Pairing unsuccessful to a device I never attempted to pair.

When I turn on bluetooth I see a message after the usual 30 second delay, "Pairing unsuccessful. iPhone can no longer connect to "Mobile Phone". Forget this device and pair it again." A "Mobile Phone" device does appear, partially obscured by the message window. I've never paired my device with "Mobile Phone". I saw a post on an external site that said the message is due to a past hack, whereby one iphone was paired with another phone to allow data to be stolen. I'm a bit skeptical of that, but I still don't understand why I see this message regularly, when I've never seen it before after owning iphones for more than 12 years. Also, the "spinny thing" (to use a technical term) for discovering other devices seems to continue spinning indefinitely now and the "Mobile Phone" continues to reappear as long as I'm in the BT section.. Thanks in advance.

Posted on Aug 8, 2022 10:39 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 9, 2022 10:43 AM

Hi unxrules,


Thanks for coming to Apple Support Communities for help today.


An iPhone is not meant to be paired with another phone the way you are describing. Have you tried forgetting the device: Pair a third-party Bluetooth accessory with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? Here's how:


"Unpair a Bluetooth accessory 


To unpair a Bluetooth accessory, tap Settings > Bluetooth, find the device you want to unpair, and tap the info button  , then Forget this Device. This will remove the accessory from the list of available Bluetooth devices.


To add the Bluetooth accessory to your device again, place it back in discovery mode and repeat the steps above to pair it."


If you do fear your Apple ID has been compromised, you can take these steps: If you think your Apple ID has been compromised.


"If you think your Apple ID is compromised, use these steps to gain control of it and review your account information:


  1. Sign in to your Apple ID account page. If you can't sign in or you receive a message that the account is locked when you try to sign in, try to reset or unlock your account.
  2. Change your Apple ID password and choose a strong password.
  3. Review all the personal and security information in your account. Update any information that isn't correct or that you don’t recognize, including:
    • Your name.
    • Your primary Apple ID email address.* If you need to change your email addressupdate the features and services that you use with Apple ID, so that each one is using your updated Apple ID.
    • All alternate email addresses, rescue email addresses, and phone numbers. 
    • The devices that are associated with your Apple ID, if you've already set up two-factor authentication.
    • Security questions and answers. If you think they might be easy to guess, you should change your security questions.

4.Check with your email address* provider to make sure that you control every email address associated with your Apple ID. If you don't control the email addresses associated with the Apple ID, you should change the password for the email address or use a different email address. 

5.Set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. This additional security feature is designed to prevent anyone from accessing your account, even if they know your password."


Have a fantastic day!


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 9, 2022 10:43 AM in response to unxrules

Hi unxrules,


Thanks for coming to Apple Support Communities for help today.


An iPhone is not meant to be paired with another phone the way you are describing. Have you tried forgetting the device: Pair a third-party Bluetooth accessory with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? Here's how:


"Unpair a Bluetooth accessory 


To unpair a Bluetooth accessory, tap Settings > Bluetooth, find the device you want to unpair, and tap the info button  , then Forget this Device. This will remove the accessory from the list of available Bluetooth devices.


To add the Bluetooth accessory to your device again, place it back in discovery mode and repeat the steps above to pair it."


If you do fear your Apple ID has been compromised, you can take these steps: If you think your Apple ID has been compromised.


"If you think your Apple ID is compromised, use these steps to gain control of it and review your account information:


  1. Sign in to your Apple ID account page. If you can't sign in or you receive a message that the account is locked when you try to sign in, try to reset or unlock your account.
  2. Change your Apple ID password and choose a strong password.
  3. Review all the personal and security information in your account. Update any information that isn't correct or that you don’t recognize, including:
    • Your name.
    • Your primary Apple ID email address.* If you need to change your email addressupdate the features and services that you use with Apple ID, so that each one is using your updated Apple ID.
    • All alternate email addresses, rescue email addresses, and phone numbers. 
    • The devices that are associated with your Apple ID, if you've already set up two-factor authentication.
    • Security questions and answers. If you think they might be easy to guess, you should change your security questions.

4.Check with your email address* provider to make sure that you control every email address associated with your Apple ID. If you don't control the email addresses associated with the Apple ID, you should change the password for the email address or use a different email address. 

5.Set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. This additional security feature is designed to prevent anyone from accessing your account, even if they know your password."


Have a fantastic day!


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Pairing unsuccessful to a device I never attempted to pair.

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