Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
Lizzanna
Enthusiast - Level 2

I was wondering if anybody else is having car Bluetooth issues with the Galaxy S6.  I previously had an S3 that worked great in my car (2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek) with no problems. The phone is paired with the Bluetooth in my car, but every time I shut the car off the Call Audio and Media Audio shut off and will not automatically turn back on when I turn the car back on.  Every time I start the car I have to go into Settings, Bluetooth, it shows CAR MULTIMEDIA is paired but I have to click on the little wheel to the right of that and manually turn on Call Audio and Media Audio.  Sometimes it takes 6-8 tries to get them both to turn on.  Also, when I use Pandora, sometimes it will show song, artist, etc. sometimes not. Samsung has been no help. We called Subaru National Support to see if there is a firmware update but they said no it is a Samsung problem.

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Correct answers
Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
ZorlakDaPhoneHax0r
Enthusiast - Level 2

So I did find a legit fix for this, at least for Subaru owners.I also tried a variety of other fixes which I will outline below.

Actual Fix:

Step 1)

If already paired

- Turn on my Subaru and using the menu options delete your phone from memory. (On my WRX it involved hitting CD/Aux until BT-A appeared, hitting menu, and using the tuner dial to find and remove my phone.)

- Delete the Subaru or CAR_M_MEDIA option from your phone as well, under the bluetooth settings.

- If not already paired skip to step 2.

Step 2)

- Pair your phone using the buttons on the steering wheel only - NOT the buttons on the head unit.

- Hit the outgoing talk button and say Bluetooth Setup or Phone Setup. Whichever the prompt is when it reads the options. It may even be under Security followed by Phone Setup. Either way, once in the phone setup menu, using your voice confirm that is what you want to do.

- It will then ask you to provide a name for your phone. In my case I said "S6" but you can call it whatever you want. After it repeats it back to you, confirm it.

- It will then start the pairing process and the bluetooth system will read to you the bluetooth passcode for the car. On your phone, make sure Bluetooth is active and scan for devices. When Car_M_Media or whatever it is appears, select it and enter the code that was read to you.

- The system will finish the pairing process and it should now work with your S6.

Result)

Now each time I start my car my bluetooth will auto-connect and start playing Audible. I can use it for calls, etc. as expected. I am not running any third-party connection software. I do not have my car bluetooth device listed as trusted in smart lock. I do have a screen lock which is linked to my fingerprint. I have the Galaxy S6 64GB. Not the Galaxy S6 Edge - though I doubt there would be any difference for the Edge.

I cannot explain why it does not work through the head unit as it is virtually the same process as doing it through the steering wheel controls via voice, but it totally solved the problem for me! I discovered this fix on a Subaru forum site that said Subarus have two different ways to pair with phones, and for whatever reason the newer forms of bluetooth work better when doing it through the steering wheel controls. As an IT professional it really makes no sense and I was incredibly surprised that it worked. Definitely try it and see if it'll fix it for you.

Here is a link to a YouTube video describing how to pair using your steering wheel instead of using the head unit in a Subaru WRX.HOW TO SET UP BLUETOOTH ON YOUR 2011 AND 2012 SUBARU WRX/STI - YouTube

Other Fixes:

Fix 1 - Workaround - Bluetooth Connect and Play (Or other similar software)

Status: Unsuccessful for me. Just kept me paired but wouldn't auto-connect and play like it should. Could definitely be related to having a screen lock / finger print lock on my phone though. Something I wasn't going to give up to make my Bluetooth auto-connect.

Fix 2 - Adding it to or removing it from smart lock.

Status: Unsuccessful for me.  Again, just kept me paired. In my case I tried adding it to smart lock but it didn't seem to do anything because the phone wasn't actually pairing properly. If it had been pairing properly all smart lock would have done was unlock my phone screen in the car, though. So I don't know how much this is related to the core issue but I know screen locks on phones can definitely restrict components of the Operating System. So I put this fix in the maybe-related but unlikely pile. People have also coupled this fix with being related to Microsoft Exchange accounts - which I personally think is entirely unrelated. (I also have an Exchange account on my phone and use the default Exchange mail app.)


Fix 3) - Firmware Update

Status: Untested

I was very close to going down this road. I researched and learned how to put my head unit into upgrade mode - the problem is that I couldn't find updated firmware for my factory installed Subaru head unit anywhere. Not even from Clarion, the maker of the unit. They referred me back to Subaru. So perhaps Subaru can do the firmware update, but fortunately I found the fix up above before taking it into them to try. I wouldn't be surprised if updating the firmware fixed it though. It could easily update the head unit pairing process to match that of the steering wheel controls.


Thanks for all the comments on the problem. I hope this helps someone out there resolve the issue once and for all.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
BrunoDC
Newbie

Yes, after having Verizon store personnel try and Samsung online try, unable to get consistent connection to 2010 Kia Forte Koup. Other smartphones work with the car, just not either of our 2 new galaxy s6 models.  Connects,disconnects in an endless cycle.  Verizon sales person tried the s6 with his 2014 pickup and said it had a connection. It gets bluetooth connect to Bose wireless bluetooth speaker but unable to use with the Kia car.  Kia looked at it also. The Kia serviceperson's iPhone connected fine but they had the same problem with the Samsung S6 staying connected.  We really like the phones, just can'take use the Bluetooth with this car.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
PaxtonLamons
Newbie

Having similar problems with my S6 Edge & 2008 Acura MDX.   Previous 4 phones I've used have never had problems, but with the S6 Edge I regularly have to force a re-connect rather than having it happen automatically.   I've also had problems where the phone would be stuck trying to dial a number and the only way I could get things to work was to disable the bluetooth radio on my phone.   Something's "wonky" with either the bluetooth radio or the software on these phones.  Hopefully they can get it fixed.  The whole point of "hands free" is to not use your hands to have to fiddle with the phone while you are driving.  It's a safety issue not to have this working properly!

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
LisaT2015
Newbie

I can't  even get my new phone to pair with the bluetooth in my car. It keeps asking me to confirm a random pass code it generates and then won't  connect because  it says it is invalid.  Had no issues with my S3 and any of my cars.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
ScottWalk
Newbie

Same issues for me. I have a 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek and once I shut the car off the S6 forgets all about the car being paired. It still shows it is paired but will not hook up. I have to go through all of the stumbling around to pair it again. I called Verizon Tech Support today, they told me to mess with the quick connect features. I tried it a couple ways, each time I shut the car off it was like I had no pair but the phone states it is paired. Very frustrating, especially when I looked at the compatibility and it states Bluetooth is compatible with the impreza radio's. I just checked the Bluetooth icon, it shows CAR M_Media is paired. If I hit the gear at the right it shows Call Audio off and Media audio off. When I get to the car and turn it on, these two slides remain off and I have to hit all sorts of things to get the phone to pair again.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
island_boy_0069

I have a 2013 Subaru Legacy and have no issues with the Bluetooth pairing on my S6.  Everytime I get in my car I turn on Bluetooth and it immediately pairs and when I turn the car off I switch the Bluetooth off.  Have been doing this for the last 11 days with no issues.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
PaxtonLamons
Newbie

I think the difference here is that you are re-setting your Bluetooth radio each time you want it to pair (by turning it off/on).   The other symptoms have been related to phones where the BT radio is already on and the connection to the car does not automatically happen as it should.   When I turn my BT radio off and back on, it does re-connect to my car.   Even when I don't, this problem does not ALWAYS happen - it's intermittent.   I have also noticed a correlation between the BT radio being ON and having issues connecting to calls or having horrendous call quality (pronounced static/robotic sounds from the call).   This morning, I had to reset my BT radio when making a call for this very reason.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
LordofWar1835
Enthusiast - Level 1

I am definitely having the same issue getting it pared is half the battle. Once it is pared then it's trying to get the voice to work the media audio connects no problem.. Then now the issue is that it connects then disconnects over and over.. Also I do have a galaxy gear 2 neo however I had this with my s5 as well and had it (the gs5) connected to my 2014 Toyota Tundra as well as my Neo with no problems at all for almost a year . Then when I called Verizon customer service  I was told after calling Samsung while I was on the phone that Samsung had been made aware of the problem but had not had enough people say anything to make them start working on a fix in the way of an update so I of course made sure that Samsung was going to lay for any damages from any accidents occurring whilst I was without my hands free calling to Which they replied with a laugh... So now basically I am stuck without hands free calling until Samsung decides that they are going to maybe...... come up with a fix/update for the 600 dollar phone I just bought a week ago that no longer has one of the main features of the phone.. Thanks Samsung for the last few years I have bought the S3 S4 should have never bought the S5 because it was supposed to have everything the 6 now does have but Samsung is greedy and has to push out another year and get as much profit as possible. and Now the S6... Defending your flagship phone/Brand to the death against the, only popular because it's trendy Apple Icrap.. and now they (Samsung) can't get off there money collecting asses to solve a major issue for there flagship phone because they don't know if enough people have the problem yet .. I can assure you that this will be my last Samsung if nothing is done somewhat quickly. Sorry for the rant.

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Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
caecilia97
Contributor - Level 1

Have any of you checked with your dealerships to see if there is an update to the bluetooth system in your car? If they have never been updated, they may not have the *ability* to work properly with newer phones.

Re: Galaxy S6 Car Bluetooth Problems
aaron53875
Newbie

I'm having car bluetooth problems as well. First time I syncd it worked fine, but within a few days bluetooth drops every 10-15 min, album art on screen doesn't change with song when streaming pandora, etc. And I'm in a 2015 Audi A3, so new bluetooth on the cars end. It worked great before with my S4 and with my friend's  Note (4?) and iPhone. Have deleted devices from each other, stopped BT svc on my phone and cleared cache, still no luck. Pretty livid the phone won't work with a 2015 car. Thinking of trying to exchange under wty hoping I just got a headset with a faulty BT chip.

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