iPhone Xs Bluetooth audio quality

I'm experiencing the same exact super annoying issue after iOS update. The only work around I found is to turn off WiFi when using Bluetooth in my car to have good audio quality (normally use Spotify). Hope apple fix this asap, is really (REALLY) annoying.

I‘m really asking myself, whether Apple is Even Reading in its own support section 🤔

Apple Support Communities exist to enable Apple users to help each other.

They are not an official conduit to Apple Support.

Contact - How to Contact Us - Apple

Note that some of that may be due to unavoidable interference between WiFI and Bluetooth as they both use the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

We have confirmed this issue with thorough testing on:
- iPhone Xs

- iPhone Xs max

- iPhone X

- iPhone 8

And yes, it sounds like a bad attempt at lowering the bitrate to avoid loss of connection.

Applications used in testing:

- Youtube

- Apple Music

- Spotify

- Chrome

I have an IPhone 8 Plus, this worked fine for a year with various Bluetooth devices:

2 x Bose Headsets

B&W headphones

C Class W205 Burmeister Sound System

Upon upgrading to IOS 12, I noticed this issue straight away in my car, trebel sounds fading in and out every 20 seconds or so, really irritating...

I did a quick search on the internet and can see that this appears to be an IOS 12 issue on certain devices.

It does this on Spotify and ITunes music.

I Reported to apple already and they requested that I do full reset and restore via iTunes, after a full hard reset via iTunes and upgrading to IOS 12.0.1 today, unpairing and re-pairing Bluetooth connections etc with my car, this issue still remains.. :-(

The strange thing is, I only notice this in my car, so it must be related to a Bluetooth profile it uses or something.

Other users are also reporting this issue is only present within their car audio systems after upgrading to IOS 12.

One user on the Spotify forum reported that rolling back to IOS 11 fixed the issue.

Dan

Exact the same problem with my

iPhone X, iOS 12.0.1 in a BMW 118i 2018.

iOS- Restore WITHOUT backup-installation: no success. Issue persists.

Also had the problem in my car with another iPhone XS in my car.

With iOS 11.4.1 no problems.

Hi Superrojas,

As per your suggestion, I switched off WIFI (via the settings menu) and went for a spin in my car.

Hey presto, the issue has now gone :-).

This explains a lot, as when sat on my drive listening to music (with my WIFI switched on and still connected to my home WIFI) all was good, when the I started to drive the car the issue started to happen, so maybe this is linked to the WIFI connectivity status or when the phone is searching for WIFI?

This also explains why this only happened in my car and not on my Bluetooth headsets, as I always use them at home or in flight mode.

Hopefully with all of this information, Apple should be able to diagnose the issue.

I already have a ticket open with Apple and will update them on these findings.

Kind Regrds

Dan

I'm having the same issue with treble. I haven't tried the wifi fix yet, but will do so this afternoon. In the meantime, here are my findings from running some trial and error on my own using my iPhone XS in my 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee:

1. Sirius XM and FM/AM Radio in car - No issues. Playback is normal.

2. Bluetooth from iPhone - Intermittent treble issues.

3. Lightning Cable from iPhone to USB port in my car (with carplay disabled on my iPhone) - Intermittent treble issues.

4. Lightning Cable from iPhone to USB port in my car (with carplay active and operating) - No issues. Playback is normal.

5. Lightning Cable from iPhone into Apple's 3mm converter directly into the auxilary port in my car - Test not run. Will update with results this evening or tomorrow morning.

Does the difference in results in tests 3 and 4 proove that this is not a bluetooth issue? What could be causing playback issues over USB but only when carplay is inactive?

Can anyone with a carplay capable vehicle run the same tests and confirm their results?

Also, I've created a thread on macrumors about this. Please join the conversation there as well. The more discussion about this issue, the better: iOS 12 Audio Treble Issues | MacRumors Forums

Hi Cscottrun,

I don't think this is related with Bluetooth per se, but related with the networking card of the phone... when both networks (wifi and Bluetooth) are actives, the phone may be roaming to find a connection, and when you're in your car, wifi connection is most likely useless but the networking card continues to look for a connection.

That is my guestimate of the situation.

I was contacted by apple and will be running tests with a specialist tomorrow... hopefully they will be able to fix this fast... I haven't found any other solution than turning off WiFi from the settings menu.

I'm also experiencing the same issue, except the devices in question are different. My device is the iPad Pro 10.5 inch, and I see the same problem when paired with my Sony WH-1000XM2 headphones as well as the JBL Charge 3. Ever since the iOS 12 update, the quality has been consistently dropping in and out, more on the worse side. My headphones and speakers are perfectly fine, as verified by pairing with a MacBook Pro as well as a Samsung. Clearly looks like a major iOS problem consistent across all devices... And iOS 12 was supposed to be all about stability.

I am having this exact same problem with my brand new iPhone 8 Plus. I turned off Bluetooth and am using an aux cord. But I obviously want to be able to use my Bluetooth so hopefully this gets fixed. I am also in a 2014 BMW!!

I've had this exact same issue ever since I updated to iOs12. I have an iPhone X and use a Bang & Olufsen bluetooth headphone and my car stereo but there's no difference... bluetooth audio (using Apple Music, Spotify and even Tidal) keeps on swinging from 320kbps quality to 128kbps quality. Reported this issue on here a while ago but got almost no response. It's good to hear that I'm not the only one with this problem, but it's also Annoying that Apple doesn't seem to pay any attention to this issue.