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iPhone 7 Bluetooth broken for BMW car streaming?

Y

yachtmac

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 30, 2010
46
26
My iPhone 7+ with IOS 10.02 will not stream audio for more than a few seconds in a BMW 4 series with the latest multimedia software. I have researched the issue and others with BMWs and other makes seem to be experiencing the same-or similar streaming issues. Moreover, once the fault occurs the mobile telephone connection then becomes flakey as well. The only thing I can do is to disable the audio streaming option in order to have a phone that works in the car as a phone.
It has been stated by a few people that new releases of iPhones quite often have Bluetooth issues that are software driver related that seem to be fixed after a few updates. My old 6s+ with IOS 10.02 does not have this issue btw.
I guess my point is that it is pretty hard to believe that this software failure made it through the testing process. It creates a lot of angst among users and I am surprised it is not on page 1 of this forum!
If anyone has a magic fix I would love to hear about it.
 
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Cable or Bluetooth?
[doublepost=1475043522][/doublepost]Sorry I mean to say have you tested both
 
Try to delete your iPhone in your BMW, ignore the Bluetooth connection on your iPhone and pair them again. Had the same issue, this worked for me.
 
mrcel said:
Try to delete your iPhone in your BMW, ignore the Bluetooth connection on your iPhone and pair them again. Had the same issue, this worked for me.
Click to expand...
Thanks I will try this and let you know how it goes.
[doublepost=1475047207][/doublepost]
yachtmac said:
Thanks I will try this and let you know how it goes.
Click to expand...
mrcel said:
Try to delete your iPhone in your BMW, ignore the Bluetooth connection on your iPhone and pair them again. Had the same issue, this worked for me.
Click to expand...
I tried as you said and no luck. Every time I delete the connection in the BMW i have to delete it on the phone as well to make a new connection?
 
I've got both the 6s Plus, the 7, and the BMW. I can tell you outright that there is a major issue with iOS 10 and Bluetooth. Half the time the audio routes to the wrong location, drops, loses signal, and is an unmitigated disaster. This is across multiple Bluetooth devices which worked with prior iOS iterations.

Expect a software fix but in the meantime know that there are problems with the operating system and Bluetooth.
 
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yachtmac said:
My iPhone 7+ with IOS 10.02 will not stream audio for more than a few seconds in a BMW 4 series with the latest multimedia software. I have researched the issue and others with BMWs and other makes seem to be experiencing the same-or similar streaming issues. Moreover, once the fault occurs the mobile telephone connection then becomes flakey as well. The only thing I can do is to disable the audio streaming option in order to have a phone that works in the car as a phone.
It has been stated by a few people that new releases of iPhones quite often have Bluetooth issues that are software driver related that seem to be fixed after a few updates. My old 6s+ with IOS 10.02 does not have this issue btw.
I guess my point is that it is pretty hard to believe that this software failure made it through the testing process. It creates a lot of angst among users and I am surprised it is not on page 1 of this forum!
If anyone has a magic fix I would love to hear about it.
Click to expand...

I have a '16 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport (don't know if the make or model makes a difference) and when I paired up my iPhone 7 Plus I was having the exact same problem when using Pandora or the music on my phone (no issues with phone calls) as you but I didn't have any problems with my old 6S Plus on iOS 10.0.2 and I couldn't even use the buttons on my steering wheel anymore to change tracks but I found an answer.

My coworker told me to delete the Pandora app and then re-download it, once I did that I didn't have any more dropping of my connection after a few seconds, I could use my steering wheel controls again plus I got the music information to show back up on my navigation screen. After this I just powered down my phone and then powered it back up and my music player issue was solved also...no idea what the problem was exactly?

Delete and re-download whatever app you're using for streaming and see if that helps since it doesn't seem to be a software issue with your vehicle or model.
 
Last edited:
I have seen this same issue reported on Apple's own forums too. If you haven't already, maybe report it back to apple as a bug.
 
Omega V said:
I have a '16 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport (don't know if the make or model makes a difference) and when I paired up my iPhone 7 Plus I was having the exact same problem when using Pandora or the music on my phone (no issues with phone calls) as you but I didn't have any problems with my old 6S Plus on iOS 10.0.2 and I couldn't even use the buttons on my steering wheel anymore to change tracks but I found an answer.

My coworker told me to delete the Pandora app and then re-download it, once I did that I didn't have any more dropping of my connection after a few seconds, I could use my steering wheel controls again plus I got the music information to show back up on my navigation screen. After this I just powered down my phone and then powered it back up and my music player issue was solved also...no idea what the problem was exactly?

Delete and re-download whatever app you're using for streaming and see if that helps since it doesn't seem to be a software issue with your vehicle or model.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1475063651][/doublepost]Thanks for your detailed reply however I am afraid it may not work as I am using iTunes (Apple Music) for streaming and I I don't think I can delete this.
This seems like an Apple problem one way or another!
 
I had the same problem with my 7+ in my 2014 Lexus IS 250 F-Sport. Had to pair my phone twice from scratch to get Bluetooth to "stick". When I paired it the first time, it would connect to the car's Bluetooth but then the connection would drop after a few seconds or if I moved around the menus in the Lexus NAV screen.
 
Exact same problem on my BMW 228i. Bluetooth audio causes the connection to be lost and then the phone is no longer connected. My 6s+ worked perfectly, and now my 7+ has these problems. Very frustrating.
 
I have spoken to Apple, after an email to Phil of course and was told Apple is aware of the issue. They are currently working with BMW to create a solution on the next IOS update. They stated that if your BMW is equipped with Car Play there are no issues, but if not equipped with Car Play there will be issues. They suggested verifying that your BMW has the latest software version for their iDrive as suggested for your particular car to make sure that the new IOS properly fixes all issues. Other cars are having the same issues. When it freezes in my car I turn off the bluetooth and turn it back on and it works fine for a while till it freezes again. Thanks.
 
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No Bluetooth connection issue here with X3 and 3 series. And I habe been driving a 2 series loaner the past few days and no issue there. I do have issue where music doesn't play from time to time, but I have been having that issue since iPhone 5. To resolve it, I just need to switch to radio for a few second and switch to bluebooth music.
 
yachtmac said:
My iPhone 7+ with IOS 10.02 will not stream audio for more than a few seconds in a BMW 4 series with the latest multimedia software. I have researched the issue and others with BMWs and other makes seem to be experiencing the same-or similar streaming issues. Moreover, once the fault occurs the mobile telephone connection then becomes flakey as well. The only thing I can do is to disable the audio streaming option in order to have a phone that works in the car as a phone.
It has been stated by a few people that new releases of iPhones quite often have Bluetooth issues that are software driver related that seem to be fixed after a few updates. My old 6s+ with IOS 10.02 does not have this issue btw.
I guess my point is that it is pretty hard to believe that this software failure made it through the testing process. It creates a lot of angst among users and I am surprised it is not on page 1 of this forum!
If anyone has a magic fix I would love to hear about it.
Click to expand...

I have the 10.1 beta and it seemed to fix all issues I was having with my car bluetooth.
 
Huge BMW fan, well use to be until the F generations. I don't have that issue in my E92 M3 but I did in the gran coupe. It was soooooooo super annoying. Ended up using the cord, was just too distracting.

Make sure your idrive is up to date. I believe the website is www.bmw.com/update and type in your vin. Download that file onto the usb and plug it into the center console. Oooh actually i'll try it on our family F15 X5 whenever I see it. Both gran coupe and x5 are the NBT idrives.

Definitely a BMW thing, no issues with mercedes at the moment...

[edit] it seems like you already updated to the latest per your post, I just wanted to throw that out there for you just in case and for anyone else
 
Tried updating iDrive and the issue is the same. It's more than a BMW thing. There are many other complaints for other cars and even Bluetooth headphones. It's a major issue for Apple.
 
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iPhone 7 Plus running 10.1 beta. When I try to stream music to my Jeep Wrangler Uconnect stereo nav system, the iPhone disconnects from the stereo.
 
Choppy BT audio in my 2016 Chevy Trax with iPhone 7 Plus. Every few songs, the song will start stuttering as if it was buffering, and sometimes stop altogether. Never a problem like this with my 6 Plus on other GM vehicles. So there's something up with the way 10.0.1 streams BT to certain autos.
 
DintheD said:
Choppy BT audio in my 2016 Chevy Trax with iPhone 7 Plus. Every few songs, the song will start stuttering as if it was buffering, and sometimes stop altogether. Never a problem like this with my 6 Plus on other GM vehicles. So there's something up with the way 10.0.1 streams BT to certain autos.
Click to expand...

Even worse is when it does that it is also disconnecting the phone connection. :(
Let's hope a fix comes soon.
 
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I have 2014 NBT Pro Nav in my F30. I don't have the audio drop out issues very often but I have an issue where the black panel song selection shows a list of songs from Apple Music but when I select one it plays something totally different. This has happened ever since the IOS10 beta and is still happening randomly on IOS10.1.
 
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