Try these troubleshooting solutions to fix Bluetooth audio issues like audio stutter, lag, or sudden disconnections when listening to music in the car via your iPhone.
You may encounter playback glitches when wirelessly streaming music from your iPhone to the sound system in your car, like audio delay and stuttering. This can happen because of a variety of reasons, including minor software issues, faulty in-car speaker hardware, and interference from nearby Bluetooth devices.
Here are several troubleshooting tips to fix Bluetooth audio glitching or not working at all between your phone and your car.
Reset Bluetooth
The first thing to do is turn Bluetooth completely off on your iPhone, which will disconnect it from your car’s Bluetooth system and refresh the connection.
Go to Settings > Bluetooth, and turn it off there. Wait about ten seconds, then turn Bluetooth back on, and the phone should reconnect to the in-car audio system. If not, try tapping your car’s name in the Bluetooth settings. Then, play music on your iPhone to check if the audio now streams without issues.
Restart your iPhone and the car’s infotainment system
Turn your iPhone off and back on, and do the same with the infotainment system.
My car has a dedicated button in the infotainment area that I have to press and hold for 10 seconds to restart the software. If you don’t know how to restart your car’s media system, turn off the ignition, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on.
Update your iPhone
Be sure your iPhone is running the most recent version of the iOS operating system by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Update or reinstall the music app
If the audio issues only occur within a particular iPhone app, like Spotify or YouTube Music, update the app to ensure you have the latest version. If that doesn’t help, delete and reinstall the app. For more help, reach out to the app developer.
Use audio-only mode in the media app
Streaming apps like Spotify and YouTube Music may play a music video for some tracks. Some people only experience these issues when the media app plays video or animation, slowing down Bluetooth playback.
- Switch to audio-only mode (if available), such as on YouTube Music.
- Turn off video playback using in-app settings.
- Play another version of the song.
- Skip to a track that doesn’t have one or more accompanying videos.
- Exit the app, go to the Home Screen, and lock the iPhone.
Disconnect the iPhone from the vehicle’s charging port
If your iPhone is plugged into the car’s USB or auxiliary port (a big circular port with a deep hole), disconnect it before streaming music to the car. If you no longer experience stuttering or audio delay, your cable is broken. So, buy a new one.
Forget and re-pair Bluetooth connections
Unpairing and re-pairing the iPhone with the car may fix the issue.
In Settings > Bluetooth, tap the info button ⓘ next to the car name, then hit Forget This Device and confirm.
Restart both your phone and the infotainment system, then activate Bluetooth pairing mode in the car and connect your iPhone.
Turn off Bluetooth on your Apple Watch
Posts on Apple Communities forums indicate that some people are experiencing audio stuttering, lagging, and constant millisecond disconnections of Bluetooth devices because of their Apple Watch. As soon as the watch, which connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth, is turned off, the problem disappears.
Now, make no mistake, the iPhone can stay connected to multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously. However, in rare cases, mainly due to iOS bugs, things can go south and lead to audio issues like the one you’re experiencing.
So, if the above tips haven’t helped and you wear an Apple Watch, go to its Bluetooth Settings and turn it off or switch off the wearable entirely. See if it fixes the problem. And in case it does, update to the latest version of watchOS and iOS.
Bluetooth issues when your car is near other vehicles
Quite a few iPhone users reported that the music playback in their car would stutter, lag, or sound weird only when other cars came near it. Now, one possible reason for this to happen is wireless interference between the cars’ Bluetooth systems. If you also face sound problems when near other cars and Bluetooth devices, get it checked at the official service center and ask for a solution.
Reset all iPhone settings
If your iPhone still can’t play music flawlessly through your car’s audio system over Bluetooth, resetting all iPhone settings may fix the audio problems.
This action won’t delete your apps, personal information, photos, media, and similar, but your Wi-Fi passwords, VPN, and app permissions will be cleared.
Check in-car infotainment
If you’re not experiencing Bluetooth audio issues in another vehicle, your car’s infotainment system may be having problems, so try these fixes:
- Reset the car’s infotainment system, if possible.
- Update the infotainment system.
- If your car’s media system is Android-based, delete unneeded apps to free up storage space.
- Remove all paired devices in the car’s Bluetooth settings, then re-pair your iPhone.
- Take the vehicle to an authorized service center and ask them to check the speakers for loose wires and connections.
Some alternatives, if nothing helps
If the above tips didn’t help, you don’t need to replace the car’s infotainment system (which is unfeasible for many people anyway). Instead, consider these alternatives:
- Use wired or wireless CarPlay if your car supports it.
- Consider an aftermarket CarPlay receiver if your vehicle doesn’t support CarPlay out of the box.
- Connect the phone to the car’s auxiliary 3.5mm port with a USB-C to aux cable or an aux cable with a built-in microphone.
- Stream music directly on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, etc., if your car’s media system is Android-based and supports downloading apps from the Google Play Store
- Put some music on a USB thumb drive and plug it into the car’s infotainment system.
- Use FM/AM in your car.
Restore your iPhone
You can also consider erasing/restoring your iPhone and setting it up again. If your Bluetooth audio problems are rooted in software, erasing your device and setting it up from scratch may resolve them.
But note that erasing your device and setting it up again can be technical and time-consuming. So, if you’re hesitant, wait for a future iOS update, hoping it resolves the issues. In the meantime, you can get your iPhone checked at an Apple Store and inform Apple of this problem.
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