Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Bluetooth and ringtone resetting

My iPhone 4s will lower the ringer volume when I connect my Bluetooth headphones. The problem is that the iPhone does not return the ringer volume to where it was when I disconnect my Bluetooth headphones. I am missing calls becouse of this. WHY???

iPhone 4S, iOS 7.0.4

Posted on Feb 21, 2014 3:49 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 20, 2014 7:05 AM

I have this problem as well. I have a iPhone 5 running iOS 7.1 (which I was really hoping would fix this issue). Almose every time I connect my Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 headphones to the phone over bluetooth, the ringer volume box appears on the screen and shows the volume turned all the way down to one bar. When I disconnect the headphones the ringer volume remains turned way down. I have to manually turn the volume back up each time this happens. It is extremely frustrating, especially when I forget to turn the ringer volume back up and I almost don't wake up to my alarm in the morning because the volume is all the way down. I can't find a single setting that has helped this.

22 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 20, 2014 7:05 AM in response to finsyv

I have this problem as well. I have a iPhone 5 running iOS 7.1 (which I was really hoping would fix this issue). Almose every time I connect my Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 headphones to the phone over bluetooth, the ringer volume box appears on the screen and shows the volume turned all the way down to one bar. When I disconnect the headphones the ringer volume remains turned way down. I have to manually turn the volume back up each time this happens. It is extremely frustrating, especially when I forget to turn the ringer volume back up and I almost don't wake up to my alarm in the morning because the volume is all the way down. I can't find a single setting that has helped this.

Mar 28, 2014 10:15 AM in response to Miwo86

I also have a 5S with iOS 7.1 and a Plantronics BackBeat GO 2. When I make the bluetooth connection it does nothing. When I start playing music by pressing the button on the headset, it sets the ringer volume to about 1/3, which is fine for me, but it is a change. Then sometimes, but not always, when I disconnect, it will mute the ringer volume. That's a big problem. I have not yet figured out what triggers the changes, or what doesn't. Wouldn't it be nice if Apple actually documented their twisty behaviors???

May 14, 2014 10:21 AM in response to devnul

I have this exact problem as well with my iPhone 5 and Jaybird Bluebuds X. I've used dozens of Bluetooth devices over the years and have never experienced anything like this before, and this only seems to happen with this specific pair of headphones. I've test this on multiple headphones in this model (I lost them twice) and tested on my wife's iPhone 5 as well. You'd think I'd buy a different pair at this point, but the sound quality is above all others I've tried and I love the minimalist style of just ear buds on a string.


I find this infuriating and I've done many tests to see what I can find out. Here is what I've found:


When I connect the Bluebuds to my iPhone, I sometimes see the Ringer Volume display pop up. It's not every time, but it's often enough to notice.

When connecting, the ringer volume is set to the current ringer volume or the volume level the headphones were at the last time they were connected, whichever is lower.

If I raise the volume on the headphones, disconnect, then reconnect and the ringer volume is unaffected.


Let's say I had the headphones at 50% volume and the ringer at 75% volume; if I disconnect the headphones and reconnect, the ringer volume will pop up showing that the ringer is now at 50% volume. If I increase the headphone volume to 100% and reconnect again, the ringer volume stays at 50%.


Let's say when I leave for work in the morning I play some music on my headphones and have the ringer volume set to 100%, then as I get into my office I drop the headphone volume down to 25% before I charge my headphones. After work, I connect my headphones again and listen to music on the way home and go to sleep later that night. Guess what, the next morning I'm late for work... Why, you ask? Because my iPhone alarm is going off at only 25% volume. This is now my nightmare.

May 14, 2014 3:52 PM in response to finsyv

That's not helpful information, but good luck with that.


Basically what I find to be happening here is that there's a bug in the way these headphone manufacturers are interfacing with the Bluetooth protocols, since this clearly doesn't occur in all headphones, and there's definitely a bug in iOS handling these requests that it's affecting the ringer volume. Nothing about Bluetooth headphones should ever affect the volume on the handset.


I've contacted Jaybid support in the past regarding this and they were simply unable to reproduce the problem. Not sure what else to do here.

Aug 28, 2014 10:21 AM in response to iamlocosucka

@iamlocosucka, I'm curious if you have heard anything further on this topic. I haven't tried the iOS 8 beta yet, but *maybe* there are bugfixes in the iOS bluetooth audio stack that addresses this?


I have an iPhone5 running iOS 7.1.2 and some JayBird BlueBuds X headphones. I also have a Pioneer stereo in my car that a stream bluetooth audio to on a frequent basis. I do not notice the same problem with changing the ringer volumne when I use that Pioneer stereo. I don't recall the exact model of the Pioneer stereo, nor do I remember the bluetooth profile it uses to connect to the iPhone. However this bug seems to be related to either just the BlueBuds headphones, or it's a bug in a bluetooth library JayBird is using that maybe Plantronics is using as well.

Sep 17, 2014 5:17 PM in response to jrwagz

Nuts. Still happening in IOS8. I'm using Bose ae2w. About 1/2 the time when I connect it resets my ringer to 50% and leaves it there when I disconnect.


What drives me crazy is it doesn't do it every time. And the conditions that make it happen seem completely random. So no way to troubleshoot.

Sep 23, 2014 7:39 AM in response to jrwagz

Still happening on my new iPhone 6 with my Jaybirds. At this point I'm fed up enough to look for another pair of headphones, but I can't seem to find anything in that form (just earbuds connected by a single wire) with as high quality sound. This is a frustrating bug in an otherwise flawless pair of wireless earbuds.


This obviously doesn't happen with all bluetooth audio devices, so there's definitely something at fault on the device side.


However, no matter what a bluetooth device is designed to do, Apple should have it such that a device should never change any other settings on the device. The ringer of the phone should never be affected by a bluetooth device being connected.


Can anyone recommend any other brand/models of bluetooth earbuds comparable to the Jaybird Bluebud X? I've had enough of this.

Nov 22, 2014 1:59 AM in response to iamlocosucka

I am having this exact same issue, using Plantronics Backbeat Go 2. It is infuriating especially because it's random, and I have lost several calls due to the issue. I am using an iPhone 5S with iOS 8.1.1. I have contacted Plantronics support, and they suggested that I get a warranty replacement which I will do; most likely it will not help. I have another Plantronics Bluetooth product which does not have the same issue.

Mar 10, 2015 11:35 AM in response to finsyv

I have the same issue with the following devices:


My iPhone 5 iOS 7.1.2

My wife's iPhone 4S iOS 7.1.2

and

Chevystar (Onstar) Bluetooth hands-free on my Vehicle


I always have set ringer volume to maximum. Every time I'm in the car, iPhone and Chevystar connect automatically. When I get off the vehicle, I barely hear rings and alerts because ringer volume is at its lower position. I have lost calls and notifications. I have to go to settings/sounds in my iphone and restore ringer volume level. Even, I had to activate "Change with Buttons" in order to perform this repetitive task faster....


Has anyone checked iOS 8.1.2 release notes... They mention something about Bluetooth and hands-free, but I don't know if this update should fix this bug.


Release notes:

• Resolves an issue that could prevent call audio from routing to car speakers while using Siri Eyes Free

• Fixes a Bluetooth calling issue where no audio is heard until the call is answered


Please help!

Bluetooth and ringtone resetting

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.