Solutions for issues between your car Bluetooth system and Android device
The arrival of Android Lollipop has seen a spike in in-car Bluetooth problems. Some of our own readers have emailed us all sorts of such problems across all spectrum of Android devices in almost any vehicle brands. Other forums have also tallied a similar situation so it’s not that difficult to conclude that the new Android OS has triggered the issue. But is Google, who developed Android, the only entity to blame for such fiasco?
Frankly, the same situation is repeated whenever Apple releases a major iOS update for their devices, which means that Bluetooth issues happen regardless of platform or device.
When it comes to resolving Bluetooth problems a shared responsibility between car manufacturers, operating system developers, and phone hardware makers must exist. In this regard, car makers are no less responsible for this trouble than Google, Apple, Samsung, and other phone manufacturers. Thus, it is not surprising to know that a fix can sometimes take several months to become available as concerned parties will need to work together first to be able to come up with a working solution.
In-vehicle Bluetooth problems
Before we proceed to some of the common issues and their solutions, you should understand that there are many Bluetooth protocols or standards (sometimes called profiles). Some of these standards are new additions to the core protocols established by trade organization Bluetooth SIG. Problems usually surface if a new tablet or phone uses a new standard that is not supported by, say, a 10-year old car.
Android phone is unable to sync messages and contacts to car via Bluetooth
More recent smart devices use the Phone Book Access Profile or PBAP or PBA for synching contacts of devices. If your in-car Bluetooth kit does not support this standard, you will realize that your phone or tablet may not be able to sync the address book with it. In this case, any incoming call will not display a recognized name or contact, nor display caller ID or image, among many others. If you have this problem, you have to contact your car manufacturer or the BT car kit maker for guidance.
Car stereo unable to play music stored in the phone via Bluetooth
In order to stream music via BT to your car stereo, both devices must the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile or A2DP. This protocol has been widely adapted because of its ability to automatically lower the music volume if there’s an incoming call. A2DP requires two pairings for both hands-free calling and for streaming music. While A2DP handles two important tasks, another protocol called Audio/Video Remote Control Profile governs the syncing of playback and metadata so a song’s track info, artists, etc are shown in your car stereo’s display.
Audio issues between BT devices are usually caused by software incompatibility so the best way to go is contact the car kit’s manufacturer or the car maker for help. But why contact them you ask?
Well, new smartphones and tablets usually call the shots in an ever-improving Bluetooth-enabled environment today so they are usually equipped with the latest BT profiles available. This is in contrast to your car’s BT system, which may be years behind. Most of the time, BT systems in older cars are a generation behind so when a new major operating system update is introduced to smart devices, previously working BT pairing suddenly stops. A brand new car you buy today is most probably designed a few years ago. Development cycles of in-vehicle BT systems are longer compared to your phone, which is usually not designed to work with older generation BT systems.
Also, some in-vehicle BT systems only supports Bluetooth audio and not phone calls. Remember, each of this function requires a different set of BT profile or protocol. The same is true for GPS functionality. Be sure to check with your vehicle support staff if your system supports all of the things you want.
Android device unable to connect to your car’s Bluetooth
This is a common occurrence among car owners who uses Bluetooth technology constantly. This was rampant after Lollipop was released last year. Even now, we still get emails from our readers asking for support because their car kit suddenly stops connecting to their Android device. Again, the reason for this one boils down to compatibility issue which your car manufacturer or car kit maker must address.
Intermittent Bluetooth connectivity
If BT connection between your device and car frequently drops, you must take a look at hardware first. Loose wiring may cause the car kit to lose power momentarily so if there seems to be no pattern when connection drops occur, make sure that you physically check the car kit’s electrical links.
Wireless interference can also cause rare BT connection drops but new devices nowadays are equipped with technologies designed to limit them to bare minimum.
It’s almost impossible now for BT devices to suffer from wireless signal interference. Bluetooth signals of recent devices are considered relatively weak to cause significant interference. Most importantly, spread-spectrum frequency hopping is in place to force a device to switch between 70 randomly selected frequencies 1,600 times every second. The amazing speed of this process makes it highly unlikely that two BT devices will share the same frequency at any one time. And even if they do, it will only occur in a fraction of a second. On top of this popular technology, other hardware makers add other technology to continue lower the chance of interference from happening.
The ubiquity of Bluetooth technology in vehicles comes from its incredible potential to offer a wide range of functionality. Good vehicle designs should consider potential problems with using BT system to minimize interference. Today’s cars are packed with RF devices like GSM transceivers, GPS navigation kits, car stereo, among other electrical devices that can cause interference. Think of your car as moving metal can that reflects wireless signal inside almost all the time. Thanks to existing technologies in place, these signals do not cancel each other out.
But still interference can sometimes happen. If you suspect that wireless interference is giving you problems, please contact your car manufacturer for support.
Engage with us
If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
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My Galaxy S7 connected fine with my 2016 Chevy Express Van up until sometime this summer. After which I could no longer call out from the van using Bluetooth to the phone.
I fixed OK Google so that it isn’t on unless I hit the Google App as I don’t want my phone listening all the time. But then I was getting errors when I tried to call out through the van. I was also getting errors when I hit the Google App and said “OK Google”. I had to add more permissions to get OK Google to quit giving me an error. Currently, I hit the call button in the van, then say “Voice”. The van connects to the phone and I hear a beep on the van speakers. Then I say “Call SoAndSo On Mobile” and the phone replies through the van calling SoAndSo on Mobile using Speaker. After which the phone is connecting using the microphone and speaker on the phone and no longer using Bluetooth to the van. I have enabled use bluetooth in the Google App. I can manually switch the phone back to Bluetooth from the phone app while the phone call is connected but that is not Hands Free calling and its about what I would have expected five years ago.
Phone updates should not break stuff. I should not have to reprogram my $40,000 van to have it keep working with the dumb phone. Next time I’ll buy a cheaper phone and won’t pay extra for a Bluetooth enabled auto.
My android g6 wont pair up with 2016 Subaru outback blue tube and phone
My new Galaxy J7 phone sometimes connects to my cars Bluetooth but not always . When it does, I loose connection soon. My old phone did not have this problem. I also cannot pair the new phone with my Sony headphones (No problem with old phone).
android phone is connected to BT. Everything was working fine with my Subaru Outback unitl a week ago. Now when I ask for a name to be called the phone replies that the car must be running. This happens when I am driving. Any thoughts?
I have a strange issue with a 2014 Volkswagen VII factory radio unit (non carplay) and Huawei P9 w/Android 6.0. Mainly to do with the A2DP profile – it will play audio through the car speakers most of the time but occasionally “drop out” so that audio is playing via the phone speakers, but a user can still switch tracks using the controls on the car console.
It’s not like it’s dropped out completely, sort of rolled back to a secondary output method via the phone speakers, while keeping the bluetooth connection active.
The solution is to turn bluetooth off/on on the phone but cannot (legally) do that until the vehicle is stopped, so it’s a bit annoying.
It would be nice to know why that happens.
I’m having tne same issue as Dalene from 6/12/17. My phone is connected, but when I make a call the message I get is ‘unable to establish call.’ I too wonder, is it my phone or car/radio? Any suggestions?
I have a Samsung J3eV and it had been paired successfully with my aftermarket JVC stereo in my car for about 4 months. For the last week been having issues with it. First was that the radio continually asked to be paired with the phone and then it would ask again 10 seconds later. That was fixed by deleting setup on phone and on radio. That got it so it would play music and make calls. Now the issue is that every single time I get into the car, the phone asks about sharing contacts with the radio. Allowing or don’t allow don’t seem to do anything. Phone works but no phone book or call information displayed on the radio no matter if I allow or not. Aggravating because I traded in my motorola phone for this one because it had issues with the bluetooth in the car.
I have a “bluetooth” radio I recently put in my car and bought a new car kit to make it work, but the radio keeps saying “no car kit” despite trying everything we know. The car kit does pair with my android phone though. They said we have to put the fm stations the same on the radio and car kit (which we did) and then the phone calls will go through, but we have to manually put the car radio onto the same stations every time we want to use it when both the car kit and the radio advertised that it does it automatically (when a call comes in or when you make a call out it is supposed to dull the music down and play the call). But it won’t play the call unless you go to the fm radio station and then make the call. So in other words, you can’t listen to music or watch a video if you need to use the phone because who can stop to turn it to the specific fm station every time you need to use it??? What is the point of the car stereo being “bluetooth” if it won’t connect to the car kit? I don’t know how to make the radio PAIR with the car kit and I am frustrated beyond measure over this since I have spent a lot of time and money on this and still it is not working…. Anyone have any help for me?
My Android phone connects via Bluetooth in my car but when I try to make a call I cannot. I am able to access the last number dialled, etc, but when I press Call nothing happens. Is it my phone or something on the Radio/Bluetooth? Thank you
In my case my wife uses my phone to watch TV series while i am driving. But fot some reason the sound on bluetooth mode (pairning my device or hers) it goes slower than the image.
Her phone: Samsung Galaxy S5
My Phone: LG G STYLO
The Cars Bluetooth: Mazda CX5 2015 With BOSE sound system.