Bluetooth connection issues on iPhone 16

FruitHate wrote:

I don’t know why this is pinned. Many users are reporting this doesn’t address the issue. If there is no fix, that should be stated.

This falsely gives the impression that this issue can be resolved using this forum and in this specific case, that is not true.

Please revise this, thank you.

If you're asking why a particular post is listed as the "Top-Ranking" reply, that's because it got the largest number of up-votes. It's not pinned. If some other post in the thread gets more votes, it will change.

People are supposed to up-vote posts that are helpful. However, lots of people up-vote posts simply because the agree with them. Unfortunately, that results in some rants ending up as top-ranked.

Over the years, the forum has had a variety of different systems for recognizing the "best" posts. They all have their pros and cons.

this makes absolutely no sense. Why should we have to start again as new, losing all of our settings and saved passwords because Apple has a defective product? Apple has to fix what they broke.

This fixed my issue immediately. Thank you!!

Get to the point where Bluetooth literally shuts off and won’t let me turn it back on on my phone. I paid more money for a phone with less features than most flagships because I thought the premium was for stability and reliability. This is definitely not a good look especially considering how Apple were the ones who pushed the market towards wireless connectivity making bluetooth a necessity instead of a feature. Deal with it already this should be #1 on the priority list RN

I have the same issue ! I spend so much money on this 16 pro max 1TB and spent 2 weeks talking to apple support as well as I did a device firmware update and still the issue persists. They estimated from the remote diagnostics that it weren’t a hardware problem. So basically I don’t know what else I should do?

I bought a 16 pro for my wife and a pro max for myself, both 1TB. My wife’s phone has zero Bluetooth issues while my pro max has Bluetooth Tx issues on multiple receivers.

While listening to music on my Bluetooth receiver, the audio cuts out for about 10 seconds and then comes back… constantly. Also when making calls in the car using CarPlay (two different vehicles), after a minute or two, the person on the other end of the call cannot hear me while I can hear them. I have to quickly change to speakerphone back to Bluetooth every couple minutes. My wife’s 16 pro does not have these issues using the same devices.

I thought my phone just had hardware issues and got Apple to replace my 16 pro max. Now I have a different pro max and it has the same issues! I don’t know how or why the Bluetooth functionality would be different between the 16 pro and pro max but it certainly is and Apple needs to fix this.

This is going to be a longer post than I intended. There's no solution here for this issue, or specific advice for troubleshooting it, so please feel free to skip it.

The most important, productive piece of advice you'll get from any discussion in this forum will be to make sure you contact Apple Support. While this user forum is a great place to discuss your experiences or vent your frustrations, it's important — to everyone sharing your issue — that you also make actual Apple techs aware of what you're experiencing, so they can research and resolve it.

If you're having a problem that you need fixed immediately, in addition to posting about it here you should install the official Apple Support app on your phone and use it to report your issue; the app will direct you to the best place to find help, possibly in person, possibly via phone support, etc. You could also just go directly to Fortunately, iPhone 16 devices are new and still fully covered by AppleCare+, so you're likely to get a response that's quick, friendly, and free.

It's important to be aware, tho', that searches on Apple Support's official website, support.apple.com, will often direct users to these discussions as well as to official support articles; that might seem unusual, but it's because of Apple users' long history of discovering workarounds and sharing them here.

We're still waiting for that breakthrough in this thread, obviously — but when it arrives it'll come from someone who ignored posts suggesting their problem doesn't/can't possibly exist, or that if it exists, it must be an easily-resolved PICNIC issue.

And feel free to disregard statements that there can be no problem with software like iOS unless it affects all users — it's obviously false, unhelpful, and discourages you from sharing information about what does, in fact, seem like it could be unusual behavior. It's the opposite of what these discussions are meant for.

(There are, naturally, myriad reasons why some users experience issues with a software or software product while others don't. Apple is better about quality than most, and by a wide margin — but not perfect, and many popular, successful Apple products have at times experienced problems that were prickly to troubleshoot *precisely because* they only affected a small subset of use cases. If you've owned or used many Apple products over the past 40 years, you probably recall a few.)

The good news is, Apple is also better than most at solving even the prickliest of these issues, eventually; it just takes time. In the meanwhile, please simultaneously use Apple Support and post in this forum about what you've done to troubleshoot this problem, whether on your own or with Apple Support's help — and don't let anyone deter you from doing that. Even just venting your frustration here is fine; in fact, it's probably better to do that here than to Apple Support techs, as long as you're using both.

Apple users have a proven track record of poking around until they find something that works, and this forum has a proven track record as the place those workarounds are shared. Please don't be discouraged by unproductive posts implying that since not everyone shares your problems, the problem must be you.

I went from the iPhone14 Pro Max to the iphone16 Pro Max and had the same Bluetooth connectivity issues that everyone seems to be having. I came to this forum for the “fix”, which didn’t work. I was still within the 14 day return window, so I returned it and went back to the iPhone14. Never had an issue with that version. I’m going to wait until they get this figured out before investing a small fortune in a device that should have superior performance!

PDL7 wrote:

I have tried all my manufacturer's instructions to the tee on my iPhone 16 for my iPad, car connection, and my wife's for her ear buds, but no connection. It is not just the precise instructions detail, but Apple's software failure in connectivity. I also did complete network connectivity reboots and tried other possbile fix methods, no success. I had no issue whats so ever with my iPhone XR.

Apple, PLEASE assist in resolving this or I will simply return our phones or put in a warranty claim on the carrier's warranty and let them deal with Apple after those claims start to multiply rapidly.

You're not writing anyone from Apple here. This is a user to user only forum. If you want Apple to help you, schedule an appointment at your Apple Store Genius Bar, take your phone and however many Bluetooth devices you can't pair with you and let Apple help you in-person.

Same problem here between 2013 car and AirPods 2nd gen. Phone keeps switching back to AirPods and having to manually switch back to car.

My CarPlay disconnects and my watch refuses to unlock ☹️

It work good for 20 minute on my car, and after that it is impossible to keep connection more than 1 minute without crash connection.

On my AirPods it’s more stable, but I have crash too

My e-bike, I cannot connect at all. It crash immediately then « connect » but no function work. So I think the iPhone is connected but cannot share data with the bike.

I tried to remove all device, reboot, reset network settings, nothing fix my issue ..

I’m having the same Bluetooth issues with my new 16 Pro. I was unable to connect my Apple Watch at setup. I followed online advice to forget the watch and set up as a new watch and it cannot connect to my new phone. Initially my new phone connected fine with my car’s starlink then later in the day the Bluetooth started stuttering. I turned my phone off and back on hoping that would fix the issue. Now it won’t connect at all to the starlink. This is supper frustrating! I made an appointment with a genius but it doesn’t sound like that is going to fix the issue either. Apple please fix this!

Call Apple at 1-800-MYAPPLE. (692-7753). They're very quick there. Just tell the first person you talk to (you know -- politely. Don't ruin his day and make him feel like a useless raisin lol) that multiple people in Apple Discussions are having the same problem and you think you're probably going to need a senior advisor because it's a complex issue with multiple possible causes. Or words to that effect.... That'll get them to move along quicker.

And never hang up before you get a case number bc if you need to call back, they'll never find your case (I know this bc as a broadcasting teacher, I had lots of Apple products and was often on the phone with them, especially at first).

I’ve been on the phone with Apple and Verizon for some 2 hours this morning. I even went by the Verizon store. Nothing they suggested worked. Bluetooth just spins and says “searching.” It doesn’t see my hearing aids. CarPlay doesn’t work. And so far nothing suggested in this forum solves the problem.