Level 1

38 points

iPhone SE Bluetooth issues

I have a new iPhone SE and have so far paired it to a 2014 BMW 328i and a 2011 Kia Optima and a 2015 Kia Santa Fe. In all cases, I have terrible quality bluetooth call reception... the audio while on a phone call is extremely scratchy and distorted.

If I pair an iPhone 6S to each of these vehicles (same iOS version - 9.3.1), I do NOT experience these issues and calls are clear.

When I use the iPhone SE to make phone calls outside of Bluetooth, I have no issues and calls are clear.

This bluetooth issue on my iPhone SE does NOT impact Bluetooth music streaming. Only sounds scratchy / distorted with phone calls.

Apple, so far, is blaming the vehicle manufacturers despite there being multiple vehicle models and brands involved.

BMW and Kia state this must be an Apple problem.

Apple Genius bar is absolutely no help -- they state they can't report "software issues" to Apple and are only able to replace bad iPhones.

I'm at a complete loss as to how to get this to Apple's attention so they can fix the issue.

For now, I don't know what to do. All I know is that Bluetooth audio is very important to me in California since it is illegal to use your phone except in a hands free manner.

Anyone know how we can get this information to someone at Apple that can actually do something about it?

Robert

Posted on Apr 4, 2016 5:27 PM

934 replies

akordion

Level 1

15 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:28 AM in response to Lalamper

A week ago a user confirmed that second Beta didn't have a fix for it.

Apr 20, 2016 10:29 AM in response to Lalamper

Not being offered as far as I know.

Sent from my iPhone

akordion

Level 1

15 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:30 AM in response to Tunnezza

I did the same thing last week on 9.3 and 9.3.1 same issue. Correct, not back up related.

Lalamper

Level 1

8 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:31 AM in response to akordion

Impossible. Second beta has been released today.

akordion

Level 1

15 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Lalamper

Could be my mistake, then it was the first beta.

Lalamper

Level 1

8 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:37 AM in response to akordion

Now we have the second, two weeks elapsed. That two weeks, in which the issue popped up. If we are lucky second beta can fix the problem. However it is still available for developers only at the moment.

akordion

Level 1

15 points

Apr 20, 2016 10:53 AM in response to Lalamper

Would be good to have few other users with Dev accounts try the new beta.

I have returned my phone yesterday. Was very close to 14 day mark. Lets see how long it takes Apple to have a fix/recall devices.

Apr 20, 2016 1:05 PM in response to skierrob2

Had the same problem in my 2016 Jeep Cherokee. Searched through all these post and took someone's advice to turn off LTE and now the problem has been solved. Of course, I can't use LTE for data but at least I can hear people talking while driving my car.

Apr 20, 2016 11:57 PM in response to danfromralphbury

I have a 2015 Jeep Cherokee and tried your fix and it seems to have worked for now. I am in and out of 3g and 4g so don't care.

DrumTeo

Level 1

4 points

Apr 21, 2016 3:35 AM in response to brettfromcoffs harbour

Does anyone use the SE in a Volkswagen Polo?

Jayazi

Level 1

4 points

Apr 21, 2016 5:02 AM in response to skierrob2

Just tried my 3rd iPhone SE and when paired with my 2011 Honda Accord, terrible crackling noise from Bluetooth phone calls when others are speaking to me. Interestingly, streaming Bluetooth audio is fine. When I switch back to my iPhone 6, Bluetooth is flawless when making phone calls.

Tunnezza

Level 1

5 points

Apr 21, 2016 5:16 AM in response to danfromralphbury

danfromralphbury wrote:

... to turn off LTE and now the problem has been solved...

I always keep 4G disabled, and still complain the problem. So, in my case, LTE (4G) is not the culprit.

Apr 21, 2016 5:20 AM in response to bwinter

I always laugh reading these topics.

"Apple let has to fix this... It's a safety issue!"

You know what's safe?

Not using your phone at all while operating a vehicle.

Lalamper

Level 1

8 points

Apr 21, 2016 5:21 AM in response to Tunnezza

Not really understand this LTE thing.

Here in Hungary, T-Mobile offers LTE, however it only valid for data communication. As soon as you initiate a call, phone will fall back immediately to 3G as voice over LTE (VoLTE) is not supported by the operator.

For those people whos on disabling LTE helps, do they have VoLTE available?

Apr 21, 2016 5:26 AM in response to bryan.vance

It is safe to talk to human sitting in the car an it ist safe to talk via BT - but of course it is a great risk to talk with the iphone in one hand and because of that, it is forbidden and you have to pay around 100 EUR here in Germany. So it is a safety feature.

Today i got my 5S, first installed 9.3.1 an then recovered the backup - everything is fine ! :-)

Now i will sit back and wait what is going to happen with the SE.

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iPhone SE Bluetooth issues