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ios 11 will not connect to car stereo with usb or bluetooth.

iPhone 7 Plus worked flawlessly with car stereo using usb or Bluetooth. Upgraded to iOS 11 and now all it does is say “accessory not supported” when trying to connect through either source. Different cables and forgetting and re-pairing Bluetooth does nothing.

Posted on Sep 20, 2017 6:15 PM

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Posted on Nov 3, 2017 3:15 AM

I solved this issue with the following steps:

1. Disconnect usb/lightning cable from your phone

2. Powercycle your phone by powering off and powering on.

3. Open Apple Music and play any downloaded song. You must have at least one song in your Music App. If not, sync one song from iTunes or download from iTunes Store.

4. Connect USB/lightning cable while music still playing on phone.

5. Watch and listen as the audio magically transfers from your phone to your car audio.


Tip: If you’re Spotify user, remember to follow the same procedures by starting up the Music app first. I was unable to play any audio from my phone, regardless Music, Spotify, YouTube and etc. It somehow resolved after following the steps above.

73 replies

Mar 12, 2018 8:42 AM in response to KiltedTim

Yeah, but I figured I’d give it a shot anyway. Looks like it’s Bluetooth or a new radio. Supports Bluetooth for phone so hope it does for audio as well. Have to test it later. If not, it’s time to replace the radio - which is annoying not as much because of the cost of the radio as much as they can’t reuse the old hardware. So I need new interface units and they need to run a new mic. don’t understand why they just cant replace the iPhone interface unit.

Mar 12, 2018 8:44 AM in response to KiltedTim

Sorry, wrong. In 2011 the iPhone 4s was released. The interfaces in cars in 2011 were designed to connect and communicate via the IAP protocol (what you call the media interface) which was used by both the iPod and iPhone. The iPhone had a 30-pin connector up through the iPhone 4s. Starting with the iPhone 5 it came with a Lightning connector. So a car from 2011 was plenty capable of connecting to an iPhone via the IAP protocol.


You cannot make your determination of compatibility with his car based on the connector or the fact it was manufactured in 2011. If you have some valid technical information to support your absolutist statement of incompatibility and Apple's "evolution" please provide it. Otherwise do some more research. Starting with iOS11 the IAP/IAP2 and External Accessory Framework has been seriously broken, especially the EAF. This is affecting multiple manufacturers of external accessories (including my car's head unit, which is brand new).

Mar 12, 2018 10:02 AM in response to KiltedTim

KiltedTim wrote:


The interface in your car was intended to connect to an old style (non iOS) iPod, not an iPhone. In the past, the media interface in iOS was 'close enough' that it worked in many vehicles.

iOS has continued to evolve, however and it no longer works in many vehicles.


There's nothing Apple can do about it.

Disagree - There is an interface standard in existence supported by Apple for some time now. It was broken in iOS10 for a while, then fixed. Seems Apple has broken it again in iOS11. I suspect Apple will fix eventually, but it perhaps not a priority. Either that, or Apple should officially report they have dropped support (seems unlikely at this point).


My interface still works intermittently on my 2012 MINI JCW - probably 50% success rate with a MINI 30-pin cable and an Apple 30-pin to lightning connector.


Still suggest everyone that has issues to open a ticket/case with Apple, or use the bug/feature request form on their website.

May 16, 2018 3:06 PM in response to jpaul1675

I have a similar issue. I have an iPhone 7 and it has worked great with my ‘16 Subaru WRX up until the 11.3.1 iOS update. Now when I try to connect to the stereo via Bluetooth or cable, it will only play the music/playlist I already had playing before I got in the car. Pressing the playlist button on the car usually returns a ‘No Audio File’ message, so I can’t change what’s playing. Every once in a while the playlist will show up, but they are completely scrambled and sometimes empty, so that *****. I’ve tried plugging it in, re-pairing, power cycling, etc. Sometimes it works, but every time I get in the car is a crapshoot. I took it to the dealer and they couldn't figure it out, either, but they also said I wasn’t the only one having issues -- the most recent iOS update was causing other customers issues to. So now I just have to be 100% sure my phone is already playing what I want to listen to in the car before I go anywhere. Very frustratin.

Jun 26, 2018 7:36 PM in response to jpaul1675

I have a 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring that requires me to use a special Hyundai adapter that plugs into the AUX and USB port at the same time in order to connect my phone to the cars radio and charge at the same time otherwise it acts as if I keep connecting and disconnecting the phone even while being connected at all times. My music played perfectly fine through my car once I plugged it in using a 30 pin to lighting adapter connected to the special Hyundai connector that’s made with a 30 pin connection. The music would automatically start playing once plugged in. Ever since iOS 11, I constantly get a “Loading Error” message which is super frustrating. Sometimes if I just keep clicking the AUX/iPod button on my radio, I can get the music to start playing perfectly fine. Sometimes I can never get it to work one day and then get it to work on the first try the next day. Completely frustrating.

Jun 27, 2018 7:03 AM in response to KiltedTim

My vehicle is not equipped with Bluetooth. And the fact that I can get it to work sometimes and others I can’t tells me it’s not my radio. It worked perfectly fine with iOS 10. They should’ve kept the interface the same. An iPhone should also be considered an iPod but not vice versa. Also, the brand new Hyundai’s still say “iPod” next to the USB port and those are much newer and fancier radios than mine and came out after the iPhone X.

Jun 27, 2018 7:46 AM in response to EdwinF0521

In all seriousness, if you haven’t done so already, try the latest iOS upgrade and replacing the stupid 30 pin adapter. I have the exact same situation on my 2010 Nissan Cube (down to the customized adapter port and the iPod on the radio). I haven’t seen those warnings in a while. I’m in the same boat.. IMHO it’s stupid to throw money at an old car to replace the factory radio and fix this one problem that shouldn’t happen in the first place... plus the installers where I live want to pull all of the existing components like the built in car mic and steering wheel controls and replace them. It’s a $700 job for a $150 radio. Insane.

Jun 27, 2018 8:31 AM in response to EdwinF0521

If it’s new, then I’d suggest that’s probably not related. I’m at 11.4 as well. I’m just retracing what I did with my radio in the past few months where the problems seemed to have vanished, although I do get the occasional high pitched hum and problems with turning on the phone if it’s already plugged in and I have to stop the car and restart it to get it to sync. These interfaces are really touchy. Best of luck.

Jul 20, 2018 5:07 AM in response to jpaul1675

I have an I phone x. I have tried multiple usb cords including the cord that came with the device. I know they are connected bc it does work with an android. I’ve tried both usb outlets. I have power cycled, and hard reset the iPhone. Also thought maybe it would be my case and removed that as well and the iPhone X still argues that it is unsupporte

Jul 20, 2018 4:17 PM in response to bradyfromgreer

Lately I’ve gotten slightly better success if I have the phone connected via lightning port, shutting the phone off and then turning it back on and the vehicle sometimes picks it up. And yes, I know it’s not the radio because Android works perfectly fine on it. Including new androids. I purchased the iPhone X thinking that maybe my iPhone 7 wasn’t powerful enough with the newest iOS version and thought that since the iPhone X is so much more powerful, that it shouldn’t have a problem. Boy was I wrong.

ios 11 will not connect to car stereo with usb or bluetooth.

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