yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] lagvoid:
I'm having similar BT issues with an aftermarket Clarion CZ501 head unit. My S4 automatically connects each time I start the car up, but the media streaming option is unchecked each time. I have to manually check the option, but it's forgotten when I turn the car off. I never had this issue with 2 other android phones. I came across another thread on XDA that mentioned this app, Bluetooth Auto Connect. It resolved my connection problems, but setting the device to connect on turning the screen on introduced a wifi delay bug on my S4. With this app installed and the screen on trigger set, I would not have internet connection for 1-2 minutes after waking the device up...see if it helps you without giving the same bug. I'm testing it now with different settings.

Edit: The Bluetooth Auto connect wifi bug is present with any of the trigger events...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Thanks for the insight. I actually tried that same app today, but it didn't seem to make any difference for me, sadly. Most of the time I can't even get the phone by itself to connect back to the 'Call audio' Profile, and the app didn't help. I'll try it again in the morning perhaps, but I don't think it will really help in my case since my car's BT only supports that single profile and not A2DP.

I e-mailed both Toyota and Alps, but I don't think I will get any meaningful reply from either, if any reply at all... We'll see.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
New update -- brand new US Cellular Galaxy S4 has the SAME exact issue with the Denso Nav/BT handsfree unit in my 2004 Toyota Prius. I will eventually test a Sprint version as well -- I suspect the problem will be able to be replicated with that one as well.

Also Toyota responded back, basically said: "that phone is not on our compatibility list, we logged the problem, but there's nothing we can do, sorry!" No surprise there either...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Sprint Galaxy S4 also has the same issue. That's 3 confirmed cross-carrier phones having the same problem!!! I will attempt to pair my phone with another Denso BT/NAV unit, possibly tomorrow.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Today I was a bit more observant while doing some errands driving around, and I managed to observe how it fails to sync:

Turn on car (or restart NAV via tapping up down up down on Display menu to get to service menu and restarting afterwards).

1) Car pairs to Galaxy S4 within usual time (a few seconds)

2) Wait anywhere from 40-50 seconds. Bluetooth connection (no signal strength indicator on Prius display) will drop out for 10-20 seconds and come back again.

3) #2 Will repeat at least 1 more time, or seemingly indefinitely (up to 4 times by my count). -- Need to see if there is a pattern to this.

4) If there is no bluetooth connection drop past ~1 minute or 1 mins 30 secs from last one, THEN the phone call audio will be carried over to the car's integrated handsfree system. (replicated x2 on v12.1 MAPS DVD (with 11.1 firmware -- v12.1 did not include new firmware)

Usually the first pairing to the car is immediately successful -- the audio is transferred fine. However, on subsequent pairings (car is off and then on at a later time), #2 and #3 will almost always (need to verify if this is always or not) happen.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Continuing from the last post, it seems that if I attempt to make a call before it can sync appropriately (1 min+ without connection dropping as seem from the car), I usually have to unpair, and repair after a restart of at least the phone to be able to pair again successfully.

Thankfully it is (sort of) work around-able, but incredibly annoying. Anyone else having issues with Denso factory NAV/BT units??? Please report to Samsung/Verizon/US Cellular and Sprint!!!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] teqknique:
I've got the same issue w/ my S4 and my JVC AVX840 stereo. I bought this stereo system speficially for audio streaming and was pretty pissed when I wasn't able to use the functionality.

My previous phone was a Droid Bionic and I was able to sucessfully pair this device w/ my stereo while on Android 2.3 and 4.0. The moment my phone was updated to 4.1.2 I ran into your same issue. I did some research on the issue and found that version 4.1 of JB actually broke A2DP on many devices. This was supposed to be fixed in version 4.2 but as you can see thats not the case.

My workaround until google pushes a fix (which they probably wont) is to let my device connect (phone & media), disconnected, reconnect (phone then media shortly after). Once this cycle finishes I can hit play on my car stereo and it continues like nothing happened. For some reason when I hit play on my phone, instead of using my cars play button it, it will continue to act as if it's playing but I wont here anything. A reboot is the only way I know to fix that.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Interesting. My car doesn't even have any media sync (A2DP), just call audio, but that is pretty much the same exact same issues I'm experiencing with the disconnection/connection cycle. I was thinking this was a Samsung issue, but your post seems like it is Google that's actually at fault. I'm also thinking that perhaps flashing an Original Development ROM (AOSP Cyanogenmod, etc) could fix the issue since dev's usually tend to squash bugs like that out of the source code, so it's probably what I'm going to attempt next

I didn't have the this issue with the S3 that was running 4.1.2 on my 2004 Prius Denso/NAV system, though. I also didn't have an issue pairing with a 2013 Camry's NAV/BT system made by Harman/Becker Automotive Systems GmbH, BT MAC starting with

9C:DF:03

or with a BT system on a 2013 Honda Civic -- I deleted the pairing of that BT device, I need to ask my friend to get the BT MAC for me.

Thanks for sharing your experience and giving me some direction to go in towards further root cause troubleshooting, it's very helpful! I'll be looking through the bugs on the Android codebase related to Bluetooth, there seem to be quite a few and I'll post/mark in the ones that are related to the issue we're seeing, especially if I confirm they are also present in an AOSP ROM -- which means it would be a Google problem, and not a Samsung issue -- at this point I'm not sure where I should place the blame, but the AOSP ROM experiment will determine that.

Edit: Seems like the issues related to the problem I'm experiencing are restricted to comments now, but one can 'star' them:

Please, anyone affected, star the following 2 issues below!

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=39633

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41625

Possibly this one too, specifically for teqknique:

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24012
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] teqknique:
I forgot to mention. I was able to fix this issue on my Droid Bionic by flashing CM10.1 (JB 4.2.2) on my phone. The audio driver that the rom used didnt give me the bluetooth cycling issue but the sacrifice for me was I was no longer able to get the Song Information (Title/Artist/Album) to display on my car stereo. But thats a small price to pay for stable Bluetooth audio.

I haven't tried flashing CM10.1 on my S4 yet but it's definately worth a shot.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
I didn't get around to it last weekend since the workaround of waiting isn't all that bad, just annoying. That and because I doubt Samsung will do anything anyway unless others complain about it.. sigh.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rookydb:
2004 Lexus LX-470 same issue

Vocaloca: You asked for confirmation on your problem. I have a 2004 Lexus LX470 w /NAV I am having exactly the same results you are. One additional event I have tried and need to confirm a few more times: If I do a battery out, then re-power up of the phone, then it seems to sync and hold. Obviously you can't do that every time, but I though you might want to confirm that with your experience. (Kind of fits your sequence #1)

My question is ( and I am far from having the necessary talent to answer this, I just posted to give you followup) Since this appears that it might be intermittent, the way it is with a fresh power up of the phone, and since the S3 worked, is our best hope actually to get a software mod from Android? My previous experience with Samsung and Verizon was clearly that they didn't care at all ( as you also noted)

Thank you for the great work you have done so far. If you need me to do something specific to help you, please let me know.

db
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] IronCrossMac:
It's funny you mention the JVC AVX series. I have the 740 and I bought it specifically for music streaming also. It worked flawlessly when I bought it and synced it to my Droid X. It continued to work flawlessly after I upgraded to the BIONIC. Then I had data issues with that phone so Verizon replaced it with a RAZR. That's when my issues began. The exact same issues have continued with my S4.

I leave Bluetooth on on my phone and start my car. My phone and stereo sync up with no problems. I open up Poweramp and hit play. I'm now enjoying my music. But then, 15 to 18 seconds into playing, it desyncs and drops the connection, resyncs, but then I have no audio at all. The odd thing is that it doesn't even fail consistently. Sometimes it will stream without issue for my entire ride, and other times it will play a song through, then 15 to 18 seconds into the next it cuts out. I pop the faceplate, resync, and hope it works again. If I receive a call, whether I take it or not, I can expect it to desync after the music kicks back on. I'm at a loss and can't fathom how it will work sometimes but not work others. I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one suffering from this issue, and reading through here, it appears to me that this is an Android problem and not our head units.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
It seems like you have already tried to contact both Samsung and Verizon about this from what I can tell, but in case you haven't by all means give it a shot and reference my case numbers in my original post. I have not tried a battery pull, but definitely if I leave it alone until it stops the un-sync/sync dance (usually past 1 minute without doing that) then it is fine. It is inconvenient though, because if I receive a call as I get in the car before it's finished the sync/unsync dance I'm forced to use the earpiece and the sound from the stereo goes in and out as it half syncs/unsyncs, still leaving the audio on the headset -- although sometimes it will actually switch over... but I haven't done that extended testing. I'll try to see if a battery out fixes the issue upon a secondary pair when I get a chance.

It is indeed an Android issue... but not sure if this is related to the Android Bluetooth code implementation perse, of if it is an issue with the actual drivers used to interface with the new Bluetooth chipset our phone has... but it is definitely one of those two. The best I can say is star those issues that I listed earlier and complain to Samsung and your carrier. Mention all the troubleshooting steps I have gone through (soft/hard reset, etc) so that they understand that this is a software/driver issue that needs correcting.

If I get around to it, (after I make a backup) I will try to replace some of the Bluetooth APKs from the 4.2.1 ones that come with the Galaxy S3 and see if that makes the problem go away -- that would mean that the problem would be Google's code changes on the Bluetooth apk's -- at least I believe those are entirely Google's code, that is. If that doesn't fix it (or completely hose the phone/Bluetooth, then it's up to either Samsung/Google to fix the issue themselves.

I've yet to try a CyanogenMod ROM to see if the issue goes away, but that would be another worthwhile test. If it goes away with CyanogenMod, it could be that the Bluetooth apk's have bugfixes that the phone ones do not, or it could just point to the Bluetooth driver itself still.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rookydb:
Bluetooth Problems Toyota products Gen4

Vacoloca

It's a bit early in my testing to make a guess like this, but just for grins and something for you to consider: Is it possible that there is a "timeout" feature in the connection that is causing our problem? Let me explain my thoughts: When the car has been off for a significant period of time, my phone seems to connect and hold just fine. Note also the NAV screen gives the brief banner "connection successful" at start up.. When you drive for a short distance and stop and restart, I also get the "connection sucessful", meaning the car has again recognized the phone. When the signal strenght bars drop off, I DO NOT get a corresponding : "connection failed" from the car. ( I've had that before with a previous phone, actually a previous Samsung and an Blackberry, where the connection wouldn't hold and it says connection failed) The car still thinks it is connected.

Here's what I am wondering, but am not talented enough to know how to check: Is the phone thinking it is still connected to the first connection ( the timeout portion of my question) and then when the car restarts and requests a connection, does the phone try to create a "second" connection to the car? This would explain wy the car always sees the phone, but the phone could be going back and forth between the "two devices" it thinks it sees.

Again, I don't know the internal programming so my theory could be completely useless. I'm just tossing it out there for ideas to those much smarter than I .

Update next day: My theory failed this morning. After several days of it working solid first thing in the morning, after being idle all night, today it went into the "dance" mode we are both familiar with. So much for that guess.

Vacoloca, have you tried this yet (found on previous post on 29 May 2011 for S3)

BMW - Samsung Charge Phone Book BlueTooth Workaround

" Originally Posted by Doc T2 View Post

Fix for this is counterintuitive. When you start your phone or restart bluetooth go to Settings>Applications>Running Services. Look for the Service "BluetoothPbapService". tap it, then hit stop. This removes it from the list. The phone pairs and uploads the phone book without problems until you either stop and restart bluetooth or turn your phone off. I am looking for a developer who can automate this process with an app without rooting the phone. Hope this helps."
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] ericman2001:
I have a Sprint Galaxy S4 and I have experienced what seems to be the same issue in my Ford Fiesta when running Carbon ROM nightlies from June 25, 2013. After rebooting my phone, bluetooth works just fine in my Fiesta one time. After I disconnect, my phone cannot maintain any future connections without a reboot. Also, I've noticed that my phone shows it is still connected after I turn my car off. This state lasts until I disable bluetooth on my phone.

Also, I was having a little trouble with a MOGA Pro bluetooth gamepad last night. I didn't do extensive testing so I'm not 100% convinced it's related.

Finally, TouchWiz based ROMs seem to work a little better for me, but I did have problems pairing with my car this morning on a fresh install of Team Sonic's FreeGS4 ROM.

I don't know if this helps or confuses. Let me know if there's any information I can provide to help!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Correct, I never get a connection failed. I just get the bars dropping off for 10-20 secs, then coming back for about 40-45 secs. If they stay longer than that, call audio will be routed through the handsfree system. If I take a call in the period where the phone is still in its sync limbo... and this is relevant -- the phone will not sync correctly again UNTIL it's rebooted AND it finishes the sync/unsync dance. I tested that one today commuting to work...

I have not tried that, I just found the S4 equivalant now... probably for us the relevant one is the headset one... I will try that later on and report back.

Edit: I don't believe this made any difference. I tried it on 2 occasions with no resolution.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] frankhull:
bluetooth failure

I can confirm that the s4 Bluetooth is very erratic on my prius 2005. It is not usable until about 3 or 4 min. I have the Sprint US version S4. All my other phones worked including htc evo, iPhone 4 Windows mobile and older phones. The bug stinks and the lack of response stinks even more.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Thanks for the feedback. File a bug report with both Sprint and Samsung if you can. Reference my ticket number for Samsung if you give them feedback.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] butterfly99:
I am also having an issue in my 2012 Prius III since getting my Samsung S4 (previously had Droid X2 that worked without issue). My issue is a little different in that I stay synced, but when calls come in it says unknown for the caller ID even though my phone book and call history downloaded into the car without issue. Coincidently my Prius asked and I approved a software update around this same time. I just can't remember the exact timing of events, but I think it was 2 weeks before I switched phones so should not be related. Hope this gives you some more info
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
It might be that the new ME7 update fixes the bluetooth issues, but I have not attempted it yet because I do not want to loose root. See changelog here:

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/07/1...or-the-vruame7-update-for-verizons-galaxy-s4/

If someone else can test if the issues are gone with the update, I'd appreciate it!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rookydb:
Vacoloca

I did the upgrade yesterday. (It managed to delete my contact data for everyone I had called in my contact list in the last 24 hours (hmmm Backup plus was upgraded and I have my phone switched to not use the backup manager and the cloud for my contacts) but to answer your question, I was anxious to test to see if they had corrected our problem. Sorry to report that there is no improvement. Same story. I refiled our complaint with Verizon level 2 support last night. The tech did say he could see several reports showing for our problem in their database.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
Thanks for the feedback :) I might call up and mention the same again also.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thegreener:
Bluetooth connection unreliable with phone call audio

I have a Lexus RX400h and am having the same exact problem. I am on my second S4 handset from AT&T. I have to wait around 2 min. after I start my car, then the Bluetooth connection becomes reliable. Before that, if I make a call or receive a call, the call audio stays on the handset. We need Samsung to get this fixed!!!!

If anyone comes up with a better workaround (than waiting 2 min.), or if there is a 3rd party app that will correct this, OR if Samsung addresses the problem with a fix, please post here - thank you!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
By all means report the problem to Samsung and/or AT&T to escalate to Samsung. I haven't found any workarounds besides waiting so far. I installed a custom ROM based on the ME7 update a few days ago and like the previous poster mentioned, the issue isn't fixed.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thegreener:
Samsung Galaxy S 4 Bluetooth Problems

Another workaround that works most of the time for me:

1. Turn your S4's Bluetooth "off" in settings

2. Start your car

3. Turn your phone's Bluetooth back on in around 8-10 seconds

4. Wait for "Bluetooth Connection Successful" message

5. Try a test call in about 5 seconds.

Most of the time, around 80% of the time, the "call audio" stays on

my car's hands free and doesn't revert back to the handset.

If you get "Bluetooth Connection Failed" - go back to #1 and start over.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Brushborder:
You can add 2010 VW Tiguan. Apparently this issue will never end.. Awesome!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vacaloca:
I'll try this in a little bit and post if it works for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] stefnee:
Was it ever resolved?

After reading the five pages, I did not see that you ever came up with a solution to the bluetooth connectivity issue? I just purchased an S4 and have a 2006 Lexus GS300. If there is no solution, I will have to return the phone and eat the $35 restorking fee. I was going to update my Navigation system in hopes that it would also update the bluetooth firmware, but according to Lexus, they said no. So I will keep that $200 in my pocket.

Samsung is supposed to push out an update soon, but I do not know when that will hit this market and if that will correct the bluetooth connection issues with the phones.

I tried downloading the soundabout app and another bluetooth application from the app store, but neither or those apps worked for me. Please let me know if you found a solution. Thanks.

Stefnee
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] thegreener:
I finally gave up on the Galaxy s4

I’ve given up on the s4 and its bluetooth problems. I’ve been waiting patiently for the android 4.3 update, hoping it would fix the bluetooth…it’s so flaky with my 2006 Lexus RX400h, not able to keep a reliable handsfree connection. A friend showed up at work with the new Galaxy Note 3, and it has 4.3. I asked him to come out to my car, and we tested it. It’s just as hinky as the s4. Failed to give me handsfree call audio on the the 2nd call we made! Which tells me that my s4 will be no better with 4.3. The local AT&T Device Support Center is taking my s4 back, and they gave me a new (in box) Galaxy Note 2 in exchange. Works perfectly! And is better than the s4 in many of its functions/interface. But most importantly, the Galaxy Note 2 has stopped me from stressing out about a bad bluetooth connection, it connects and gives me handsfree call audio flawlessly, every time!

Note: I've found some further positives on the Galaxy Note 2: Better reception than the s4 (more bars), Better sound quality on the handset and through my car's handsfree, and far quicker Google search than the s4!
[General Questions and Answers] bloodyhell619:
Is there a dual boot kernal out for ion yet ?
[MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 General] thefa:
Hi,

I have a Qtek 9090 and I checked the Caller Id app bundled in the package. I miss one thing : I'd like to be able to define the picture associated to the contacts in Outlook 2003 and get it used by my Qtek...

Is this possible? If yes, how?

Thanks.
[MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 General] snorbaard:
No such luck.

It's got to do with the way Activesync works at the moment. Even if Pocket Outlook DID support pictures (which it doesn't), Activesync 3.7x doesn't syncrohonise any additional contact fields (which is essentially what the pictures are - an additional field).

You will have to add these pictures manually at the moment. And woe if your machine needs to be hard-reset for some reason. You'll have to do it all over again! (Unless you use some fantastic backup program).

Activesync 4.0, where are you? Will you fix these annoying issues??