I have no such problem using my Pixel 4XL

 

There's an update to Entune that the dealer must apply. Afterwards, there a specific process to follow, where you disconnect and erase ('forget') the device, delete all contacts, then re-pair the device to the vehicle. I had the same issue (iPhone XR) on my '19 XLE. I was working on iOS 13.x at the time, but now, I'm up to 14.1 and everything remains stable after the last update. The 2nd step in that process of disconnecting the device, deleting contacts, and re-pairing is really important. Even the firmware update to Entune won't cure the issue, if you don't do the 2nd step. I know because the dealer forgot with mine and the update was useless, until we performed the 2nd step. Good luck!

 

Do you have to delete all contacts from your phone or just from Entune/Vehicle?

 

Just the info on your vehicle/entune system.

 

This is my exact same issue. I have a 2019 Highlander and the iPhone XR! It’s horrible. I am at my wits end with this issue.

 

I have a 2019 and I am having same issue.

 

My wife has had the same problem for about a year on a 2015 Highlander. Her iphone xr kept disconnecting. Went on the Toyota owners website, logged in which brought up our Highlander. Then found an update from 2017 that I downloaded on to a jump drive and then stuck in the USB port and updated the head unit. Still did not fix problem. Just spent an hour on the phone with Toyota going through the process of updating again using the entune app, deleting the phone from the car and deleting the toyota from the phone and deleting all personal infromation from the toyota. One more step was to download a new navigation app from apple with a different name form the apple store. The rep called me on the XR cell phone and stayed on for a little over 2 minutes and the call did not drop. One unusual question she asked was if the facebook app was open. She said ATT has been known to automatically disconnect calls while an app using the internet is open. She said the solution is to call ATT and get them to allow internet connectivity while using your cell phone in the car.

The litmus test will be when my wife gets a call from one of her friends while in the car!

 

Well my wife's iphone xr still has the bluetooth call drop problem. Called AT&T last night and they ran through a number of resets on the phone. Waiting to see if that helps.

 

I had a similar issue with my 2015 Highlander. I went to the dealer and they did and update and never had that issue again. This was done a few years ago.

 

Thanks for replying. My customer just bought same vehicle with this issue. I am hoping this helps.

 

Have you tried connecting a different phone?

 

I have been having the same issues with my 2018 Highlander. I would love to know how to fix this problem.

i have an iPhone XR with iOS 14. The tech at the dealership keeps saying “they are running tests” and even went as far to say there is an update for the entune system, however the car “won’t take it”. I’m being told there have been no other reported instances to Toyota and I’m trying to do a little fact finding.
Thanks.
[/QUOTE]

 

It must be an iPhone XR problem. My wife has the same problem with calls dropping from bluetooth on her XR but I never have any problems with my Galaxy S9.

 

My 2019 Tacoma has the same problem with my Iphone 12, Bluetooth cuts out after a few minutes . I've had this phone for a year and this just started about 3 weeks ago. It was fine for 2 years since I bought the truck which was new.Tried deleting and reinstalling the bluetooth connection with no success. Very annoying!!!!

 

I have a 2018 Highlander and an iPhone Xr. Just went through the Entune update with dealer (a week ago) and am still having problems, despite following all of the recommendations noted here. I'm now being told that it's an Apple problem and that android has no issues. I'm considering getting a different phone because of all this. The dealer did share with me that it's a chronic problem (no sh*t) and is the fault of the Entune system which doesn't play well with Apple products. I think this should be a recall item. We're a hands-free state and having bluetooth in the car is a safety feature.

Interestingly, I had no problems before the pandemic hit.... Does anyone know if there was a significant iPhone update between March and July 2020? (I wasn't paying attention).

 

I have a 2018 Highlander and an iPhone Xr. Just went through the Entune update with dealer (a week ago) and am still having problems, despite following all of the recommendations noted here. I'm now being told that it's an Apple problem and that android has no issues. I'm considering getting a different phone because of all this. The dealer did share with me that it's a chronic problem (no sh*t) and is the fault of the Entune system which doesn't play well with Apple products. I think this should be a recall item. We're a hands-free state and having bluetooth in the car is a safety feature.

Interestingly, I had no problems before the pandemic hit.... Does anyone know if there was a significant iPhone update between March and July 2020? (I wasn't paying attentio

did you ever get the issue fixed? I’m having the same issue for about 4 months now.

 

Here's an update for you: I was successful with pairing and holding a 10-minute call on my husband's 2016 Rav4. His iPhone XS (IOS 13.3.1) was successful in holding a 10-minute call on my 2018 Highlander. At the advice of Apple, my XR now is running IOS 14.3 which doesn't solve the problem, in fact, within 10 minutes of dropping yet another call, my voice command button on the steering wheel ceased to work (I'm assuming that when I return to the car that it will work again).

 

So your Iphone XR still is not working and dropping calls.

 

That’s correct. Apple is supposed to call me this morning to help; however I am not confident that they can figure it out. The last Apple tech I spoke with last night claimed he hadn’t heard of this problem....I’ll post what I’ve learned from today’s call.

 

This is maddening and a huge safety issue. After an hour of working with an AT&T rep we still have the problem. I have to say the AT&T rep was very interested in trying to solve the problem. Not giving up on this.

 

I had a 45 minute call with someone from Apple who promised to do the best he could to fix my problem. Unlike a lot of customer service people I've spoken with, I actually believe that he will do his best. He did extensive diagnoses on my phone then sent those reports including notes from our call to the engineers. He also said that it might mean that Apple engineers call Toyota(!) about this.

He, like others, was baffled about this problem and admitted that he was unaware that this was a chronic problem. He also admitted that he's not permitted to view public websites during work (like looking at these discussions on the toyotanation.com site) so I encouraged him to read these threads in his spare time (I promised to give him a gold star if he figures this out). At the very least, I think that I was successful in bringing this huge/annoying/safety-related issue further up the Apple food chain.

I'll post more when I have more info.

 

I had a 45 minute call with someone from Apple who promised to do the best he could to fix my problem. Unlike a lot of customer service people I've spoken with, I actually believe that he will do his best. He did extensive diagnoses on my phone then sent those reports including notes from our call to the engineers. He also said that it might mean that Apple engineers call Toyota(!) about this.

He, like others, was baffled about this problem and admitted that he was unaware that this was a chronic problem. He also admitted that he's not permitted to view public websites during work (like looking at these discussions on the toyotanation.com site) so I encouraged him to read these threads in his spare time (I promised to give him a gold star if he figures this out). At the very least, I think that I was successful in bringing this huge/annoying/safety-related issue further up the Apple food chain.

I'll post more when I have more info.

After spending my Friday night talking with the Apple Guy AND Saturday afternoon talking with the same Apple Guy, I have only this to share - he told me to backup my entire phone to iCloud then reload everything and see if that worked (Friday's project). Well, iCloud lost a significant portion of the data on my phone and it still didn't fix the problem. A little tip for you - back up your phone to your phone through iTunes. When I rebooted my phone from iCloud, most of what I had on the phone didn't return. Fortunately, I had inadvertently copied my phone info onto my desktop by mistake (before uploading the contents to iCloud) but because I had done this, we were able to retrieve the entire contents of my phone from this method (Saturday's project). I am not sure if iCloud was only uploading what was left on my phone or I was incredibly lucky. Either way, I have my phone contents back but am no closer to a resolution with iPhone vs. Toyota. The Apple Guy told me that he was going to suggest to his engineers that they contact Toyota (he has been on this forum and sees all of our posts, by the way).

 

we've been told If the head unit will not accept the reflash update, unplug battery wait 30 mins, reconnect, re attempt reflash, if still nothing, replace unit.

Problem Toyota has mostly with bluetooth is that providers dont let toyota know when they release a software update for phones, and that alone can cause issues with how the system functions. I've also been told apple is the WORST when it comes to this...

 

I have had the same issue for a few months with my 2015 Tacoma. Very annoying. All calls drop within one minute

 

I just bought a 2018 XLE and also have an Iphone XR. My calls drop too and sometimes people cannot even hear me. Not good

 

 

Its not just Apple, I have a Samsung phone, my 2017 Camry drops calls as well after a minute or two. I have removed the paired device from phone and car seems ok turn it starts again. I removed that entune that didn't help resolve the issue. As much as I would to blame ATT this is a Toyota issue since I have owned the car.

 

I agree. This disconnect between my 2015 RAV4 and my recently purchased Samsung Galaxy A21 has been occurring since day one with this new phone. My previous phone, which was an ancient Huawei flip phone, worked just fine with the RAV4 bluetooth, but the Samsung Galaxy A21 smartphone calls get disconnected, then reconnect, then disconnect, repeatedly. It is frustratingly impossible to hold a conversation. This is definitely a safety issue, because I then have to find somewhere to pull off the road, turn off the vehicle, then call back the person and sit on the side of the road using the phone. If I leave the vehicle turned on, the bluetooth kicks in and disconnects, whereas with the vehicle off, the phone works just fine. I have an appointment next week with Toyota to see if they can diagnose and resolve this and will report back when I have a result.

 

The Apple engineers blame Toyota and the Toyota dealer is blaming Apple. Is anyone having any luck? Thanks!

 

I have a 2019 Highlander and have the issue with my iPhone XR—I’m talking through the Bluetooth and then all of a sudden the call is continuing on my phone. It doesn’t drop the call entirely, just moves from the car to the phone. This is a new issue for me within the last 2 months.

 

Hi, everyone,
I am making friends with Toyota and Apple....ugh! I just finished a call with yet another tech named Larry from Metro Toyota in Cleveland who shared this information with me - if your car has a Panasonic radio in it (look for a radio number starting with 5 - the number is imbedded in the plastic casing surrounding the touch screen - on the lower righthand side), then it won't work with, in particular the iPhone XR or iPhone 11. Currently there is no patch or update for this issue. This same tech recommended that I go back to Apple to see about getting a different phone or consider an Android since other iPhones or Droids don't appear to have this issue. I am the [un]lucky owner of a 2018 with a Panasonic radio. Until someone comes out with a patch or update that works, it looks like I'm going to get a different phone (the cheapest way out of this mess). Larry, by far, as been the most informative.

Earlier today I had a conversation with Toyota headquarters who told me that there were two options for me - take my car to another dealer for a second opinion - at my cost OR Toyota would contact the same service manager I've been talking with all along to describe the same problem to see what they could do (this dealer is not Metro Toyota, by the way).

I had hoped to be posting more encouraging news....

 

The bluetooth disconnect also occurs with the Samsung Galaxy A21, so Android phones are not immune. This certainly appears to be a Toyota safety issue, as it's extremely distracting to lose a call while one is driving, and to have to deal with it, while being unable to tell your caller that you can't hear most of what they're sayin. Toyota should quickly find a "fix," and issue a service bulletin on this problem ASAP.

 

I had my 2015 Highlander Limited in for service last week and they did an update to the head unit on my radio. I sat on my driveway with an iPhone XR and talked for a half hour without the call being dropped. The next day my wife was driving and using the IPhone XR and the call dropped from Bluetooth after about 2 minutes. Ugh!

 

I keep fighting this battle. There are a few fixes on Youtube available. They are pretty involved. It will take wrestling my wife's iphone Xr from her for an hour or two to try all of them. Hope one works.

 

can you please send me the link of these videos? This is madness! my iPhone XR worked fine at first with my Toyota Auris-16 but one day the calls started to drop and now it’s impossible to have a call at all with bluetooth in the car.
I tried to reset my network settings in my phone and it worked for one day before it began all over again...

 

These are interesting posts as I’ve had the problem on my 2017 Tacoma for months now. So frustrating. Have tried re-“pairing” and updating apple software on my iPhone 8 to no avail. Calls continue to drop after 1-2 mins.