Q: iPhone 5 bad bluetooth connection with headsets

Well, the problem is.. iPhone 5 has no 30 pin connector And I still think iPhone is the problem because it's acting weird with BT handsfree in my car too: I keep getting complaints about noises from the people I call while driving.

iPhone 5 has no 30 pin connector

Which likely means one of three things will happen;

1. Motorola will no longer recommend this for iPhone 5 because they have no dongle

2. Motorola will come out with a Lightening connector dongle

3. Motorola will come out with products that interface better with the Apple iOS products

And I still think iPhone is the problem because it's acting weird with BT handsfree in my car too: I keep getting complaints about noises from the people I call while driving.

Apple would have an impossible job if Apple was responsible for making the iPhone 5 compatible with every 3rd party BT device out there, literally 1000s of devices. The responsibility is the other way around, the 3rd party developers must make their product work with the iPhone 5 if they wish folks to buy their product as an iPhone 5 accessory. There is only one iPhone 5 AFA the BT is concerned. So your car manufacturer or the audio company it uses to design the BT to iPhone interface, is who is resposible to make this work, they are the 3rd party developer. If it worked with the previous iPhone, then it likely just needs a firmware update. Have you spoken to the motor car company?

BT is made by Parrot and it has same problems with iPhone 4 too.

After reading Dubanov's posts, I've experimented a bit myself. That's what I've found out so far:

- When I'm using Hama's Slim iPhone Back Cover (http://tinyurl.com/bc5htqf), it's always impossible to use the headset outdoors.

- When I remove the cover and place the iPhone in a side pocket of my pants with a screen facing my body the reception becomes a bit better but still uncomfortable.

- When I remove the cover and place the iPhone in the upper pocket of my jacket with a screen facing my body the music plays almost flawlessly.

So yeah, I guess there's a way to use the iPhone 5 + my Motorokr Headset outdoors comfortably, but I don't want to leave the iPhone without the backside protector and the upper pocket is not very safe because my old iPhone 3G fell out of it when I was leaning to take something from the ground and broke it's screen. So this solution is not good enough for me.

I already own Apple Lightning to 30 pin converter so I guess tomorrow I'm gonna try using it with Motorola's adapter and see what happens then.

It's even worse with the Motorola dongle.

I'm posting this here because you are all using bluetooth headsets with an iPhone 5.

What I want to know if whether there is a way to get caller NAME announcement to

work with this combination, preferably without jailbreaking the iPhone 5.  I'm willing

to buy any bluetooth headset that will make caller NAME announcement work with

an iPhone 5.

If this is truly impossible, then I may have to buy an Android phone instead of an

iPhone 5.

Yes, if the headset supports Phone Book Access Protocol.

iPhone and iPod touch: Supported Bluetooth profiles

then I may have to buy an Android phone instead of an iPhone 5.

Why would we care what you buy?

Same problem:  I have tried several headsets and get a low red bar in the bluetooth box that looks like a dead battery icon.  This just started after having the 5 working properly for about 6 weeks.

I replaced my last phone due to BT problems, so I hope this gets better.

Bob

Similar problem here.  My 4S bluetooth worked fine; but I just upgraded to 5S and now the music in my car is crackling when streamed from my phone.  I also paired it with a plantronics headset and the voices are crackling. This problem is bothering me b/c I love steaming music in my car, as well as talking on my headset.  I feel sure it's the phone and not the equipment to which I'm streaming.

Any advice?

I had a 4s and now have a 5s with iOS 7.0.4 and it pairs perfectly with a set of Motorola bluetooth headphones, it also pairs and works very well with my Blue Ant Q2 headset and with my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with Nav. They all worked with the 4s as well. I have streamed music from both of them in my car.

What troubleshooting have you done for the phone and/or the vehicle to see if you could get them to work better together?

I agree.  I have a Motorola wireless headset.  Worked great with IPhone4. I have had inconsistent results with my new IPhone5C .  Very disconcerting.   I like apple products but trying to be supportive is proving to be an up hill battle..  I dd read that they made sme change to a new supplier for Bluetooth and clearly it's not working.

I can confirm that if the back of the iphone5 is covered by your skin, the bluetooth is much much worse. Try these two experiments:

Sit down, turn on your bluetooth headset and start listening.

Press the front of the phone (screen side) under your thigh against your calf. For me, this didnt deteriorate the signal.

Secondly, do the same again but with the back of the phone pressed against the underside of your thigh. For me this killed the signal completely. All because the back was touching my leg.

I know with my TV antenna, that if I touch it, I will get improved signal strength.

Apparently humans have around 1 Volt flowing through their skin. I measured this with a voltmeter under a guy's tongue the other day. It was 0.8 volts but Im pretty sure the voltmeter isnt extremely accurate. Anyway, dont press your bluetooth transmitter against electrical equipment, especially if the transmitter is the weak one found in an iphone5.

It seems like this is more of a forum for questions and not really for answers, but Ill post anyway.  I just got a Plantronics M50 to use with my iphone 5.  On my lunch ill lay on a blanket in the grass listening to music.  If I am on my side with my arm at 90 degrees holding myself up, and I turn my head to the left so that the bluetooth signal and my phone signal are blocked with my shoulder, the audio drops out.  If I have my phone in my pocket while Im walking and I turn my head to look behind me, the "line of sight" between the phone and the headset is blocked by my body, or my head, and I lose connectivity.  This definitely should not be an issue.  I mean the phone is literally 2 feet away.  Even if the signal has to pass through or around your body, there is no way bluteooth isnt strong enough to do so. 

So you are definitely not crazy.  Maybe one day we will get an answer. lol

Jacobs2819 wrote:

 

It seems like this is more of a forum for questions and not really for answers, but Ill post anyway.

This is a user-to-user technical support forum. It sounds as if you're expecting Apple to reply here. They don't. There have been some good suggestions made to some of the problems noted in this thread. However,  you may have to do some of the work of solving your own problems.

Even if the signal has to pass through or around your body, there is no way bluteooth isnt strong enough to do so. 

Yes, your body being in the way can certainly interfere with the signal.

There you go: an answer.

I was not expecting Apple to reply here (although there are a lot of companies who have staff designated to following their forums and answering questions). Typically on forums one or two people will vent their frustration, a few will give knowledge based on their own experiences, and there are always a few who are pretty savvy and at least contribute as to the cause of the problem. Even if there isnt really a solution.  This forum, and a few that I have seen on here post 2 pages of people who all have the same problem, but no one really knows why or has a solution.  Maybe because more technically sound people dont have these problems in the first place so they never visit the forums. 

Why so negative?  I am solving my own problem - by asking a forum if there is a solution.  Although I did find out that Bluetooth has a range of 30 feet. I also found out that it transmits in 2.4Ghz range and that range is absorbed by water molecules - which water is pretty much your whole body.  So that explains the WHY of it not working across your body.  But its still hard to believe that something with a signal strength of 30 feet cant pass through to something 2 feet away.