Apple Watch Causes Bluetooth Interference

Whenever I am using my Apple Watch and streaming audio to or from certain devices the stream seems to be encountering extreme interference.


Example 1: I have a 2018 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited. When playing music to my car via Bluetooth from my iPhone 14 Pro Max the audio is jumpy, skips, distorted, and very delayed. If I however put my Apple Watch in Airplane Mode the issue immediately goes away.


I have been having this issue with my car since day one when I had a Series 5 and iPhone 11 Pro Max.


Example 1a: My boyfriend has an Apple Watch SE and an iPhone 13 Pro Max. His work uses a 2010 Infiniti FX35. He has the exact same issue as I do.


Example 2: My boyfriend also has some Harmon Kardon Onyx Studio Bluetooth speakers. He has an original one and a 4th generation one. The original one does not experience this issue but the fourth generation one does.


In case I need any further evidence to back up my claims please be aware of the following issues a simple Google search yields:


2015: Apple Watch Interference with Auto Blueto… - Apple Community

2015: Bluetooth Interference - Apple Watch and … - Apple Community

2019: Apple Watch Bluetooth Interference - Apple Community

2020: Apple watch interferes with my Bluetooth … - Apple Community

2020: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-watch-interferes-with-car-bluetooth-connection.2224713/

2021: Apple Watch bluetooth interference - Apple Community

2022: Watch and audio dropping on Bluetooth - Apple Community


I truly believe this is a software issue but I'm not an engineer. This has been happening across two watches and four iPhones for me. But it doesn't happen with all Bluetooth devices. So maybe those devices are to blame? I hate to say that because I feel like Apple will jump on that as an answer. But then again, it only happens when an Apple Watch is connected to an iPhone that's streaming the audio. I think there's more going on here.


When is Apple going to take this seriously? Will we ever have an answer? This is extremely frustrating and I am completely helpless.


Apple Watch Series 7

Posted on Dec 22, 2022 2:55 PM

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19 replies

Aug 14, 2023 5:39 AM in response to DakotaRickel

I think I've found the cause of it. As mentioned, it happens with different phones and smart watches. In my case it is the watch Spotify application which gets triggered when Spotify starts on iPhone. The solution for me is not to disable bluetooth, but rather to disable the "Auto-Launch Audio Apps" in the Settings->General->Auto-Launch. There are no hick-ups in the sound anymore.

Though the problem only appears in the car, not with any types of headphones or bluetooth speakers.

Has anyone experienced this also with Apple Music or do you also use Spotify?

Sep 14, 2023 4:56 AM in response to DakotaRickel

This is an old thread but I wanted to weigh in with my experience. I have a 2011 E550 Mercedes Benz, iPhone 12 Pro Max and Apple Watch 8. I also have the exact same problem as of today (14th Sep 2023)

The audio, if it even connects, stutters. If I turn the watch to air plane mode, it works perfectly.

I have tried resetting both Apple products and deleting and reestablishing the BT connection to the car.

Nothing has worked.

I have no problem with any audio streaming when connected to my 2016 Silverado via Car Play wirelessly (I have a dongle), but when connected via BT without Car Play, it too has the same problem. The difference is, Car Play uses WiFi


Apple Watch Causes Bluetooth Interference

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