Bluetooth phone connection keeps dropping
#1
Bluetooth phone connection keeps dropping
The bluetooth connection between my phone (2-year-old HTC Touch HD which never has any bluetooth problems with anything else) connects like a dream, automatically transfers my phone book, blah blah blah. So no problems at all, except.... every 10 minutes or so the connection drops and a corresponding message comes up on the car's touchscreen. I can reconnect it easily with the touchscreen, and it always connects instantly - but then some while later it drops again. It is driving me mad. It doesn't seem to matter whether the phone is on or in the centre console, in the driver door pocket, in my own pocket, in a bag on the passenger seat, in a bag in the passenger footwell - wherever I put it the same thing happens. Has anyone else had the same problem, or have any ideas for a cure? Is there at least some way to get the system to reconnect automatically without me having to do it manually?
#2
Sounds like maybe your phone's blue tooth is going into sleep mode. Iphones have a discoverable setting. You may want to check your phone setting to ensure it is on. I did have my XF Bluetooth reflashed for an iPhone update back in 2010. You may have to do the same - perhaps the update will remedy the problem. Good luck, Andrew
#4
I think he's referring to making sure your iPhone's firmware is up to date. When you plug in your iPhone to your iTunes account on your computer and click the "Summary" tab, there should be a message in about the middle of the page saying whether your iPhone's firmware is up to date or there is a newer version, asking if you want to download and use it.
#5
I think he's referring to making sure your iPhone's firmware is up to date. When you plug in your iPhone to your iTunes account on your computer and click the "Summary" tab, there should be a message in about the middle of the page saying whether your iPhone's firmware is up to date or there is a newer version, asking if you want to download and use it.
#6
Thanks for the suggestion, but it isn't my phone going into sleep-mode that is the problem. Whenever I want to use bluetooth in the car I switch it to discoverable mode and I know (from using it with other devices including other bluetooth headsets, and from the display on the phone itself) that it stays in that mode and doesn't go into sleep mode. It isn't an iPhone, by the way.
#7
Strange. I know you don't have an iPhone but why do you switch it back and forth from Discoverable. I just keep it on that setting. I think I used to do the same thing when I had a BB. Maybe that's the problem. I would Google the probelm. That's how I found the information to remedy my problem. Good luck.... Andrew
Trending Topics
#8
Bluetooth is quite an odd protocol and depending upon implementation in both sides (phone and car) odd things can happen. Bluetooth is not a guarantee that two devices will talk correctly. Generally when you turn on bluetooth in a device, it is discoverable. This means that another bluetooth device can find it and you can then initiate a connection from either end. They exchange data and decide what sort of bluetooth services are provided by both devices since not all devices support all bluetooth services.
It seems that in your case, when the connection is not used for a while, the connection is dropped (not sure from which end) and if the phone is not discoverable or the car is not discoverable, the connection is not recoverable automatically by the car or phone when it is needed. This is a guess since I suspect that you are using it to make and receive calls. The recovery process after the connection is dropped is variable and it may be that the negotiating protocols for connection are just not compatible. I have had blue tooth connections work fine with some cars and not at all with others with various symptoms. I have never seen a compatibility list for the XF but if your phone is not explicitly on the list, then it may not work reliably due the above.
I can confirm that my iPhone 4 works correctly but then I am not a great believer in using a phone in a car, hands free or not, but that is your choice of course.
This does not help you with your particular problem but it may explain the behaviour you are observing.
It seems that in your case, when the connection is not used for a while, the connection is dropped (not sure from which end) and if the phone is not discoverable or the car is not discoverable, the connection is not recoverable automatically by the car or phone when it is needed. This is a guess since I suspect that you are using it to make and receive calls. The recovery process after the connection is dropped is variable and it may be that the negotiating protocols for connection are just not compatible. I have had blue tooth connections work fine with some cars and not at all with others with various symptoms. I have never seen a compatibility list for the XF but if your phone is not explicitly on the list, then it may not work reliably due the above.
I can confirm that my iPhone 4 works correctly but then I am not a great believer in using a phone in a car, hands free or not, but that is your choice of course.
This does not help you with your particular problem but it may explain the behaviour you are observing.
#9
#10
Interesting thread... this has just started happening to me as well.
I'm also using an HTC (Imagio) and have always felt the bluetooth operation was not optimal. With a mere 70 contacts or so, it seems to take at least 5-10 minutes of being connected before the phone becomes responsive enough to actually use.
Partly, this is because by today's standards, the Imagio is pretty weak. Stock clock is 528MHz and it's only got 288MB of RAM. I do use a custom ROM (Energy w/ CHT 2.0), and I do use WinMoSpeed to overclock the phone to about 700MHz, but that's still not really great performance specs.
That aside, the issue of dropping BT connections has just cropped up ('09 XF Premium) and Le Chef's comment made me think that possibly some Jaguar updates may have been applied during a recent service, not sure.
At the risk of hijacking this thread, maybe a new thread is in order to discuss BT experiences/reviews with the XF? When I first got the car, I had some battery drain issues that were ultimately blamed (by Jaguar service) on the phone failing to properly disconnect BT upon vehicle shutdown, causing the car to "stay awake" seeking to reconnect the device. Not sure I completely buy it, but, I will say that at some point a ROM update did appear to make that gremlin go away.
I'm looking to replace my HTC, and although I love WinMo 6.5, I really dislike what I've seen so far of WinMo7's UI, so maybe it's time to jump to Android? Would love comment/opine on that, but again maybe best for a new thread?
I'm also using an HTC (Imagio) and have always felt the bluetooth operation was not optimal. With a mere 70 contacts or so, it seems to take at least 5-10 minutes of being connected before the phone becomes responsive enough to actually use.
Partly, this is because by today's standards, the Imagio is pretty weak. Stock clock is 528MHz and it's only got 288MB of RAM. I do use a custom ROM (Energy w/ CHT 2.0), and I do use WinMoSpeed to overclock the phone to about 700MHz, but that's still not really great performance specs.
That aside, the issue of dropping BT connections has just cropped up ('09 XF Premium) and Le Chef's comment made me think that possibly some Jaguar updates may have been applied during a recent service, not sure.
At the risk of hijacking this thread, maybe a new thread is in order to discuss BT experiences/reviews with the XF? When I first got the car, I had some battery drain issues that were ultimately blamed (by Jaguar service) on the phone failing to properly disconnect BT upon vehicle shutdown, causing the car to "stay awake" seeking to reconnect the device. Not sure I completely buy it, but, I will say that at some point a ROM update did appear to make that gremlin go away.
I'm looking to replace my HTC, and although I love WinMo 6.5, I really dislike what I've seen so far of WinMo7's UI, so maybe it's time to jump to Android? Would love comment/opine on that, but again maybe best for a new thread?
Last edited by JaguarJeff; 05-15-2011 at 05:20 PM. Reason: typo
#11
Strange. I know you don't have an iPhone but why do you switch it back and forth from Discoverable. I just keep it on that setting. I think I used to do the same thing when I had a BB. Maybe that's the problem. I would Google the probelm. That's how I found the information to remedy my problem. Good luck.... Andrew
#13
#14
#15
The mystery deepens. When I first got the car, I paired my 3GS iPhone and it worked flawlessly immediately. Today all of a sudden it drops the BT connection intermittently, same as the original poster. Nothing has changed! No new software. No changes to the iPhone OS. I did pair my phone with another device (BT speaker) in-between (last weekend), but deleted it. Thinking I might need to re-pair my phone with my car, I deleted the car from the phone and the phone from the car and re-paired. Still happens!
#16
So, I'm still not sure what happened, but did remember that I paired a second phone with the car. Maybe doing that somehow makes the car look back and forth between them. So I erased the other phone. I then tried erasing the pairing from both the car and iPhone and re-paired it. Didn't help, as it still kept dropping the connection.
It then dawned on me to try turning off the directory feature in car phone options. Not sure why I thought of that. But so far it has not dropped the connection!
It's not quite a fix since now I can't access the directory (I still can get the last 10 numbers received or dialed, however.). But at least it doesn't keep popping up that "phone disconnected" message (or whatever the actual words are) every few minutes. I do wonder whether it's a matter of persistence, in that maybe it just needs to finish loading the directory through multiple reconnects, but I don't recall doing that the first time.
I don't usually need access to my entire phone directory anyway, so this workaround mostly works for me.
It then dawned on me to try turning off the directory feature in car phone options. Not sure why I thought of that. But so far it has not dropped the connection!
It's not quite a fix since now I can't access the directory (I still can get the last 10 numbers received or dialed, however.). But at least it doesn't keep popping up that "phone disconnected" message (or whatever the actual words are) every few minutes. I do wonder whether it's a matter of persistence, in that maybe it just needs to finish loading the directory through multiple reconnects, but I don't recall doing that the first time.
I don't usually need access to my entire phone directory anyway, so this workaround mostly works for me.
Last edited by Need4Spd; 06-10-2011 at 11:44 PM.
#17
So, I'm still not sure what happened, but did remember that I paired a second phone with the car. Maybe doing that somehow makes the car look back and forth between them. So I erased the other phone. I then tried erasing the pairing from both the car and iPhone and re-paired it. Didn't help, as it still kept dropping the connection.
It then dawned on me to try turning off the directory feature in car phone options. Not sure why I thought of that. But so far it has not dropped the connection!
It's not quite a fix since now I can't access the directory (I still can get the last 10 numbers received or dialed, however.). But at least it doesn't keep popping up that "phone disconnected" message (or whatever the actual words are) every few minutes. I do wonder whether it's a matter of persistence, in that maybe it just needs to finish loading the directory through multiple reconnects, but I don't recall doing that the first time.
I don't usually need access to my entire phone directory anyway, so this workaround mostly works for me.
It then dawned on me to try turning off the directory feature in car phone options. Not sure why I thought of that. But so far it has not dropped the connection!
It's not quite a fix since now I can't access the directory (I still can get the last 10 numbers received or dialed, however.). But at least it doesn't keep popping up that "phone disconnected" message (or whatever the actual words are) every few minutes. I do wonder whether it's a matter of persistence, in that maybe it just needs to finish loading the directory through multiple reconnects, but I don't recall doing that the first time.
I don't usually need access to my entire phone directory anyway, so this workaround mostly works for me.
#18
I had some bluetooth issues a couple of months back as well.. I have a 2009XF premium. I also had 2 phones paired. Everything was fine until I paired the second phone. Not sure if this was just coincidence or if there is a connection. Anyway.. My problem was that my phone would pair and connect but I could not get any audio and my callers couldn't hear me either. I tried unpairing and undocking but none of this worked. Finally took it to the dealer and I was told that they had to reset/ restart the bluetooth ( I'm assuming this meant removing the battery terminals and reseting the main computer).
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
#19
Good thread. I was going to make 1 asking a question. I have the new DROID 3 and it ALWAYS is dropping and asking to reconnect. Most of the time now I click reconnect and it says Dock Failed.
I never had a problem with my Mercedes CLS63 and never a problem on the BMW 335xi.
This car is awful and its gotten worst. My car is an 09 XF S/C.
Can they update it or do something? I am going to take it into the dealer because my alarm keeps going off on its own when I lock it with the fob... (sigh) and I have a check engine light..
I never had a problem with my Mercedes CLS63 and never a problem on the BMW 335xi.
This car is awful and its gotten worst. My car is an 09 XF S/C.
Can they update it or do something? I am going to take it into the dealer because my alarm keeps going off on its own when I lock it with the fob... (sigh) and I have a check engine light..
#20
Same issues here with a brand new Droid X2. Mine stays connected for (most) of the time, but will probably drop out once or twice a week. Just hitting the reconnect button gets it paired up again, but its annoying.
I'll try disabling the wireless for longer trips perhaps, but its a pain to have to reset the phone settings every time you get in the car. If I don't keep my wireless on I forget to turn it on when I get home or at work...
I'll try disabling the wireless for longer trips perhaps, but its a pain to have to reset the phone settings every time you get in the car. If I don't keep my wireless on I forget to turn it on when I get home or at work...