iPhone Bluetooth Not Connecting? Here’s The Real Fix!

– Bluetooth has changed a lot since we made our 2018 version of this video. It’s time for an update. – We’ll show you how to fix common problems that can occur when you try to connect Bluetooth devices like headphones to your iPhone or your iPhone to a Bluetooth device like your car. – As always, we’ll start with the simple fixes and get more complex as we go. The answer might be simpler than you think.

– [David] Before deciding something’s wrong, open up the Settings app, tap on Bluetooth and look for the device underneath My Devices. – If it doesn’t show up, it’s never been paired correctly to your iPhone. You might need to put the device in pairing mode.

– I’ve got these ratty old headphones that have never been paired on my iPhone, so what I’m gonna do is press and hold on the Power button until it enters pairing mode. I know they’re in pairing mode because there’s a red and blue light flashing and underneath Other Accessories, MDR-ZX750BN, a very easy name to remember, is there.

I can just tap on that and pair to these devices. And now, underneath My Devices, it says connected. – The first time you turn them on, Bluetooth devices often enter pairing mode for a short amount of time. If no connection is made, then they turn themselves off to save battery life. – [David] If your device isn’t on, press and hold the Power button or take them out of your case to start the pairing process over again.

– Next, make sure your device hasn’t run out of batteries. Plug it in and charge it with a power adapter, and, if that doesn’t work, try a different power adapter, too. – And if your Bluetooth device uses a battery, take that battery out, put some new ones in, see if that fixes the problem.

– And, keep in mind, some Bluetooth devices won’t pair or work with your iPhone while they’re charging. – Next, let’s talk about range.

It used to be that Bluetooth devices had a range of about 30 feet. These days, it’s more like 100, sometimes up to 300 feet. – But you can run into connectivity issues when your devices are too far apart. – The quality of your iPhone’s Bluetooth connection can also be disrupted by other Bluetooth devices in the area. – In cities where Bluetooths and Wi-Fi devices are everywhere, you won’t get as much range as you would out in the country.

– This happens to me at Planet Fitness all the time. Everyone there is wearing Bluetooth headphones. – So when you’re pairing your device to your iPhone, it’s a good idea to keep it very close to it.

– Next, check your audio output. This is especially important if you’re using Bluetooth headphones or speakers.

– Just because your Bluetooth headphones are connected to your iPhone doesn’t mean that audio is going to play through them. – To make sure your Bluetooth audio device is selected, swipe down from the upper right hand corner of the screen to open Control Center, tap on the little icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen and make sure a check mark appears next to your headphones or speakers. – But if your Bluetooth device isn’t one of the playback options, we need to start troubleshooting the software on your iPhone, – And the first step is just to turn Bluetooth off and back on again. This can give your iPhone and the Bluetooth device a fresh start, a new chance to reconnect. Let’s get out of Control Center by tapping on the screen.

Tapping again, here we are on Bluetooth. Turn that switch off at the top of the screen.

Wait a few seconds, and turn the switch on again. – Try pairing your device again. If that doesn’t work, it’s time for the universal fix for all iPhones: Turn it off and back on again.

– There could be a minor software issue preventing your devices from connecting. So if your iPhone has Face ID, simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button until, slide to power off, appears on the screen. – [DJ] Then swipe the Power icon to turn off your your iPhone. – If your iPhone doesn’t have Face ID just press and hold on the power button until, slide to power off, appears.

While that’s happening, restart your Bluetooth device, too.

If your device has a power button, press and hold on it. If there’s no power button and it’s in a case, just put ’em back in the case, close the lid, wait about 30 to 60 seconds. – Turn your iPhone back on again and then try to pair your devices. But if they still won’t pair, it’s time to check for an iOS update.

Keeping your iPhone up to date will keep it running smoothly.

Let’s head back to the main page of Settings, scroll down and tap General, tap Software Update, and if an update is available, tap Install now or Download and install. – It’s also a good idea to check for firmware updates for your Bluetooth device. – Firmware is a software that runs on a Bluetooth device and the way to check for a firmware update varies from device to device. Let’s search Google for “sony xm4 firmware update”. – Click on the first result, then Firmware Update to Version 2.

5.0. Launch the Sony headphones Connect application, connect your headphones, they already are, tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner of the screen, select the version of your device, and then make sure it’s 2.5.0.

– 2.5.0, we are all set! – Up to date. – Tap OK, you’re up to date.

Next up is the fix that has worked for me anytime I’ve had an issue pairing a Bluetooth device to my iPhone. – When you pair a Bluetooth device to your iPhone for the first time, your iPhone saves information about how to connect to that device. – If something changes, like a firmware update, it can prevent your iPhone from pairing to that device again. – Forgetting the Bluetooth device on your iPhone lets you set it up again like new and hopefully will fix the problem. – Let’s open Settings and tap back to the main page of Settings, then tap on Bluetooth, and tap the information button to the right of the device you want to forget, then tap Forget this device, tap, Forget device.

– Then put your Bluetooth device back into pairing mode and try connecting it again.

– If your iPhone won’t connect your car, for example, sometimes you need to forget your iPhone on the car. – And this is another Google search for you. I’ll type “forget iPhone Honda Civic 2020”. So, first result, tap on that.

Shall we go do it? – We should. (snaps fingers) – [DJ] Go to Settings, then Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and tap Bluetooth at the top. Bluetooth Device List, tap on DP’s iPhone, tap Delete, and then tap Yes, and then we will see DP’s iPhone has been deleted. – Remember, it’s not always your iPhone’s fault.

– Sometimes you need to download a third party app before you can use a Bluetooth device with your iPhone. And if you are gonna use a third party app, there are a few things you need to do first. – First, go back to the main page of Settings scroll down, and tap Privacy and Security, then tap on Bluetooth and make sure that third party app has access to Bluetooth, otherwise, it’s just not going to work. The next thing we need to check is in the App Store. Let’s close out of Settings, open App Store, and tap on Your Account icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

Scroll down to the Automatic Updates section and check if that app has an update. If an update is available, definitely install it. – If there’s no update available and the app keeps causing problems, the best thing to do is to delete it and reinstall it. – Let’s head back to the home screen. Go to that Sony app, press and hold on it until the menu opens, tap Remove app, Delete app, and then tap Delete.

Then go back into the App Store, find the app and reinstall it. – There’s a unique way to factory reset every Bluetooth device. – Usually there’s a button or a pair of buttons you need to press and hold for a very long time. – Let’s use this Sony PS5 controller as an example. – Once again, your best bet is to go to Google and type in “factory reset” device name.

Sometimes you take things too Literally. Put your device name like “Sony PS5 controller”. – Oh! – The first result says to reset the dual sense controller to its factory settings.

Use a thin object such as a pin or paperclip to press the small reset button on the back of the controller for five seconds.

– Bang! If no Bluetooth devices are connecting to your iPhone, there’s one more thing we can do. – It’s called a DFU Restore. DFU stands for device firmware update and it’s the deepest type of restore you can do on an iPhone. But before you put your iPhone into DFU mode, you need to back it up.

Otherwise you could lose all your data. – [David] To back up your iPhone, let’s go back to the Settings app. Tap back to the main page of Settings, scroll up and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Then tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup and then tap Backup now. – Click the video in the card above to watch our full DFU restored video.

– Let’s talk about repairs. Can you swap out the Bluetooth antenna on your iPhone? – Probably not. – And why is that? – Well, let’s take iFixit’s iPhone 13 Pro teardown as an example.

First, grab your specialized toolkit take your iPhone apart and remove the logic board. – [David] All right then. – [DJ] Simply disassemble the logic board and find the Wi-Fi Bluetooth module highlighted in green. Lastly, use your multimillion dollar chip fab factory to remove and replace the chip. – Yeah, it’s not gonna happen.

– The sad truth is that if Bluetooth is broken on your phone you probably won’t be able to fix it and neither will a mom or pop shop. You might need to get a new phone. – Make sure to schedule an appointment before going into the Apple store. We hope your iPhone is still under warranty.

– And if it isn’t, this might be the excuse you’ve been looking for to get a new iPhone.

– And now that your iPhone is finally connected, let’s optimize it. Check out our next video that is appearing on the screen now..