Q: iPhone SE Bluetooth issues

Gerard Dirks wrote:

 

SOLVED

 

yesterday I installed 9.3.2beta3. Still not solved. This morning I make a cold boot of my iPhone SE. Now my Bluetooth issue is solved! i made about 20 calls without any problem.

 

I am not happy rhat Apple hasn't documentated this fix in the readme an history files!

 

Is really stupid that Apple refuse to communicate bugs and issues!

Glad your BT now works for you too, but when has Apple ever acknowledged problems like this one? They didn't when the iP5 had BT problems:

http://hints.binaryage.com/iphone-5-bluetooth-not-working/

They usually just fix them in an update and hopefully put a notation in the release notes for that update....as far I as I know they don't do release notes for betas. I was surprised though to see that not one beta tester on MR even mentioned the SE, much less that Beta 2 had mentioned solved the SE BT problem.

Here to voice my experience and extreme dissatisfaction with Apple regarding this iPhone SE debacle.

Have not had an Apple product since iPhone 3 & iPad 3.  iPhone SE looked exactly like what I needed for my elderly father and I so I purchased 2.  My old Apple stuff seemed to work well enough.

Issues like this were the last thing on my mind after using many BlackBerry phones, and one Samsung phone over many years.  In every case, the bluetooth was FLAWLESS with many devices and vehicles. In fact, I travel for business and routinely pair to bluetooth in all types of rental cars and never had any issue.  All of my phone calls are on bluetooth, while in the office or while travelling.

After commissioning the first SE to run it through it's paces, immediately I noticed a problem in the car and on my headset.  The audio was horrible and unusable, while if switching the call to the phone or speaker phone the call was fine.

Went back to the carrier.  They directed me to Apple support.  Apple support did acknowledge a problem and indicated they were looking into it.  We went through many gyrations including resets, download log files and who know or who cares what else.  I've been using cell phones of various types since the 90s and never heard of such baloney.

So then I was directed to the Apple store. Took a vacation day to drive an hour to an Apple store for an appointment. They were clueless and a waste of time. Went back to the carrier and dumped the phones.

Since then, I've been monitoring this defect in the media and forums like this.  I wanted very much to purchase 2- 3 of these phones and likely would have once this problem had been addressed by Apple and it was clear a resolution was close at hand.  I have been hoping to see Apple face this problem and TAKE CARE OF THE CUSTOMER.  That is what I do in my business.  And..., nothing but the sound of crickets chirping.

Instead, while the folks at Apple are very polite, the company totally dropped the ball in the testing and validation of this product.  How in the world can a company globally roll our a product like this and fail to properly test and validate the product?  Since then, multiple articles and threads like this on Apple's own forum have popped up.  This has gone on for almost a month and Apple has done nothing to support their customer, both new and loyal ones.  Heads need to roll.

Because of Apple, I am now out hours of time, gas for running around, a vacation day, and phone cases and screen protectors that I purchased for this phone.  Shame on you Apple.  Shame on you for putting out a product that was not properly tested and validated.  Shame on your for wasting my time and resources.

I'm sure the moderators "Apple police" will be along to delete this post.  However, there is no other forum to let the management of this company know how displeased I am and what also sounds like the dissatisfaction of many, many other customers as well.

This is totally unacceptable.

I am having the same problem total static on Bluetooth in both my Lexus and my Toyota.  My wifes 6 works fine in both cars but my new SE is totally garbled and unrecognizable. I want a new phone!

I didn't bother with the reset/restore option as I knew it would be a waste of time and instead went for the 'Voldemort option' (that which must not be named ) and it has indeed fixed the rubbish BT call quality.

Thanks!!!!

I have seen these discussions evolve in the same way again and again for years but Apple will not change its policy. Apple never acknowledges an issue publicly before it is resolved and rarely acknowledges an issue after it has been resolved.

From what I read so far, also in posts that were removed, it seems that this problem will be solved with the next iOS update. Do not expect a reference to BlueTooth problems in release notes. If it will be mentioned at all, it will be something like "Improved compatibility with some BlueTooth devices".

I waited for the SE for a long time because I prefer the smaller size. I will wait a little longer till this problem appears to be solved.

So funny, we started to use term "did the thing we shouldn't talk about" - Any idea when the new OS update will see a public release?

After returning my phone last week, our Apple store didn't get any new shipments of SEs since last Thursday. I think they will get some tomorrow, that is the day I see their store inventory go up.

akordion wrote:

 

So funny, we started to use term "did the thing we shouldn't talk about" - Any idea when the new OS update will see a public release?

An educated guess would be within a week if nothing horrible is found in Beta 3, but that is by no means a guarantee. If you have an SE and are close to the end of the return period, and are concerned about BT compatibility with something you already own, you should return it and buy again when the update goes public. JHMO.

Thanks for the info.  As for the phone, it was already returned. Waiting for issue to be fixed.

But I thought that the scuttlebutt here was that beta 2 solved the problem, and beta 3 brought it back?

I wonder if it is worthwhile trying to narrow this issue down by serial number comparisons?  My iPhone SE does not seem to have BT issues and for that reason, when compared with other serial numbers might be informative.  I would be glad to share the serial number with you and the community at large if folks think this is something to consider and if disclosing it does not have any implications for security.

mreg376 wrote:

 

But I thought that the scuttlebutt here was that beta 2 solved the problem, and beta 3 brought it back?

No worries...it's easy to get confused. Especially with uninformed people claiming "hardware problems."  I'd be glad to help....which post(s) led you to believe that Beta 3 might have brought it back?

I'm having the exact issue with my Nissan Frontier. I had no problems with my 4S... Do you have a problem with the display of your vehicle not showing the caller ID??? With my new SE, my display just shows the incoming call number, not the actual caller's name ( I have the callers in my contacts). This is a pain... I was just wondering if you have the same problem with this??

Thanks

I believe there was an earlier post indicating that beta 2 corrected the issue.  Then the phone was updated to beta 3 and the problem resurfaced.  I quickly searched and could not find it. 

I found the following point in this post interesting...   

Gerard DirksApr 27, 2016 8:10 AM Re: iPhone SE Bluetooth issues
in response to MotleyDiver

SOLVED

yesterday I installed 9.3.2beta3. Still not solved. This morning I make a cold boot of my iPhone SE. Now my Bluetooth issue is solved! i made about 20 calls without any problem.

You're quite the detective.  Most have been removed, but there's one on the previous page.

There's obviously a hardware issue with the SE bluetooth.  That's the only reason that the same iOS version creates the problem on the SE and not on other models.  The only question is whether a software fix can overcome the obvious hardware anomaly.  Since beta 3 of 9.3.2 reintroduced the problem, apparently the beta 2 fix, if it ever existed, was an accident, which highlights the problem of relying on betas as a functioning operating system.  

The only thing I'm not clear about is your statement that your SE "does not seem" to have the BT issues.  Believe me, if your phone has the issue you would know it, and if it doesn't your bluetooth audio would be pretty much identical to the phone you were using before the SE.  So the $64,000 question is, does your SE have an audio bluetooth problem or not?