How To Fix Bluetooth Not Working on iOS 14

Find that Bluetooth is not working on your iPhone after the new iOS 14 update?

The new iOS 14 has been making headlines all over the internet. With one of the most user-customizable updates from Apple, iOS 14 has been living up to the hype, sort of. Just like most new software programs, the new iOS has been experiencing a lot of bugs and glitches.

A glance at Apple’s forums and you’ll find a fair amount of posts about bugs from broken widgets, annoyances with the App Library, camera not working, and now Bluetooth. Rest assured, Apple should be working on a patch to fix all reported bugs and will hopefully release it soon.

However, we’ve compiled a list of reliable methods that you can do to fix your Bluetooth issue now.

Here’s what we can do.

• 1. General Troubleshoot.
• 2. Restart Your iPhone.
• 3. Forget And Reconnect Your Bluetooth Device.
• 4. Turn Off Your Apple Watch.
• 5. Reset Network Settings.
• 6. Reset All iPhone Settings.

1. General Troubleshoot.

Before we proceed, let’s make sure that your iPhone is, in fact, responsible for the Bluetooth problem. You can troubleshoot this by connecting your Bluetooth device to your Mac, laptop, car stereo, and so on. Quickly play a tune or a video and check your Bluetooth device for any problems.

By doing this step, you’ll make sure that your Bluetooth speaker or headset isn’t the main problem. This will also troubleshoot the quality of the audio from your speaker, as one of the iOS 14 Bluetooth problems is having a crackling or distorted sound.

You can also try to connect your iPhone with another iPhone or Mac via Bluetooth and send files to each other the old fashioned way. This will check if your iPhone only has problems with your Bluetooth speaker or with all Bluetooth devices in general.

Once you’ve made sure your iPhone’s Bluetooth is the source of the problem, let’s go ahead and proceed to the solutions listed below.

2. Restart Your iPhone.

Restarting your iPhone will iron out any bugs that are currently instanced in your phone’s memory or RAM. This step is an age-old solution and is one of the most basic and effective ways to get rid of software-related issues.

Contrary to most articles you’ll find online, force restarting/rebooting your iPhone is no different from a regular restart. In most cases, a regular restart is actually better as this will save all your data like normal. Force rebooting your iPhone will reset your mobile device at a hardware level, this means it will cut the power from your phone by force.

This can result in unsaved background processes and has practically no difference from a regular reboot. So without further ado.

Here’s how you can restart your iPhone:

1. Go ahead and press the power button on your iPhone for a couple of seconds until a red Power Off slider appears.

2. Now, drag the slider to the right to turn off your device.
3. Finally, after your screen has powered off, wait for around 5-10 seconds and press the power button again to turn your iPhone back on.

3. Forget And Reconnect Your Bluetooth Device.

The equivalent of restarting your Bluetooth device’s connection to your iPhone is by forgetting the device. This will terminate all existing cache data for your Bluetooth device. Doing so will clear any preferences or software bugs that could be causing the problem between you and your device.

Your Bluetooth device could also be having a problem with your iPhone due to the iOS update. This is perfectly normal and can happen to your devices, including your Wi-Fi and the like.

Here’s how you can forget and reconnect your Bluetooth device:

1. First, let’s start by opening your Settings and going to Bluetooth.
2. Now, a list of devices should be displayed. Go ahead and tap on the ( i ) button of the Bluetooth device you’re having a problem with.

3. Next, select Forget This Device. This will remove all existing data of your Bluetooth device from your iPhone.

4. If your Bluetooth device also has a list of connected devices, go ahead and delete your iPhone from that list as well.
5. Finally, restart your iPhone and your Bluetooth device for good measure and connect them again. You can do this by setting your Bluetooth device to ‘Pairing mode’ and tapping on your device name through your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings.

Now that your Bluetooth device and your iPhone have been reconnected, try and test the audio by playing some songs or a video clip.

4. Turn Off Your Apple Watch.

If you own an Apple Watch, chances are this could be the culprit of your Bluetooth problem. Although this shouldn’t be the case, Apple users have reportedly turned off their Apple watch or removed the ‘Play app’ from their watches to solve this problem.

Whatever the case may be, this bug should be fixed on the next iOS patch which should also include other bug fixes as well. Instead of turning off your Apple Watch, we can settle for cutting off the Bluetooth connection between your watch and your iPhone which should work just as well.

Here’s how you can disable your Apple Watch’s Bluetooth:

1. Let’s start by opening the Control Center on your Apple Watch.
2. Next, just tap on the Bluetooth icon to disable it.

5. Reset Network Settings.

The last three methods will be centered around resetting certain parts of your iPhone.

Since Apple lets you keep your iOS 13 preferences and settings when you make the jump to iOS 14, software problems and compatibility issues can happen and mess up your settings.

This is usually due to a bug or glitch in the process of updating your phone’s iOS. Part of the settings responsible for your Bluetooth and wireless connections are your ‘Network Settings’ which we will be resetting.

It’s worth nothing resetting the network settings will not interact with any of your personal files. So rest assured your data will not be configured in any way.

Here’s how you can reset your Network Settings:

1. Let’s start by opening up your Settings and heading to General.
2. Now, if you scroll down a bit go ahead and select Reset.
3. This will bring you a list of sectors you can reset on your iPhone. Select  Reset Network Settings.

4. Finally, restart your device.

Once you’re done with that, you can go ahead and try to connect your Bluetooth device to your iPhone. If the issue persists, you can go ahead and proceed to the last two methods.

6. Reset All iPhone Settings.

Resetting all your iPhone’s settings will clear all the preferences you’ve configured to your settings.

Again, don’t worry, as this will not harm or touch your personal files so you can rest assured that your data will remain safe.

Since Apple will automatically retain your iOS 13 settings, there can be cases where your settings aren’t copied properly. Resetting all your settings is also a good way to familiarize yourself with the new iOS as well as some of the changes in the Settings app.

Here’s how you can reset all your iPhone’s settings:

1. First, open your Settings and go to General.
2. Now, scroll down until you locate Reset.
3. Once you’re in Reset, you should see a list of all the sectors you can reset on your iPhone. For this method, we will select Reset All Settings.

4. A prompt should appear asking you for your Passcode. Go ahead and fill it in and proceed through the prompts until your settings are fully reset.
5. Finally, your iPhone will restart itself. Once it powers back on, go ahead and test out your Bluetooth device.

With all the settings reset, you should be running a clean and authentic version of iOS 14. Hopefully, your Bluetooth problem has been resolved.

If the issue persists, you can try your chances of doing a factory reset on your iPhone. This will completely reformat your iPhone and clear all your data, including your personal files. You can learn more about it here.

However, we don’t recommend that you perform a factory reset unless you’re in a hurry to fix your Bluetooth problem. The iOS 14 operating system still has a lot of bugs and glitches, and if you’re reading this only after its recent release, then you should know Apple is surely trying to fix these bugs already.

Ideally, they will soon release a follow-up patch to fix all the bugs and problems that Apple users are currently facing. Included in the patch should be the Bluetooth problem that’s responsible for scratching your head. So instead of reformatting your phone, it might be in your interest to wait for a couple of days for the next patch.

Now that you’ve reached the end of this article, we hope that we have helped you fix your ‘Bluetooth not working on iOS 14’ issue. If you have any other questions related to the article, feel free to leave a comment down below.

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