Bluetooth connection issues on iPhone 16 Pro

FuXi272 wrote:

After many attempts, my iPhone 16 Plus Bluetooth disconnection problem was finally restored. The cause of the problem was that my iPhone had turned on the airdrop automatic connection switch. When it was in an environment with many MacBook Pros (such as in a company office), this bug would be triggered, that is, the iPhone's Bluetooth could not connect to any device. When I turned off the airdrop automatic connection switch and restarted the phone, my iPhone's Bluetooth connection function returned to normal. I hope my solution can help you.

Interesting! Are you talking about the "Bringing Devices Together" toggle under "Start Sharing By," at Settings → AirDrop, or was it something else?

I'll have to play with this. (If I recall correctly, iOS 18 added "Tap to Cash," etc., right? Maybe that setting was changed to on by default to support new features like that, when they involve holding two phones together.)

Ok. I have made progress on my Bluetooth iPhone 16 issue. Don’t waste your time with Apple. What I had to do is reset all my Bluetooth items …… speakers, headphones and music systems. When I say reset I mean use the reset button on my speakers and hifi. I also had to upgrade their firmware. After I had done this the items showed up in my iPhone 16 Bluetooth list.

So ….. put your headphones into Bluetooth discovery mode and it should appear on the iPhone list.

For the record the connections are robust now that I have connected them to the iPhone.

I feel very aggrieved Apple didn’t know this as it’s so basic. Also why has this happened?

I have not tried to connect my phone to my car so I am expecting fun and games when I try.

After many attempts, my iPhone 16 Plus Bluetooth disconnection problem was finally restored. The cause of the problem was that my iPhone had turned on the airdrop automatic connection switch. When it was in an environment with many MacBook Pros (such as in a company office), this bug would be triggered, that is, the iPhone's Bluetooth could not connect to any device. When I turned off the airdrop automatic connection switch and restarted the phone, my iPhone's Bluetooth connection function returned to normal. I hope my solution can help you.

“If the real bloody VPN is the cause, could you please let me know WHY there is no problem with my iPhone 11 Pro Max? My iPhone 11 Pro Max is running VPN 24/7.”

Sure, the iPhone Pro Max is using a different modem, running different firmware and different software. Yes, the version number is the same, but software is different of when required for specific hardware. For example the 11 PM is an Intel XMM7660 BT modem. You 16 PM is using USI Global Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Module 339S01463. One modem may be affected by VPN and the other has issues.

Also beta version iOS software is a problem choice when troubleshooting a perplexing issue. The engineers on the support side don’t necessarily know what the beta engineers are doing. You’re chasing your tail. Ditch the beta software and don’t make comparisons to different devices. It’s like saying my Ford Mustang doesn’t run like my Ford Explorer from 5 years ago. Pointless.

Hi everyone,

I've been experiencing continuous Bluetooth connectivity issues with my iPhone 16 Pro Max since day one. Every time I wanted to connect to CarPlay or any Bluetooth device, I had to turn off and on my Bluetooth to get it working.

However, I think I've finally identified the cause and a solution: I was using the "Mobile Connected" application on Windows. Since disconnecting my iPhone from this app, all Bluetooth problems seem to have disappeared completely. Everything has been stable and functioning perfectly for 24 hours now, which is a record for me.

I suggest checking if you have any similar apps linking your iPhone to a Windows device and try disconnecting them. It might help resolve your Bluetooth issues as well.

Let me preface my comment by saying that I switched from a 13 pro max to a 16 pro and got this stuttering Bluetooth issue.

What fixed it for me was forgetting the phone’s name in the Bluetooth setting of my other device (a Kenwood car stereo), then changing the name of my iPhone. Paired them up and it has worked flawlessly ever since.

If you don’t know how to change your phone’s name, its Settings/General/About … then the very first line is the name, which you can customize.

Hope this helps.

Done the full reset and all the other recommendations, does not work. Only thing that I have found that works 100% of the time is to disable Wi-Fi if my phone is connected to Wi-Fi. Then turn off Bluetooth and turn it back on, then it connects without issue. But out-side of that, car, computer, headset, it just randomly stops working and will not work again until I turn off Wi-Fi and turn off/on Bluetooth.

As suggested in another post, I contacted Apple support at 800-692-7753. I had tried all of the other things suggest up through network reset, so they had me do a "restore" of the software to factory settings (download took about 30 minutes via a computer). Everything is still on my phone and Bluetooth is now working.

Hello! I ended up having to change the name of my new iPhone 16 and it worked. I was trying to connect to my car via Bluetooth and because my car had the same iPhone name already saved it from my old phone, it was trying to connect my old one. Give that a try and delete your old stored phone from your Bluetooth system too!

I found the mentioned solution works: Settings-General-scroll to iPhone and choose Reset Network. The only thing is you have to go to Bluetooth, click on the info icon and choose Forget Device for every bluetooth device. And then you have to go through the process of re-pairing your devices all over again. The amount of time it is minimal compared to the amount of time of satisfaction with having working Bluetooth.

[Edited by Moderator]

From my recent experience with the same problem, I no longer believe it's an Apple problem, but rather how Bluetooth itself works. I have several bluetooth devices my self including hearing aids, my car and some speakers. What I had to do was "forget devices" meaning I had to "unpair" them from my old iPhone, and then repair them again with my new iPhone 16 Pro. That fixed everything, and is all about how Bluetooth does its pairing controls. I hope this helps.

Actually, I turned off the Bluetooth, forgot device then restart the device.

problem solved. If not, try reset the network

Same problem. Did a reset for no improvement. Checked car software which was up to date. Deleted car from phone Bluetooth and phone from car Bluetooth and then re established connections after another phone reset. Appears to be working now although I haven’t driven anywhere and only time will tell.

Yes, Apple support told me it’s not a network issue. It doesn’t make sense for it to be since you’re not using the network. You’re using Bluetooth (which is its own small independent network) .

The solution that finally worked for me was to read each manual very carefully and pair each of my five Bluetooth items exactly the way the manual said (the Apple tech supervisor actually looked them up & told me what to do). It was a tiny bit different for each one (click twice for this one; click and hold for that one, etc.

I never had to do that with my iPhone 15 (just turned each one on and they immediately saw each other), but I sure did with this delicate flower 16.

Everyone out there in the US does know it’s free to call Apple Support for the first 90 days (and I’ve heard longer) to get help with these things, right? Just call 800.MYAPPLE (692.7793).

Hint: Be sure to ask for a case number before you hang up. It will save you a ton of time if you ever have to call back on this same stupid issue. .

I just updated the iPhone 16 I got yesterday to iOS 18.2, and the Bluetooth issues documented here (which I experienced with a Denon soundbar) were solved—to my relief.