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skierrob2 Author

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

May 18, 2016 7:57 PM in response to skierrob2

The update solved the BT issue with my car speaker but not completely when using the BT headset at home even after deleting the device, powering off the phone and pairing again. I figured it has to do with the constant toggling between cellular and wi-fi by the phone deciding on the fly what to use because the cellular signal is not that strong at home. This is proven by the fact that the sound is crystal clear on BT headset when I am outside my house in strong cellular signal area OR I put it on airplane mode at home and phone is using only wi-fi for calls.

ktork247

Level 1

4 points

May 19, 2016 7:57 AM in response to sunilwankhede

I have an iPhone SE and upgraded to iOS 9.3.2. Bluetooth Plantronics Voyager Edge headset is unusable...choppy audio after upgrading to 9.3.2. Worked better on 9.3.1. The 9.3.2 didn't fix the distorted audio (which was at least usable) and 9.3.2. made the problem worse. Please fix ASAP as this same headset works fine with iPhone 4s and 5s. Not the SE.

May 19, 2016 8:19 AM in response to ktork247

Hey ktork247 you may have that issue if you enabled wi-fi calling, the phone toggles between cellular and wi-fi and causes BT distortion. I have the same problem read my post immediately prior to yours.

ktork247

Level 1

4 points

May 19, 2016 8:25 AM in response to sunilwankhede

wi-fi calling is off. wi-fi assist is off.

Jerobie1

Level 1

15 points

May 19, 2016 8:33 AM in response to skierrob2

Just upgraded to 9.3.2 and my Bluetooth connection is totally unusable between my 6s Plus and Prius 2008, which all worked yesterday.

skierrob2 Author

Level 1

38 points

May 19, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Jerobie1

The 9.3.2 update solved my Bluetooth issues with my 2014 BMW 328i.

Robert

May 19, 2016 10:26 AM in response to benicoletti

with the update 9.3.2. this issue is solved indeed. sound is perfectly clear. (BMW 2015)

ktork247

Level 1

4 points

May 19, 2016 10:41 AM in response to skierrob2

I had to reboot twice after upgrading to 9.3.2 last night. Didn't think it would solve it but sure enough, 9.3.2 on iPhone SE after rebooting a 2nd time (one reboot during the upgrade) and the audio quality on bluetooth plantronics voyager is crystal clear.

dcpmark

Level 1

28 points

May 19, 2016 12:42 PM in response to ktork247

ktork247 wrote:

I have an iPhone SE and upgraded to iOS 9.3.2. Bluetooth Plantronics Voyager Edge headset is unusable...choppy audio after upgrading to 9.3.2. Worked better on 9.3.1. The 9.3.2 didn't fix the distorted audio (which was at least usable) and 9.3.2. made the problem worse. Please fix ASAP as this same headset works fine with iPhone 4s and 5s. Not the SE.

Glad to see it works now. Not sure why some work after the upgrade without a restart and others need it.

dcpmark

Level 1

28 points

May 19, 2016 12:43 PM in response to Jerobie1

Jerobie1 wrote:

Just upgraded to 9.3.2 and my Bluetooth connection is totally unusable between my 6s Plus and Prius 2008, which all worked yesterday.

Delete the BT pairings in the car and the phone, restart your phone by holding down the Power and Home buttons at the same time until the Apple appears, and re-pair the devices.

May 19, 2016 12:57 PM in response to dcpmark

dcpmark wrote:

Jerobie1 wrote:

Just upgraded to 9.3.2 and my Bluetooth connection is totally unusable between my 6s Plus and Prius 2008, which all worked yesterday.

Delete the BT pairings in the car and the phone, restart your phone by holding down the Power and Home buttons at the same time until the Apple appears, and re-pair the devices.

.....while doing an underwater head-stand in at least 8 feet of water and blowing bubbles through your nose. Then the SE will work perfectly!! 😁😁 Gheez...enough of these hoops already to make this work. Now people are reporting problems with other devices.

predacon

Level 1

4 points

May 19, 2016 1:31 PM in response to MotleyDiver

iPhone SE 9.3.1 on Bluetooth connection was unusable on 2012 Chevrolet Impala and Plantronics Savor M1100. Update to 9.3.2 beta 4 was much improved with 2012 Chevrolet Impala, still popping noises like a bad electrical connection on the Plantronics M1100, Update to published 9.3.2 and Bluetooth is working excellent with both my Chevy and the M1100. Better late than never.

dcpmark

Level 1

28 points

May 19, 2016 3:16 PM in response to predacon

predacon wrote:

iPhone SE 9.3.1 on Bluetooth connection was unusable on 2012 Chevrolet Impala and Plantronics Savor M1100. Update to 9.3.2 beta 4 was much improved with 2012 Chevrolet Impala, still popping noises like a bad electrical connection on the Plantronics M1100, Update to published 9.3.2 and Bluetooth is working excellent with both my Chevy and the M1100. Better late than never.

Wait......all you did to make it work clearly is update it to 9.3.2? No Mexican Hat Dance or African Fertility Chat while rubbing your belly while standing in water??

You hear that, MD? Sounds like it's time for you to repurchase an SE and join the Dark Side......😁

May 19, 2016 3:26 PM in response to dcpmark

😁 I hear ya. Nah. See ya in the Android line next year.

dcpmark

Level 1

28 points

May 19, 2016 3:29 PM in response to MotleyDiver

Hey, I'm only going back if Apple abandons the SE-sized phone and forces me to upsize again. NEVER again.

iPhone SE Bluetooth issues