Fix for Toyota Entune Dropping Blue Tooth Calls

Hi everyone,

New iPhone user. (iPhone 13)

Previous Android user.

2018 Tacoma.

I've been in the same situation that you find yourselves in.

I seem to have found a partial (not 100% foolproof) workaround for now.

Maybe it will work for you...

1) Start with your phone at 75 to 80% charge.

2) Get a USB charge cable.

3) Plug the phone in to the USB and make the call.

4) About 80% of the time, I am able to make a full duration (+25 minute) phone call.

5) Without the charge cable, 1 to 3 minutes tops.

The caveat:

Sometimes the connection still drops between the phone and radio.

If you look at your iPhone display, it will still be on the call.

The workaround for that is to cycle power on your radio and it usually reconnects.

Good luck. Very frustrating. And yeah, I think there's something on the radio end, but Toyota hasn't published any FW updates for the 2018 Tacoma since.....2017 (how does that make any sense?)

Make sure you are running 15.2.1.

Try 15.3.1 seems to have help my iPhone 12 with the same issue.

Hi there JBritt1997,

Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us here in Apple Support Communities! We understand Bluetooth is disconnecting during phone calls in your vehicle since updating to iOS 15.1. We're glad you're here, and we can provide some guidance.

To begin, you'll want to ensure your iPhone is updated to the most recent software version. The latest iOS version available is iOS 15.2. Learn more about updating your iPhone here:

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Next, are you using CarPlay or a standard Bluetooth connection? For either one, try working through the suggested steps in this support article:

How to connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your car

Let us know how it goes.

Take care.

Welcome to the club. I have contacted Toyota on this and they blame Apple. Apple doesn't seem to have a real solution either. I did a network reset on my Iphone 12 mini and it reduced the issues but by no means fixed it. I would say 60% of my calls are dropped and sometimes it reset the entire radio. This string on Apple has a list of other users with the same problem.

iPhone 12 drops bluetooth connection 2017… - Apple Community

First of all, if you get in an accident because your phone is not connecting through BT, that's on you.

Nothing you do, whether using a phone for maps or for entertainment, should ever distract you from driving, and if it does, you should power your phone off and put it away until you reach your destination.

That may sound harsh, but it's an accurate depiction of any driver's responsibility, the same as if someone said they got into an accident because the song on the radio was just too good and they were distracted.

Second, as there is no command any BT device can send a radio to make it reboot. If the radio is crashing and rebooting it's a bug in the radio, and the radio's manufacturer (usually an OEM like JVC) will need to fix it. I have no idea what Toyota's policies are for providing updates to their infotainment system are, but only they can fix it, presumably as a warranty item.

Believe it or not, despite their market penetration, there is little Apple can do to force any auto maker to update their systems to fix a bug on their end, and even today auto makers are not used to having to make or distribute software updates.

You have worked with Apple Support directly, so make sure they are fully aware of what actions you have and have not taken with Toyota.

That information should get passed on to Engineering; of course it never hurts to file a summary here as feedback as well:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

15.3.1 seems to helped me as well. 15 minutes on the phone and no drop!

If anything ever resets the radio, it’s a bug the radio vendor/auto manufacturer have to address.

There is no command sequence in the Bluetooth protocol that will reset a connected device, so if it does it is a bug in that device, and only its maker can fix it.

In this case the responsibility lies entirely with Toyota.

Before it was edited by a moderator, the user I was originally responding to opined that this misbehavior on the part of the interface between the phone and his vehicle was going to "cause an accident" - which is why I originally stated the information I did.

So, once again:

• If the Toyota head end is rebooting for any reason, only Toyota can fix that, Apple cannot, as there is nothing any connected device can send the head end to tell it to reboot.

• Bluetooth drops can occur because of iOS or because of the head end.

The only way to get them addressed is to let Apple know either here:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

or by contacting Apple Support directly:

Contact - Official Apple Support

Apple will, when debugging these issues, actually ask employees with similar vehicles to borrow them for diagnostic purposes, they don't just ignore the issue.

However, if they find the issue is Toyota's, all they can do is let Toyota know about it; they have no ability to force Toyota to fix their hardware.

I don't have Entune but I have a 2011 Toyota that has never dropped a single call via BT that wasn't due to low signal.

You should double check with Toyota to make sure there are no applicable firmware updates for the Entune system.

2019 Tundra with I phone 12 dropping blue tooth connection. Worked flawlessly for two years and 110,000 miles, as soon as I phone performed a random update to version 15 it started dropping Bluetooth connection and in some cases the Tundra radio / infotainment will totally go blank and reboot itself. Started at the Toyota dealer and paid the service department to update the radio software to the latest operating system. Spent 4 hours with Toyota service showing them exactly what was happening, Toyota master tech I spoke with told me he has seen this before and he has worked with Toyota Engineering, changed out complete radio/ receiver assembly and still has issue. Switched gears and spoke with Apple tech support 2.5 hours. They had me erase the phone, download the latest version of software and basically start over with a new phone. Still has the same issue.

[Edited by Moderator]

I contacted the service department at Toyota and was told to disable my phone from Entune and reconnect. Also, was told I could bring it in and for $115 they would load an update. Unacceptable!!!

Same issue here on the 2019 tundra. I manually updated the toyota entune system and dropped calls continue. It is the phone resetting the Bluetooth, not the radio. This all started with IOS ver 15 and even the latest version still has issues. Bluetooth disconnects on calls but works fine for streaming music. Android phones work perfectly on the same radio. Can we downgrade IOS since apple can’t seem to figure out how to fix this?

No, you cannot downgrade iOS.

You may want to check whether iOS 15.3, which was released today, behaves differently.

Also note that Bluetooth for phone calls and for music are two entirely different functions, almost like the iPhone was two completely different devices, so one working has no real effect on the other.

You can wait until you reach your destination; being on the phone at all is a distraction or it wouldn't be a focus of safe driving campaigns.

However, the fact that you started having issues after an iPhone update in no way means the iPhone is at fault.

Rather it means the radio may have implemented a portion of the Bluetooth protocol improperly that the iPhone is now using.

Remember, there is absolutely nothing I Bluetooth device can do to reset the radio; if the radio resets it is a bug in the radio 100% of the time as even if the phone were sending the radio completely random garbage data, the radio should never reset.