12.9” M2 iPad Pro Wifi 2TB (6th gen) Bluetooth power cycling intermittently (on, off, unavailable)
OK this is lengthy, so please bear with. At the end of July, I noticed the Bluetooth module on my 12.9” M2 iPad Pro (purchased 10/2022) power-cycling constantly between on, off, and unavailable. AppleCare ran a remote diagnostic and the Bluetooth module reported as failed. A replacement was sent to me, which I restored with my data. While beginning to use the replacement, I noticed the Bluetooth module displaying the same behavior, though not as frequently. AppleCare ran a diagnostic and the module passed, but I showed them a screen recording of the issue appearing, and they sent me a 2nd replacement. Replacement #2 arrived and I restored with my data, and noticed the Bluetooth module displaying the same power-cycling behavior. I then erased the iPad and set it up as new, and the issue still occurred. After a few delays, I received replacement #3 at the start of last week. I began by setting it up as new without transferring my data. I noticed the Bluetooth module power cycle a couple times, but it remained on 99% of the time observed. At this point, I restored replacement #3 as well as a 4th gen 12.9” iPad Pro from the same iCloud backup. The 4th gen iPad Pro has been running without issue, streaming audio to Bluetooth speakers and AirPods all day long. Replacement #3 started off promising, I was able to stream music to both a Bluetooth speaker and AirPods for several hours before I experienced a power-cycle, and then was able to reconnect and stream for hours more. However the next day, power cycling began occurring more often, and by day 3 I couldn’t get through a single song without the Bluetooth power cycling. AppleCare sent me to an Apple Store for replacement #4 yesterday afternoon. Though the Bluetooth module had failed a remote diagnostic, it passed tests in store. However, they still replaced the iPad. I set up replacement #4 as new and did not observe Bluetooth power-cycling. I then restored replacement #4 from the 4th gen iPad Pro, which had still not had any issues whatsoever. After setup was complete, began streaming music. Made it through most of a playlist before a power cycle, then was able to manually reconnect. Began keeping a record of every instance of power-cycling, along with what was occurring as it happened.
9/16
From 2:40-7:45pm streamed music to OB-4 on 4th gen iPad Pro with no interruption
On 6th gen:
7:45pm began streaming YouTube audio to OB-4 (Bluetooth speaker)
7:57pm Bluetooth power cycled when switching apps from YouTube to Launchpad, had to manually reconnect
8:03pm disconnected from Launchpad, manually reconnected
Cycled 3x’s
8:20 disconnected while streaming audio form launchpad, manually reconnected
8:37 disconnected same as above
8:53 disconnected same as above
9/17
6am-8am began by streaming audio from movie to AirPods, then listened to music until end of playlist- NO DISCONNECT! However, iPad froze when I quit music app and had to force restart
12:18 streaming YouTube audio
12:20 disconnect and iPad crashed
Multiple disconnects
12:23 manual reconnect
After reading a tip on this forum,
2:30pm Switched off Screen Time, began streaming music to Bluetooth speakers.
3:20pm Bluetooth power-cycled while halfway through track and Bluetooth speakers disconnected. 2 attempts to reconnect met with additional power cycles.
I have tried reseting network settings, turning off every single app’s Bluetooth permissions, deleting random apps, forgetting and re-pairing devices, and nothing seems to prevent this issue from occurring. I’m also concerned that the issue will continue to get worse until I am unable to pair a device for more than a few moments.
The 4th gen iPad Pro (with the exact same data) is still performing like a champ. Why is the 6th gen causing me such a headache?