Bluetooth connection issues on iPhone 16 Pro

Hold down the power button on your undiscovered device for 15 seconds until pairing starts. I hope this helps you!

I just spoke to Apple support .

Turn off everything

Turn phone back on .

Turn bluetooth device on .

Then it connected .

Go figure.

Turn it off and turn it back on !

OK. It might be a good idea to schedule an appointment at your Apple Store Genius Bar and have the phone tested. I'd take this device with you to show the issue you're having getting it to connect.

All suggestions are helpful but my problem quickly solved just by resetting my headphones to factory settings.

In my case, on the iPhone 16 Pro the bluetooth will see other devices it is paired with, but connecting will fail and require a restart of the phone to begin working again. I’ve experienced this with both my car and AirPods Pro. I tried “forget device” and pairing again with the car, and the car sees the phone and vice versa, but they are unable to complete the pairing process. On a separate occasion, the same thing happened with my AirPods, which could be seen on the phone as an option but when selected the icon spun for a few seconds then reverted to phone speaker. Restarting the phone fixed both of these cases… until it happens again.

My new 16 pro max would not connect to my echo until I 1)reset network settings (so annoying to lose all network passwords, apple) 2)restart both devices 3)connect the echo and iPhone through a third device (my iPad) I do not know for sure if I had to reset the network settings because I tried each thing in the order of the comments in this thread. But, thank you, Broadcast Teacher. Your comment is what helped me!

I was having the same issue with a JBL6 and BOSE mini link. So I tried plugging them too each other to see if it would and it did not work thru the usb, BUT after plugging the usb-c into both the JBL to the iPhone the device recognized it on Bluetooth.

I retrieved the Bose and when the device told me it would require too much battery I unplugged it and it now can connect to them both. Hope this helps!!

I had some of the same issues with Iphone 16 pro. It wouldn’t connect to any of my Alexa speakers. If you say “Alexa Pair” it will list it in your bluetooth devices and then you should be able to connect, at least this worked for me.

Just transferred my XR to 16+. My Bluetooth items were all gone except car and TV. I could get some headphones to work but not others. Worst was my $2000.00 hearing aids wouldn’t connect.

With most other headsets, I had to reset them to pair as new.

Dug around and found a reset format for the aids:

Go to settings

Accessibility

Hearing Devices

Set up Hearing Aids …I had them reconnect. Then switched to “live listen “and the sound came through my Hearing aids again.

Nrickers8888 wrote:

I have a new iPhone 16 pro max and none of my Bluetooth devices will work! I spent 3 hours with Apple trying to sort me out to no avail. What unearth is going on Apple.

Just because you may be having an issue, doesn't mean everyone else does. Case in point? I have iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, none of which have ANY issues with Bluetooth devices. I have at least 8 devices successfully paired to my iPhone. There are millions upon millions upon millions of people who own iPhone 16 models. If this was a significant issue, this forum would be flooded with people complaining. Yet it's not. So warning others to avoid buying an iPhone 16 is not going to help you at all.

What you really need to figure out is why you're having an issue. The most common issue is a Bluetooth device wasn't put in pairing mode in order for it to connect with your phone. Instead of resorting to hysteria, perhaps tell us what steps you've taken and we might be able to help you.

Have you at least read this --> Pair a third-party Bluetooth accessory with your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Do you use a VPN on your iPhone? If you do, don't just turn it off, completely REMOVE the VPN profile from your phone.

[Edited by Moderator]

It's impossible to help you from my sofa. I'm a user just like you're a user. You said earlier you spent 3 hours with Apple. Did you go to the Genius Bar at your Apple Store or was this over the phone? I'd suggest you go to your closest Apple Store Genius Bar for in-person help.

I am one of the lucky ones. I brought my second, replacement iPhone 16 pro max to our local Apple Store. The tech person did a variety of tests and was able to completely fix the issue. After having two phones with the same issue, one of which could not be fixed at all, it is my personal belief that this is a Quality Control issue. There are probably a number of phones that are simply defective. So what I am thinking is that once you get a new iPhone 16, start working with it as soon as you can. If the Bluetooth problem occurs, visit an Apple Store right away. If it can’t be fixed, get another phone and try again. Good luck, everyone.

I’d definitely leave a bug report at apple.com/feedback. If you’re still having the problem, tell them what you’ve tried so far; if you had this problem and think you’ve fixed it, let them know what you think did the trick.

lobsterghost1 wrote:

I'd say it's more an issue with your "car kit." My iPhone pairs automatically every time I enter my car. If it was an iPhone specific issue, it would be happening to everyone, but it's not. You should reach out to the car manufacturer and see if an update may be required for your cars infotainment system.

I can’t recall whether I mentioned in this thread that my 16 Pro Max is the only iPhone of the three in my household that has this issue — but I know the post you quoted mentioned that the car kit pairs and reconnects as expected with a current-model iPad mini.

If that, plus the many other 16 Pro Plus owners posting in this thread, doesn’t eliminate the car kit as the source of the problem, it certainly seems to make it a less likely source of the issue than the iPhone hardware.

(And obviously, the fact that you personally aren’t experiencing this issue — or even that many/most iPhone 16 Pro Max owners aren’t, assuming that’s the case — has little utility to the fraction of us who are experiencing this issue and are trying to troubleshoot it.)

This worked for me on a BMW X5. Start connecting iphone 16 to car's BT, when asking for pin, type either 0000 or 1234 and click OK (don't wait to any more messages on car's dash) as soons as you see the option to input those number on your phone, go ahead and do it. Should work. Good luck!