Watch and audio dropping on Bluetooth

Question

Level 1

14 points

Watch and audio dropping on Bluetooth

I just got a watch (series 7 Nike) this weekend. As soon as I got it setup I noticed that the audio streaming from my iPhone 13 to my car (2018 Subaru Outback) would start dropping out for a second every ten seconds or so. I don't get any indication from the infotainment screen that the Bluetooth signal has been lost. I mostly stream music from Pandora, but it also occurs on podcasts and music that is stored local on the phone. Obviously not a wifi issue. This issue goes away if I power off the watch (easier than trying to find airplane mode while driving). This issue re-appears immediately if the watch is powered back on. I have verified that the watch and phone are up to date as well as the software for the car's infotainment system.

If there is no solution to this short of turning the watch off, or putting it in airplane mode, I will return the watch and go back to my analog watch. At least it doesn't cause Bluetooth stability issues.

iPhone 13

Posted on Jan 20, 2022 1:30 PM

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Answer 1

Eric--F

Community Specialist

Jan 21, 2022 4:15 PM in response to nwbutcher

Hi there nwbutcher,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We're happy to help with this trouble you're having with the new Apple Watch 7. First, let's make sure that this is not an issue of wireless interference between the devices. The steps to do so can be found here:

Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference

Let us know if this helps, and we can go from there if needed.

Have a great day!

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Answer 2

Grot713

Level 1

8 points

Feb 5, 2022 4:30 PM in response to nwbutcher

I’m having the same issue. I’ve been using my series 4 Watch and XS Max with no issues in my 2012 Mitsubishi for the past two to three years. In the past month or so my Bluetooth will randomly drop. If I turn off my watch, the problem goes away. Nothing has changed except software updates to both the watch and phone. So it would seem some software update has introduced an incompatibly issue with the Mitsubishi Bluetooth system (known as FUSE).

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Answer 3

nwbutcher Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 21, 2022 5:46 PM in response to nwbutcher

I hate to be snarky, but this is obviously not an issue with Wifi, since I'm in my car driving, usually miles away from my home and my home Wifi network. As for interference with the Bluetooth, I have never had problems streaming to my car's audio system in the previous 8 years. Once it started to give me problems, immediately after I started wearing the watch, I did try to relocate the phone (usually is in my shirt pocket). I set it in the cars console, even held it up to the dash. The only thing that would make the problem go away was to turn off the watch.

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Answer 4

Eric--F

Community Specialist

Jan 21, 2022 6:15 PM in response to nwbutcher

Greetings nwbutcher,

Thanks you so much for clarifying that for us. You can reach out to Apple Support for additional assistance with this:

Get Support

Take care and be safe.

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Watch and audio dropping on Bluetooth

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