iOS 6 Bluetooth problems

Well, if you switch off WLAN on the iPhone, the problems with dropping audio disappears.

So what has this to do with a new Bluetooth standard?

Since this has only appeared with IOS 6.x, it is clearly a software issue caused by Apple.

After 9 months, Apple should wake up and do finally something about this!

After seeing every post for the last 31 pages I can't believe it's the car stereo mfg.

A few of the android phones are having a similar issue, so it's not just Apple.

The Android MFGs are ignoring the issues also.

William Kucharski wrote:

bailey#70 wrote:

To recap... under iOS 4 my Bluetooth car kit worked perfectly, under iOS 5 and 6 it doesn't. Who made changes? Apple. Who's fault is it? Apple. Who needs to fix it? Apple. Who's refusing to fix it? Apple.

So by that basis you're at fault for not sticking with iOS 4.

Most every device that has had issues with Bluetooth and iOS 6 has been fixed by a firmware update from its manufacturer.

If you have a device that doesn't interoperate with the latest Bluetooth standards, demand a fix from your device's manufacturer.

As far as Bluetooth connections between iOS devices and Macs, it depends on what you're trying to do; Apple only supports such a connection for tethering, not for data transfer.

Perhaps I should have stuck with iOS 4... however this wasn't an option when I upgraded my iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 4S. Even if I'd stuck with the 3GS and iOS 4 I would by now have a device with apps so out of date to be, in many case, as useful as a chocolate tea pot.

It's also worth adding that the same car kit still to this day works perfectly with the Blackberry supplied by my employer last summer as it did with the previous phones (a Palm Pre 2, a different Blackberry and a Samsung) as well as my partner's HTC.

The car kit was manufactured without the ability to do firmware updates.

I really like my iPhone, it's so versatile and easy to use compared to every other smart phone I've had in the last 5 years. I also have a lot invested in Apple-compatible devices (such as those with air play compatibility) and don't want to lose that functionallity. Quite simply Apple took something that did work, made it stop working and then refused to do anything about it.

So do tell me, what am I supposed to do that doesn't leave me out of pocket?

Old apps don't just "stop working"; one could easily never update a single app or their OS if they didn't want to.

I can't answer the question of what you should do or how; the best way to think of these issues is if a headset or car stereo maker wrote code that checked the iPhone model number and always expected it to be 3 or 4; that's great until an iPhone 5 is released.

That's largely analogous to what we're saw with the release of iOS 6 and the iPhone 5.

As far as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth conflicting, perhaps it can be fixed and perhaps not, simply because both technologies share the same frequency range and will simply always interfere with one another to various degrees; people with Bluetooth keyboards and mice have reported Wi-Fi interference issues for years; here's a complaint from the Android Tablet community.

Here's a more technical explanation as well.

To add to the discussion I cannot pair my Ipad 3 to my new IPhone 5.

Both devices are in search mode and say "now discoverable"

The Ipad can find other devices such as my old blackberry and my wife's Nokia mobile.

The Ipad can connect to the Nokia mobile ok in seconds. Unable to connect to the Blackberry which is normal as apple do not allow this. However the devices can be found.

Have reset/restored the IPhone 5 to factory settings and made many other attempts to get the mobile to radiate or receive Bluetooth. All attempts have failed and I am very frustrated as this is my first IPhone. My main usage for Bluetooth is with the car and for synching to my Ipad. No point in trying the car if I cannot pair to an Ipad?

Has anyone found the same or can shed some light on what to do next I would appreciate your feedback

Thanks

Chris_Pidgeon wrote:

To add to the discussion I cannot pair my Ipad 3 to my new IPhone 5.

Both devices are in search mode and say "now discoverable"

Unless you're trying to use your iPad or iPhone as a mobile hotspot, iOS does not support pairing in this manner as iOS does not support file transfer via Bluetooth.

Thanks William for the information.

Since my comments I have been in contact with an Apple outlet who said the same as you. I have been able to pair my iPhone 5 with my car easily once this vital piece of info was known. I had not bothered before with the car as I was unable to pair with my ipad. Trying to pair the ipad and the phone clouded the real issue which is that Apple block this type of connectivity. My assumption was that an ipad to iPhone connection would be the base standard.

How wrong I was!

In my quest for an answer I came across using a hotspot and will try this in the near future as you suggest.

One small query has come to light now that I have paired with my car. The pairing is left live so it activates when I enter the car. When I checked at work for other bluetooths "on" around me, none we're found. I think it may be that the car is still paired and is blocking any new bluetooths connections from being discovered. Is that the case and if so what a chore it is to remove the car pairing each time you are trying to connect with another device or phone.

I had only just activated the car pairing so I was reluctant to delete it and have not gone back on this yet. Any ideas?

Thanks for the excellent reply and taking the time. Chris

Just got a pair of Sony bluetooth headphones today... Can't pair with iPhone 5, updated to 6.1.4 this afternoon and it made no difference.

The headphones pair easily with my partners iPhone 4s which is up to date running 6.1.3.

My MBP says it pairs with my iPhone, the iPhone says it doesn't.

Tbh this is much less of an issue to getting the headphones working with the iPhone but does seem to suggest (along with 31 pages of comments) that Apple could do with getting something fixed here.

Not expecting backwards compatibility with every new development but even a comment or statement might be a good way to keep the non Cult of Mac customers onside.

About to go back through the thread but if anyone has suggestions would be much appreciated!

I have the exact same issue with the new Blueant Q3 headset and my iPhone 5 and 4S. All is well then the audio disappears without warning.

For some reason, the Blueant Q2 headset I still had works OK.. [life saver] So my nice new headset can't be reliably used.

Oh Steve, where are you now? Things just aren't the same.

I sure wish Apple had someone to "sweat the small stuff"

Dave in Dallas

Got a new plantronics M50 headset. Got it to work perfectly with my Galaxy Ace 2.

Getting "Pairing Unsuccessful Make sure "PLT_M50" is turned on, in range, and is ready to pair." on iPhone 4s, iOS 6.1.3. Tried reboot, airplane mode off/on, wifi off/on, automatic timezone off/on, nothing works.

I got the Galaxy Ace because of the imessage activation problem that Apple failed to fix after 2 years.

I just had all my bluetooth and wifi issues resolved. Got a brand new Samsung Galaxy SIV, everything worked flawlessly, smashed my iPhone onto the wall, greatest pleasure ever. I'm done with Apple, so long and thanks for all the fish.

You're my new hero!!!! I am so sick of this problem! Update firmware? Really...just a HUGE friggin' COINCIDENCE?!?! They did an escalated trouble ticket for me over a month ago, and the guy said he would personally call me back to update me on this issue....NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK...I can't believe that there are hundreds of pages regarding this issue in support forums; however the elitist Apple eggheads that think they're geniuses won't respond or give us a resolution/solution. I will forever be loyal to the Microsoft nice Answer Desk people ; )

ecantadore wrote:

I just had all my bluetooth and wifi issues resolved. Got a brand new Samsung Galaxy SIV, everything worked flawlessly, smashed my iPhone onto the wall, greatest pleasure ever. I'm done with Apple, so long and thanks for all the fish.

Wow, I'm glad you have the cash to be throwing $500 devices at the wall; must be nice.

As an aside, Apple is running, among other things, AVRCP version 1.4, and version 1.5 has already been adopted by the Bluetooth working group.

Meanwhile Google is finally widely deploying AVRCP 1.3.

William,

Most users don't care about prodigious technical virtue. They just want the silly thing to work. Seems simple enough, no ? And as far as it being a $500 device, check the secondary markets. Most don't value a used iPhone at $500.

Apple's fat product margins exist because its customers believe the products to be superior. This doesn't correlate directly with leading-edge technical standards (read the case studies). It's about the superior customer experience. If the experience is degraded in pursuit of technical excellence, you lose a piece of that perceived edge, and yield ground to the competition. Technical superiority is big with engineers, much less so with the average consumer.

Engineering for engineering's sake doesn't guarantee market share or profitability. Telling the customers (read: the people on this forum) that they're wrong and stupid will simply make the situation worse for you and Apple. Your sarcasm reinforces the perception - right or wrong - that Apple cares just that much less about the customers.

I have a Note2 as well as My iPhone4s.

I heard that Google is releasing voice command. I was confused for a moment, then I realized the voice command stuff on the Note2 was developed by Samsung.

Makes me think that Android is still behind the curve, but Samsung's add-ons aren't. I really like the note2 for what it is, a mini tablet that can take calls, but it's still too big for propper single handed use.

I understand what Apple is doing an what Samsung is doing.

The Kids like Gimmicks and the Samsung version of Android is full of them.

Apple is very straight forward & I will continue to recommend the iProducts to my less tech friends and family. I'll recommend Android to the more techie and teens.

One thing that drives me nuts about Apple is it took them forever to adopt 3G & LTE, and who knows if that was a provider restriction, profit thing, or just lazy.

I use Siri a lot, and when I'm dictating a text message play the **** message back to me like it does when I'm using it with a Bluetooth device.