Pixel Bluetooth issues

[billykac]

Keep in mind that this Pixel BT issue is a bit multi-dimensional in that for me, pairing with my car is spot-on. It has been this way since the first day of Pixel availability.

My issue (and the issue for many others) has nothing to do with cars. It has to do with BT speakers and headsets that have worked flawlessly for years with other handsets. Along comes the "leading edge" Pixel, and it drops all the way to the back of the pack re: BT stability. And when I say back of the pack, I am not talking about the phones in the last year, I am talking about phones all the way back to when BT was introduced. As I've said before, I have never had a phone that couldn't reliably connect to my BT speakers - ever. Somehow, the Pixel has introduced an issue I've never seen before, and with an established technology.

I understand that BT tech is always changing, but by definition, it was changing right since day one years ago. Still, I never had a issue with any phone establishing a reliable connection with one of my BT speakers 5' away. Further, all of my family members use their phones to connect to these very same speakers all the time with Zero problems, and some of their phones are from years ago (LG G2 for instance). They work perfectly, as always. My Pixel struggles and fails. Sucks.

Would be great for Google to fix this. Given the fact that BT works perfectly in my car indicates that it's a software problem.
Google: fix it.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

I think it's a nougat issue. I have the same issues now on my Moto Z after the Android 7 update.

My s7edge is still running Marshmallow. When I brought my car (2014 Prius) into the dealership and replacing the whole radio unit didn't solve the BT connection issues, they consulted with a "Master Technician" with Toyota corporate. They told the dealership this was a known issue with Samsung devices running the most recent OS (this was earlier in the summer before Nougat was released).

 

[mrZoSo]

I'm having the same BT issues in my Honda Accord. Also it wouldn't pair with my daughters phone. Hopefully Google will take care of these issues soon. *fingers crossed*

 

[Bezdomny]

I have a third party Bluetooth system (gtacarkits) that I installed in my truck. I've never had any issues connecting to it with my previous phones or my friends' phones. Yet my brand new Pixel can't connect to it.

I would not have purchased this phone knowing all the Bluetooth issues. This is incredibly frustrating and disappointing.

 

[jskinvest]

Has anybody tried the dreaded factory reset? What was the outcome? Verizon is telling me to do that but I have doubts that it will make a difference. Any feedback?

 

[inShaneity]

I have a 2016 Mazda6 with a Google Pixel XL 7.1.1 Jan update. Bluetooth connects fine, but every week or so, I have to go into the blue tooth settings, clear cache, and re-pair the phone to the car. It is beyond annoying doing this every 5-7 days or so. But, I'm wondering if my problem is because of my Huawei watch. Is the car confused on what blue tooth device to connect to? Or is it the Pixel being connected to 2 things at once?

I did not have this issue at all with my iPhone 6s+, but I also did not have an apple watch.

 

[N4Newbie]

I tried turning off WIFI but the clipping/skipping/popping over BT still persists.

Okay, I am wondering about something; hopefully a bunch of you with and without Bluetooth issues like above will respond.

I am beginning to think this is a memory management issue. I use Bluetooth earbuds (Jaybird X2's) at the gym every morning, listening to music which is stored on my device (not streamed) and also have Endomondo running at the same time, tracking my workout. I do get occasional (brief) episodes of "clipping/skipping/popping" to quote the above poster. However, I don't have that problem when in my car and, notably, no other app is running.

Now, to expand upon this greatly, several weeks ago, just as I arrived at the gym, I got the notification for the December security update. My gym has open, albeit slow, Wi-Fi which the Google Wi-Fi Assistant creates a VPN over, so I figured what the heck, and told it to go ahead and download the update while I worked out. It tool a very long time - like 40 minutes - and during that time my Bluetooth earbuds were barely usable, the clipping/skipping/popping were constant, a hundred times worse than anything I had ever experienced before.

So, like I said, I wonder if the problem is caused by the Pixel or Android 7's memory management or, possibly, a matter of process priority management.

Anyone else?

 

[MHBlink8]

I have a 2016 Mazda6 with a Google Pixel XL 7.1.1 Jan update. Bluetooth connects fine, but every week or so, I have to go into the blue tooth settings, clear cache, and re-pair the phone to the car. It is beyond annoying doing this every 5-7 days or so. But, I'm wondering if my problem is because of my Huawei watch. Is the car confused on what blue tooth device to connect to? Or is it the Pixel being connected to 2 things at once?

I did not have this issue at all with my iPhone 6s+, but I also did not have an apple watch.

I can't say for sure if it is the Huawei watch or not, but I have a 2016 Mazda 6 and since the 7.1.1 update it's been flawless. Before that it would drop connection when I got a text message and every week or so I would have to un-pair and then re-pair.

 

[jamesrick80]

I think it's a nougat issue. I have the same issues now on my Moto Z after the Android 7 update.

Not a issue at all on the LG v20... Bluetooth connections are flawless and it has nougat

Google has a history of bad radios...Don't forget about the infamous Pixel C tablet and the unstable wifi and Bluetooth connections.

 

[effreyj]

I can't say for sure if it is the Huawei watch or not, but I have a 2016 Mazda 6 and since the 7.1.1 update it's been flawless. Before that it would drop connection when I got a text message and every week or so I would have to un-pair and then re-pair.

Good to know. I also have a 2016 Mazda 6 and my Pixel XL is arriving today. I had issues pairing on my Nexus 6P where the metadata would either go missing or it would fail to connect frequently. BTW I love this car

 

[billykac]

Has anybody tried the dreaded factory reset? What was the outcome? Verizon is telling me to do that but I have doubts that it will make a difference. Any feedback?

There's alway *some* chance that this will work. For some issues, doing a reset is exactly the fix. For BT, not so much. But, it's Google's and VZW's standard response to just about every issue. If you read the endless posts on the Pixel Product forum from owners that spent the time doing a factory reset, it did nothing but waste a lot of Pixel owner's time.

If it were me, I wouldn't bother. If you have time (like you're really bored) and you have few apps to reinstall (I never restore apps) and you are not likely to throw your Pixel into a brick wall once you find out you wasted your time (the likely result), then fine, go do a full factory reset.

Sorry for the sarcasm.
Hope it helps!

 

[tk-093]

Thanks for posting those. I tried it once and it seems to be acting the same way but I'm not convinced I didn't mess up some steps. All you need tod o is install that Bluetooth Phonebook app? There is nothing that needs to be configured in it?

Here is a solution for the Honda Pilot issues that was found by someone on the Pixel User Community Forum. Search for JTHockey17 solution on December 6th. This helped me out with my issues connecting to my Honda Pilot.

https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/phone-by-google/SZrziPyWiHw/zxvNqFvsCwAJ

So turns out those steps did work for my Pilot. When I first tried it, I only tried by making and outbound call, which kept dropping like always. However, once the Pilot got an inbound call, everything started working fine. Totally bought that bluetooth app. Worth it...

Question for you (and I might just try it.) but have you tried turning on the text message part? I know the steps stay to turn it off, but that piece always worked for me anyway.

 

[trekk]

So turns out those steps did work for my Pilot. When I first tried it, I only tried by making and outbound call, which kept dropping like always. However, once the Pilot got an inbound call, everything started working fine. Totally bought that bluetooth app. Worth it...

Question for you (and I might just try it.) but have you tried turning on the text message part? I know the steps stay to turn it off, but that piece always worked for me anyway.

Were you able to use Android auto for incoming calls ?

 

[cdd543]

Okay, I am wondering about something; hopefully a bunch of you with and without Bluetooth issues like above will respond.

I am beginning to think this is a memory management issue. I use Bluetooth earbuds (Jaybird X2's) at the gym every morning, listening to music which is stored on my device (not streamed) and also have Endomondo running at the same time, tracking my workout. I do get occasional (brief) episodes of "clipping/skipping/popping" to quote the above poster. However, I don't have that problem when in my car and, notably, no other app is running.

Now, to expand upon this greatly, several weeks ago, just as I arrived at the gym, I got the notification for the December security update. My gym has open, albeit slow, Wi-Fi which the Google Wi-Fi Assistant creates a VPN over, so I figured what the heck, and told it to go ahead and download the update while I worked out. It tool a very long time - like 40 minutes - and during that time my Bluetooth earbuds were barely usable, the clipping/skipping/popping were constant, a hundred times worse than anything I had ever experienced before.

So, like I said, I wonder if the problem is caused by the Pixel or Android 7's memory management or, possibly, a matter of process priority management.

Anyone else?

I had this exact experience while my watch was syncing to my pixel, my headset stuttered and skipped.

 

[inShaneity]

I can't say for sure if it is the Huawei watch or not, but I have a 2016 Mazda 6 and since the 7.1.1 update it's been flawless. Before that it would drop connection when I got a text message and every week or so I would have to un-pair and then re-pair.

So, you don't have any other blue tooth device connected to your phone while also connected to the car? Maybe it IS a problem with multiple devices connecting to the phone...

 

[MHBlink8]

So, you don't have any other blue tooth device connected to your phone while also connected to the car? Maybe it IS a problem with multiple devices connecting to the phone...

Correct. The phone is JUST connected to my car.

 

[Applejunkie66]

So turns out those steps did work for my Pilot. When I first tried it, I only tried by making and outbound call, which kept dropping like always. However, once the Pilot got an inbound call, everything started working fine. Totally bought that bluetooth app. Worth it...

Question for you (and I might just try it.) but have you tried turning on the text message part? I know the steps stay to turn it off, but that piece always worked for me anyway.

I looked through that million post thread and couldn't find the steps lol. Can you tell me what those steps are please? Thanks!

 

[eRod v1.0]

I looked through that million post thread and couldn't find the steps lol. Can you tell me what those steps are please? Thanks!

Below are the steps I did. I'm not sure all of these steps are necessary, but it worked for me when simply pairing the phone to the vehicle (with Bluetooth Phonebook installed) didn't.

Make sure you're Pixel is running the latest 7.1.1 update.

On your phone, go into Bluetooth settings and "forget" your vehicle's connection (probably called HandsFreeLink) by clicking on the gear icon next to it and selecting 'forget'

In the vehicle's dashboard, delete all known devices from the Bluetooth Device list

In the vehicle's dashboard, go to Bluetooth settings and change your pairing code to '1234'

Install the app 'Bluetooth Phonebook (Trial)' on your Pixel (if this works, you can go back and purchase the $1.99 full-version of the app so your phone numbers don't get jumbled)

Reboot your phone

Turn the car off and back on

In the vehicle's dashboard, go to the Bluetooth Devices list and click the button to add a new device. Select your Pixel from the list of available devices. Click the button that pops up on your phone to pair. When the Vehicle asks if you'd like to enable Honda Link, select No.

Once the device is Paired, go to Bluetooth settings on your Pixel, click the Gear icon next to your vehicle's connection (HandsFreeLink) and de-select Contact sharing. (Leave Phone audio and Media audio enabled).

A message will pop-up at some point on your phone saying your vehicle would like access to your message history, say No.

Once the above steps were done, I was able to start a phone call from my device and transfer it to the vehicle as well as start a call directly from the vehicle.

If these step worked for you, go download the full version of the 'Bluetooth Phonebook' app so calls started by the vehicle don't have the number jumbled.

 

[matty032]

Mine works perfect with two Ford Syncs. An SB30, and a Kia system.

 

[Kmturner0371]

Same issue here...Google Pixel XL will not pair correctly to my 2016 Pilot (appears to be connected, but cannot make or rcv calls). However no issues connecting with my 2011 E350 Benz.