iPhone keeps transferring incoming Bluetooth calls back to itself

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Level 1

23 points

iPhone keeps transferring incoming Bluetooth calls back to itself

When I am in the car every time I receive a call on my iPhone 5 (original iPhone 5), I will hear the phone ring through the speakers of the car, but as soon as I answer it, the Bluetooth will keep transferring it back to the phone. I can send calls with no issue at all through the Bluetooth.

I know it is not the car since I took out my iPhone 3GS and paired it and it received calls with no issue at all. The iPhone 5 used to work fine with this same cars Bluetooth up until about six months ago to a year. I am assuming it was an update of some sort that caused this issue.

I already tried Accessibility -> Call Audio Routing -> Bluetooth Headset, with no luck. I also did a ‘Reset All settings’, with no luck. I have searched the discussions, and I see that people seemed to have this issue five years ago when this phone was new but there was no resolution. Plus, like I mentioned earlier this has only been going on for about six months plus.

I have iOS 10.3.3 (I cannot upgrade to 11, since it is a 5).

Thanks in Advance!

Jesse

iPhone 5, iOS 10.3.3, 64 GB

Posted on Dec 15, 2017 2:38 PM

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Answer 1

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jessemooney Author

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23 points

Jan 8, 2018 10:28 PM in response to jessemooney

I bought a used iPhone 5s and initially it had 10.1.1 on it. I had the exact same problem with the Bluetooth. I upgraded it to iOS 11.2.1 and I still had the same issues.

Then I bought a brand new iPhone X that had 11.2.1 already installed on it. The Bluetooth worked 100% fine.

I was reading about this Bluetooth issue with iPhone 5's right from when they were released in 2012. I think it was solved but iOS 10 seemed to bring this 2012 problem back. This has to be a hardware/software issue with the Bluetooth in the 5, 5c and 5s. It will not work properly with some hands-free devices.

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Answer 2

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Dec 15, 2017 2:41 PM in response to jessemooney

I would change the setting in Accessibility to Automatic. That is what I have always had mine set on. Are you attempting to answer the call with the phone itself, or are you using the controls for the car. Sometime, when picking up the phone and answering from it, the car will interpret that and connect you to the phone, rather than to the car.

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Answer 3

jessemooney Author

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23 points

Dec 15, 2017 3:39 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

I tried that as well with no luck. I am using the car to answer the phone.

I have determined that it must be because of an update, I tried a friends phone (they have a 5c with 10.3.3 as well) and it had the exactly same issue.

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Answer 4

jessemooney Author

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23 points

Dec 15, 2017 6:48 PM in response to jessemooney

After doing some more research it looks like that this was an issue with 10.3 and above. Apparently it is fixed in iOS 11, but that does not help me since I cannot upgrade to 11. I also looked into downgrading, but I cannot do that either since iOS 10.3.3 is the only signed ipsw. So far it looks like I only have two options;

1) Use my old iPhone 3GS as my main phone in 2017.

2) Buy a brand new phone.

There has to be a fix for this somewhere. Is it possible to downgrade this phone at all?

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Answer 5

Abob

Level 1

23 points

Dec 15, 2017 7:13 PM in response to jessemooney

Sorry, but have you checked with your car manufacturer for that specific model of phone. I had the same problem. my 5 doesn’t work at all. But my 5s is fine. It’s about the cost to the car manufacturers who have to buy the tech from Apple and evaluate if it’s worth it for one model of phone when they know it’s had bad reviews and will be obsolete in 6 months.

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Answer 6

jessemooney Author

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23 points

Dec 15, 2017 9:07 PM in response to jessemooney

After doing more research, it seems BMW owners had this issue as well. I have a 2013 Chevy Cruze. Every forum that I read it either ended with no solution or people would just say that iOS 11 fixed the issue. So hopefully there is a 10.3.4 that fixes this issue, but I doubt it very much. I really wish that I could downgrade the phone, that seems to be the only fix at this point, or somehow put iOS 11 on it.

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Answer 7

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Dec 16, 2017 7:28 AM in response to jessemooney

My wife uses an iPhone 5 daily with that iOS and has not experienced any issues with her phone and the Bluetooth. Vehicle manufactures are provided iOS updates to test their vehicles and they test to ensure their vehicles work with the latest Bluetooth profiles and iOS. I would contact your Chevrolet dealer about compatibility issues and see if there is an update for your system or if they report that the iPhone with that iOS does not work with their system.

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Answer 8

jessemooney Author

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23 points

Dec 16, 2017 12:53 PM in response to jessemooney

I contacted the dealer and apparently there is no update. The thing I find most annoying about this is that the phone worked perfectly fine with the car for four years. Then when the final update comes out for the phone it causes these issues, essentially leaving me high and dry. Now I have no way of downgrading since the older iOS versions are not 'signed'. So basically if I want my Bluetooth to work properly again I either have to spend $1000 on a new phone or use my seven year old 3GS with an unreliable battery, all because of an update.

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Answer 9

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Dec 16, 2017 1:05 PM in response to jessemooney

Well, as a fellow user, I'm sorry this has happened, however, your gripe should be with the vehicle manufacturer. As updates are done to phones and Bluetooth, the vehicle manufacturers need to keep up. As I stated earlier, my wife uses hers with a 2017 Hyundai, and it works just fine.

You don't indicate any troubleshooting that you have tried except contacting the dealer, and looking into downgrading. You say the problem started 6 months to a year ago. That is quite a spread of time. iOS 10.3.3 was released in July 2017. There are a number of troubleshooting steps you can try, between resetting network settings, clearing the Bluetooth from both the phone and the car, and re-pairing the two devices, to restoring to factory and testing before adding any content back to the phone. I'd be more than happy to describe them all if you wish, because I don't see a software fix for this.

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Answer 10

jessemooney Author

Level 1

23 points

Dec 22, 2017 2:50 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

There is certainly an issue between iOS 10.3.3 and a 2013 Cruze MyLink system. I tried my iPhone 5 in a 2013 Nissian Altima and it worked fine. I called GM and they told me there has never been an update to the MyLink system since the car was new.

So now the giant mystery will iOS 11 work properly with my car? Now I am looking to buy an iPhone 5s with a shattered screen, update it to 11 and see if it works. If it does then I will probably buy a brand new iPhone SE. If it does not then I guess buying a new car is the only option (which I do not plan on doing).

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Answer 11

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,311 points

Dec 22, 2017 3:53 PM in response to jessemooney

The only way to be sure if iOS 11 will work with your car is for GM to answer the question. They get all of the latest iOS to test their systems. If it won't work, they should report it. Unfortunately, to many of the vehicle manufacturers leave their owners out in the cold when it comes to these rapid changes in technology. Good luck dealing with GM. I understand the problem with purchasing a new vehicle.

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