Bluetooth connection issues on iPhone 16

I tried. It didn’t help.

Worked perfectly THANKS!!

I just updated the iPhone 16 I got yesterday to iOS 18.2, and the Bluetooth issues documented here (which I experienced with a Denon soundbar) were solved—to my relief.

I have a new iPhone 16 pro max and none of my Bluetooth devices will work! I spent 3 hours with Apple trying to sort me out to no avail. What unearth is going on Apple.

[Edited by Moderator]

That’s the piece that doesn’t work

I have been to the Apple Store Westfield stratford about 7 times since I had my AirPod 4. The Bluetooth connectivity is a total mess and there seems to be no solution to this issue.

lobsterghost1 wrote:

iPhone has NEVER paired with a computer via Bluetooth, Mac or otherwise. When you have your AirPods and want to use them on your MacBook Pro, tap the Bluetooth icon at the top of the MacBook screen and look for your AirPods and then tap them to use them on your Mac.

I'm not sure what the current use case would be for Bluetooth pairing an iPhone to a Mac — back when I did it, the justification was using Bluetooth instead of Personal Hotspot to access the internet from a MacBook via an iPhone, something I believe is no longer supported on the latest macOS versions and hardware — but it's wrong to say it was NEVER supported, and it might even also be wrong to suggest there's no longer a use case for it.

Anyway, here's a screenshot showing where it used to be managed in older macOS versions:

It's fine — I didn't make that screenshot myself (I no longer have a use case for Bluetooth PAN on my MacBook, nor time to try setting it up for the purpose of this discussion), but it's from one of the many articles you'll find out there when you Google how to pair your iPhone and Mac.

Here are a couple more — one from a Mac displaying a connected iPhone, and another from a different article made with an iPhone displaying a connected Mac:

I'm definitely not trying to drag anybody here, and I'm also painfully aware that the functionality of Apple devices can change as OS software updates — sometimes even functionality for some users' job-critical use cases.

But this isn't just pedanticism. When users are describing difficulty doing things they've always and very recently been able to do before upgrading to the current iPhone 16 hardware, it's important to be clear about what has or hasn't ever been possible with past hardware.

ted2tall never said they were talking about Bluetooth PAN specifically, or anything that would indicate that Personal Hotspot was the way to resolve their issue. Without more information, I'm not sure it's possible for any of us to say whether they're experiencing a technical issue or reduced or modified functionality — but if they're trying to accomplish something they'd been doing with their iPhone 11 as recently as September, it's quite possible they're having the same issues other users are describing here.

The network reset didn’t help at all.

The NFC switch is only available in some countries and older versions of iOS. In the US under iOS 18.3, it’s not available.

Or me!! Spent hours with 5 different techs and a replacement phone…. Still stuttering 🙄 despairing

I was told that we have to wait for the 18.4 update “sometime” in April ! How in the world do they release a new line of phones and not know this was an issue.

Same problem. Did a reset for no improvement. Checked car software which was up to date. Deleted car from phone Bluetooth and phone from car Bluetooth and then re established connections after another phone reset. Appears to be working now although I haven’t driven anywhere and only time will tell.

Had several issues with Bluetooth connection migrating from 13Pro to 16Pro. Disconnect of Bluetooth and resetting all network settings solved them all except one. My TagHeuer connected won’t connect still (ios18.0.1). Genius send me to developer of watch. But new connection on my wife’s 13 running 18.0.1 goes smootly???? So Apple fix this!

It’s a hit or miss scenario.

Some of my Bluetooth Audio devices like wireless speakers and headphones work.

But others. Like my Scosche Bluetooth Car stereo device have to manually connected each time. Scosche is blaming Apple.