iOS 15.1 broke connectivity to my car stereo

Same thing happened to me . Apple is no help whatsoever, and no I cannot go buy a new car or stereo

Now it looks like Airplane mode doesn't work in iOS 15.4. I tried to block some chick from calling me last night. Hit airplane mode. Calls came right thru. WTF. LOL

USB will always sound better than Bluetooth; the USB connection has more bandwidth and sends more digital audio data faster.

its not just older cars .. have 2021 Suzuki .. detects phone for calls but can not select BT for audio (no files on device) and thinks iphone is an ipod.

weird thing is Spotify thinks BT is connected and plays to it ...

DEF a bug in 15.1 etc

have a call in to support .. will let u know

connected ... and calls work

but cant select BT as audio source

thinks iphone is ipod

BUT Spotify iOS15 thinks BT is connected and working ... its NOT!!

Ok there is a solution fort my issue .. its a hack and I am not sure which one fixes the issue but here goes:

C:

i) import MP3 into Itunes

ii) sync ITunes with Music App

Now when you connect to BT the message about ipod comes up NOW you can now select BT as the source and all is well

this was on the Suzuki forums and suggested issue was because there was nothing to play iPhone and/or car terminated the BT connection ... after this fix there is a music file to play (MP3 or the downloaded free clip) and phone/car stay connected ...

this has to be a BUG in iOS 15 cos doesn't happen with earlier iPhones

[Edited by Moderator]

Probably iOS 14.8.1 is a typo error in your post.

I have no such issue with the two cars that I have. Maybe 2014 Chevy Cruze has not updated their software yet to be compatible with iOS 15.1

I have iPhone 4S iOS 9.3.6, iPhone 6 iOS 12.5.5, iPhone SE iOS 15.1, iPhone 8 iOS 15.0.2* and an iPad Pro iPadOS 15.1 and iPhone 12 Pro iOS 15.1. Prior to that, I had iPhone 3GS, which I have stopped using because it is carrier-locked.

*Not updated yet.

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.

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.

This firmware iOS 15.0.2 (and all the above :15.0.1, 15.0, 14.x ...) is not signed by Apple. This means you cannot restore to it in iTunes (Unsigned IPSWs cannot currently be restored via iTunes). We must wait for new iOS 15.1.x to solve this issue.

SAME! I have a 2011 Cruze and upgraded to iOS 15.1 while troubleshooting with Apple and AT&T a week ago on other issues with new 5G plan (no cellular data and no SMS/MMS texting - but that is another story). With no downgrade option I stuck trying to listen to podcasts with my speaker which is difficult! Looking forward to the rumored 15.1.1 update (but when?)!

2012 Chevy Cruze……..same issue. It’s very frustrating. My wife has a Chevy Traverse and it works fine. She has an older stereo layout in that car. To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple is trying to get people to buy some new car radio they are releasing. The layout for Lightning/USB is also ridiculous. Thanks Apple!

Is there anyone here that has had the USB issue with a vehicle that isn't manufactured by GM? I saw a Vauxhall user earlier which is a GM. I also noticed a Ford a few posts up, but they were able to un-pair/re-pair and fix the issue - I don't believe this is related to our issue.

Also noticed that the radio that the OP has a screen is very similar to mine. I'm assuming the brain is also the same. Below is a factory photo of my 15 Chevy Equinox - can anyone confirm that they too have this radio, or a different one? I'm wondering if this might be a radio specific issue. I can promise that it worked with 15, but once upgrading to 15.1, I've lost connectivity to the radio, but do have charging capabilities.

I have an update:

After spending over an hour on the phone with Apple support last night, trying my phone in a second vehicle, resetting network settings, and several other troubleshooting tactics, we still have no luck. The other vehicle I tried was a 2016 Jeep Renegade. So to anyone saying “oh it’s simple just unplug your entire car radio and plug it back in”…. No. This issue suddenly happened with iOS 15.1, and now Apple has thousands of reports from thousands of users saying the same. I reported so hopefully it gets fixed in the next update. I recommend others report directly to Apple too (though I will note, you get farther by calling, I tried chat first and the person was snarky and unhelpful).

I have the same problem. Yesterday (11/15/21) my iPhone 13 pro max played fine through the factory system in my ‘14 Equinox. Updated to iOS 15.1 last night and now nothing. The factory USB is working because it will charge, but will not recognize it when changing “source” to the iPhone. Of course, my vehicle was built just before the AirPlay feature was added to GM vehicles.

Hey Apple “Big Brothers”, take all these notes and forward them up the chain of command and get stuff fixed!

Thanks,

Your End Users

That’s you - many tens of millions have not and the issue is very vehicle and system dependent. It is not a universal issue by any means.

Again, I have never seen the issue and went out of my way to try and find systems on which USB playback failed, cars or home stereos, and I could not.

That having been said, I also have no access to any of the vehicles mentioned here, so it’s no surprise I couldn’t reproduce it myself.