I have a Galaxy S3 I9300 for a couple of weeks now and I love it, other than the fact that I keep having a strange issue with the Bluetooth connection with my carkit. I've been searching forums for similar issues and I found a variety of carkit related problems, but none of the ones I found describe the same problem as what I'm having:
- Initially the Bluetooth connection works fine and I can play music or make a call through the carkit just fine
- When I switch off the car's systems and don't use any apps on the phone in the meanwhile, and then start the car's systems again, it establishes the Bluetooth connection just fine again
- When I switch off the car's systems and I use other apps for a while and then start the car again, it won't work. Bluetooth does appear to connect, but after that it just doesn't play ball. When I try to play a song at this point, the phone shows the song is playing, but neither the phone nor the car audio produces any sound
So anyway, every morning before leaving to work and every evening before going home, I reboot my phone first. Then I step into the car and it establishes the Bluetooth connection just fine. But if I don't reboot the phone first, it just won't work. Now I guess I could setup a tasker profile to automatically reboot the phone, but I'd rather just get the problem fixed.
I run a Galaxy S3 I9300 with stock Android 4.1.1, rooted. I have already tried to run the "Bluetooth Fix Repair" app and afterwards had to pair the phone with the carkit again, but that made no difference.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
*bump*
Some additional info:
This issue has now also happened a few times while driving. While music (through Spotify) was playing over the bluetooth carkit, it would sometimes just stop working when I opened a different app (like for example opening an SMS). Spotify was still running (and the song was still ongoing) and also the bluetooth connection still showed as being connected, but it just wouldn't produce any sound anymore.
Anyway, it seems clear to me that this is a bluetooth issue, but I have no idea how I can troubleshoot this beyond what I've already done.
I would be happy to pay whoever can fix this problem..
With an issue like you are describing it may be helpful to list the headunit model too. I do not own an S3 but I have a multimedia headunit (Pioneer AVH P4400BH) and have found that toggling my Bluetooth on and off will help the headunit to see the Bluetooth on my Android device. This may not resolve your issue though.
Another thing to consider, your headunit may have an update-able firmware. That said if your headunit does have an update-able firmware I would check out the procedure, ensure there is a way to roll back to your current firmware and try that. If your headunit was purchased at an electronics or and audio retailer you may wish to speak with them. Your issue may not be with your phone but with your headunit, but this should help as far as troubleshooting since your issue involves multiple devices.
ItzCrooK2UxD said:
With an issue like you are describing it may be helpful to list the headunit model too.
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My car is a Renault Megane RS, the carkit was built in. I believe it's called Renault Carminat TomTom.
ItzCrooK2UxD said:
I do not own an S3 but I have a multimedia headunit (Pioneer AVH P4400BH) and have found that toggling my Bluetooth on and off will help the headunit to see the Bluetooth on my Android device. This may not resolve your issue though.
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I've covered everything like that in about 100 different ways, none of which made any difference.
ItzCrooK2UxD said:
Another thing to consider, your headunit may have an update-able firmware. That said if your headunit does have an update-able firmware I would check out the procedure, ensure there is a way to roll back to your current firmware and try that. If your headunit was purchased at an electronics or and audio retailer you may wish to speak with them. Your issue may not be with your phone but with your headunit, but this should help as far as troubleshooting since your issue involves multiple devices.
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Good point. It does have an SD card slot, but as far as I know that's only to update the maps of the navigation system. I'll see if I can figure that out.
Thanks for the tips!
By the way - I do think that it's unlikely that the carkit itself is the troublemaker. Especially because opening an SMS on my phone can trigger the whole thing to stop working (it doesn't happen every time, but it did happen several times). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Apoc_ said:
By the way - I do think that it's unlikely that the carkit itself is the troublemaker. Especially because opening an SMS on my phone can trigger the whole thing to stop working (it doesn't happen every time, but it did happen several times). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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It is in fact very possible that it is your phone, but wanted to throw it out there that bluetooth headunits can be troublesome on their own. Now I am not familiar with your headunit, but does it save bluetooth IDs? Like on my headunit and many other aftermarket headunits, it will save 3 bluetooth devices. If it does, have you tried clearing other devices and moving your S3 to the top? Odd as it sounds this has made a difference for me. Also do you have other bluetooth devices in the car, such as the 3GS you mentioned?
Also a logcat of this happening would be beneficial. If you do not know how to pull a logcat there is an app on the market called catlog or alogcat. Both are free and are invaluable in troubleshooting a ROM issue. In short it tells a developer what is going on as far as events being triggered or failures within the ROM.
ItzCrooK2UxD said:
Now I am not familiar with your headunit, but does it save bluetooth IDs? Like on my headunit and many other aftermarket headunits, it will save 3 bluetooth devices. If it does, have you tried clearing other devices and moving your S3 to the top? Odd as it sounds this has made a difference for me.
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Yeah I had read that too in some other thread (I went through just about every bluetooth related thread I could find, before I posted this topic). Mine saves up to 5. It didn't have anything in there except for my previous phone, which I had cleared. I also tried re-pairing the S3 several times, that didn't make any difference either.
Now, I just read somewhere that some people are having disconnection issues on the same carkit. In their case, in the end the problem turned out to be that their carkit will import all of their contacts from their phone (so you can call people even while your phone is in your pocket), and this would cause trouble when there are contacts without a phone number associated with it (just like my thousands of Exchange contacts). The people in question are talking about random disconnects though, whereas in my case it happens after doing some stuff on my phone. So it's probably unrelated, but I'll give that a try anyway just to rule it out. I just need to figure out a way to stop the carkit from importing contacts, because removing thousands of email contacts is obviously not an option.
I'll keep this topic updated with any progress. If anyone has any other ideas, please keep em coming. Thanks for the help so far!
ItzCrooK2UxD said:
Also a logcat of this happening would be beneficial. If you do not know how to pull a logcat there is an app on the market called catlog or alogcat. Both are free and are invaluable in troubleshooting a ROM issue. In short it tells a developer what is going on as far as events being triggered or failures within the ROM.
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Didn't think of that, great tip, thank you! I do run the stock ROM by the way.
I've installed alogcat just now. Does it just keep running automatically in the background?
Apoc_ said:
Didn't think of that, great tip, thank you! I do run the stock ROM by the way.
I've installed alogcat just now. Does it just keep running automatically in the background?
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It reads a file that is being constantly updated (which happens to be the logcat file). Typically I will clear it right before doing what it took to cause the failure, like in your case in your car with the bluetooth on.
I've got Audi with BT and S3 with custom rom and I've got similar problems with BT. It connects automatically but if I switch off BT in phone and switch it on again - it doesn't connect any more. I had this since I bought a phone and it was on all ROMs I used.
YoghurtPL said:
I've got Audi with BT and S3 with custom rom and I've got similar problems with BT. It connects automatically but if I switch off BT in phone and switch it on again - it doesn't connect any more. I had this since I bought a phone and it was on all ROMs I used.
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Yep - I have that too. The weird thing is that in that situation the phone does seem to think it is connected, while it really isn't. Just to be clear: this is not the only way to cause this issue (because it also happens when trying to reconnect the Bluetooth while on the phone it hasn't been disabled in the meanwhile).
So far I haven't been able to pull anything related from the logcat.
Also, while reading up on common bluetooth issues, I came across some posts of people who were saying that some phone/carkit combinations are having trouble with 2-way communication (because I can stream music from the phone to the carkit, but I can also change a song using the carkit or initiate a phonecall from the carkit). I'm going to try to only use communication initiated from the phone, and see whether that makes any difference. In the meanwhile: does anyone happen to know anything about 2-way communication issues with bluetooth, and how to overcome such issues?
Update:
- Updated carkit to latest firmware. No change, still same problem
- Have not been able to capture anything unusual in the logs
- I have a Bose Soundlink now, which is a wireless speaker. Whenever my S3 is connected to the Soundlink (with bluetooth), wifi doesn't work. Upon turning off bluetooth, wifi instantly works fine again. So this definitely confirms this is a problem with bluetooth on the phone, not on the carkit.
- Wanted to upgrade to Android 4.1.2 but Samsung won't let me, as it says the device is modified (rooted). Triangle away isn't helping. Damn you, Samsung. This is *the* reason I moved away from Apple, as I don't like companies who don't let you use your stuff any way you like. And now Samsung is moving down the same route. Idiots. Anyway, I guess the only option left, is to start using a custom ROM.
Does anyone happen to have experience in terms of solving bluetooth problems by using a custom ROM? I'm thinking of using Cyanogenmod 10.1
In the meanwhile I have upgraded to Android 4.1.2: still the same problem.
I have also discussed this matter with quite a few other Samsung smartphone owners, and all of them appear to be having the same issue. Most of them just don't seem to be bothered to spend time on looking for a fix.
Also, I have figured out that this problem is specific to media streaming. I'm able to use my phone on the carkit for calls at any time, without having to reboot first. Only when I try to listen to music, the problem occurs.
Anyway, I have ruled out that this problem is specific to me or my devices - this appears to be a global issue. So I'm completely puzzled as to why there's not a lot more fuss going on about this.
If anyone has any more suggestions for a resolution of this problem, please share.
S3 bluetooth connection problem
Had the same problem with my S3 and renault megane III handsfree bluetooth system.(Arkamsys software version 2.2.0.19 auditorium)
I downgraded to 4.0.4 baseband I9300CELH1 (stock) and problem seems fixed
hope this helps.
Hi Bennes,
Thank you for your response.
I'm still dealing with this problem myself. All upgrades so far haven't made a difference. So far, I've been able to figure out that if I first initiate a phonecall, after hanging up, the audio streaming works (while before the phonecall it usually wouldn't). This works about 8 out of 10 times (the other 2 times it doesn't make a bluetooth connection at all). So what I've done, is to use Tasker and to automatically make it call my own phone number whenever bluetooth gets connected to the carkit, and hanging up after 3 seconds. But this is obviously far from ideal.
Do you know whether it is possible to change the baseband version without changing the firmware version? I wouldn't like to downgrade to an older firmware version, as I like the new features in the newer versions. I do also prefer to stick with the stock firmware, but that's not a requirement.
Carkit bluetooth issue
Apoc_ said:
Hi Bennes,
Thank you for your response.
I'm still dealing with this problem myself. All upgrades so far haven't made a difference. So far, I've been able to figure out that if I first initiate a phonecall, after hanging up, the audio streaming works (while before the phonecall it usually wouldn't). This works about 8 out of 10 times (the other 2 times it doesn't make a bluetooth connection at all). So what I've done, is to use Tasker and to automatically make it call my own phone number whenever bluetooth gets connected to the carkit, and hanging up after 3 seconds. But this is obviously far from ideal.
Do you know whether it is possible to change the baseband version without changing the firmware version? I wouldn't like to downgrade to an older firmware version, as I like the new features in the newer versions. I do also prefer to stick with the stock firmware, but that's not a requirement.
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Click to collapse
mmm, don`t know about baseband only. Try google.
I have read that after downgrade to 4.0.4 and then upgrade again to latest stock version, bluetooth connection keeps working.
I cannot confirm this as i am still on 4.0.4, but will get an update of the arkamsys radio to the latest renault firmware version next week and then start experimenting again. i will report back once i have new results
Bennes18 said:
mmm, don`t know about baseband only. Try google.
I have read that after downgrade to 4.0.4 and then upgrade again to latest stock version, bluetooth connection keeps working.
I cannot confirm this as i am still on 4.0.4, but will get an update of the arkamsys radio to the latest renault firmware version next week and then start experimenting again. i will report back once i have new results
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BB only, try this :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2106424
Confirmed the update thing, i have updated the S3 to version 4.1.2 BB I9300CEELL1 and have no bluetooth issue whatsoever, car audio still on 2.2.0.19 byt the way
Pretty strange ... , but glad its working !
I have the same issue with a Ford Focus =/
also, while using CM or Omega, the music title never changes.
Hello,
since I purchased my Redmi Note 10 (which came with MIUI Global 13.0.7, Android 12) I experienced some bluetooth issues which I hadn't with my previous phone (Redmi Note 7 with Android 10).
E.g.: I'm wearing a device (Dexcom G6) which sends every 5 minutes my blood glucose value to my phone via bluetooth; if I'm away for a while, the device doesn't reconnect automatically but asks for pairing again... and until I confirm I don't get new values. This could happen several times per day.
I've read a lot of people complaining about this behaviour (that seems related to Android 12); several workaround are suggested but nothing really solved the problem. I can provide more details if needed
Btw, the connection with Miband 6 is unstable too.
These issues are quite annoying and, as I said, I didn't experience them with my previous phone, so I'm wondering if switching to a custom rom can help me on this!
Hello,
Changing ROM can help, if the problem is software and related to MIUI for example.
As a last resort, I think it doesn't cost anything to try custom ROM, it is always possible to go back to the initial MIUI, if necessary.
It would be interesting to list the attempts you have already made to avoid making unnecessary suggestions.
If you haven't already done so, I'm thinking in particular of disabling battery optimization for the application used with Bluetooth.
spider1163 said:
It would be interesting to list the attempts you have already made to avoid making unnecessary suggestions.
If you haven't already done so, I'm thinking in particular of disabling battery optimization for the application used with Bluetooth.
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Thanks for your reply!
Bascially, there are several apps well known in the diabetics community that can be used to read values from the device: xDrip+, Dexcom etc.
They all worked flawlessy on my old phone but with the Redmi Note 10:
- xDrip+ disconnects for 20 minutes after each reading (it should be 5)
- Dexcom asks for BT pairing now and then, sometimes even when I'm near my phone
Of course I disabled battery optimization.
These issues have been reported by users since Android 12 and not only on Redmi phones...
I tried to follow some suggestions:
- disable BT battery optimization: this was possible on Redmi Note 7 but I can't find such option on my Redmi Note 10;
- use apps like "Blue Car Tethering" that force BT tethering with paired devices; this improves the situation but doesn't solve it (with Dexcom I get fewer BT pairing requests, and with xDrip+ I get readings every 10 minutes);
- on "developer options": change "ACRCP Bluetooth" and "MAP Bluetooth" versions, but it didn't work even trying all possible combinations.
I'm experiencing problems with my Miband 6 too, that sometimes disconnects from its app; this didn't happen on my previos phone but it could be related to some bugs with the app itself.
My feeling is that, generally speaking, BT is more unstable.
Important: there are also users claiming not having issues with Android 12 at all, so maybe they are related to some manifacturer customizations; that's why I'm wondering if using a custom rom can help.
Sorry if I was too long but I tried to give more details.