IOS 11 incompatible with Honda handsfree bluetooth

I have a 2014 Odyssey and recently upgraded to iPhone 8 Plus. My first 8’plus wouldn’t connect to any Bluetooth devices. Apple finally said return it and get a new device so I did. The replacement was checked and it did pair to a Bluetooth speaker in the AT&T store so I left. It still won’t pair to my car though. It won’t even recognize a phone in the car.

I resorted to using the USB port to play music through Spotify but as of today, out of nowhere, that doesn’t even work. I am beyond frustrated. My 2007 cr-v And iPhone 6 had better reliability.

I don't believe this has anything to do with your individual phone. I'm having the same issues with my 2017 LX570 but not with my 2015 S550. I suspect the bug is on Apple's end at the software level and that this has little or nothing to do with hardware. One thing to check that I've not yet tried on the LX is that I noticed when I used my phone in the S550 today that while it was paired, I couldn't hear anything even though it was showing it was connected. In fact it paired with the S550 with the volume at zero. Tomorrow I'm going to try making a call in the LX and see if it is paired but at zero volume to start. You may want to give that a shot.

If the phone isn't seeing the Honda there is a good chance you're outside of pairing window and simply start over so they see each other.

I have also been having these "disconnection" problems with bluetooth connecting my iPhone SE to my 2006 Lexus RX400h since I upgraded to IOS 11.x. Apple contends that the problem is that the Lexus has an older BT spec than the iPhone. They say that the issue can only be resolved by upgrading the car BT firmware. Lexus knows of no upgrade that is available. I have discovered a work around for my issue and possibly a clue for Apple.

My symptom is:

I start the car and shortly after that the car's display console says “Bluetooth Connected.” After a short period of time this connection seems to go to sleep. If I make a phone call, the iPhone initially displays the Audio choices as follows:

Bluetooth Hands free ( My car )

iPhone ( Hands on the phone )

Speaker

These three only display for about two seconds and then the “Bluetooth Hands Free” option goes away. It switches to “iPhone” and “Speaker” only as choices. iPhone will be selected, so of coarse I pick up the phone and it is ringing on the iPhone. About five seconds after the caller answers and the phone call is connected, the iPhone audio goes dead and in about five more seconds the audio is switched over to “Bluetooth Hands Free” in my car. Of coarse I have missed most of what the other person has said in those five seconds or so and they are usually saying “Hello…. Are you there.” Aggravating….

The work around:

This has worked every time so far.

Before I make a phone call I go into the settings and open Bluetooth. It shows the connection to the car ( Bluetooth Hands Free ) as “Connected.” I tap that connection and the little pinwheel spins, then goes back to “Connected.”

I can now make a call and the audio is coming thru my Lexus Bluetooth connection.

This has worked every time for two weeks of doing this routine. I believe that the iPhone's bluetooth connection to my car may be going to sleep to save power or some such thing. Reselecting the connection on the iPhone, in settings, works to eliminate the dropped connection and dead air time in the beginning of the call.

I hope someone from Apple reads this and it helps to solve the problem.

Apple doesn’t read these forums so they won’t read your post. The only way to let them know anything is through feedback. While it’s good the workaround works for you it may not work for everyone. Lexus just needs to contact Apple and they will help them with the firmware. Other manufacturers have done it and are either working on or have released fixes. Lexus just needs to take the initiative and give customers a good experience after the sale.

I just got iPhone X with IOS 11.2 and found a quick way to get it to pair with my 2015 Honda Accord Hybrid. I just renamed my iPhone and it immediately found it and went through the pairing. It works fine.

I am having a similar issue but slightly different. When I upgraded to IOS11 on my iPhone 6. My 2010 Lexus GS350 had no problems. However after upgrading to the iPhone X, the hands free calling will connect (but will drop the Bluetooth signal constantly, like many here have said), the audio Bluetooth however will not connect no matter what I try. I am guessing this is an Apple issue from everything I am reading.

Same problem with iPhone 6S+ and 2014 Odyssey. Was able to restore connection by deleting the phone on car, resetting Network Connections on the phone, and then pairing the two again. That worked. We’ll see how it holds.

It is definitely an issue with iOS 11.x and the Honda/Acura handsfree link. After an update to iOS 11.x, even the current 11.2.1, contacts don't all import or will import and then disappear and voice tags don't work. You can't get the Acura HandsfreeLink to work correctly with iOS 11 period. Apple blames Acura, Acura blames Apple. Perhaps troubleshoot your own code!

Yes, this is similar to my experiences. And yes, the parties seem to be blaming each other. Does anyone know of a good phone number to call to register complaints? I assume that market power dictates that Honda needs to fix this, even though it apparently isn't really their fault, because it seems unlikely that Apple is going to do anything productive.

I have the same problem. I contacted Honda... they said the Handsfreelink is not able to keep up with the speed that apple is producing new iPhones. Not sure if they will be updating it anytime soon. Bummer!

Bluetooth calls still worked after updating to iOS 11.2.1 on our 2016 Honda HRV but it stopped listing recent calls which made it easier to call people back later. Fixed this by going to Settings\Bluetooth\My Devices and clicking on the info button for the car stereo. The “Sync Contacts“ option was off which it must default back to when updating. Turning it back on gets it back to where it should be.

I have the same Honda CRV 2015. I changed from my small but reliable iPhone 5 which worked perfectly with Pandora and Handfree option. Now my iPhone6 will only connect via a limited bluetooth. The connect with the build in Pandora no longer works and it doesn't see any device. I took it to the dealership and they said it was the phone, that lots of people had the same problem. No help. I can't believe this isn't fixed with updates by 11.1.2

I too have an iPhoney 6 and since upgrading to 11 my phone no longer connects properly to my 2015 Honda Accord. The connection is made, and I can play music, but the display on the car does not update with the song info nor can I control the songs playing. I can't dial by voice at all with the steering wheel button. Strangely if I press and hold the Home button on the phone, I can send a text. This is a real nuisance and I will be speaking with Honda... But of course Honda will blame Apple, and Apple will blame Honda.

I too am still having this same issue, even after updating to 11.2.2 today. The audio works fine, music and audio books are clear. As soon as I make a phone call, everything is full of static. The person on the other end can barely hear me and I can barely hear them. Hang up, back to audible, all is good. I've tried the forget, repair, turn off, turn on dance too many times, all to no avail.

Someone suggested to delete all of the little photos attached to each of your contacts. Remove the bluetooth device from AcuraLink and on the iphone, forget the HandsFreeLink device. Then add it back to your AcuraLink. It seems to be able to import your phone's contacts and keep them in there. I still can't use the voicetags to call, but at least my contacts stay in the system. I'm still using 11.2.1 for now and weary of updating to 11.2.2.

Also, I found an internal article published by Honda stating that as of Dec 2017, they are aware of no phone book showing up on the On Demand Multi-Use Display (ODMD) with iOS11. They state that there is still no fix and to ask users to use SIRI until there is a fix....nice.