Problem with iphone/Honda Handsfreelink

It is an ios 11/handsfreelink problem that affects hundreds of thousands of vehicles. My dealer's service manager finally admitted that they are getting 10-20 calls a day about the problem. According to him, Apple will have a fix in a month. If not, there is a Galaxy Note 8 in my future.

The “make sure it still works” is the issue. Apple changed something in the Bluetooth link. I had an iPhone 4S, so it was still on iOS 9.something. I bought a new iPhone 8, and suddenly the hands free link no longer functions. That’s an Apple issue, not a Honda issue. Apple added a “feature” (aka bug), and now wants to blame Honda. The “feature” has obvious fault. When you add a “feature” that requires every owner of the most popular brand of car in the country to have to a) get the car manufacturer to change their software, and b) require the owners to go to a mechanic to get their car updated, that’s not a positive. Alienating a large group of users is considered poor customer support.

Besides re-pairing the phone and car, and calling Honda, what other troubleshooting have you tried? I have my iPhone 7 paired to my vehicle, although not a Honda, and I've not experienced this issue. The vehicle has the ability to switch calls to private.

Vehicle manufacturers will generally blame Apple or other handset makers when Bluetooth issues occur. However, the vehicle manufacturers receive copies of the iOS and it is up to them to make sure their vehicles work with the Bluetooth profile. There are some additional settings that you can check if you would like, or you can discuss it with Honda again about them updating their software. I'll respond with the other checks if you are interested.

Hana Road is spot on with his/her description of the "private mode" description! I bought a 2017 Honda Pilot a few weeks ago only to discover this incredibly aggravating problem! I spoke to a senior advisor at Honda who had some personal experience with the issue and he told me the exact same thing regarding Apple being responsible. He also added that it only happens with certain Bluetooth systems/versions and the Honda Pilot 2016 and 2017 were two of the versions impacted. While it is happening in other cars it's limited to a certain version of Bluetooth. He also added that some Android phones are starting to adopt the "private mode". There's really no such thing as safe cellphone usage in a car but Apple has managed to make this far more dangerous then it need be. While I do use handsfree calling most of the time I need to be able to use the device when logging into conference calls that are stored in my calendar. They contain the 800# and the individual conference code lines. All you have to do is tap the number and it dials the entire number for you. For some reason this doesn't work in CarPlay either but I may have a USB issue in my brand new car so we'll see if that changes when they get it fixed. I can't begin to describe how irritating this "feature" is. Poor poor job Apple!!!

I'm due for a new phone myself and considering something other then Apple but my fear is that other companies will follow in Apple's footsteps. As for it being ios11 issue...I tried my husbands iPhone 6 running 10.3 and my mothers 4s which is still on iOS 8 or 9 and it does the exact same thing. We have a 2016 Camry and a 2007 Honda Ridgeline and all of our phones work just fine (no private mode) in either of these cars. Which is why I think the Honda rep was correct. It's been there of awhile and we're only starting to see this now on certain new models running a particular version of Bluetooth. I did get the bluetooth version running in my Pilot (Honda tech gave it to me when he checked for software updates) and Apple asked me to send it to them.

It is Apple. I had my iphone 6 Plus paired to my 2017 MDX Advanced and it worked perfectly until I upgraded to ios 11. Before that, the phone worked perfectly on my 2014 MDX Advanced. The point is, that the car was out before ios 11. Apple should have made sure it was compatible with the equipment in the vehicles. This affects over 1 million Honda drivers.

I just upgraded my iPhone 6 iOS last weekend and I suddenly have this exact problem. Phone worked perfectly ever since I bought my 2016 Honda Pilot, but hasn't worked correctly since I upgraded to iOS 11.2.2. This is an Apple problem.

I have a 2017 Accord Hybrid that has EXACTLY the same problem with iPhone 7, however our Honda 2017 CRV does not have this problem.....

My 2016 CR-V does not have a problem either.

I read your post and understand what you said about the calls automatically going to private. My calls can go to private if necessary, and there is a control button on the vehicle screen to do that. I realize that yours are doing it automatically and you are experiencing an issue.

If you go to Settings>General>Accessibility>Scroll down to Call Audio Routing, and see what the setting is. It should be set at Automatic. Now, I'm not sure if your use of Siri is creating part of the problem and the vehicle cannot understand those controls, but try that change. It may require you to forget the vehicle in the iPhone's Bluetooth area, and then power off the phone. Go to the Vehicle and forget the phone. Power the car off and back on. Then pair the phone and vehicle again and see what happens. That should correct it, since I've not seen this issue mentioned very much here at all. While you may find issues with other vehicles. I know that Subaru vehicles have issues with pairing via the radio system itself, and you have to do it with the steering wheel controls to get it to work. This is an issue with the vehicle manufacturer and their system. They should release updates to their software.

The following post may resolve your problem:

I have a 2015 Accord EX and my IPhone 5 would switch to private mode shortly after answering in the car. With the help of my technicians at Honda North in Danvers MA we discovered a setting on the IPhone in Settings- General - Accesibility - Interaction - Call Audio Routing. When we changed the setting from Headset to Automatic it solved the problem.

if that doesn't help, read the entire thread and pick a solution that works for you:

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/138-audio-electronics-lighting/149882-phone-go es-into-private-mode.html