bluetooth music issues after iOS6 update

Dear Valued Pioneer Customer:
We would like to inform you of the availability of an optional Bluetooth® firmware update (HW05-SW01.27.20) that enables Bluetooth AVRCP control and metadata display from a compatible Pioneer CD or DVD Receiver when used with an iPhone® 5 or iOS 6 device. If you do not own an iPhone 5 or iOS 6 device, there is no need to install this update.

This firmware update may be used only with the following 2012 Pioneer products:

In order to perform this update, the following items are needed:

• A Pioneer CD or DVD Receiver above with built-in Bluetooth
• Laptop with built-in Bluetooth running Windows® 7
• Bluetooth firmware update (HW05-SW01.27.20)

How to Obtain the Free Firmware Update

1. Download the INSTRUCTIONS for the optional Bluetooth firmware update (HW05_SW01.27.20).
2. Download the UPDATE FILE to a computer and transfer the file to a compatible 2012 Pioneer CD or DVD Receiver via a Bluetooth-enabled Windows 7 laptop.
You can also arrange for Pioneer to update your 2012 Pioneer CD or DVD Receiver by calling Pioneer Customer Service toll free at 800-421-1404 during regular business hours (M-F 10AM-7:30PM Eastern Time, except on holidays). If this firmware update is performed by Pioneer, there is a charge of $60.00 (this charge includes return shipping of the updated unit within the U.S.). Charges for removal/reinstallation of the unit and shipment to Pioneer are the customer’s responsibility.

How to Determine if the Firware Update has Already been Installed

CD Receivers:

• With the unit turned off (press and hold the source button until the CD Receiver turns off), press and hold the center of the volume knob to bring up the Settings menu → rotate the volume knob until "BT Version Info" is displayed and then press the center of the volume knob → The firmware version should show HW05-SW01.27.20.

DVD Receivers:

• With the unit turned off (press the home button and select ‘OFF’ from the source icons), press the home button → Press the “System” icon at the bottom of the screen → Select the “Bluetooth Version Info” option → The firmware version should show HW05-SW01.27.20.

If the Bluetooth firmware version shows HW05-SW01.27.20, no further action is necessary.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contact the Pioneer Customer Service Center toll free at 1-800-421-1404, Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), except on holidays.

Sincerely,

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.

OK, I had the same problem after updating yesterday (pairing with my 2012 Volkswagen Jetta) — no metadata, no ability to control with car-controls — BUT.

Tried some things and here's what I found: with Bluetooth on auto-connect, so long as the Music app is not running when my car pairs with my iPhone, I DO get metadata and CAN control from the car once it pairs and begins autoplaying. If the app is running when the car pairs, nothing.

So if nothing else, it does not appear this is a firmware update issue, but rather something going on with iOS6.

jrwagz wrote:

William Kucharski wrote:

First, Bluetooth 4.0 and, for that matter, AVRCP 1.4, were introduced in iOS 5 (October 12, 2011.)

William, where were you able to see what versions of the Bluetooth protocols were released with which versions of iOS? I did a bit of searching but had no luck...

It's not really in a database anywhere, but searching various news articles and discussion threads that go back to the iOS 5 release have provided that data.

Specifically, there was a thread that mentioned that some VW head ends that broke in this same way when iOS 5 was released and the issue was root caused to the fact those head ends could support up to BT 1.3 but not 1.4 due to an error on VW's part:

10-Jul-2012 02:19 PM Apple Developer Bug Reporting Team :

Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue:

We discussed this issue with the manufacturer. They acknowledged there is a critical bug on their platform, as they require the phone to support no more than AVRCP 1.3. Because iOS supports AVRCP 1.4 since 5.0, they do not enable & use any AVRCP 1.3 feature. The bug has been fixed on their newer platforms.

Here's one article that mentions Bluetooth 4.0 and iOS 5:

http://www.macstories.net/tag/bluetooth-4-0/

and one presentation that doesn't explicitly name iOS 5 but refers to the 4S as being BT 4.0:

http://www.bluegiga.com/files/bluegiga/Presentations/BT4_0_for_Apple.pdf

Ill throw in my experiences I have had thus far.

I have the Pioneer Avh-2400bt.

First off.. iPhone 4s on 5.1.1 worked perfectly.

Upgraded the iPhone 4s to 6.0. Like most lost the Play,Pause,Etc.. via Bluetooth. Also there was no tag info on the screen, just a "No Data Provided" on the screen..Phone still made calls though. Using the Pioneer cable(usb/aux) I could still control the phone including all playlists and videos and even app mode. Pandora worked as well.

Not a big deal but the having to plug in the phone kina ***** 😟

So now the iPhone 5 running 6.0.. Bluetooth streaming is fine and so are phone calls but still getting a "No Data Provided" on the head unit. I can also stream Pandora and Sirius via Bluetooth but cannot control play,pause,skip track and there are no tags on the head unit.

So for fun I tried out the lightning connector that goes with the iPhone 5. It plugs into my USB Drive in my head unit.. I can control all music features, playlists, shuffle, repeat, and even Pandora stations show all the info. It also charges the phone =)

What I tried but couldn't get to work was Videos. The option is greyed out. Its most liekly due to the fact that the video portion is controlled thru the AUX port and not the usb port. Thats what I read anyway. For the same reason as videos I cannot get APP mode to work.

For now i'll just plug in my phone when i wanna listen to music. I cant stand not having the tags showing up.

But as soon as either Pioneer or Apple release an update I will for sure go back to Bluetooth streaming =)

By the way, I found this at TWICE:

Kenwood Outlines iPhone 5, iOS6 Plans

Long Beach, Calif. – Kenwood said it expects Apple’s 30-pin-to-Lightning adapters will resolve incompatibility problems between select aftermarket autosound head units and the eight-pin Lightning connectors on Apple’s new iPhone 5, seventh-generation iPod Nano and fifth-generation iPod Touch.

Nonetheless, Kenwood is waiting to test the Apple adapters when they become available this month before confirming compatibility, said product manager Rick Noetzli.

The company is also developing stereo-Bluetooth updates for its head units to make them compatible with the Bluetooth version used with the iOS 6 operating system, which appears in the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch and is available for download to the iPhone 4 and 4S and previous-generation iPod Touches.

The new OS use Bluetooth 4.0 and AVRCP 1.4 (audio video remote control profile), which by definition should be backward-compatible with the Bluetooth 2.0 and AVRCP 1.3 versions used in Kenwood head units.

However Noetzli speculated that “some level of miscommunication” that is now apparent with the iOS 6’s version of Bluetooth might not have been apparent with the previous Bluetooth versions used by Apple in the past.

The compatibility problems include intermittent stereo Bluetooth dropouts on some models, lack of streaming on other models, and loss of play/pause control and metadata on some models when connected via wireless Bluetooth to iOS 6 devices.

Kenwood hopes to have a Bluetooth software update available “as soon as possible” for its head units, Noetlzi said. Users would download the update to a PC and transfer it to the head units via the head units’ USB ports.

Note that this is Kenwood admitting at least some of these issues are theirs, as they are the ones developing a firmware update, rather than state"Apple will fix their bug."

Also, just as a heads up, AVRCP 1.5 was adopted on July 24, 2012.

As you can see from previous posts here Pioneer is working on a FW update. They also have information about iOS 6 on their site. http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/landing/products/update/car-io6.html

I have the same unit as you, DEH-6400BT. I know it's a sucky solution, but for now you can at least use a Lightning cable to get controll capabilities back. I've run the USB-cable to my glove box.

whatheck wrote:

It looks like Apple just released a doc that might explain why this is happening, here -> Some car stereos require a firmware update for AVRCP 1.4 Bluetooth compatibility

What receiver do you have? Is it on the list in the article above?

Thanks for posting this. William K pointed out much earlier in this thread that Apple went to AVRCP 1.3 in iOS. Still makes the techie in me wonder what specifically different changed in iOS 6 to break AVRCP 1.3 when they added 1.4. Seems like they still messed with things related to 1.3 to cause something previously working to break.

I had already resigned to the likelihood that the onus was going to be on the manufacturers to issue a fix much earlier in this thread once I realized what William K was saying and that it was possible for Apple not to be at fault, but still was holding out hope since no one had come and made a statement either way. I'm glad it is "officially" noted now, so I can stop hoping.

I have no hope that Acura will issue an update, so it's over for me finally.

I just applied the update to my US AVH-2400BT. I'll use it for a few days before I confirm total success, but it seemed to fix all of the problems: auto start, meta information, controls.

I paired with my MacBook Pro and carefully followed the instructions and it worked on the first try. The only problem I ran into was when copying the file to the update folder. I got a permission error trying to drag and drop the file. But I just opened the update folder and then I was able to copy it.

I have a US AVH-P4400BT. I used a Dell Latitude E5500 and purchased a Razorfish USB Bluetooth adapter from Best Buy this morning. I installed all of it's drivers off of the CD that came with it (letting the Windows Hardware Wizard set it up doesn't work). I saved the firmware update to the desktop.

I got in my truck and followed the Pioneer Instructions almost to the letter. I powered the HU off, cleared bluetooth memory, confirmed BT audio service changed to 'no service', paired it with the laptop, started the bluetooth update on the HU (from the System menu), copied the firmware file directly into the 'OBEX File Transfer\update' folder, display said 'updating', this took a couple of minutes then it said 'complete'. I didn't get any errors at all on the HU or the laptop. I powered off the HU then went to the System menu and confirmed the new firmware version. I paired my iPhone 4S with it and tested a playlist from iTunes and also Pandora and both worked perfectly, had all meta data, all controls worked like before.

So my update went perfect, not a single error or problem, worked first time, all functionality restored.

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/support/software/AVH-2400BT/page.html

I have successfully updated my NORTH AMERICAN Pioneer AVH-P2400BT using the file from Pioneer's website. All meta-data is back, all controls are working as befor IOS 6. The issue of "clogging" when switching from Music to Podcast (because of the new Podcast APP) seems to have been addressed as well.

Pioneer's instructions for updating (Only available in Windows) are a bit kludgey, but if you read carefully, you can figure it out.

I D/L'd the update file to a desktop PC running Windows XP. I don't have a Windows product with Bluetooth capability, so I transferred the file to a USB thumb drive. I used my wife's MacBook to do the updating, following the Pioneer instruction sheet TO THE LETTER.Also, to make sure there were no interference issues, I POWERED DOWN my iPhone COMPLETELY.

When it came time to transfer the file from the MacBook to the AVH-P2400BT, I tried to drag-and-drop it from the thumb drive to the "update" folder in the AVH-P2400BT hierarchy. That did not work - I did get a brief "transfering" dialog window on the MacBook, but nothing actually happened. I had to use "Send File..." on the MacBook's Bluetooth menu and BROWSE to the update file on the thumb drive and the "update" folder on the AVH-P2400BT hierarchy. The file began to transfer - That took less than a minute and the AVH-P2400BT display changed to "Updating" after the transfer was complete. (Yes, there WAS a lost connection error message displayed on the MacBook, following the transfer - Pioneer's instructions say to ignore it. It's logical, because Bluetooth would have to be turned off to be updated.)

The "Updating" took a little over a minute, and the display went to "Completed". After verifying the correct software version, I powered up the iPhone and tested it. Thank you, Pioneer for taking care of your customers for an issue you didn't cause.

I am still very disappointed in Apple for "breaking" Bluetooth compatibility. Pioneer has made it right, but I know from reading all these forums that hundreds of other devices no longer function as desired or expected, and many will have no chance for a firmware update.

Racleve, there's plenty of finger pointing but the fact remains that Apple will most likely not address this issue. The issue we are all experiencing relies solely on the manufacturers to fix. That being said, if you have a factory deck that had functionality before, you'll need to talk to your dealer to see if they have a fix. As far as aftermarket decks, it looks like Alpine and Pioneer have released fw updates to fix the issue with iOS 6 and BT streaming/metadata/controls.

I hope I am not being redundant with this info but the latest reply didnt have any info about the update so I thought I would "help a brother out".

Here is the link to Pioneers website with the firmware update.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/DVD-Receivers/AVH-P2400BT

The instructions say to use a Windows 7 laptop with BT but I just tried it using my Macbook pro and it worked fine.The only real difference is that when you are connected to the laptop with the receiver I had to go to the bluetooth settings and under the device list choose the receiver then "browse device", open the "update" folder and drag the plf file to it. The receiver started updating which took about 4-5 minutes.

I did lose connection almost immediatly when the update started but didn't try to reconnect. After the update I needed to "Forget" the device on my iphone and start again with the pairing. When all was said and done everything worked like a charm. It even started playing music without me selecting it. I tried Pandora and it worked fine too. It brought up the songs and I was able to play, pause, ffw, and rev. as needed with the steering wheel controls. 🙂

BTW, I have the AVH-P2400BT

Yup, I have the 2400BT model. Luckily Pioneer already issued a statement showing which models will be updated and which ones won't.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Apple+Compatibility

Just called Pioneer. They are receiving lots of calls regarding this. Have a case # and will get a call when they figure out what to do.

Personally, I wouldn't be so quick to blame Apple. Apple could be the problem, but in the world of ever evolving standards, the problem could also be laziness on the part of Pioneer or Parrot. They likely assumed that their products would work with the latest Bluetooth standard and never bothered to check stuff out. Depending on the capabilities of their hardware, a firmware update on the head units should be all that's needed. We'll have to wait and see.

I spoke to a rep at Alpine today. They are aware that there are major issues with the release of iOS 6 and ALL their products. The said they will have to do a firmware update and he had no idea when that would be available.

Not good as I bought a new unit yesterday ! It workd great driving home and this morning no iPhone interface would function properly. I updated my OS last night. And I cannot go back to OS 5 I am told by Apple people.

I love Apple products but I must say I do not like their "we know best" attitude when it comes to deciding what OS I should run on my iPhone. I would much rather have OS 5 and let my iPhone work with my stereo.

Hopefully this firmware update will not take too long but I know there is no way it will be right away. The Alpine rep said his phone started ringing off the hook at 8 am from Alpine techs all over the country !

So clearly this was news to them.