iPhone7 Bluetooth issue in the car

I initially purchased mine on Apple's payment program but payed off the balance before trying to get the phone switched out in earnest. It added some complication but they were still able to do it.

And yes, it's absolutely ridiculous how much time and energy I put into this. The funniest part of the whole thing is that I probably wouldn't have noticed this issue if they hadn't removed the **** headphone jack.

All,

Although I see a post with a potential workaround with the GSM/CDMA versions I have different symptoms, and potentially an alternate workaround (but not ideal). I'll list it here in case Apple is listening or it helps anyone in the interim.

I bought four new GSM (UK) iPhone 7's for Christmas. Three work fine using either iOS 10.0.1, 10.2.0 in my 2011 Mercedes CLS. Clearly not an issue with the car then!

The other one skips, drops, cuts out etc etc. Basically unusable. Initially I found that disabling 'sync contacts' helped, but then the problem returned. Then I found if I disabled my Apple Watch Series 2 (airplane mode) the problem disappeared for a while, but returned again. After resets, upgrades, and faffing about in the car for hours it seemed to do no good overall. The problem would not completely go away. However after reading this post I tried it again this morning and it worked fine (sync off, watch on). Perhaps there was too much going on at the same time.

IMHO there is a causal link between the contact sync option (I have over 3000), Apple Watch, and car bluetooth. But it is not specific to the iPhone in my case as the other three identical models work fine. Note that the presence of the watch does not cause a problem for other phones so it's not interference. (ie if I use another phone for audio but the watch is still on and connected to my problematic phone).

The problematic phone works fine with other bluetooth devices such as speakers and headphones. But in those cases I get the little headphone symbol on the phone so it's using a different sw path.

I'm not normally compelled to write support posts, but after spending nearly £3000 on these things to keep my whole family on the same platform, I want a solution that doesn't involve a 30 minute reconfig exercise (that may or may not work) in order to hear music everytime I get in the car.

I already spoken to AT&T business support on this issue several times and the iPhone is under Apple warranty for 1 year so replacements are done through Apple only and not AT&T. AT&T will refer to Apple support.

Just for further follow up I chatted (in circles as usual) for over an hour with AT&T Premier Business Support (which is where I purchased the iphone 7+ through) and I was switched around between 3 agents and these is the most important part of the chat that is was stated:

Tiffany T : Apple does the warranty for their device

Tiffany T : Please call them for a replacement 1-800-my apple

Tiffany T : Apple rules are they do the exchange that is how they have set it

Tiffany T : If I could get you a new phone I would

Tiffany T : Then you would need to talk to sales rep about what choices you have about a new device

Tiffany T : Unfortunately that is not something I can do for you I can't get you a unlocked phone

So if you are looking to get an unlocked Iphone 7+, and your with AT&T, it looks like your only recourse is with Apple since AT&T won't be held responsible although they will surely enforce the $875 and fees to break the 2 year agreement left on my contract for the new phone...

Updated to iOS 10.2.1 and it didn't help. ( I am on AT&T and iPhone 7 plus ) Bluetooth music streaming consistently stutter, as I drive closer to the tower or when the signal strength is full, as some one else mentioned. I filed a bug report for this with apple. They asked me install a Bluetooth logging profile, reproduce the problem and upload the diagnostic log. I did the same couple of weeks ago, hoping that it will help them to understand the issue. No updates from them in the bug report. Btw, Does this affect all AT&T iPhone 7/ plus? Because I don't see the mention of this issue anywhere other than this thread.

My senior advisor I had been working with also told me that the issue is under investigation and said "the fix will likely roll out as a patch update to the OS". He said they are hoping to find a resolution quickly.

That's funny

tylerfromcamp hill wrote:

My senior advisor I had been working with also told me that the issue is under investigation and said "the fix will likely roll out as a patch update to the OS". He said they are hoping to find a resolution quickly.

That is the same thing the "Senior Advisors" have been telling many of us since October...

I think it helped that I had the phone replaced twice without resolution. Also, I was willing to buy another one on the spot as long as I could get my money back for the orignal purchase. It may also just come down to what kind of Genius Lead is working with you. The lead who helped me out is a badass and made the whole process quick and smooth.

Just received an email from Citizens One that all payments will be returned to me in 5-7 business days.

So did you initially buy your iPhone 7 through Apple? Because if so, I could see how it would be an easier process to replace. For those of us who went through our carriers (I bought mine from AT&T's website), I'm not sure how that would work from a logistical perspective and if Apple would let us return the phone and buy a new one.

I bought my iPhone 7 through the iPhone Upgrade Program, so I guess technically I went through the bank. It's not worth it to me to spend money on a new one outright, I did this program so I wouldn't spend as much on new phones. So I'm stuck until they fix it.

I'm not sure if that's necessarily true. This is the wording from Citizens One:

"Any payments you have made to your loan will be refunded to the credit card or checking/savings account you have set up for your recurring monthly payments. Please allow 5-7 business days for these payments to be returned."

I purchased an iPhone 7 Plus 256 GB this past Friday and didn't pair it with my sync myford touch system till Monday. Almost immediately during my Monday morning commute I began to notice skipping with the music I was playing through the sync system via Bluetooth. During my commute I took my first handsfree call using the new iPhone 7 Plus through the sync system and within 25 seconds it showed "disconnected" on the sync touchscreen and I could hear the call switched to the iPhone handset itself. Within about 5 seconds the sync system reconnected and the call returned to the handsfree. This happened several times while on a brief call. I chalked it up to maybe being a glitch to the pairing as I had never experienced that issue with my iPhone 6 Plus or former iPhones. When time permitted later on in the day, I unpaired the phone and tried again. The same skipping issue with the music continued and I was getting random disconnects while on the phone through the sync system. This infuriated me so I began doing some research online and came across many of these forums.

I was less than thrilled to see how widespread this issue is. Honestly, I can see how it would be easy to blame the sync system but I wasn't convinced this was the issue. I verified that I was running the latest version of sync which is 3.8 for my vehicle. To rule out any issues with my new phone having maybe restored a bad backup, I erased all contents and settings to wipe the new phone and I set it up as a "new phone". As soon as I had access to the phone, I quickly downloaded one song so I'd have music to try and I repaired the phone with my sync system. Almost immediately, the one song I downloaded started skipping and on a phone call I was able to get 1 minute in before the random disconnecting started to happen. For giggles I did a full master reset on my sync system which wiped out everything (grrr I need to reprogram all my presets) and long story short, that didn't resolve the issue either.

Thankfully I read through all 43 pages of this forum along with every other Apple forum I could find related to this issue and I went back to the Apple Store I purchased my phone from last Friday armed with information. Upon talking with a technician, I was informed that there is sometimes a "lag" between new iPhones being released and proper updates being released to address compatibility issues with the phones and systems like the sync myford touch working together properly. I pointed him to all the information I found about how this seemed to be an isolated issue with the iPhone 7. Furthermore I explained this was a deal breaker for me and that unfortunately I couldn't wait months for a "potential" update that may never come as I rely on my phone while driving and I wasn't going to give up the handsfree feature that I had been using with my previous iPhones. I told him I was interested in getting a replacement phone to rule out a hardware issue before deciding to return it and just go back to my iPhone 6 Plus.

The tech informed me that he would be willing to replace the phone to try it but if he did that, I wouldn't ever have the option to return the phone since the serial number of the replacement phone wouldn't match the box of the phone I purchased. Remembering that I read some information about there being an A1784 model which is what I had and noticed most people had that were complaining about the issue, I told him I was ready to return the phone and go back to my old one that worked. I wasn't about to get another A1784 and have the issue continue only to be stuck with that model. Once I got with a sales person, I quickly explained that it was my intention to purchase another phone as soon as the return was complete as I didn't want to paint myself in a corner by doing a swap with the tech; just in case the replacement did the same thing. While the sales person was processing the return, I asked if she could check to see if they had any A1661 models (the unlocked version) as I remembered reading a few posts on this forum and others that this model didn't appear to have this issue. Sure enough they had some that matched my phone. I ended up purchasing this phone (same price by the way) and haven't experienced the music skipping or random phone call drops.

Long story short, if you're experiencing this issue and have an A1784, arm yourself with information and get into the store you purchased your phone from ASAP and try to return it and repurchase the A1661. I don't know if the carrier stores are as flexible as Apple is with returns and perhaps I had an easier time because I just purchased it last Friday and came loaded with all this information from these forums, but its worth a try.

I've had the exact same problem with a 7 plus 128gb. Done all the things you did including replacing the phone. No luck. Sync 2 in my 2013 flex with latest firmware. Latest 2 week old phone I am going to insist on a refund and go to Android. My business is suffering due to dropped calls and connection issues, my kids are mad that music will not stay playing, plus Apple's refusal to acknowledge or address the Bluetooth issue as a priority not only has put me over the edge but also a major safety issue! Been an iphone customer since 3 and have had over 10 iphones in my house since then.

2 days ago my iPhone 6s was changed for new by Apple under warranty because the Bluetooth connection issue. The brand new phone has a same connection problem with my Infiniti 2013. The car firmware was updated for the latest version in December. My iPhone 7 with the same IOS 10.2 works well with my car. I really don't know what to do,because itvery dangerous to use the phone in car without hands free

I m facing the same issue with Vodafone Portugal. I have a 7+ model A1784.

During a call the BT drops for a few seconds and the sound returns to the iPhone and then back to the car.

When listen only to music coming via BT to the car even playing it from Youtube (4G) it doesn't face any drops.