A growing number of iPhone users running iOS 15.1 are reporting connectivity issues with Bluetooth hands-free systems in cars. A thread on the Apple Support forums includes complaints from a number of iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 users, as well as a few potential fixes— none of which appear to be permanent.
The issue appears to primarily affect drivers of Toyota cars and trucks and started sometime around the release of iOS 15 and iOS 15.1, and persists even on newer versions of iOS such as iOS 15.1.1. There are a few reports from drivers of Audi and Volvo cars, but those complaints don’t appear to be as widespread as the issues facing Toyota drivers.
One user says:
Called Toyota and they do not have any type of resolve for the issue as their app isn’t even working properly. Most people here have older Toyotas without CarPlay if I read correctly. I’m not sure at this point if it’s an iPhone 13 problem or a Toyota problem. My iPhone X worked just fine also.
CarPlay doesn’t appear to play a role in this bug, unlike previous in-car bugs that have affected iPhone users. In fact, the issue appears to primarily affect cars without CarPlay, as users are thereby forced to use the auto maker’s in-car system instead.
One user even went as far as to call the iPhone “unusable for calls in my car” due to the Bluetooth dropped call issue:
The iPhone is unusable for calls in my car which is really frustrating. Hopefully someone out there has seen something like this and has a solution/workaround. Or maybe this will make it to the developers and they can try and fix the issue.
Have you experienced any issues pairing an iPhone running iOS 15 or newer with a car’s Bluetooth hands-free system? Let us know down in the comments.
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