Back on the iPhone 7 Plus until Samsung releases a Bluetooth fix

[dov1978]

I had a lot of issues with Bluetooth on my s8 Plus when it 1st came out and my AndroidWear watches would always disconnect if I left the phone in a different room and my Plantronics Backbeat Fit earphones would stutter a lot. I moved on to other phones but came back a few days ago to the regular s8 and instantly remembered those issues I'd forgotten about. I thought in the few months away they would have pushed software updates to address the issues but clearly not. The Bluetooth range is awful compared to most other phones or even the s7. When I go to the gym I could easily leave my phone in my jacket pocket and go around the small gym and still stream music to my headphones whereas last night I was out running and the connection was stuttering a lot just with the phone in my pocket and I had to put the s8 in a pocket on the same side of my body as the BT receiver on my earphones just to get a semi decent connection

 

[mikefiori1]

blue tooth was resolved for me with the "QF" update. prior couldn't connect to my car's Bluetooth but after update haven't had an issue since. check and see if you have an update. for at&t I've received another update after that one so it's 2 months back now.

 

[TylerLV76]

blue tooth was resolved for me with the "QF" update. prior couldn't connect to my car's Bluetooth but after update haven't had an issue since. check and see if you have an update. for at&t I've received another update after that one so it's 2 months back now.

Im on the latest update as of July 10th. The car has never been an issue since the phones sitting in the dash under the head unit. Bluetooth speakers and headphones have been the only problems.

 

[Almeuit]

I have a standard LG Bluetooth headset. Cost me around $60. I use it at work and it works well. I can walk to some of the other machines I need to and the audio sounds fine. The audio for phone calls / music also works fine in my truck (2017 F-150).

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

That kind of leads me to believe what the Samsung rep stated. BT 5 does not play well with all BT devices. Now Ive got to buy a few different ones and see if any of them can maintain a connection outside of a few feet.

Possible that I just have great luck with my 5 year old car and cheap headphones but IDK. Lol.. As far as the Jaybird X3's are concerned, they just used a lousy BT chip from what I've read. Their solution is to have them hang below the chin and not strap them tight to the back of your head. The whole reason I bought them was to have them ride tight to my head so when I'm running or lifting, they don't interfere. There are many others with connection issues with the Jaybirds when they configure the strap this way as well.

I also just got my fiancee a S8 and she hasn't had any BT connection issues with her JBL headphones. What car do you have? Also, what headphones? I'm glad I'm not suffering from these issues but I definitely feel for you.

 

[TylerLV76]

Possible that I just have great luck with my 5 year old car and cheap headphones but IDK. Lol.. As far as the Jaybird X3's are concerned, they just used a lousy BT chip from what I've read. Their solution is to have them hang below the chin and not strap them tight to the back of your head. The whole reason I bought them was to have them ride tight to my head so when I'm running or lifting, they don't interfere. There are many others with connection issues with the Jaybirds when they configure the strap this way as well.

I also just got my fiancee a S8 and she hasn't had any BT connection issues with her JBL headphones. What car do you have? Also, what headphones? I'm glad I'm not suffering from these issues but I definitely feel for you.

My car works perfect (2016 Mustang)

My headphones are the Samsung Level U Pros.

 

[erasat]

Just a wild guess here, have you turned off Bluetooth Scanning on the Improve Accuracy menu on Location Settings? Can't hurt to try with that off.

Besides my car and my Gear S3 I don't use the BT with anything else, but I can tell you that the BT range with the watch when I move around the office and the house without the phone is great, I haven't measured how far but it's at least on par with any other phone I've had before.

 

[TylerLV76]

Just a wild guess here, have you turned off Bluetooth Scanning on the Improve Accuracy menu on Location Settings? Can't hurt to try with that off.

Besides my car and my Gear S3 I don't use the BT with anything else, but I can tell you that the BT range with the watch when I move around the office and the house without the phone is great, I haven't measured how far but it's at least on par with any other phone I've had before.

Thats pretty much the first thing I turn off on any phone I use. For the time I had the Gear S3 I did notice it maintained connection pretty well. Its mainly headphones and speakers.

 

[JHStewart1023]

actually the galaxy connects better than the iPhone in my car... That's crazy sorry you've had that issue

 

[TylerLV76]

actually the galaxy connects better than the iPhone in my car... That's crazy sorry you've had that issue

Hows the range on a headset or BT speaker? The car isnt the problem.

 

[m24lightsout]

just wanted to chime in with my real world experiences. I also have an iPhone 7 plus that I have been using since October after the Note 7 Fiasco. I will admit that the iPhone 7 plus has been flawless with bluetooth connectivity. My Samsung is a close second, I just needed to familiarize myself with the process once I moved back to android.

I have been using the Verizon variant of the S8 + for about a week now. After reading these forums I thought I was for sure going to return this thing after getting frustrated with bluetooth problems. I have luckily tested the connection with my 2016 Dodge Challenger with Uconnect 8.4 and it has been great for Spotify streaming and taking personal calls. no pairing problems at all. I have done a 2 hour road trip listening to Spotify and taking personal calls. Worked amazing. I did delete old phone entires and just kept iPhone and my Sammy in the paired devices list.

As for my headset, I am currently using a VModa crossfade Wireless 2 . these just came out so I'm not sure if that is why I have not had any problems. At first the volume was too low, but I found the pairing volume menu in the bluetooth settings to fix that problem. I can walk to the next room in my apartment, between walls and sounddoesnt cut out. Used at the Gym for 3 sessions so far in my pocket with no issues. This headset does support APT X codec which works with the s8.

I think I'm keeping this phone! will keep my 7plus as a backup for now! only thing I miss is I message, but I have migrated some favorite contacts to hangouts successfully for chat and video.

 

[James8561]

In my experience, I only have BT problems when both BT and WiFi are on. I also have WiFi randomly disconnection problem as well if both are on. If I turn off WiFi, then BT works fine. If I turn off BT, then WiFi works fine. But if both are on, then audio stutters and WiFi goes up and down and occasionally drops.
This could be why BT works in cars but not speakers for some people because there's no WiFi in cars.

 

[A Benjeddi1]

I have enjoyed many things abouty S8+ so far, but one issue has been plaguing me and many others since day one - Bluetooth connectivity. I am often facing disconnects with my Gear S3, something that was never an issue on multiple S7 Edge devices or my Note devices. Also, the S8+ almost never automatically reconnects to my vehicle Bluetooth for music steaming, further contributing to an unnecessary annoyance. This too was not an issue before. As it stands right now I am just too tired of having to babysit Bluetooth and am therefore moving back to my iPhone 7 Plus. The S8+ is being relegated to an at-home entertainment device, browsing, media and such. Once Samsung decides to actually release an update in Canada I will move back to the S8+.

Anyone else considering switching to a different device until Samsung addresses some of the core issues with the S8 series, like Bluetooth? What are your thoughts on the Samsung update process? We already know the Bluetooth fix for example rolled out in one region, but one region only. Chime in below.

Please keep the discussion civil. This post isn't meant to inflame a Samsung vs. Apple war. I have, and use, both devices.

S8 Bluetooth issue Temp. Solution:
I had the same problem trying to connect a second Bluetooth to my S8.
I found a temporary solution that works.
1. Go to Bluetooth setting By clicking on the sign for 5 sec.
2. Click on the 3 dots on the top-right of the screen
3. Select "Dual Audio
4 . Enable it
You are good to go.

 

[o4liberty]

I have a year old Kenwood which connects fine and a 2014 Kia which also connects fine. Are you sure it's not your radio and not the phone.

 

[JHStewart1023]

Hows the range on a headset or BT speaker? The car isnt the problem.

My iPhone would unpair and then I would have to repair with the car... the galaxy does it in entry

 

[TylerLV76]

My iPhone would unpair and then I would have to repair with the car... the galaxy does it in entry

Again, the car isnt the problem.

 

[neil74]

Range not an issue on my S8+ but on Bose QC35 I get constant cut out if I use them when moving e.g. walking home on my commute

Audio drops at least once a minute often more. Currently trying to figure if this is the headphones of the phone or just BT headphones not playing nicely with a BT5 phone.

 

[tuscanybay]

That's how Apple gets you. Limited connectivity with not Apple.

The way I see it, it's less about "getting you", but more about their best ability to ensure compatibility and security, by not having to worry about other companies' hardware and OS.

 

[Wsl3]

I have enjoyed many things abouty S8+ so far, but one issue has been plaguing me and many others since day one - Bluetooth connectivity. I am often facing disconnects with my Gear S3, something that was never an issue on multiple S7 Edge devices or my Note devices. Also, the S8+ almost never automatically reconnects to my vehicle Bluetooth for music steaming, further contributing to an unnecessary annoyance. This too was not an issue before. As it stands right now I am just too tired of having to babysit Bluetooth and am therefore moving back to my iPhone 7 Plus. The S8+ is being relegated to an at-home entertainment device, browsing, media and such. Once Samsung decides to actually release an update in Canada I will move back to the S8+.

Anyone else considering switching to a different device until Samsung addresses some of the core issues with the S8 series, like Bluetooth? What are your thoughts on the Samsung update process? We already know the Bluetooth fix for example rolled out in one region, but one region only. Chime in below.

Please keep the discussion civil. This post isn't meant to inflame a Samsung vs. Apple war. I have, and use, both devices.

My s8 can't even see my Bluetooth speaker (JBL). Really surprised.

 

[Omar Lebbe]

I have enjoyed many things abouty S8+ so far, but one issue has been plaguing me and many others since day one - Bluetooth connectivity. I am often facing disconnects with my Gear S3, something that was never an issue on multiple S7 Edge devices or my Note devices. Also, the S8+ almost never automatically reconnects to my vehicle Bluetooth for music steaming, further contributing to an unnecessary annoyance. This too was not an issue before. As it stands right now I am just too tired of having to babysit Bluetooth and am therefore moving back to my iPhone 7 Plus. The S8+ is being relegated to an at-home entertainment device, browsing, media and such. Once Samsung decides to actually release an update in Canada I will move back to the S8+.

Anyone else considering switching to a different device until Samsung addresses some of the core issues with the S8 series, like Bluetooth? What are your thoughts on the Samsung update process? We already know the Bluetooth fix for example rolled out in one region, but one region only. Chime in below.

Please keep the discussion civil. This post isn't meant to inflame a Samsung vs. Apple war. I have, and use, both devices.