Why did my iPhone stop automatically connecting to my car's bluetooth?

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Level 1

16 points

Why did my iPhone stop automatically connecting to my car's bluetooth?

My iPhone 8 was automatically connecting to my car's bluetooth for about a month, then it stopped. It will still manually connect, but is a pain every time I get in the car to have to dig into settings to connect something manually that should be happening automatically.

I have tried:

Turning the phone on and off.
Forgetting the bluetooth connection and re-connecting it.
Making sure iOS is up-to-date
Combinations of the above.

This is a major issue for me and I have not been able to find a solution.

iPhone 8 Plus, iOS 11.2.1

Posted on Dec 25, 2017 7:17 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

turboICE Author

Level 1

16 points

Jan 1, 2018 5:06 PM in response to chuck_3rd

The above did not help especially since they gave me steps I have already tried.

My car doesn't have to work with iOS 11 - my car only has to work with bluetooth and since bluetooth is backwards compatible my car's radio firmware is not the issue. iOS 11's messed up implementation of bluetooth is the problem.

Now not only does the phone no longer automatically connect to my car, it fails to automatically connect to my new heart rate monitor as well.

I am having to manually connect everytime to devices that are in the list and remembered just not connecting to them when they turn on in range.

I guess we have yet another case of Apple just sticking its head in the sand until they finally figure out what they screwed up this time.

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Answer 2

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Dec 25, 2017 7:30 PM in response to turboICE

Hello turboICE,

Thanks for asking the Apple Support Communities for help connecting your iPhone automatically with your car. I understand how important it is to have this connection working properly for your safety while driving and will be happy to offer some things to check.

I would like to recommend these two help articles:

1. Get help connecting your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your car stereo

2. Set up CarPlay to use with your iPhone

The first article has options to try depending if you are connected via bluetooth, a USB connection, or through CarPlay. The second article is specifically for CarPlay. There are many good troubleshooting steps provided in both articles. The articles also offer a step to help you check if the car stereo needs an update to work with your newer device or the newer iOS 11 versions, and states:

6. Check your car’s manual for help. You might need to install firmware updates for your stereo.

Thanks again and have a great rest of your day.

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