Development cycles of in-vehicle BT systems are longer compared to your phone, which is usually not designed to work with older generation BT systems.Īlso, some in-vehicle BT systems only supports Bluetooth audio and not phone calls. A brand new car you buy today is most probably designed a few years ago.
Most of the time, BT systems in older cars are a generation behind so when a new major operating system update is introduced to smart devices, previously working BT pairing suddenly stops. This is in contrast to your car’s BT system, which may be years behind. Well, new smartphones and tablets usually call the shots in an ever-improving Bluetooth-enabled environment today so they are usually equipped with the latest BT profiles available.
While A2DP handles two important tasks, another protocol called Audio/Video Remote Control Profile governs the syncing of playback and metadata so a song’s track info, artists, etc are shown in your car stereo’s display.Īudio issues between BT devices are usually caused by software incompatibility so the best way to go is contact the car kit’s manufacturer or the car maker for help. A2DP requires two pairings for both hands-free calling and for streaming music. This protocol has been widely adapted because of its ability to automatically lower the music volume if there’s an incoming call. In order to stream music via BT to your car stereo, both devices must the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile or A2DP. Car stereo unable to play music stored in the phone via Bluetooth If you have this problem, you have to contact your car manufacturer or the BT car kit maker for guidance. In this case, any incoming call will not display a recognized name or contact, nor display caller ID or image, among many others. If your in-car Bluetooth kit does not support this standard, you will realize that your phone or tablet may not be able to sync the address book with it. More recent smart devices use the Phone Book Access Profile or PBAP or PBA for synching contacts of devices. Android phone is unable to sync messages and contacts to car via Bluetooth Problems usually surface if a new tablet or phone uses a new standard that is not supported by, say, a 10-year old car.
Some of these standards are new additions to the core protocols established by trade organization Bluetooth SIG. In-vehicle Bluetooth problemsīefore we proceed to some of the common issues and their solutions, you should understand that there are many Bluetooth protocols or standards (sometimes called profiles). Thus, it is not surprising to know that a fix can sometimes take several months to become available as concerned parties will need to work together first to be able to come up with a working solution. In this regard, car makers are no less responsible for this trouble than Google, Apple, Samsung, and other phone manufacturers. When it comes to resolving Bluetooth problems a shared responsibility between car manufacturers, operating system developers, and phone hardware makers must exist. But is Google, who developed Android, the only entity to blame for such fiasco?įrankly, the same situation is repeated whenever Apple releases a major iOS update for their devices, which means that Bluetooth issues happen regardless of platform or device. Other forums have also tallied a similar situation so it’s not that difficult to conclude that the new Android OS has triggered the issue. Some of our own readers have emailed us all sorts of such problems across all spectrum of Android devices in almost any vehicle brands.
The arrival of Android Lollipop has seen a spike in in-car Bluetooth problems.