Help Samsung Galaxy S4 bluetooth issue

[Jordan Xu]

Hi,
I have just got my new Galaxy S4, everything is working fine except the Bluetooth. I am having trouble to use the Bluetooth on my 2011 Toyota Car corolla. I am able to connect to the Bluetooth, and play music but problem with starting to make a call. when I say "starting to make a call" means I can make a call, but the receiver can't hear me and I can't hear them neither. I was able to answer the call or hang up, everything is working fine except no voice come out from the speakers.
The funny is it will work if I use Apps to make a call, such as Skype, viber.
I believe that is because the app use Internet.
I have checked other threads, Samsung Galaxy S3 had the same problem, looks like they have been fixed.

Does anyone have the same issue?

 

[lsmith9523]

I am having the same issue with my S4 and bluetooth in my 11 Nissan Frontier Crew SV. Sometimes the bluetooth works ok, other times, the call will place, (Factory Stereo Bluetooth will switch into phone mode), but I cannot hear anything, ( no ring, no voice, nothing). I can see the call connect and the minutes/seconds counting down, but no sound.

I started playing with it and found this. If I had my Aux/headphone plug inserted, it seemed to give me this issue. If I unpluged the headphone/aux cable, powered off and back on, my S4, and not insert the headphone/aux cable, it would correct itself and work fine. If I re-inserted the HP/Aux cable, it would start all over again.

I am still on the fence of exchanging the phone, but it seems your phone is doing the same thing. Software issue maybe?

I hope this helps some.

Larry

 

[lsmith9523]

PS. I also tried switching my factory stereo/bluetooth to the Aux slection, since the S4 was connect VIA Aux. I thought maybe those needed to be linked in order for sound...That solution did not make a difference..

If you come up with any other "Trial and Error" solutions, please share. I am very curious, for I really need my bluetooth for travel and clients.

Thanks again,

Larry

 

[Jordan Xu]

Hi, Larry,
yes, I am going to take my car to the dealer to see if they can update my radio firmware.
I will post here if I can find a solution.

Jordan

 

[lsmith9523]

Jordan,

Keep me posted on what your vehicle dealership has to say. I hope we can get this figured out, for a functioning bluetooth is a must for me...If I find out anything else, I will post back here as well.

Good luck and I will watch for your update..

Cheers,

Larry

 

[sorka]

Just keep in mind that if it's the same as the S3, then bt phone profile, although connected, will not pass audio. Nobody will hear you until you unplug the stereo mini connector from the headphone jack.

 

[Jordan Xu]

Hi, everyone
I downloaded a app called "SOUND ABOUT", it fixed my Bluetooth issue. you need to restart the phone after you install it. If it doesn't work, try change the setting on this app.

Jordan Xu

 

[ripclaw]

I could not find this app. Is there a typo?

Hi, everyone
I downloaded a app called "SOUND ABOUT", it fixed my Bluetooth issue. you need to restart the phone after you install it. If it doesn't work, try change the setting on this app.

Jordan Xu

 

[ripclaw]

Sorry, found it. its one word. not 2.

I could not find this app. Is there a typo?

 

[93turbo2]

Hey guys,

I was having the same issue with my S4 and Eclipse AVN726e. In talking with my friend he suggested that I change the pairing code the deck. I did that this morning and paired my phone with the new code, tried a call and to my surprise, it worked like a charm.

Hope this works on your decks as well.

Brian

 

[Grrman]

Same issue with BT connectivity when using headphone jack. Phone is paired to a Pioneer head in the car. Since the head is an older unit, I need to use the HP jack to use Pandora. Found that if I disable BT I could still make calls thru the car's system and use the HP jack to connect the phone to stream Pandora.

Strange that I could still use the car's audio to pair with the phone and make/receive calls.

 

[ripclaw]

Hey guys,

I was having the same issue with my S4 and Eclipse AVN726e. In talking with my friend he suggested that I change the pairing code the deck. I did that this morning and paired my phone with the new code, tried a call and to my surprise, it worked like a charm.

Hope this works on your decks as well.

Brian

didnt work for me. changed the pairing code. Phone can pair but no sound when making or receiving calls

 

[myzticc66]

Heres what I did.Go to settings select application manager scroll down to S Voice click on S voice and disable it. The phone will then use the google app which is for hands free bluetooth. Works great! This ended the problem of not hearing anything on your vehicles speakers during hands free calling.

 

[ripclaw]

Heres what I did.Go to settings select application manager scroll down to S Voice click on S voice and disable it. The phone will then use the google app which is for hands free bluetooth. Works great! This ended the problem of not hearing anything on your vehicles speakers during hands free calling.

tks for the advice. I'll try that tomorrow.
But exactly what do you mean by "the phone will then use the google app which is for hands free bluetooth"?

 

[lazlingab]

I just want to make us of the Bluetooth on my S4 for sharing some media files with other devices like my google nexus. At the beginning, I can't get my S4 detect any other devices and pairing. I searched the solution and found many guys are facing the bluetooth issues on galaxy s4. Well, luckily, my problem has been resolved by referring to the related tutorial step by step. If anyone has the trouble likewise, it seems to be so much useful.

And I will share more tips and tricks for Galaxy S4 bluetooth issues here later.

 

[WesSaysHi]

As soon as my gs4 goes into screen save or I lock the bluetooth is turned off entirely and doesn't come back on until turned on manually. Of course, in the car it goes into that in one minute so the bluetooth on the gs4 is essentially worthless. I had it working for a while but now it isn't and I don't know why. I'm not convinced it is an app interfering since I removed most of them except news and email and music and it didn't work. I turned off all the gestures and it did work, for a while, then failed again. I may go back to Best Buy and have them look at it -the last time the phone hadn't worked for 2 weeks on bluetooth and worked in the store - and at home on a temporary basis. It can't be interference, either, since a scan only turns up the home base station (multiple handset thing) and my roku and somebody's apple - but nothing else. That the whole bluetooth service turns off is definitely and Android problem (I'm running current 4.2.2).

 

[mvukomanovic]

Heres what I did.Go to settings select application manager scroll down to S Voice click on S voice and disable it. The phone will then use the google app which is for hands free bluetooth. Works great! This ended the problem of not hearing anything on your vehicles speakers during hands free calling.

Thanks that worked for me straight away. I disabled and killed the task.

 

[JAEHAERI]

Hi, everyone
I downloaded a app called "SOUND ABOUT", it fixed my Bluetooth issue. you need to restart the phone after you install it. If it doesn't work, try change the setting on this app.

Jordan Xu

I had to disconnect my audio jack to be able to talk on my phone through my car's Bluetooth, which of course, causes a driving hazard every time my phone would ring. With "SOUND ABOUT" (the app is actually one word), I can set my phone to answer through Bluetooth without disconnecting my audio jack. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

 

[kbaybob]

My phone would not wake up when I told it to make a call using my 2011 Toyota Sienna bluetooth voice dialing. It made calls OK when it was in the normal working screen (lock screen swiped). Once I selected use phone instead of use Skype and selected always, the phone works properly. It can have a black screen and when I voice dial from my Sienna bluetooth it wakes up and makes the call.

 

[razz2525]

Hi,
I have just got my new Galaxy S4, everything is working fine except the Bluetooth. I am having trouble to use the Bluetooth on my 2011 Toyota Car corolla. I am able to connect to the Bluetooth, and play music but problem with starting to make a call. when I say "starting to make a call" means I can make a call, but the receiver can't hear me and I can't hear them neither. I was able to answer the call or hang up, everything is working fine except no voice come out from the speakers.
The funny is it will work if I use Apps to make a call, such as Skype, viber.
I believe that is because the app use Internet.
I have checked other threads, Samsung Galaxy S3 had the same problem, looks like they have been fixed.

Does anyone have the same issue?

Hi, I just joined these forums and I have bought so much stuff to troubleshoot my BT issues, I'm beginning to get frustrated. I bought a regular cheap ol' AUX cable for my 2010 Nissan Sentra SR which has AUX and iPOD capability. When I had my iPhone, I had zero issues of course since it had a built-in cable for my iPOD but now that I have the Samsung, I'm relying the AUX or the BT to work: neither has. I plugged in the AUX cord to my Samsung while it was charging in the car and it worked like a charm. Then later, when I tried the same thing, no music, just white noise through the car speakers even with the phone's volume on MAX. I tried uncharging, unplugging the aux cord, plugging it in before my music player, nada. I bought another travel charger thinking something was busted about the 1-day old one - again, worked like a charm when I first plugged in the new microcharger and the aux cord, but later in the day, nada yet again.

So I gave up on the aux capability to go for Bluetooth. My Samsung pairs fine with the car so I'm able to make and receive calls through the car speakers no problem, but will not play music through the speakers via BT. So I bought a Kivio BT transmitter, plugged it into the aux input, hoping that Samsung would pair with it. No dice. I had the BT Transmitter right next to the phone, phone could not pair with it. In fact, my phone hasn't paired with anything EXCEPT my car for phone calls only. I even bought a ground loop thinkiing it was an impedence issue from what I've read on various boards. That didn't work either.

Not sure what's wrong here - my car's BT? The phone's BT? And why my AUX worked only with a brand new cord twice and when I turned the car off, only to try it again later, and it wouldn't work, both times.

I also am unsure what settings to put on ********** Pro. I thought it would help me when I plug in my aux cord into the phone and car, but it does not recognize that there's something plugged into the headphone jack. The music continues to play through the phone speakers. When I plug in actual headphones though, the phone recognizes it and works fine.

Really stumped here! Tired of spending money on cords, loops, and apps!!! Maybe I have conflicting apps? I've only had the phone for a week but since I have a long commute, playing music through the car speakers really is one of the most important features for me.

I have AT&T btw with Android v 4.2.2. Thank you for any advice!!!

 

[LaTuFu]

The issue more than likely is your car's Bluetooth firmware. A 2011 MY car most likely has firmware from 2009 or 2010 for BT. A lot of vehicle manufacturers (not just toyota) in the 2008-2011 timeframe had issues because there was a major change in BT standards (ironically, in part because so many vehicle manufacturers were beginning to incorporate bluetooth functionality in their audio systems).

The best bet is to go to one of the many owner forums for your vehicle, I am almost willing to guarantee there is a thread somewhere on that forum that discusses BT compatibility. Hopefully from there you can then find a link to a source for a firmware upgrade for your audio system that will resolve the issue.

That's the journey I went on 2 years ago with my 2011 Jeep and my Galaxy S1 and S2. I wound up waiting on Chrysler for nearly a year. The same firmware operates my S4 with no issues whatsoever (with even more functionality on the vehicle side).

 

[TechArchDev]

Hi, I just joined these forums and I have bought so much stuff to troubleshoot my BT issues, I'm beginning to get frustrated. I bought a regular cheap ol' AUX cable for my 2010 Nissan Sentra SR which has AUX and iPOD capability. When I had my iPhone, I had zero issues of course since it had a built-in cable for my iPOD but now that I have the Samsung, I'm relying the AUX or the BT to work: neither has. I plugged in the AUX cord to my Samsung while it was charging in the car and it worked like a charm. Then later, when I tried the same thing, no music, just white noise through the car speakers even with the phone's volume on MAX. I tried uncharging, unplugging the aux cord, plugging it in before my music player, nada. I bought another travel charger thinking something was busted about the 1-day old one - again, worked like a charm when I first plugged in the new microcharger and the aux cord, but later in the day, nada yet again.

So I gave up on the aux capability to go for Bluetooth. My Samsung pairs fine with the car so I'm able to make and receive calls through the car speakers no problem, but will not play music through the speakers via BT. So I bought a Kivio BT transmitter, plugged it into the aux input, hoping that Samsung would pair with it. No dice. I had the BT Transmitter right next to the phone, phone could not pair with it. In fact, my phone hasn't paired with anything EXCEPT my car for phone calls only. I even bought a ground loop thinkiing it was an impedence issue from what I've read on various boards. That didn't work either.

Not sure what's wrong here - my car's BT? The phone's BT? And why my AUX worked only with a brand new cord twice and when I turned the car off, only to try it again later, and it wouldn't work, both times.

I also am unsure what settings to put on ********** Pro. I thought it would help me when I plug in my aux cord into the phone and car, but it does not recognize that there's something plugged into the headphone jack. The music continues to play through the phone speakers. When I plug in actual headphones though, the phone recognizes it and works fine.

Really stumped here! Tired of spending money on cords, loops, and apps!!! Maybe I have conflicting apps? I've only had the phone for a week but since I have a long commute, playing music through the car speakers really is one of the most important features for me.

I have AT&T btw with Android v 4.2.2. Thank you for any advice!!!

If the phone detects regular headphones, but not the 3.5mm cord, then something is wrong with the cord. Could the phone case be in the way? I had to get a really thin 3.5mm cord to get through my case.

 

[ls427]

Hi, I just joined these forums and I have bought so much stuff to troubleshoot my BT issues, I'm beginning to get frustrated. I bought a regular cheap ol' AUX cable for my 2010 Nissan Sentra SR which has AUX and iPOD capability. When I had my iPhone, I had zero issues of course since it had a built-in cable for my iPOD but now that I have the Samsung, I'm relying the AUX or the BT to work: neither has. I plugged in the AUX cord to my Samsung while it was charging in the car and it worked like a charm. Then later, when I tried the same thing, no music, just white noise through the car speakers even with the phone's volume on MAX. I tried uncharging, unplugging the aux cord, plugging it in before my music player, nada. I bought another travel charger thinking something was busted about the 1-day old one - again, worked like a charm when I first plugged in the new microcharger and the aux cord, but later in the day, nada yet again.

So I gave up on the aux capability to go for Bluetooth. My Samsung pairs fine with the car so I'm able to make and receive calls through the car speakers no problem, but will not play music through the speakers via BT. So I bought a Kivio BT transmitter, plugged it into the aux input, hoping that Samsung would pair with it. No dice. I had the BT Transmitter right next to the phone, phone could not pair with it. In fact, my phone hasn't paired with anything EXCEPT my car for phone calls only. I even bought a ground loop thinkiing it was an impedence issue from what I've read on various boards. That didn't work either.

Not sure what's wrong here - my car's BT? The phone's BT? And why my AUX worked only with a brand new cord twice and when I turned the car off, only to try it again later, and it wouldn't work, both times.

I also am unsure what settings to put on ********** Pro. I thought it would help me when I plug in my aux cord into the phone and car, but it does not recognize that there's something plugged into the headphone jack. The music continues to play through the phone speakers. When I plug in actual headphones though, the phone recognizes it and works fine.

Really stumped here! Tired of spending money on cords, loops, and apps!!! Maybe I have conflicting apps? I've only had the phone for a week but since I have a long commute, playing music through the car speakers really is one of the most important features for me.

I have AT&T btw with Android v 4.2.2. Thank you for any advice!!!

I have the Kivio BT unit as well in my truck. When I changed from the skyrocket to the s4 I had problems connecting it to the Kivio unit. I didn't realize I had to make the phone visible to other BT equipment. Once I did that and it paired it played fine two or three times then it stopped playing. I could hit the button on the Kivio to pause and play and can see the actions happening on the phone, but no sound coming out. I read here about the S Voice feature and disabled it, went to my truck, Bluetooth working like a charm again.

As for the Ground Loop Isolator. That has nothing to do with connecting the bluetooth. If your using the Kivio unit, or any unit that requires you to connect to an external power supply (cigaret lighter plug), you are going to need a ground loop isolator because the unit is being grounded twice, which creates the ground loop. You have the unit being grounded by the cigarette lighter plug and then it's being grounded again at the mini-pin on the radio, since both of those items are grounded to the chassis, you get a ground loop. The Ground loop Isolator, depending on the brand and quality will either eliminate the frequency of the alternator noise you hear through the speakers, which ruins the sound quality, or tries to break the ground loop. The only way to really break a ground loop though is impossible in a car, since everything in the car is grounded to the chassis.

Try to disable the S Voice, it worked for me with a similar set-up to yours so it should hopefully work for you.

Not sure how your going to answer calls though because the Kivio runs the phone calls through your car audio as well.

 

[broncobuddha]

I have a bluetooth issue but its a little different.

Mine pairs fine with my 2013 Kia Optima (has the latest UVO update) and I can make and receive calls without any issues.

My problem is playing music from my phone to the car stereo via bluetooth. I use Google Play as my player and the issue is the volume fluctuates.

Some times its low and I turn the volume up to where I want it only to have it randomly get insanely loud and then randomly lower the volume again.

I can't figure it out.

I checked the stereo config to make sure that speed/sound adapting was off so, that shouldn't affect it. Its not too low, I just want it to stay at the volume I set it at.

Anyone run into this?

*Edit: I just realized something... I don't think this is BT, it's either the handset itself or the Google Play Music app. Because, I experience the same thing when I have my ear buds (wired) in.

 

[broncobuddha]

Ok, after more thorough searching, I found the answer for my issue.

Google Music volume increases and decreases on its own

Basically, for my symptoms, its a third party equalizer. In my case it was the equalizer in Google Play Music. I turned it off and haven't had any volume fluctuations since.

Thanks!