bluetooth music issues after iOS6 update

I am happy that you finally got your issue sorted but your reasoning is flawed.

Using your logic...

Android broke it too. Since their phones with the latest bluetooh software didn't work with many audio head units.

Apple should never update their software ever. We should all be running IOS 1 with no apps and no support for audio head units at all. Maybe they should never make new products either because doing so might reveal problems with other manufacturer's equipment. Maybe all manufacturers should stop making new stuff, no new cars, TVs and refridgerators because they might do something that doesn't work with the things that their customers have previously come to use.

It is not a manufacturer's responsibility to make sure that the things they make will work with every other manufacturer's things. This is what protocols are for. If I follow the protocol correctly and others do as well then it all works. If I misinterpret the protocol or just cut corners and it stops being compatible then I have to fix it not the other manufacturers. The simple fact that an update from Pioneer fixed the problem shows that they made the mistakes not Apple.

I work for a developer that wrote the firmware for someone else. The code that we had used had issues with the new software. Fortunately, we found the problems before our customers because we tested with the pre-release developer versions. We were able to fix the issue and put out the update before Apple released IOS 6. This is what the other manufacturers should have done.

If you feel so strongly about this you should have returned your iPhone and used your previous phone. I'm guessing that one was an iPhone as well.

It worked. Then it didn't. Apple broke it.

As to returning phone and using the old one? Wold that be the old one that I sold to finance the new iPhone 5? Not sure the new owner of my old iPhone 4 mint let me have it back? Oops, hang on, I could get another 4 I suppose. But then it might be on ios6 as well.

The problem wasn't so much hat what worked stopped working, as much as that apple (and other manufacturers) just ignored the issues the new update caused. Apples lockout of going Back to an older IOS version that worked is always going to be irritating. Those who really suffered after updating phones they owned that worked correctly then found ios6 busted it, should at least have the option to go back to a working ios5x. Even if the apple signing has ended for 5x, the apple store should be allowed to have some way of doing it for an owner.

But in a way you are right. The loss of functionality that iOS 6 brought me was enough to tell me never to update again until I see what other issues crop up with it. I do not trust updates anymore. The old adage that if it isn't broke don't fix it really stands.

None of this matters though. It happens everywhere, newer isn't always better. Rover p5 was a lovely car. Everything rover after was cheap and nasty :-)

Mind you, there was the time that he uk virtually eliminated leaded fuel and cars had to have additives to replace the loss. Or when 3 star fuel disappeared. Don't get me started on diesel particulate filters on little run around city cars.

I updated my Pioneer AVH-P3400 to the latest firmware and I have a couple of questions regarding Pandora control. I have an iPhone 5 running IOS 6.1 and when streaming Pandora, shouldn't I see the album cover for the current track and more importantly, shouldn't I be able to change stations without touching the phone? I also noticed that the "thumbs up/thumbs down" feature isn't available through the Bluetooth but I have read that this was the case before the iOS 6 debacle happened. I'm able to do all of these features when connected through the cable so I'm not sure why I lose these features when using Bluetooth.

It is the same on my 4400bh, I don't know how it was before the update. However, I know that the pandora option is always disabled when there is no phone connected through USB. I would really like the full pandora experince through bluetooth, but since I have to have it plugged in, I decided to do my daily charging in the car, my commute is about an hour, so it is fully charged or at least the high 90%.

Thanks for the response rustykerr123. Glad to at least know that it's performing as it's supposed to. I am in and out of my truck so many times a day and I'm afraid that if I keep connecting my phone over and over that it will take a toll on my phone's battery. I too wish I could have total Pandora control via Bluetooth but I don't see that happening with this deck. Maybe in a year or two they will have a deck with that option and it will be time for an upgrade. A boy can dream anyways.

Right. No more fanboy baiting. I just wanted to add something that I wanted to mention a few weeks back. One of the biggest irritations that the Bluetooth issue hit me with. I forgot my phone when I went to work the Other week. I was always used to the music on my phone playing as soon as I got in the car as it picked up on the Bluetooth and started playing. Obviously the function not working on ios6 meant that you had to manually start the music off and sometimes if I was running late, I wouldn't have time to set it up and just switched to USB stick or another source. On the day in question I set off to work and set the HU to play from USB. Got to work and realised I didn't have my phone with me. For most of the day I worried about where my phone was.

It showed me how much I personally used to rely on the Bluetooth music as a final reminder I had picked my phone up. I only realised that this incident of forgetting my phone was tied in to the lack of Bluetooth facilities. Having it back reminds me every day that I do have my phone with me as the music starting always confirms it is with me.

It is only a little thing perhaps, but it is still a useful side note worthy of mention.

I did the same thing in my last truck with a sony headunit, only difference was it did not automatically play, I had to press the play button on the headunit 2 times. But I at least knew my phone was in my truck, or least least in range and would stop if it was not.

Wow, now it's Apple's fault that you forgot your phone! Do you take any personal responsiblity for your actions?

It is a comfort for people like me (and probably the support staff at Apple) if people like you make the commitment to always be a year behind the lastest hardware and software updates. No doubt there will be a few hackers interested in that too.

The Pandora control app only works when the connection is made by USB cable. Album art was not and is not currently supported on the Pioneer AVH head units.

It was my fault that I didn't pick my phone up. I forgot. I got in my car in a rush and left my phone on the table. Part of my routine involved the fact that when I got in the car it used to play music from the phone via Bluetooth. Ios6 removed that so Yes the lack of full Bluetooth functionaliy DID factor in my error on that day. I am not blaming anyone but me for forgetting the phone, I was trying to say that the Bluetooth issue CAN Create wider reaching hiccups. I hate to think how many people now control their phone from the actual phone instead of from steering wheel controls. Yes it is illegal, but people will still do it.

Soooooo

I forgot my phone. If it had worked as ios5 did on Bluetooth then I wouldn't have forgotten it. But I did. It was my fault.

It happened.

Oh, and the other day when I overslept, it wasn't my phones fault either. The alarm went off but it was downstairs and not in the bedroom. I figured you might want to know I accept the responsibility of being late as it was not the phones fault. That said, my phone didn't charge that night so was flat by the end of the day. Because of that the wife didn't get an expected phone call at the right time, so I am going to blame apple for not putting a better battery in the phone instead.

<Edited By Host>

So to all thos Alpine owners waiting for this long awaited update... I got this response from Alpine on their Facebook page. This is the first time I've seen anything relevant to a release date:

Alpine Electronics wrote: "We apologize that it's taken longer than expected, and the urgency of it, but it is on its way, we want to make sure the update we release doesn't endanger anyone's head units or cause confusion. Though we aren't supposed to give any specific dates, I will say this week. Please check back soon."

I hope they really are planning on releasing it this week!

Although Pioneer Electronics finally sent out a firmware update for my two car head units, and all of the Bluetooth functions that were lost when iOS 6 was introduced are back. It is interesting to note that Pioneer required a PC laptop running Windows 7 to do the update. I am a Mac person so I called and emailed Pioneer for instructions on how to use the Mac laptop instead of the PC laptop. They simple said "you can't." You would think since the firmware update involved primarily the Apple iPhone and iOS 6, they would have recognized that many, if not most of the folks with problems used Apple laptops.

I took my trusty Macbook Pro out to the car - messed around with the PC instructions, and successfully updated the two Pioneer head units. It would have been so much easier with a few instructions from Pioneer.

Does anyone have detailed instructions for using the Mac to do the firmware update just to keep in the records?

If you are any bit familar with bluetooth on you Mac it should have been no problem, the directions outline exactly what you are doing for any laptop, just ignore the images.

Here are steps reworded for you. Follow the original steps from pioneer and replace the one listed below. everything else is the same, the example images just look a little different.

Step 3, In the menu bar on your mac, click the bluetooth icon, then click "setup bluetooth device".

Step 4, Find your headunit in the list, select it, then press continue.

Step 5, Verify Pin number and finish setup process

Step 6, In the menu bar on your mac, click the bluetooth icon, then click "Browse Device"

Step 7, Select you Headunit from the list, then click Browse.

Thanks rustykerr123. My experience was a little different. My radios are AVH-P2400BTs, and I am using Mountain Lion.

All was according to the instructions until reaching the part for "Installing the bluetooth firmware update." I pressed the "Start" button expecting to get the word "Updating" Instead the radio screen read "Data Waiting"

I highlighted the update folder and tried to drag the firmware update (on my desktop) onto it, but got a message that I didn't have permission to upload files or folders.

I finally double clicked the update folder, and the window went empty showing nothing was in the folder (I guess) but it did show the path at the bottom of the window (Home --- update). I then dragged the firmware update file into the empty window, and when I had a little green + showing, I let go of the dragged file.

I saw the transfer being made on the laptop, and shortly thereafter, the radio screen changed to updating. About a minute later "complete" came up on the radio display, and it was done. Right after the transfer started (or more likely stopped), the bluetooth connection was terminated either by the radio or the laptop. This is logical since the old bluetooth parameters had changed.

Guess I made up my own detailed instructions to save for the next time.

iPhone 4S / iOS 6.0.1 / MacBook Pro w Mountain Lion / Pioneer AVH-P2400BT

I am impatient and did the EU update.

According to the EU instructions, I was to ignore a particular error at the end. I experienced the error and ignored it. Before that, when I connected my MBP to the head unit via bluetooth, a folder opened up with 2 subfolders. I tried to drag the update file and got a permission issue. It's possible that I missed the 'release' folder or whatever it was named. But I just opened that folder and dragged the update over.

I was lucky (or incredibly skilled) enough that it worked on the first try. I'm not motivated to try again and install the US update at this point. Others have posted its the same update. I'm not sure if there are any compelling reasons one way or the other to bother. I imagine it would be fine, but wouldn't make a difference because everythings working pretty well as it is.