Original topic:

S21 causing major problems when connecting to car via Bluetooth

(Topic created on: 09-20-2022 11:36 AM)
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CanadianTanimal
Beginner Level 2
Options
Galaxy S

I have had my Samsung S21 5G since February 2021 and I have had problems with it since I bought the phone when connecting to the car via Bluetooth. It inconsistently will suddenly tell the car the phone is making a phone call to itself. The call can only be hung up manually using the car's phone function because the phone itself does not show any call being made. When this happens, any radio that is trying to play on the car gets turned off, and if I try to play music via Spotify over Bluetooth, the sound is "tinny" and volume is very low. It will only happen one time when I connect and once I hang up it doesn't happen again for the rest of the drive. But as soon as I turn the car off and reconnect again, this error will happen again. It's also not consistent. Sometimes I can go a few days without this happening, and sometimes it will happen every day.

We have seen this happen on 3 different models of cars of very different vintages: a 2015 Mercedes GLK, a 2019 Honda Odyssey and a 2022 Tesla Model 3. Mercedes did a very in depth assessment of the problem and even contacted techs in Germany to find out if it was an issue with the car but they didn't find an error. Then it happened on the Honda, and now the Tesla, so clearly it's the phone. When the phone did this with the Tesla, it froze the entire Tesla computer system and we had to reset the car system and all phones connected to the car because it froze everything. I refuse to try connecting my phone to the Tesla again because it was so difficult to get it working again. So currently I can't drive my car because of the phone. 

I will likely throw out this phone soon if I don't find a solution. Has anyone had this happen and does anyone know how to fix it?

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6 Comments
RedDogRabbit
Expert Level 5
Galaxy S

I'm guessing that you have already tried Resetting your Network Connections & Un-Pair & Re-Pair with the vehicle?

⚠️If you Reset your Network Connections - Know your Passwords. 

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CanadianTanimal
Beginner Level 2
Galaxy S
I have many times deleted the phone from the car's memory and deleted the car from the phone's network options and then repaired them with no change. The Mercedes and Tesla have been both fully reset as well, with all their data wiped entirely to try to fix it, but it happens again.

The only thing I haven't done is a full factory reset of the phone for obvious reasons that downloading everything again would be really frustrating.
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RedDogRabbit
Expert Level 5
Galaxy S

Don't know if a Factory Reset will fix the issue, but it's not as daunting a task as it may seem.

I use Smart Switch to Backup my device, and it does an excellent job of restoring your apps, settings, images, documents etc.

I also have a number of apps which require the use of adb to fully enable them, but even so, it doesn't really take me that long.

If it solves the issue for you, then I think that it's well worth while. 

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CanadianTanimal
Beginner Level 2
Galaxy S
My biggest concern with a full factory reset is the various 2-factor authentication apps I've had to download over the last year. To set those back up will need phone calls to multiple IT services for various hospitals and hospital programs I work at. It's likely a full day of lost work setting up my phone again
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Nylah
Moderator
Moderator
Options
Galaxy S

Hi, we certainly understand your situation, we appreciate you in trying all the necessary troubleshooting steps.

The only option we have is to back up the data and perform factory reset. Let's hope this will fix the issue.

Please access the given link below and follow the given steps.

For backup your data .

https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/mobile-devices/galaxy-phone-back-up-and-restore-data/

For Factory data reset https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/mobile-devices/galaxy-phone-perform-a-factory-reset/

Thank you RedDogRabbit for your suggestions.

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hknewcity
Beginner Level 2
Galaxy S

I also have this issue with my Galaxy S21 5G. Previously it worked fine and at the end of the call, disconnected the bluetooth and restored the radio audio. Since the newest update  Sept 2024 I have been having the issue that bluetooth does not disconnect although the call is ended. The only recourse is to restart the car reestablishing audio on the radio. Adding an apple phone and delisting the samsung, receiving and ending a call  ends the bluetooth and the radio audio resumes. It is the phone update! How to fix??

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