iPhone 16 Pro randomly connects to Echo Dot devices via Bluetooth

I've been having the same problem. I had deleted all my Amazon apps but was still having the random, disruptive connections to Echo Dot devices.

After reading this thread, I turned off Background Refresh and Bluetooth access for the Renpho app, and the problem seems to have gone away.

(For anybody wondering: Renpho makes health devices like scales and body tape measures. These are bluetooth devices, which is why the app needs bluetooth access. However, their iPhone app is horrible, so I'm not particularly surprised that it's causing problems.)

Kevrium wrote:

The issue I have is as described by the original title, i.e. bluetooth randomly connects to neighbor's echo dot devices (or something similar), which cause audio from AirPods or other bluetooth earphone including Bose's earphone to become garbled, slow down or briefly stop for several seconds. This has been an annoying problem for many people. I can not believe Apple will let such an easy to fix problem last so many years.

Please post a screenshot of the device showing connected. If you have the Amazon Alexa app on your phone, management of the Echo devices and discoverability is done with the app. If there is no info button next to the connected device in Bluetooth Settings then it is an app that is allowing the connection. There are 3 ways you can manage that:

• Prevent the app from allowing Bluetooth access in the Privacy & Security Settings.
• Manage the device connectivity within the app
• Remove the app

In addition to posting the screenshot of what you see at Settings > Bluetooth showing the device connected, also post what apps are allowed Bluetooth access at Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth.

Hi, just so you’re aware how these communities work, this is not Apple Support. Apple and Apple Support do not participate in the communities here. They only moderate our posts to insure all user guidelines are followed in regard to content and user behavior. Your comments and feelings will not be reviewed by Apple. Apple will make changes based partially on the feedback they receive through their official channel, linked below.

Product Feedback - Apple

I’m happy to provide some additional information, but it’s possible your neighbor’s echo dot is older and/or out of spec.

The problem often stems from the neighbor’s echo dot, not your iPhone. Dots can and do randomly enter pairing mode or stay discoverable, allowing stranger connections. Amazon support recommends resetting them. Since it’s lasted 4 years across even after updates, the dot’s firmware is the likely common factor Apple can’t correct.

This issue is widely reported on YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, X you name it. The fix for the issue is ask your neighbor to factory reset the Dot (hold Action button 20s until light flashes orange) or check for firmware updates via Alexa app.

Kevrium wrote:

Here are the screen shots you requested.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/3cb2e18e-9ba6-45ce-a9d4-a3278c58989e

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/888b09b2-1609-4ad4-9e5f-8df5ba37d37c

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/7ecc3db0-7e42-4634-b204-2e251a714a14

It may certainly be as Jeff Donald has suggested, but personally I have never seen a device without the Info button to disconnect when it has not been associated with an app on your device. Could you test by turning off permission for all the apps seen at Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth to just see if the Echo device goes away? If it does go away, you can turn the permission back on for the apps one at a time to identify which app connects the device.

Hi BoostJet3,

Thanks for pursuing this issue!

I live in a rural area and not in Bluetooth range of a nearest neighbor. HOWEVER, I have quite a few Echo devices along with numerous non-Echo Bluetooth speakers and headphones including two pairs of AirPods. The Echo devices have been in use for years and up until a few months ago, I was able to use my other non-Echo Bluetooth speakers and headphones without fault.

Over the past few months I experienced the same issue you accurately described and discovered the issue when my AirPod connection dropped and didn’t automatically reconnect. When the disconnect occurred I went into the iPhone Bluetooth settings and noticed a number of the Echo devices showing “Connected” but no “i” to force disconnect/forget device. The Echo devices connect and disconnect randomly. Sometimes they disconnect for a long period of time and other times they seem to constantly connect/disconnect.

It seems this issue started with either IOS 18.5 or 18.6 and I’m hoping IOS26 addresses the issue.

Please let us know if Apple Support provides a resolution.

• A few other notes:
• I tried most of the troubleshooting steps in this post and others I found online to no avail.
• There have been occasions when I contact Apple Support about an issue and they don’t have a record of the issue in their knowledge base, but apparently Apple software engineering/development seem to know about the issue because the issue appears to be get resolved in a subsequent software release. I’ve noticed this with iPhone/iPad/Mac/Watch OS issues I’ve encountered and reported to Apple Support.
• I have the Alexa app installed on my iPhone, but the “Sidewalk” option is disabled and my Echo devices are not in discovery mode. The Echo devices seem to be transmitting a Bluetooth signal in spite of not being in discovery mode and “Sidewalk” sharing disabled. Therefore the Echo devices seem be part of the problem. On the other hand, with Apple being very committed to user privacy, it seems they would want to make sure to not allow “rogue” devices to randomly connect to Apple devices without explicit permission from users.

Thank you for that. You can reset your Bluetooth settings which would clear all Bluetooth connections that you currently have by going to Settings>General>Transfer or Rest iPhone>Reset>Reset Network Settings. That will also change a number of other things, including wi-fi, the name of your device will be changed back to just iPhone. Up to you if you wish to do this and then set them back up again to see if that helps. Kind of like a nuclear fix, but it depends on what you want to do. I cannot find Echo-Dot.btn anywhere to see, the closest I get is Echo Dot Button.

Given that none of us can come up with a solution, I suggest you involve Apple Support at this point. It may have to be elevated to the engineers to study, but I don't think any of us can provide any additional steps. Official Apple Support

I'm having this issue as well so I went to the Alexa App and started looking through the all the settings. On the App, one of the setting called Amazon Sidewalk. Apparently it connects t o echo devices and ring devices when you're near them. I'm going to disable this and hopefully I can enjoy my music in peace.

Lets hope it works

Follow up - I finally updated to iOS 26 about a week ago and have not experienced a dropout since. Next time I go for a walk I’ll see if i still see an attempted connection to the echo dot at the end of the street, but it no longer drops out when I drive by.

Those are BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices, that connect to an app and do not require pairing. Do you have the Alexa app on your iPhone, even if you are not using it? That’s what they are trying to connect to.

If you don’t have it then they just appear because you are close to them, but they likely aren’t the source of the interference; there is something else in the neighborhood that is causing it.

I also have this issue, and read elsewhere that it could be due to the renpho scale app. I tried shutting off its Bluetooth access but the problem persists. I have just now turned off its background refresh and will see if that fixes the issue. I have the same symptoms, Bluetooth audio dropping out or garbling for 5 or 10 seconds, recurring in some of the same places, and seeing an echo dot in my Bluetooth devices list while the issue is happening.

I’ve solved it on my end so far. It was a Bluetooth scale app on my phone that was causing this for several years across several phones

There is something odd. I have 2 Echo Dots, and neither of them appear in my Bluetooth list, even when I am right next to them as I am as I write post (about 1 foot away).

If you are not paired with an Echo Dot, and you do not have Settings/Bluetooth open, your phone cannot see any bluetooth device. It’s only if you open Settings/Bluetooth that you can see a device, and it will only show as available, not as Connected.

As it is hard to find ANY home that does not have Amazon Echo devices, if they are the problem it would happen everywhere.

As a quick clarification: are you talking about an Echo Dot, or an AiDot, which is a totally different device that DOES use Bluetooth.

As both Tim and I have said, the problem is some other form of interference→Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

If it happens in specific places, and the same places every time, it is almost certainly microwave interference→Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support. The frequency range used by Bluetooth is in an unlicensed band, and is also included in S band (2 to 4 GHz) radar. Uses include airport surveillance radar, air traffic control radar, surface ship radar, weather radar and ground penetrating radar. So if you are near an airport, body of water when larger boats and ships or weather stations that is a likely cause. Bluetooth’s 2.4 GHz is right in the middle of S band.

iOS 26 did not resolve the issue in my case. However, I DO have the Alexa app installed and turned off “Bluetooth” in the Alexa app settings (located in the “Settings” app, not the Alexa app).

Turning off Bluetooth for the Alexa app seems to have resolved the issue in my case. I understand others do NOT have the Alexa app and continue to experience the problem. I’ll provide and update if the issue returns.