iPhone7 Bluetooth issue in the car

Yeah I was so anxious to rush into Manhattan beach and get the phone as soon as they had more avail in matte black. If I had known about this issue I would have stuck with my 6 plus that was working just fine.

It appears they take a cavalier attitude with regards to issues with their products. The day I purchased my iPhone 7 Plus i went in with my 6 plus to exchange it. The 6 Plus had the issue where the camera didn't function properly and produced wavy images. I had to point them to a location online where the issue was heavily detailed. They agreed to replace the camera. Then they tried to tell me my phone was "bent" which was also another known issue with the 6 plus. They kept saying we don't sell bent phones. I just replied of course you don't but iPhones that bend under normal use are defective... smh.

An update and heads up: I got my replacement phone yesterday, but my original phone was unlocked and the replacement was locked to AT&T. I spent about 40 minutes on the phone getting Apple Support to understand. Just something to keep an eye on if you bought an unlocked phone and Apple sends you a replacement!

I haven't used it long enough to know if it's fixed. Sometimes it's ok for a few days, sometimes it can't get through a single song.

Apple Support sent me a replacement because resetting the phone to factory settings didn't fix it, and I think this is the next step on their flowchart of what to try. Unfortunately I don't think they have any steps after this one. I'll update if/when the problem recurs or if it fails to recur for several days.

Your post contains all the update that is necessary. Your replacement did not fix the problem. On 6 plus, Bluetooth audio always worked. You've already stated that it works sometimes and then other days can't get through a single song. what other testing are you trying to do to figure out whether it still doesn't work?

Let me clarify, I may be mixing statements because I don't really expect the replacement to solve the problem! But so far in 30 minutes of use, the new unit. has not had a problem. This is not yet enough data to draw a meaningful conclusion.

My previous phone would sometimes work ok for days (using it on my 30 min commute) and sometimes not even play a single song. When they had me reset it the other day, it mostly worked with only a couple short stutters for about two hours before becoming unintelligible.

And yes, my iPhone 6s+ and 6+ before it, and my wife's current 6+ worked/work perfectly with all the same vehicles and Bluetooth devices. And I don't experience any stuttering with wired headphones, only Bluetooth

Just arrived at Apple Store. The greeter who put me in queue for Genius Bar said he's never had anyone come in with the Bluetooth audio issue. Lol! My appt should be interesting. He estimated 3 hr wait before it's my turn. Luckily I brought my laptop to do work in the meantime.

Here's my latest update: so it has the problem in my Ford Fusion Energi. Tried last week in my Dads 2016 Porsche Boxster. Same problems with stuttering and speed issues using A2DP for audio.

Ford went in shop yesterday. Got a 2017 Ford Mustand loner with CarPlay. Phone never had a problem. Yes with Bluetooth.

From an earlier post: tried with 2 other 7 plus AT&T models. All the same issue.

No, it's an Apple iPhone Upgrade program phone. You have to pick a carrier, or at least you did when the phones first came out, but the phones are unlocked. (I don't know why we had to pick carriers, maybe to make sure people weren't buying up unlocked phones just to resell them?)

Working with genius right now. He had never heard of the issue. He spoke to a senior genius who said he wasn't familiar with the issue either. There was one emoloyee in the store who had heard of the Bluetooth stuttering issue. The person drove a Mazda and the issue was apparently resolved by restoring the phone.

We are running a backup right now and then are going to restore the phone. They think it's a software issue at this point. They will replace the phone if it's not a software issue. I keep telling them about this thread and noting that some have suggested that it's an issue with the new Bluetooth version in ioh

They are going to restore from iCloud backup. I don't think this will work but that's what they want to do before possibility giving me new phone. I hope they give me new phone so we can see it still doesn't work and then they will have to explain why brand new phone has the Bluetooth audio stuttering issue.

If it's unlocked then I think it has the same guts as the non-AT&T GSM phones (the ones that Apple currently sells as 'Sim Free').

Bummer. I was hoping the Sim Free's completely different LTE chipset would alleviate the issue.

The replacement phone is model A1784, which I believe is the same as the off the shelf AT&T phone, just a specially packaged warranty replacement unit that doesn't include any accessories except the sim card tool. (Possibly refurbished.) It came with instructions that included moving over the sim card. It isn't the same as the sim card free iPhone that supports CMDA, this one is still AT&T and T-Mobile only. (AT&T only until I get it unlocked.)

So far I've only had one brief stutter . . . which probably means I'll get the full version soon, but not yet.

I search nearly every day for "iphone 7+ bluetooth issues" on Google and since the release of the Apple AirPods I see that there are a lot of people reporting the same stuttering issue when using this device now. My conclusion would be that the stuttering issue that we have been reporting was mostly noticed in vehicles first because it seems to occur when you are using LTE data and you are close to a cell tower. Since the release of the Airpods this is the first time that many users have used a connected bluetooth device while they are not connected to WIFI thus the issue is now starting to get more reports.

I spent more time this afternoon for this issue with Apple advisers. The online adviser directed me to a 2nd adviser who later gave me a call. The 2nd adviser asked me to try to open and close the car door when the stuttering happens and see whether that helps. She also asked me to try to change the name of my Iphone. After these 2 pieces of suggestions were given, she connected a 3rd adviser with me who was a senior adviser. He told me that this issue was because my car is using non-compatible firmware with new Iphone 7, and that I needed to go the dealership to do upgrade.

Then I went to the Infiniti website page and saw that my car (2011 Infiniti FX35) is only compatible with Iphone 7+ with IOS 10.0.2. The new IOS 10.2 is not listed as compatible.

So the end result is I'm still stuck with this. And now I completely have no idea what the path forward could be.