iPhone7 Bluetooth issue in the car

Lately with my AT&T model (iPhone 7+ 256) I haven't had any BT audio problems... the problems used to be so frequent that audio wasn't legible at all, lately I haven't had it do it in a long time. At least this month for sure.

I have the AT&T (Intel) iPhone 7+ and have experienced similar issues in our Mazda CX-9. It's actually worse because it will drop & reconnect and eventually it kills the bluetooth in the car completely. Only turning the car off and on can resurrect it. iPhone 6 on iOS 10, iPhone 5s, iPhone 4s and several iPads all connect the car just fine.

I'm suspicious of the "untested" Intel chipset causing the issue. In any case, it's pretty miserable and seems like an enormous failure for such a ubiquitous technology.

I noticed this issue since day one with my iPhone 7 Plus (A1784) with Intel LTE modem chip. From my experiences, I think the issue is closely related to the Intel LTE chip. In particular, if the LTE chip is on heavier duty, it affects Bluetooth performance more significantly.

Here are what I found from my experiences:

First, the issue is more prominent on the road is because that when I’m driving, the cellular station that the phone connects is constantly changing. This situation makes the LTE chip on heavy duties, and the chip will dramatically affect Bluetooth performance. I think when I’m experiencing Bluetooth sound skipping, probably my phone is changing cellular stations.

Second, the issue is also more prominent when I’m in a crowed area, or at a place where the cellular signal is weak such as a subway station. In this kind of situations, the LTE chip is also on heavy duties since the chip needs to be working hard to find better signals. As a result, the heavy-duty LTE chip affects Bluetooth performance severely.

Third, when I turned off LTE and just used 4G on AT&T. Bluetooth performs perfectly no matter the phone is connected to my car or to my wireless headphones.

From the above findings, there are no doubts that the Intel LTE chip affects iPhone 7 Bluetooth performance.

Having the same issue with Lexus GS350 2015. Worked fine with my 6+, GF's 6. My iphone 7 and 7+ both skipped repeatedly. I'm testing it now with bluetooth speakers and not having any problems.

It wont surprise me to watch Lexus drag their *** or completely drop the ball on this issue. The more I test the more my issues are pointing to my vehicle.

I still don't think the issue is caused by cars. One reason is that my car bluetooth system works fine with my iPhone 6s and the older iPhones. Another reason is that cars that are manufactured by different brands have the same issue with iPhone 7 with Intel LTE chip.

I think your phone works fine with your Bluetooth speaker is because that you did the test at one place. In this situation, the phone is connected by the same cellular tower, and the LTE chip is under light duty. As a result, the LTE chip doesn't significantly interference Bluetooth performance.

However, when you're driving, the phone needs to change cellular towers constantly, and the LTE chip is under heavy duty. Then, the chip will interferences Bluetooth performance severely.

I have the same issues with 7+. I will be on a call using hands-free in my car. The call appears to be up, when periodically it then shows disconnected on My Ford Touch Sync screen for approximately 10-20 seconds and then reconnects. The call never drops, just the connection between the phone and Sync. My car is a 2015 Ford Mustang with the current sync software loaded. It is the most frustrating thing. I also have the iPhone 6 and it has no issues whatsoever with sync Bluetooth. This is definitely a comparability issue between the iPhone 7 and 7+ iOS software and the Microsoft/Ford Sync software. I have two other cars (both Mazdas) and I have no problem with Bluetooth connectivity in those cars.

I agree with others, Apple is just gaslighting you by blaming every other manufacturer in the world for their problem. I've personally experienced the stuttering in a Toyota, a VW, and a Ford, as well as two different UE Bluetooth speakers. And many folks have reported the problem using Apple AirPods.

Mine has started abruptly disconnecting from the VW more recently. It seems to be associated with people leaving voicemail -- I miss a call, someone leave a voicemail, I get a couple stutters and then the phone disconnects from the car. Always while on LTE. And this is with my replacement phone.

And thinking back, I have had the worst problems while in the road. But really any time it's on LTE and not wifi.

I'm really hoping Apple either finds a fix or starts replacing the intel modem phones with the more functional Qualcomm version soon. This is really annoying.

After seven years of having an iPhone, I'm going to go to Samsung. I'm done with Apple. They don't care. Thry don't take care of their customers. We are just a number to them. I'm sick and tired of my calls being dropped from using Bluetooth in my car.

We don't have the choice of the A1661 variant in Europe, nor can I use a cable in my car. I'm waiting patiently for 10.3 and if that doesn't work I'll be taking all four phones back I bought at Xmas.

All this reminds me of a story. Once upon a time there was a little tech company that became very rich and famous making handheld devices for consumers. They used to be known as PalmPilots, initially from a company call US Robotics, then 3Com, then HP. They were market leading devices and hugely popular. For a while they were the darling of the industry. Everyone wanted one. But then, one day, they decided they were so big and powerful that they didn't need to provide customer service anymore. This made them more profitable in the short run. So they thought that the more they ignored customers the richer they would become. When customers started having problems with their devices they found no one to turn to. So eventually they turned to the competition. The owners tried to revive the PalmPilot by playing corporate hot potato and using Magic Marketing, but the badly treated customers were not interested. And now PalmPilots and the people that made them are no more. Just a distant memory and a small page on Wikipedia. The End

It's definitely a combination car and iPhone Bluetooth hardware and/or software issue. Don't have my 2013 Infiniti G37 anymore. Tons of issues and stuttering with that car.

Driving 2016 Mercedes c63 now.... Not a single issue with handsfree phone or Bluetooth audio. Stutter free audio playback is such a relief after dealing with this issue since November. Apple still needs to come up with a fix asap though.

i had a 2017 mustang rental and the problem went away as well. But we all can't be trading in our cars. Apple did something that rendered my car unable to use Bluetooth A2DP. Apple Broke things. And I'm furious.

So it's becoming abundantly clear that A.) Apple has zero intentions of ever actually fixing this problem with the At&t model phones let alone replacing the phones altogether, and B.) The only way to resolve the issue is to purchase an unlocked phone.

Here's my question:

I currently have the At&t 7 Plus through the At&t Next plan. I have around $680 left in payments. If I could find someone who wanted to purchase this phone from me and they were willing to meet me at the At&t store, could I sell them the phone (they give me the $$ at the store to pay off the phone then they take the phone home), I go home without a phone, then I walk into the Apple store and purchase an unlocked phone, and have all of my apps, contacts, settings, messages, and photos get restored to the new phone? Or would I need to have my old phone with me in order to facilitate the transfer of data to the new phone?

You'll need to first back up your phone to iTunes or iCloud. But after you back up, you could absolutely reset your old phone, remove it from Find My iPhone, and sell it to someone else.

I personally would (as much as I don't want to give Apple any more money until they fix this issue) buy a month of iCloud storage for $2, back up your phone, and then restore your new one from iCloud backup.

You're making this too complicated.

1) back up completely using iTunes (although using iCloud works flawlessly)

2) when ready to sell, erase the phone in settings > general > reset > erase all content and settings

3 just sell it to whomever, wherever. No need to meet them at AT&T. Just adding a level of complexity for you and the buyer.

4) pay off AT&T

5) go get your new phone

Here's the thing. After backing up your phone just go buy a new one first and activate it and restore your data. Then, go and sell the old one. Minimum down time and stress. Yes. You'll have to have that extra grand laying around.

Honestly. The iCloud storage all the time is a great idea. You never have to worry about your data AND PHOTOs ever being lost. Unless you are OCD enough to be backing up to your computer regularly then I recommend it. It really does work.

It's there in case you get your phone stolen or destroyed. Your data is safe.

FYI