Bluetooth issues with iPhone X?

My new iPhone X won't connect with my 2010 Prius via bluetooth. It will connect to my wife's 2013 Prius. And, my old iPhone 6s connected to both fine for years. I've talked to Apple Support and took the car into Toyota service but neither could fix it.

Sounds like your older Prius has problems with the Bluetooth 5.2 chipset in the iPhone X. Unless Toyota plans to do an update your only option may be to contact AppleCare and wait to see if they can do something to fix it.

I had the same problem. I cleared all prior Bkuetooth connections on both devices and then did a hard reset on the phone. Once I did the hard reset, my phone connected without any further problem and it now connects perfectly to all Bluetooth devices.

To perform a hard reboot on the iPhone X, press and quickly release the Volume Up button, then do the same for the Volume Down button. Follow up by pressing the Side button, and hold until the display suddenly shuts off — about 10 seconds. The screen will be black and then the phone will restart. Once you've restarted you have to turn on Bluetooth and then attempt reconnection with devices.

I did that. Apple Support walked me through the whole process including the hard shutdown. It still didn't work.

My iPhone X bluetooth works fine with a 2013 Prius and Apple Earbuds. It just doesn't work with the 2010 Prius.

Then I'm afraid there may be a bug in the 2010 Prius that only Toyota can correct.

For standards to work, both parties must write proper code, as the standard outlines what the responsibility of each device is.

Standards are also written to be backwards compatible, but unfortunately software is written by humans and so compatibility that should be present is not always there.

I would recommend you consult a Prius owner's forum to see if others with 2010s have had different experiences.

Seems to me that this is Apple's fault, not Toyota's. The 2010 Prius has been working for years and years with my older iPhones and devices of all sorts owned by hundreds of thousands of Toyota and Apple iPhone customers.

Apple came out with the iPhone X which should have been backwardly compatible with all those devices but you broke it. Apple needs to fix it.

- Gordon

That's not really right. You're experiencing issues with a car now 8 model years old and you expect it to be fully backward compatible. Not that that's unreasonable, but then you have to factor in the fact Apple simply can't be responsible for ensuring every car system out there (of which one must assume is a staggering number of systems) works with their phone. It's just not a very realistic expectation especially for a system that many model years old. That doesn't eliminate the angst you've got over this annoying situation, but the car companies have to take some responsibility too. There is clearly something in the Toyota system that won't speak with the iPhone. And Apple has no access to the software in your cars system. Only Toyota does.

Not to add complexity to your issue, but...

See if someone at your Toyota dealership (or a friend) has a Samsung Galaxy S8 and have them try to use it with your 2010 Prius. Why? The iPhone and the S8 use the same Bluetooth chipset with BT 5.2. If the S8 doesn't work then you need to work with Toyota. If it does work you need to work with Toyota and Apple to find a resolution.

My Mazda 6 Wagon (2012) is having BT issues as well. The Mazda EU support have informed me that it’s always the iPhone users that is having BT connection/BT sound issues. I fully support that Apple has the biggest responsibility to make sure that the BT connection and BT sound works as it should, even with a car that is 6 years old and have worked perfectly with iPhone 5, 6 and 7.

Regarding my BT issue, I’ve written about it in this thread, but in short: I’m able to establish a BT connection but when streaming music from any source, the music cuts every 3-5 seconds. I’m working with both Apple Senior Support and Mazda Support for EU region.

Here’s what worked for me

Delete all Bluetooth devices from Bluetooth settings.

Update all applications

Update iOS version

Back up iPhone to iTunes (use the wire it’s faster) use encrypted backup and your account logins are preserved.

Disable find my iPhone

Restore iPhone using iTunes.

Restore from the backup you made.

After the restore, Make sure you are using a strong WiFi signal so your apps reinstall quickly

Set up your Bluetooth devices.

This fixed my connection issues with my car, AirPods, and a speaker.

Good lick

Just dumped 6s and got the iPhone X. It’s struggles to connect to my headphones and JBL extreme. Sometimes it takes 3-4 attempts. Sometimes it’ll say they’re out of range but they are 12” apart. It’s a problem with the iPhone X, nothing else. (I have 11.2.5 update)

No, it could very well be the devices.

Bluetooth updates are supposed to be backwards compatible but that depends on the manufacturers of both devices implementing standards correctly.

Since the iPhone X has newer Bluetooth chips, it could very well be true that those manufacturers did not properly implement their Bluetooth stack.

Make sure you do whatever you need to to reset your other devices and have them forget all existing associations before attempting to connect again.

My IPhone X won’t connect to my Fossil watch or my car. I have tried every tip I have seen on this thread all the way back to November. It connects to my JBL speaker and my hybrid Smart watch but nothing else. Is there an update coming to help with this? I’m running 11.2.6 right now.

I purchased my iPhone X last Thursday. I spent at least 5 hours minimum with Apple support. The lack of Bluetooth functionality was one of several issues. On Sunday i exchanged my X for new to rule out a hardware issues. Today I setup my X and still have the issue this thread is communicating about. I have no ability to see or pair any devices. What is the latest suggestions on this issue?

I am running 11.2.6 and waiting for a call back from Apple 2 Tier support. Unfortunately my local Genius bar techs won't be able to see me until March 13th at the earliest.

This reminds me of the type of support and lack of response Microsoft became known for in the 1990's.

I emailed Tim Cook last night. No response yet....

This is a serious issue that has caused a major disruption for me. Is Apple brass aware of this?

If you are near a store and you can get to that store before the store opens say about 30 to 20 minuets prior you can try a walk in. You might have to wait a little but you can be scene. Another alternate method is to go to the Apple store and download the Apple support app. It will set itself up automatically. Open the app and navigate to your device and choose a problem similar to what you are having. You then can have an Apple tech call you at a predetermined time or right now. They will send you a notice to acknowledge you time. They are very good at doing it on time. They also are very good in doing it ASAP if that is What you requested. They can assist you as well as run some diagnostics over your phone. I take it you have deleted all the current Bluetooth devices on your phone as well as in your vehicle and tried to reset up from scratch.