It is always very annoying when your iPhone disconnects to your speaker or headsets when listening to music or a podcast due to issues with its Bluetooth connectivity. This, however, can be sorted out with just a few tips and tricks that will help you if you are experiencing this or any other Bluetooth connection issue with your iPhone. Whether these issues are appearing when you connect to Airpods, a car stereo, or Bose Bluetooth headphones, this guide will be of help to you.
Why does Bluetooth keep disconnecting from my iPhone?
Since the iOS 11 update, Apple devices have had problems connecting to Bluetooth devices including car stereos, headphones, speakers, Apple watches, among others. iPhone X users have had this problem too suggesting it has been caused by a software bug since users cited their devices like the iPhone 8, 7, 7 plus and 6 have been working fine before the update. Other issues like the iPhone Bluetooth spinning wheel and iOS 11 Bluetooth disconnecting from devices have come up with the release of the iOS 11.2.3 too. However, iOS 11 Bluetooth connectivity issues can be resolved with the following tips below.
Read Also: How to AirDrop from an iPhone to a Mac
How to solve iOS 11 Bluetooth connectivity issues
Turn Bluetooth off and reboot your iPhone
For this;
- Go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn it off
- Press hold the power button and slide to power off your iPhone
- Power on the device
- Turn on Bluetooth and retry connecting to the device.
You should also power off the Bluetooth on the other device too, for example speaker, then power it on after you power on Bluetooth on your iPhone.
Set forget the device on your Bluetooth settings
Go to Settings > Bluetooth, then select the device you are having issues connecting to and click forget. Confirm your decision and then try to reconnect Bluetooth again.
Reset your network settings
To reset;
- Go to settings > General
- Scroll to Reset and tap on it
- Tap Reset network settings
- Enter the passcode and click Reset
This method will reset all your network settings. Once you use this method, you will need to re-join all saved Wi-Fi networks and reconnect with all other Bluetooth devices that you had paired with your iPhone before.
Reset your iPhone
If all the other methods are not working for you, you might have to hard reset your phone. To prevent any data loss, I recommend you back up your data before resetting your device.
- Turn off your network connections such as WiFi and Bluetooth
- For iPhone X press down the power button for 10sec then press the volume down until you see the Apple logo. For iPhone 8 to 7 press the power button and the volume down for a while. Any previous version you will need to press the power button and the home button to reset your device.
- Once completed, open Settings > Bluetooth and reconnect to your device
- This method works very well if you have problems connecting your iPhone to your car stereo via Bluetooth.
iPhone Bluetooth spinning wheel issue
If you are trying to power on Bluetooth but you end up getting a spinning wheel that doesn’t seem to disappear, you should reboot your device. This is because the problem is caused by a software hitch which prevents Bluetooth from starting correctly. Please refer to the above guidelines on how to reboot your phone safely without losing your data.
Finally…
Although Bluetooth issues should not be difficult to resolve I recommend contacting Apple support to assist if this has not worked for you. Otherwise, it is our hope that Apple will provide a software update that will solve this issue once and for all. Otherwise, if your phone is still under warranty then you can definitely take it to have it checked by an Apple certified technician. This is because your device might have a hardware issue as well, something that an update will not be able to fix.
Alex is an IT technician who shares his experiences with Apple devices occasionally. He has a collection of Apple devices (from iPhone 4) and has recently started trying out Android.
IG: @I M_Alex