassing for Apple to not have a solution to this.

My Bluetooth Radio is a JVC, what's yours? That could be our issue... I found a soft workaround for the problem, although it's far from perfect: If you go into the settings on your car radio you can adjust the "Loudness" by +/-5 points, effectively making the max volume that your phone detects as being "too loud" as 5 points higher than what it is right now. It's better, but def still really annoying.

Apple should not have to contact Bluetooth manufacturers. I just want Apple to provide a way for users to Manually reclassify Bluetooth adapters that are incorrectly labeled as headphones. Mr-sexypants suggested a good option.

Go to sounds and haptics>headphone safety>lightning adapters>Forget all adapters.

but the “lightning adapters” option does not show up in my iPhone 12 pro. Maybe this is a developer only option?

iPhone X 14.4

It's not been fixed for me... I forgot the JVC Bluetooth Radio unit in my car, and then reconnected it, classifying it as a "Car Stereo", and it still limits my volume. Headphone limiter is off. From what I can tell, there's no other reason this should happen. It wasn't a problem until 14.2...

I have no idea what Apple is doing, w t f .

I’m having exactly the same problem currently and for now I haven’t found any solution :(

Just posting here mostly to show that you’re not alone with the problem! I think I’ll try and submit a feedback ticket with Apple in hopes that they’ll fix it sometime down the road

I have been a loyal Apple user since they came out with the iPhone. The “Headphone safety” feature that is causing this issue, which I am also experiencing, has made me question my loyalty. Why would I spend $1000 on a new phone to not be able to control it? When did Apple become my parent? I’m very dissatisfied with this. Apple?!? You can address this at any point here. How they choose to address this issue will largely determine if I ever buy another Apple product. Such a shame!

-Very unhappy customer

LukeHarrison wrote:

Since upgrading to iOS 14 my iPhone thinks my Bluetooth aux adapter in my car is a pair of headphones and is constantly turning itself down because it thinks I'm listening too loudly. I'm not, obviously, I have the phone output at 100% and then control the level with the volume control on the cars head unit. Apparently because I'm the UK there's no way to turn this off but is there a way to tell it I'm not actually using headphones?

I'm sure there are others out there who have had this same issues with in-car entertainment or bluetooth speakers.

It is really not Apple's fault if your car audio Bluetooth interface identifies itself incorrectly as a headset. Like many others my car identifies correctly and volume limits are not applied.

If you think Apple should contact your car audio manufacturer to have them fix their product, https://www.apple.com/feedback/

I understand that's how it's supposed to work, but none of the various settings change the issue. My workaround has been to change the max "Loudness" on my car stereo but it still is not as functional as previously. No idea why this is happening.

The “answer” does not work. I don’t have that option. I also use bluetooth for my car with a radio adapter. Have this same issue and it says my listening levels have been 517% too high lmao. It is SO annoying!

well hi there, I’ve recently bought an 3.5m aux cable for my IPhone SE 2020 and when I plug it in my Citroen C3 the volume on my iPhone just goes all the way up and I’m also unable to lock my phone. Anyone have the same issue ?