Can't get either Samsung tablets and Samsung S6 Active to connect to car's bluetooth simultaneously

[Stephenn05]

I am trying to connect either of my Samsung tablets to car bluetooth adapter for music and connect my Galaxy S6 Active phone to car BT adapter for call audio simultaneously. However, as soon as I connect one, the other will not connect. I have tried this with both my Samsung Tab E Lite and Samsung Tab 4 with no luck. I am able to do it with a cheap RCA Voyager tablet simultaneously with my phone so I know it's not my car's BT inability and not the phone. Both tablets and phone will pair with car BT. They just won't connect simultaneously. I am using Bluetooth Auto Connect on all devices.

If it matters, my phone will not connect directly to either Samsung tablet. They will pair but never connect.

Any suggestions?

 

[Rukbat]

Bluetooth is a one-to-one system - you can't connect 2 devices simultaneously. (Some of the older BT profiles didn't drop connection when another profile connected, but almost all of them do now. (A Great Leap [backwards] for mankind.)

 

[Stephenn05]

I don't believe that's the case because I can connect my RCA tablet and Samsung phone to my car's BT adapter simultaneously. I am referring to connecting, not just pairing. If I am listening to music coming from my RCA tablet and a phone call comes in, BT immediately allows me to interact with phone call with my car's BT adapter. When call hangs up, music is playing again. My problem is that I can't get that to do the same with either of my Samsung tablets.

I discovered this morning if my phone is already connected to car, then the RCA tablet won't connect. BUT, if the tablet connects first, then the phone will also connect.

I will continue to use my RCA Voyager tablet but would prefer to use one of the Samsung's. The RCA is a CHEAP tablet.

 

[Stephenn05]

As a follow up with additional information, this is the Bluetooth Car Kit that I have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5937909

 

[Rukbat]

It allows pairing up to 2 devices at once - if the devices both allow that. A phone or tab that doesn't, won't do it. (Bluetooth specifies the physical layer - how the devices connect and communicate. It doesn't [yet] specify the logical layers [what the devices communicate, how many can connect at once, etc.], so a car kit that can do it and one tablet that can do it doesn't mean that all tablets and phones can do it. (The price really doesn't mean much - an entire Bluetooth 4.0 adapter is only about $5, so the chip it uses is probably in the 50 cent range. Even a $50 tablet can use that instead of an earlier Bluetooth chip - which would probably be about 2 cents cheaper.)

 

[Stephenn05]

Interesting. I assumed that if the BT car adapter allowed 2 devices concurrently, then it wouldn't matter what the capabilities of the device connecting to it were. Disappointing.... I guess I have to stick with my cheap RCA tablet.

 

[LGman072]

Rukbat is right. Just because some BT protocols will all 2 connections, doesn't mean all will. It really does depend on the device. And then some will all a simultaneous connection BUT only allow one protocol to be heard at a time based on the situation.