You’re having a conversation with your spouse or partner about your schedule while waiting for soccer practice to finish. There’s a great point about to be made, but then a random disconnection occurs.
You’re trying to listen to a favorite playlist while driving to work. Just as you get to the hook, your Bluetooth® connection stops working. It’s now suddenly difficult, if not impossible, to stream your music from your iPhone.
Although BMW makes a fantastic vehicle, its compatibility with Apple products is less than impressive. When the iPhone 5 was released, the automaker said they’d introduce an adapter. That never happened.
If you have a modern vehicle and one of the latest iPhone versions, it can feel like an impossible task to use Bluetooth.
BMW and iPhone Bluetooth Audio Issues
Bluetooth connections sometimes disconnect when the signal gets interrupted. There can be interference problems, a glitch from the iPhone, or a problem with pairing. The best way to resolve audio issues when they happen is to restart the device. Wait for about five seconds, then turn on Bluetooth.
BMW started offering Apple CarPlay in its 2017 models. You can still choose this feature with the current lineup, but it is considered an add-on. That means you’ll pay extra to use your iPhone while driving.
When you drive an older model or don’t want to pay for Apple CarPlay, your next option is to use Bluetooth.
Although this feature won’t work flawlessly all the time because of how it functions, you can take steps to correct audio issues when they arise.
The most common problem involves a USB port connection. If you already have the iPhone connected by Bluetooth to your BMW, plugging it into a port can disable the device’s audio. Once that happens, you must reconfigure the iPhone to have the audio return.
You can fix this issue by going to the Telephone option under settings, choose Bluetooth, your phone, options, and then Configure Phone.
An error message appears when your iPhone is plugged into the USB that says your iPhone is not supported with Bluetooth audio activated. Then it says it deactivated the feature for you while requesting that you activate USB audio.
Ideas to Help You Correct Bluetooth Connection Issues
Bluetooth is a great technology for talking hands-free while driving or rocking out to a song, but it can also be temperamental with its connection issues.
Here are some of the best ways to resolve the problem you’re encountering.
1. Make Sure Everything Is On
Although it sounds like common sense, this resolution step is the most common one that solves a connection problem. When you consider the sleep and power-saving modes on an iPhone, it’s possible that putting it on standby stops the audio feed.
This issue occurs most often when you’re running audio from a browser-based playlist through Bluetooth to your BMW.
It helps to make sure everything is turned on, active, and ready to connect.
If you have trouble with this step, check to see if your iPhone is in its low battery mode. If it is, turn that feature off to have it keep streaming.
2. Ensure Compatibility
When both devices have Bluetooth technology, you’ve taken the first step toward building a solid connection.
The next step is to ensure your iPhone and your BMW support the same version of Bluetooth for streaming purposes.
Some Bluetooth devices don’t sync well with older connections. If you drive an older BMW and use a new iPhone, you might encounter this problem.
Bluetooth is supposed to be backward compatible, but that structure can limit the quality of your audio playback.
3. Reboot the Devices
When things aren’t working as they should, you can always turn them off and then back on again. Electronics can develop error codes that interfere with how processing occurs. Once the shutdown process completes itself, those get wiped clean.
This idea works a lot like how clearing your cache and temporary Internet files can restore browser functionality.
When you’re taking this step to clear up any Bluetooth connection or audio issues between your BMW and iPhone, make sure your mobile device is at 50% or better. When the battery is weak, there might not be enough power available to broadcast the signal as expected.
4. Turn Off Airplane Mode
You can tell if Airplane Mode is on by the little symbol that appears on the top right of the screen. It replaces your wi-fi signal and any cellular bars.
If it is turned on, you can go into your Settings menu on the iPhone to remove it. Just tap on the icon, move the slider to the left, and then ensure Bluetooth is turned on.
A power-saving mode could interfere with the audio quality, especially if you had it on while also in Airplane Mode. If you have the battery symbol displayed, it turns yellow on the iPhone when activated.
5. Remove the Interference
Bluetooth signals use radio frequencies to communicate between the iPhone and your BMW. Since other devices use the same technology to do the same thing, you can run into several potential sources of interference that disrupt your audio signal.
Everything from a garage door opener to poorly shielded cables can trigger this problem. Even someone trying to do the same thing as you in the next vehicle over could potentially interfere with your signal.
If you haven’t encountered audio disruption in the past, try to drive to a place where fewer interference sources are available. You should be able to pair up better once the airwaves clear.
You can also overwhelm a device with too many Bluetooth connections, creating another form of interference to solve. Try to delete any pairings that you no longer need or use to see if that problem improves.
6. Restart Discovery
When your connection problems haven’t been resolved at this point, it might be time to forget the pairing and restart the discovery process.
The best way to handle this issue is to have your iPhone forget that your BMW exists. Here are the steps you can take to make that happen.
- Go to the Settings menu by tapping on the icon from your iPhone’s home screen.
- Tap on the Bluetooth menu option.
- The iPhone will show you if Bluetooth is on or off. You must have it activated for this potential resolution to work.
- Once you turn Bluetooth on (if necessary), you’ll see a list of “My Devices” for pairing. Locate your BMW from this list.
- You’ll see a blue circle with an “I” inside of it. Tap on the circle. If you tap next to it, the device will attempt to pair.
- An option to “Forget This Device” appears after. Tap on it to complete the process.
Once the iPhone forgets the BMW, you can start the pairing process again. These steps typically resolve an ongoing audio issue, but it might require a device restart on top of the pairing restart to clear the air.
7. Download Updates
It might not be your BMW that’s having an issue with the connection. If you haven’t updated your iPhone’s operating system, some features might not work as expected.
If you’re unsure of the iPhone’s status, you can go to the General menu settings. From there, scroll down to find “Software Update.”
You can also search for “Software Update” to be taken to that choice.
After tapping on it, you can see if automatic updates are turned on. If they are, that doesn’t guarantee you’re using the latest version.
If a new operating system is available, the information for it will display below. An option at the bottom says to “Download and Install.” You must be connected to a power source or have enough battery power available to complete this task.
After the update, you can try to complete the pairing process again. This step often removes the bugs that interfere with audio production.
You might need to get in there to update software drivers or firmware, especially if you have an older BMW. Visit the automaker’s website to see if any updates apply to your model that could help resolve this issue.
8. Clear the Stored Settings
When nothing else seems to be working when pairing your iPhone to your BMW, try deleting the saved settings on the device.
Although it doesn’t happen often, files can get corrupted. If that occurs, removing the offending data can help the smartphone work more efficiently.
After taking this step, you can restart the iPhone to see if the pairing process or connection improves.
If your iPhone is in the back of your BMW, it sometimes helps to bring it to the front seat. The extra closeness to the receiver helps to prevent potential disruptions from other sources. It’s harder to have audio interference when everything is a few inches apart.
Why Does Bluetooth Interference Happen with BMWs?
Bluetooth devices send signals on a 2.4 to 2.48 GHz frequency band. When too many items are on the same frequency, interference happens between an iPhone and a BMW. Wireless devices with the same wavelength can also cause conflict.
There’s a long stretch of Interstate highway in Utah where you won’t find any services for over 100 miles.
It’s a beautiful stretch to drive, where the rustic desert landscapes evolve into different canyons, shapes, cliffs, and mountains.
Getting off at a rural exit to stretch your legs and breathe in the fresh air is a wonderful experience!
It’s also a terrible time for your Bluetooth signal to stop working with your BMW. What made it even worse was that I’d planned to use my playlists, so I didn’t bring other entertainment options.
Getting a cell signal out there isn’t always possible. It turned into a long 45 minutes of near silence, especially since I counted about ten other vehicles on the road with me.
It turned out that just before I entered that stretch, my iPhone wanted to update to the next operating system. That interrupted the Bluetooth signal, making it so that it wouldn’t stay connected.
Once I got back to services, a quick update and reboot solved the problem.
I highly recommend using a different option than Bluetooth to connect to your BMW since there can be a lot of interference. When that’s the only option for your iPhone, this guide can help you solve the issue you face.