iOS 8 Reportedly Causing Bluetooth Connectivity Issues With Vehicles

Some folks are reporting issues with their iPhone connecting to their Bluetooth enabled vehicles and other devices following the update to iOS 8. Numerous posts in Apple’s Support Forums complain of ongoing Bluetooth connection issues following the update.

MacRumors:

It appears that after upgrading to iOS 8 or purchasing a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, users have trouble pairing their phones to their car audio systems. The devices are seeing several different issues, refusing to pair entirely, neglecting to play audio over the speakers, or disconnecting when a call comes in.

One user experiencing issues notes:

Now when I am connected via bluetooth, I place a call, and it says it’s going over bluetooth, but it doesn’t interrupt my car’s music, and the audio doesn’t play over the speakers. The only way I can talk to the person is if I press the Audio button on the phone and select speakerphone or iPhone as if it wasn’t connected to the car.

MacRumors also reports that its own forums contain numerous reports of issues with Bluetooth connections. Devices are running iOS 8 and iOS 8.0.2, and vehicles involved include those from Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, and more.

Other users have reported issues connecting to Bluetooth enabled accessories, such as headphones, speakers, headsets, and more.

Apple is reportedly working on a fix for the issue. Meanwhile, some users report temporary success by logging out of iCloud, forgetting connected Bluetooth devices, using the “Reset All Settings” and/or “Reset Network Settings” option on their iPhones and restarting, re-pairing their devices with their Bluetooth devices, and then logging back in to iCloud. (WHEW! – Ed.)

Important note: There have been reports of users losing their iCloud Documents when performing a “Reset All Settings” on their iOS 8 devices, so take care when attempting the fix.

iOS 8 seems to have been snakebitten from the beginning, with a major HealthKit bug discovered just before the public release of iOS 8 which delayed the release3 of HealthKit-enabled apps in the App Store. iOS 8.0.1, which was intended to fix the HealthKit bug, disabled cellular connections and the Touch ID sensor on Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets.

Apple has seeded iOS 8.1 to developers, and some users report that upon installing the 8.1 update, their Bluetooth issues were fixed.

Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.