iOS 8.1.1 Update for iPhone 4S, 5-6+ does it fix Bluetooth issues with in-car systems?

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iOS_8_1_1_updateApple released the update 8.1.1 for iPhone 4S-5/C/S-6-6+. The description does not mention the word Bluetooth:

“This release includes bug fixes, increased stability and performance improvements for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s.”

There are also some security enhancements.  The update is available over-the-air or through iTunes.  Since the release of iOS 8 there have been reports of Bluetooth issues with in-car infotainment systems.Reports from reader comments indicate that only some Bluetooth vehicle connection issues were improved by iOS 8.1. We have comments that indicate Bluetooth connection problems with 2011, 2013 and even 2014 model vehicles. Read a summary of Bluetooth issues and fixes along with the new “audio-only” connection fix. Read the most popular nuke-it fixes.

Many of our readers are still suffering from Bluetooth Blues with in-car infotainment systems, many of which either lost features (text/email) or connections frequently.  We will be a the Connected Car Expo at the LA Auto Show all day into the evening.

If you have updated to iOS 8.1.1 and it fixed or fried your Bluetooth issues with your in-car infotainment system, please let us know in the comments below, be sure to note your make, model and year of your vehicle.

We know that many of you have been annoyed to put it mildly about the problems associated with the update and in-car infotainment systems.  The last update 8.1 said it “could prevent” Bluetooth issues.

We have heard reports of Bluetooth issues with BMW, Audi, Acura, MINI, GM(Chevy, GMC, Cadillac, Buick), Honda, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Lexus, Fiat, Hyundai and more.

Other than minor tweaks, iOS 8.1.1 offers no major changes. It appears that the Bluetooth glitch was not address but it does help speed up iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.

Today, we have the opportunity to talk with car makers to see if we can “sniff” out what is going on with Bluetooth and in car systems and iOS 8.1.1

60 thoughts on “iOS 8.1.1 Update for iPhone 4S, 5-6+ does it fix Bluetooth issues with in-car systems?”

  1. I have a 2013 Elantra and my iPhone 5 worked great for two months and now can’t use the Bluetooth. Doesn’t ring when I ask to call someone nor does it ring when call coming in. It shows it switches to the phone which you can’t answer while driving because need to turn off Bluetooth. Dealership said this had happened to several customers and the iPhone 6 is even worse. Talked to tech at Apple Store and they had no solution. Really bad that can’t use handfree anymore because I’m on the road a lot.

  2. Bluetooth disconnects and re-connects every 4 minutes using iPhone 4s on GMC Yukon xlwith iOS 8.2 also. Nothing you do will fix it. So annoying. I hate it…

  3. My wife and I have 2 identical IPhone, 5S. We have a new 2014 Toyota Avalon. My phone works great with the car system. My wife’s DOES NOT. Car and phone both show connected. But NO voice or anything goes back or forth. It’s funny but I can play her music in the car system using Bluetooth. Just NO phone. Any Ideas??

  4. I spent 2 hours today at the Lexus dealership only to get my phone with the update to work with my 2010 RX. I thought a new computer update on the car would fix it. NOPE. What really pissed me off was the Tech synche his android phone just fine to it. The guy’s there didn’t charge me either…WOW love them. Love Lexus Hate Apple

  5. I have iPhone 5c and a Smart fortwo 13 reg. Although my iphone does connect with my car, only calls come through…no texts 🙁

  6. I agree with Eugene. I downloaded 8.1.3 and ran out to the car to see if it worked. Nope. Iphone, Ipad, laptop and desktop purchases for this year are no longer going to be Apple products in this household. I’m protesting with my pocket book. How do like them apples!?

  7. I truly believe that some hot lawyer should form a class action lawsuit against Apple. They know darn well what they are doing and it is called designed obsolescence and it needs to stop. I would gladly contribute to a class action suit against them …..

  9. I have an Iphone 5c and a 2006 Toyota Aurion Presara with factory infotainment system. Siri does not allow me to make an outgoing call via hands free. As soon as I request Siri to call a number it looks like it is making the call then the call ends before it even starts dialing and my car screen says “call terminated by network”. Everything else works fine ie. using Siri via hands free for all other functions and manually dialing a number via hands free. I have been through Apple Support and the Genius Bar. The only suggestions they gave was to wait for a further ios update to hopefully fix the problem or get a different phone or contact Toyota to update their bluetooth. I contacted Toyota and they were extremely confused as to why Toyota would say this as Toyota do not update bluetooth settings in Toyota vehicles.

    Every firmware prioir to ios8 worked perfectly.

    From what I have been told, the Siri profile has been changed in ios8. I am not sure what this means exactly but thought I would share this in case one of the readers can add some more to it.

    My car is my office and this puts me in a terrible situation that I now have to either stop to make a call every time or chance getting a fine by touching my phone. Apple just don’t seem to care about the thousands of people being put at risk due to their actions. At least they could clearly advise is this is going to be fixed in the next update, instead of saying “will fix bug issues”. Be more transparent Apple!!!

  11. I just bought a 2015 Impreza Sport Limited. I have an iPhone 6 with IOS 8.1.2. My phone contacts will transfer with the car but I cannot setup text or email through the navigation system. It’s very frustrating

  12. I have a 2012 Escape and since the latest iOS update to 8.1.2 my iPhone 5 won’t sync. The phone recognizes the car, but the car can’t find the phone.

  13. We have the same problems with our 2012 sync and 2014 sync,
    New iPhone 6s (iOS 8.1.2) pair but unable to download phonebook/contacts from either phone.

  14. We have 2012 Ford with Sync system. Our iPhones 4s and 5 worked perfectly. New iPhone 6s (iOS 8.1.2) pair but unable to download phonebook/contacts from either phone. Really becoming frustrated with new Apple products.

  15. Just updated to 8.1.1, I have a 2014 Citroen C3; iPhone 4s has never connected and still does not connect after this upgrade.

  16. All worked fine until upgrade to 8.1. IPhone 6 connects to Bluetooth but music does not begin to play automatically (it used to). Now I have to go to Music on the iPhone and manually push play button. I am not aware of any problems with hands free phone. I have BMW 328xi 2014.

  17. Have 2009 535xi. Pairing is not successful no matter what I do. Had blackberry and no issues then received iPhone6 and I’m miserable withour Bluetooth capability. Don’t want to get stopped by police.

  18. iPhone 6+ with iOS 8.1.1. 2012 Toyota Camry. Complete failure to connect with Bluetooth car audio. My daughter’s iPhone 5s with 8.1.1 works flawlessly.

  19. Ford Explorer no longer syncs up with my phone (4s) since I upgraded 8.1.1 . It was sketchy connection prior to this and now nothing. A fix is needed now!

  20. I have a 2012 Dodge Charger with the 4.3S system and an iPhone 5. It worked fine UNTIL I upgraded to 8.1.1. Now I can’t sync with uconnect to make/receive calls. I tried to RESET all and still nothing. Apple better solve this quick!

  21. I have a 2014 Toyota Yaris with Iphone 5. The bluetooth was working just fine before the 8.1.1 update. Now, I can’t hear my music, make a phone call, receive a call…nothing. I can see the song displayed but no sound from the speakers. I have wiped the phone, reloaded everything, reset the settings, re-paired the phone to the car…nothing!! I’ve spent hours on this and am REALLY frustrated. It makes me want to get rid of all of my apple products. I will do this if I don’t get some help soon.

  22. I have mitsubishi OUTLANDER 2011; had no problem with bluetooth connectivity until IOS 8; now i have the some problems as the others: i can not get automatic bluetooth connectivity for outbound calls; only for inbound calls; APPLE: please solve that problem soon! Give advice!!!

  23. I have bought IPhone 6+ yesterday. It is not pairing with my BMW X-1 model Oct 2012. My earlier Iphone 5 had no problem. Please advice

  25. Bluetooth was working fine and then updated to IOS 8.1.1 and iphone 5 and 5S will connect and then disconnect within a few seconds on my 2014 Lexus IS350 with the message on my phone saying this device is not compatible with this iphone. My wife didn’t update her iphone 5 and her’s stays connected fine with media and phone connection…

  26. i just bought iphone 5 and updated to IOS 8.1.1. bluetooth and wifi is not working at all. the bluetooth gives a busy signal and wifi just couldn’t turn on. i tried to solve but i couldn’t. anyone can help please???

    • For the Wi-Fi & Bluetooth issues you could bring into your wireless carrier store or call your carrier. For car issues you can call or contact the dealer. Although we have hundreds of comments of issues with iOS 8.1.1 and cars, Apple does not admit a problem. The only fixes that seem to work are the “nuke-it” ones here.

  29. Have iPhone6 with iOS 8.1.1 and 2014 and 2012 Ford Sync vehicles. Very difficult to pair and when paired, will not stay paired. Cannot download contacts. Have tried auto and manual. The instant “download contacts” is requested, phone connection is lost. Have never had issues with previous iPhones in either vehicle. Very maddening.

    • 2013 Ford Escape – iPhone 4s updated to 8.1.1 – Sync connects and will start to dial someone but after a second, before the person on the other end picks up, the phone disconnects completely and the call continues on the phone

      • After resetting my phone bluetooth seems to be working much better – annoying process but I was able to make calls without issue after resetting the phone: go to settings >> General >> Reset >> Reset all settings

        ** Before you do be sure to write down all wifi passwords and settings, backup wallpaper images, etc.

          • This did not work for me, I also did this before I knew i’d loose all my iCloud passwords. I understand it removing from Phone but not iCloud that’s horrible. Also I have a Mazdaspeed3 2011. My problem is that when I dial out it switches to the phone instead of the speakers. I have to wait for someone to answer then tell them to hold on so I can switch it back. This is more dangerous than just not having Bluetooth as i’m looking at my phone to switch it. If someone calls I can answer with the steering control and it works just fine.

  30. iOS Update+Mitsibushi Outlander = epic fail. Incoming calls work. Outgoing call switch from car kit to phone

    Reply

  31. Yup, just changed from a very reliable HTC One to the iPhone 6 and now I can’t read emails or texts on my BMW 3 Series (2013) infotainment system.

  32. I had similar problems with my iPhone 4S and 5. In iOS 8.1 and 8.1.1 please go to to… Settings > General > Accessibility > Call Audio Routing > (Now change from) Automatic to Headset. This solved all my issues with my Bluetooth Headset Unit which sounds like a lot of the issues you people are having. I hope this helps.

    • This didn’t work for me, but my problem is pretty minor. I just can’t get the song information to display in my car. Most everything else works.

  33. Modorator: please delete my email as I pasted it into the name field because I am so use to typing it twice; change my name to Dom please or I will close the email address down.

    • I changed your name. No problem. I like the the idea of using a headset, I had a similar problem on one of my phones. I used an app to chose what setting I wanted.

  34. In iOS 8.1 and 8.1.1 please go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Call Audio Routing > change from Automatic to Headset. I hope that works because it worked with my bluetooth headset issues which sound just like the problems you are all having. I hope it works for you 😉

  35. Have update to IOS8.1.1, but my I-phone 4s could not find any bluetooth device, e.g.my plantronics earphone and my mitsubishi montero audio system. In need of your help.

  36. Toyota Avalon 2014 with iPhone 6plus. Had no issues till 8.1.1. Now my Bluetooth that was awesome sounds like a scratched CD in an old jumpy player. Can’t use the Bluetooth it is so bad. Apple acted like they had not heard of the issue when I called. They suggest I call Toyota.

    • Apple does know about the problem. Many of our readers have documented talking to them and also writing in forums.

  37. It all started with my iPhone 4s when I upgraded to iOS 8 and I lost consistent connectivity with my iPhone and my 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid Bluetooth. So, upgraded to iPhone 6 and have iOS 8.1.1 and problems have actually worse. What can one do?

  40. In my case the Bluetooth on my 2014 Accord stop working with my iPhone 6 Plus. It was working fine but not any more.

  42. Problems not solved with IOS 8.1.1. The most annoying problem since IOS 8 is that during dialling a phone number the phone sitches from Handsfree to its own built-in speaker. Iphone 5S, IOS 8.1.1, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 2014

  43. I have a 2012 Mazda 3, and 8.1.1 didn’t fix my issue. However, mine isn’t as major as some listed here. I just don’t get the song information to display like it used to on my Samsung S3. The music plays, and my phone works with it, but no song info.

  44. Apple discussions show this as a fix.

    “I go to Settings -> General -> Reset on my phone to reset my iPhone 5 General Settings”

  45. Totally disgusted with Apple. Have a Tesla Model S and 3 BMW’s. With iOS 8 there was no connectivity with bluetooth. iOS 8.1 fixed it. NOW WITH iOS 8.1.1 ABSOLUTELY NO CONNECTIVITY WITH BLUETOOTH. Steve Jobs is probably turning over in his grave. I have lost all faith in Apple and I own every device they manufacture.

  46. Just updated to 8.1.1, I have a 2012 VW CC GT, iPhone 6 has never connected and still does not after this upgrade.

  47. Sorry just updated to 8.1.1… Vehicle is a Mazda SP25… Same issue, bluetooth connects, but does not change the audio source to the bluetooth device by default, also when dialling someone, you don’t actually know whether you are ringing that person as you cannot hear the ringing before the other person answers phone. Thanks for nothing Apple. I am now starting to worry that I will be booked by police for touching my phone to manually change the audio source to the car Bluetooth device.

  48. You can add Subaru (2013 Impreza Sport) to the list of car with iPhone 5 bluetooth connectivity issues. Had no problems at all with iPhone 4; now I’m sorry I upgraded.

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