Bluetooth issues on my iPhone 15 Pro Max with iOS 17.0.3

My 15 Pro has not been able to find any Bluetooth devices (to even attempt to connect) since I got it in October. It is a piece of crap and I'm getting madder by the minute, reading all of these connection issues so many are having and Apple is doing nothing.

Mine is a 2013 BMW 320d Coupe.

My Bluetooth audio is also fine for music or TomTom navigation, as soon as it switches to the phone it cuts out. All starting to make sense now… when will Apple start to take notice and address the issue?

Looks like the original Q7’s nav system (Audi MMI) uses a bluetooth module with FCC certification Q24FSE355X.

That module was certified in 2004 and is probably using Handsfree Protocol 1.0 (as HFP 1.0 was widthdrawn in 2006). If someone else could figure out who made the actual Bluetooth chip in that module, that would be great.

To the poster with the 2013 320d coupe: that’s an E92, using the same bluetooth module as my cars. So no wonder we’re having the same issue…

To all others: keep the car make/models/year coming!!

As you can read back from my many posts, I, too, have an Audi. I have a 2010 Q5 with all the same issues. However, not to burst your bubble by zeroing in on cars as the problem with Bluetooth, my Gen1 Airpod Pros, as well as various other Bluetooth speakers and Bluetooth-connected devices, all behave the same as the unuseable Bluetooth connection in my car. He is an example...I purchased two brand new Goovee air purifiers (2 different models), which require Bluetooth in the initial setup. I had issues with both because the Bluetooth was not working. I had to hard reset the 15PM twice in order to complete the setup process. I am still leaning towards a software issue. With that said, I feel Apple was and has been fully aware of this issue prior to launch, but they put it out anyway. I do not think they know how to fix it, so the best course of action for them financially is to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. How else do you explain this rampant problem going unaddressed??? Honestly, is there a larger thread in Community than this one??? I will say no, so they are fully aware of this. To finish, 17.3 didn't change a thing.

This is not the first time we have this kind of issue with IPhones. Every second iOS release or new IPhone releases we have exactly the same issue and they fix it after 3-4 months. Now seems they have bigger priorities.

iOS 17.3 now. Almost crashed when a call dropped and tried to reconnect but the the iPhone blocked the car head unit and could not hang and struggled to force the speaker in the iPhone but since it was still connected to the car it was stubburn to switch to speaker.

1/3 rd of the iOS lifecycle has passed almost and no improvement and no more noise in the forums, I lost my hope. Need to buy a new car in order to keep my iPhone usable?!. Hahaha. Does nobody at Apple uses their own devices?

I did. They said it was software. Their fix was telling me I HAD to pay for iCloud to back up instead of using my computer to back up/restore (it took weeks to finally back up the whole thing because my service while traveling and home WiFi aren't great). I went back the next day to get some basic instructions on how to erase and start all over again, not restoring from total back up. I couldn't get help doing that in the store because 1) it was still saving to iCloud, and 2) I needed to have my phone and also didn't have enough hours the store was open to stay while it transferred (had I had it fully backed up & ready to go). I have not taken the time to call Apple Care back yet. I keep putting it off because it's been such a long process just to get the phone up and running, because the transfer failed six times, and I haven't wanted to be without a phone. I live two hours from the closest Apple Store. If I weren't already so tangled up in their stupid system and it were economically feasible at this point, I'd just get a different phone. I traded in my 12 Pro for this junk! >:(

I updated my 15 pro to 17.3. and I can confirm now it’s even worse than the previous update 😃 My car is Peugeot 508, 2014. When I use for calls usually there is no problem with bluetooth connection. When I use at the same time navigation on phone, the connection brakes.

My iPhone 11 automatically updated to 17.2.1 a few days ago and ever since my 2017 Jeep Wrangler's UConnect bluetooth connection won't work for my phone. UConnect still works for my kid's older phones that have not been updated. I spent an hour troubleshooting the issue with UConnect customer support today, only to be told it's due to the iPhone update.

I forgot the UConnect network on my phone and factory reset my navigation unit (with UConnect) to unpair all previously paired phones. I repaired my phone with UConnect and still have the same problem: my iPhone will connect to bluetooth for a few seconds, then it disconnects and boots me back to the radio. I also went to the UConnect download site to type in my vehicle VIN and search for updates, but there are no updates...the vehicle software is current.

PLEASE FIX THIS APPLE!!!

ALL OF YOU HAVING BLUETOOTH CONNECTION ISSUES WITH YOUR UCONNECT NAVIGATION SYSTEMS, THIS FIXED MINE:

After my iPhone 11 automatically updated to version 17.2.1 a few days ago, my phone would connect with my Jeep's UConnect bluetooth system, but it after a few seconds it kicked off the bluetooth connection. This was a nightmare because I could not use my phone over bluetooth, nor could I listen to my streaming music or podcasts.

The fix after troubleshooting with an Apple customer service rep - reset my phone's network settings! This corrected my bluetooth connectivity issues, and the only thing I had to do after powering back up is to reenter my saved wifi passwords. The Apple rep said this resets any interruptions/bugs to wifi/cellular/bluetooth network connections. From my iPhone 11, here is what I clicked on:

Settings->General->Transfer or Reset iPhone->Reset->Reset Network Settings

Hope this helps someone.

UPDATE: the network reset did NOT fix my bluetooth connectivity problem. The only thing that corrects it is repairing my phone every single time I get into my car. This is a huge inconvenience as it takes several minutes to do so via the voice prompts in UConnect. Oddly, my phone is still in UConnect and the system recognizes it's paired, but for some reason the only way I can actually play sustained audio via bluetooth is to repair. Trying to discern if this is an iOS 17+ version issue, or if my car radio needs an update (UConnect update center on the website says it does not).

Having same problems as most on here- senior adviser tried to say it’s car yesterday 🫨 - I stopped her short before she suggested that if you get a 15 pro max you also need to get a new car to make Bluetooth work 😜. Downloaded 17.3 to see if that works- will try tomorrow in car

That’s interesting. For me even resetting / refreshing the bluetooth system with factory BMW software made little, if any, difference.

In any case we should not have to refresh modules / reset software in cars. Not if it worked with prior iOS versions / iPhones. Apple’s been integrating bluetooth into iOS since 2007, and in Mac OS since 2003. Heck the chip in the 15 Pro is developed by them. It should not take 5/6 months to get this right. Did they just not test their devices with older cars / handsfree equipment? Some on this thread even mention issues with hearing aids!

Support has been great though, they’re calling me in a few hours with (hopefully) an update from engineering. I consider myself lucky that I still have my 14 Pro to go back to, worst case.

"My partner's phone is running 17.2.1 and she had no issue connecting. Next step will be for me to see if I can reconnect her phone to the car."

I omitted a vital detail: her phone is a XR. (so, it follows that the issue is hardware related, no?)

@HOODY, that is a great point. I did not even think about that fact. But, it still leads me to believe it's a software issue that is related to the new chips. I just think Apple can't figure this out yet. ****

[Edited by Moderator]