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amp68 Author

Level 1

77 points

iOS 15.1 broke connectivity to my car stereo

I own a 2014 Chevy Cruze. It has the factory default stereo in it.

The radio looks like this:

Prior to the iOS 15.1 update, when I plugged my iPhone Xr in to the car, the stereo would detect the iPhone, switch to it and I could play anything on the phone using a Lightning cable plugged into the car's USB port.

I took my wife's iPhone 12, which has iOS 14.8.1 on it, and it worked fine. I upgraded to 15.1 and again it stopped working.

I plug either phone in, they start to charge, but the stereo no longer detects the phone.

The obvious workaround is to just plug the aux cable into the headphone jack on the... Oh wait...

This is obviously a bug in iOS 15.1. I called Apple and reported it. I'm trying to send logs to Apple now.

The following are NOT correct answers:

Get a new car
Get a new car stereo

If you're going to say either of those in your comments, don't bother commenting.

If you've seen this in your car and have figured out how to fix it, please feel free to share.

If not, this is just a heads up that you may experience this issue if you have an older stereo in your car

I know I can use the Lightning to 3.5 mm adapter, and that is my current workaround. But I can't do that and charge the phone at the same time, which is going to be a problem for long trips with GPS.

iPhone XR

Posted on Oct 26, 2021 7:43 PM

Similar questions

514 replies

Oct 31, 2021 1:20 PM in response to JBM2017

Just want to say I tried the reset all today and it did not work for me lol 😂

I hoped it would work as I would have like to keep the new features add but it’s not worth not being able to play music. I’ll be downgrading and just wait till they fix this

JMJGCP

Level 1

8 points

Oct 31, 2021 3:04 PM in response to amp68

I had the same issue with my 2011 Chevy Equinox, but I googled how to downgrade the update to IOS 15.0.2. What I found was easy and simple. It worked like a charm,but I did lose some text messages from between 10/31 (today) and 10/24.This wasn't an issue for me,but I know that may not be the case for some people.

Apple wants us to believe a plug and play car stereo needs an update. That is COMPLETELY FALSE and IMPOSSIBLE. With their technology and think tank,you'd think their updates would be better prepared.

Nov 1, 2021 4:40 AM in response to mhdbcn

Warning about downgrading - I found that my backups stopped working after downgrading with a message that says it can't backup because a backup exists from a newer version. So, I had to go into my backups & delete the one that was done while I was on 15.1 before backups would run again.

Nov 1, 2021 10:06 AM in response to amp68

Have the same problem with my 2012 Cruze…The Apple “senior” advisor was ZERO help. Gave me the same BS about updating my radio. Also told me they can’t downgrade my IOS back to 15.0 so I guess we are all screwed. This is a BASIC function that Apple has had for years and in one update it’s gone…Unreal!

Nov 1, 2021 11:51 AM in response to amp68

The only way it’s you need too backup your phone in 15.0.2 it’s the only way.Or we wait for a update because I have the same problem with a chevrolet cruze 2013 and a iphone XR but I can listen music with the AUX but not with the USB cable.

Nov 1, 2021 11:43 PM in response to amp68

Hi. I have the EXACT same issue with my Chevy Cruze too. I have another phone as well and it works fine. I was told to wait till 15.2 comes out. it’s suppose to be a “bug fix”. please let me know if you find a solution.

micco9

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2021 1:51 PM in response to amp68

Yep, same issue here with a 2014 Chevy Equinox and a similar looking stereo. Reseting all settings or syncing your phone fixes nothing. It’s really lame I hope they fix this soon, you shouldn’t have to have CarPlay in order to play music through USB on your phone. To use aux or Bluetooth I need to use extra adapters and to my ears the audio is worse as well.

kratke

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2021 4:26 PM in response to amp68

my i phone xr caused my 2017 subaru legacy screen to freeze after about 30 seconds of the car being started. i was unable to use any of the functions on the screen in my vehicle, however, i was using 14.8.1 when this occurred.

Nov 2, 2021 4:31 PM in response to Sagarh999

Since I got 15.1, phone no longer connects (physically connected via USB/lightning cable) to 2010 Camaro, 2017 Jeep factory stereos. Wife and daughters phones with older iOS connect fine. BT is fine.

ATod21

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2021 5:17 PM in response to Mitchs8

I have a 2011 Chevy Cruze and have the same issue. Work phone upgraded to 15.1, charges but can’t use Spotify through the car stereo. My personal phone is still at 15.0 and the car stereo plays Spotify and it charges my phone. Hoping they’ll fix the 15.1 update

Nov 2, 2021 6:18 PM in response to amp68

Wow, I’m so happy I found this. I have the same exact car and year and I thought I was going crazy. I wasn’t sure if it was my car or the software update that caused the issue. Thank you for posting this.

Nov 2, 2021 9:29 PM in response to amp68

Thank Goodness people are talking about this!!! … I knew something was wrong between this update and my 2012 Cruze. It would only charge with USB connection and no longer play music. It also broke my Bluetooth Music connection with the car.. (works then randomly disconnects).

..to (workaround) fix this ..I rolled my phone back to the previous working IOS 15.0.2… this was NOT an easy thing to do for the faint of heart but it did work.

I’m Hoping Apple will fix this and make it work with my aging 2012 Cruz. …I realize it may not work some day becuase technology marches on, but it was working GREAT before this last update. .. I’d like to get a few more years out of my cars usb and phone connection 😁 🤣

Nov 2, 2021 9:49 PM in response to Shifterdx

I spent 2+ hours on the phone with Apple Support. The "senior advisor" did everything but admit that there is a problem with the software. He had me restore my phone to factory settings, said my car's firmware needed to be upgraded and that if Bluetooth is set up, I don't need to use a USB cord. Apple shouldn't need to bombarded with complaints about this issue to force it to fix the problem; one complaint is one too many.

Nov 2, 2021 9:51 PM in response to Tataslicious Jewell

This is the response I got in a few seconds:

We really apologize for this situation, Thomas, Correct, this is an emergent issue related to the update however our specialists are working to solve this situation as soon as possible. What we suggest you is to be alert to future updates since they will have improvements on their features and also can fix some bugs that can be causing your issue.

It should be fixed next update.

Nov 3, 2021 12:03 PM in response to amp68

Hey,

I own a 2012 Chevy Cruze and just updated my iOS to 15 this morning and I am now have the usb connection issues. It’s worked great everyday until now. It says device not detected.

I’m just wondering if anyone solved the issue or if Apple has noticed?

thanks!

iOS 15.1 broke connectivity to my car stereo