[rudolf-99]

I've paired my Galaxy S7 phone on bluetooth with the CX-3 from delivery when new with no problem. It worked OK for a while, but I usually use bluetooth infrequently and only connect when I expect important calls.

In the the last few months when I switch bluetooth on in my phone it has failed to connect to the car, and I've had to remove the phone from the list in the car and re-pair it again. This is clearly a fault of some kind as I never had to do this on my previous RAV4. If I try to force it to connect to the phone without removing and re-pairing I get an error message "An unexpected error occurred, please retry connection".

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[anchorman]

You really need Mr Tubbs to reply as he’s a whizz with things like this but providing the software is up to date on your car, I would say that the problem is with your phone settings. There should be an option to “always connect to this device”.

 

[jtonline]

The fact that it "worked OK for a while" and now doesn't, indicates to me that an Android or App update on the 'phone has messed things up somehow.

That said, the car's Infotainment system will expect Bluetooth to be enabled on your 'phone before it loads up & goes looking for it. I appreciate that you "usually use bluetooth infrequently" but is there a reason why you don't leave Bluetooth permanently enabled on your 'phone?

 

[rudolf-99]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll have a look at my phone settings.

 

[Vipre77]

I've occasionally had this problem with my iPhone 7 Plus. Had it with the 6S Plus before that, too. At first I thought it had something to do with my Bluetooth headset I use at work sometimes right before I leave for the day. Even after turning off the headset, the phone will still be trying re-establish the Bluetooth connection for a while and my office desk is literally 20 feet or less from where my car is parked, so the phone is still looking for my headset when I start the car. I think that causes some handshake issues and causes the phone to not get picked up by the car sometimes.

Other times, I've had issues though where I wasn't using the Bluetooth headset and it just doesn't work. It's not a frequent occurrence. Usually shutting the car off and restarting will fix it. Seems to indicate it's some kind of initialization bug, maybe. Other more rare times, nothing will fix it and I have to forget the device from the car's settings and on the phone settings and re-pair the phone to the car again before it'll work again. This usually only happens after some iOS updates. Whatever Apple changes during those apparently changes something with the Bluetooth pairing settings enough to make it not work.

Not sure what software version I've got in my car off the top of my head. It's been probably a year or so since it was updated.

 

[mainemanx]

--- SNIP ---

Other more rare times, nothing will fix it and I have to forget the device from the car's settings and on the phone settings and re-pair the phone to the car again before it'll work again. This usually only happens after some iOS updates. Whatever Apple changes during those apparently changes something with the Bluetooth pairing settings enough to make it not work.

Not sure what software version I've got in my car off the top of my head. It's been probably a year or so since it was updated.

'Never thought of deleting Mazda from the phone ... thank you!

 

[anchorman]

Since installing iOS 11, the car now displays the profile photo of the caller on the display.

 

[ghmpm]

When I got a new Android phone I had problems with bluetooth. Got it going, then next time in either of our cars it would flake out. Would have to delete it and start over (I usually have my phone set to auto-connect when in the car). My old flip phones could do this so WTF? Anyway, I received a major android update and now the problem is solved... Auto-connect works great in both cars and all is good again. So in my case it was NOT the car but the phone at fault.

 

[rudolf-99]

Problem Solved

Thank you to anchorman, my problem was the phone settings, there's a setting in the Galaxy S7 for phone visibility, if I set this to ON the phone connects to the car every time, so long as Bluetooth is switched on in the phone of course. This might apply to other makes and other operating systems like IoS and Windows Phone.

In answer to jtonline's question about why not leave Bluetooth permanently on in the phone, two reasons:-

Firstly: security, it's not a good idea to wander around in public with it enabled and the phone visible to everyone.

Secondly: if you're not using Bluetooth why use up the battery unnecessarily. If I don't have it on in the car and I get a call I'm not the type to get the phone out and look at it while I'm driving, if I think it might be important I'll stop at the next convenient point and call back. So I only have it on when I'm expecting a call or needing to make one. I'm retired so don't get many urgent calls lol!