How To Fix iPhone 11 Bluetooth Not Working

Need some help dealing with iPhone 11 bluetooth not working? If you do, then this post is for you. Read on to learn what to do if your iPhone 11 cannot pair with a Bluetooth accessory.

Modern smartphones are already equipped with more advanced file sharing features for better and seamless data transfer and Bluetooth is among them. Aside from data transfer, you can also share and bypass some features between Bluetooth-enabled devices like playing audio from your phone to a paired Bluetooth speaker and headsets, or streaming videos from your smartphone to a bigger screens like smart TVs. To get all these done, your devices must be compatible with each other, within the specified Bluetooth range, turned on and in pairing mode. In case you’re having trouble pairing your new iPhone with a Bluetooth accessory, this post highlights a few possible solutions. Lined up below are simple procedures to deal with common Bluetooth pairing problems on the iphone 11 handset. Feel free to refer to this walkthrough whenever you’d bump into a similar issue in which your new iPhone cannot pair with a Bluetooth accessory.

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Fix iPhone 11 Bluetooth Not Working

Before troubleshooting, verify and ensure that your devices are compatible. Not all Bluetooth devices work with the iPhone 11 or vice versa. If you are trying to pair your iPhone 11 with a new Bluetooth accessory and you aren’t sure if they are compatible, then you better do some research to confirm device compatibility. Another requirement you should met to ensure Bluetooth pairing would be successful is proximity or closeness between your devices. That said, place your devices next to each other while troubleshooting.

Finally, your devices must be turned on and in discoverable/pairing mode for them to be able to see and communicate with each other. After adhering to these requirements, you can start ruling out individual software-related factors that might have possibly hindered the pairing process.

First solution: Reboot your iPhone and Bluetooth accessory.

Random software errors on both devices may be the underlying cause. To rectify these errors, perform a soft reset on your iPhone 11 and restart your Bluetooth accessory. To soft reset your iPhone 11, simply follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold both the Side and Volume Up buttons for a few seconds.
  2. Release both buttons when the Slide to Power off bar appears.
  3. Swipe or drag the bar to turn your device off.
  4. After about 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button and then release when the Apple logo appears.

On your Bluetooth accessory, find the power switch or button and then flip or press on it to turn the device off. After a few seconds, press/flip the power button to turn it back on again. Doing so will help refresh the device system functions and may be able to get rid of the existing pairing flaws.

ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro Max that cannot make phone calls

Second solution: Refresh Bluetooth connection.

Turning Bluetooth off and on is also another simple tweak that’s used to deal with minor pairing errors. It’s like giving a quick refresh on your phone’s Bluetooth functions. Just follow these steps to proceed:

iphone 11 bluetooth not working
  1. From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
  2. Tap Bluetooth.
  3. Tap or slide the Bluetooth switch to the OFF position.
  4. After about 30 seconds, toggle the switch to turn Bluetooth back ON again.
  5. Wait for a list of available Bluetooth devices to show up.
  6. Select the Bluetooth device that you want to pair with your iPhone.
  7. If prompted, enter the correct passcode. The default Bluetooth password set by manufacturers of Bluetooth devices are usually 0000 and 1234

You can try these codes if you don’t know the passcode on your Bluetooth device. Otherwise, just enter the correct passcode if you already have it. Also make sure that the device you’re pairing with your iPhone is set to Pairing mode. 

Third solution: Use Airplane Mode trick to fix Bluetooth pairing problem on your iPhone 11.

Another simple old trick that has been proven by many iPhone owners to work wonders when it comes to resolving Bluetooth errors and other wireless connectivity issues is the so-called Airplane mode trick. It works by giving a simultaneously restart on the phone’s wireless radios and thereby eliminates any existing flaws that caused various types of connection errors. If you with to give it a try, then here’s how it’s done:

iphone 11 bluetooth not working
  1. Tap Settings from your Home screen.
  2. Select Airplane Mode.
  3. Tap the switch to turn Airplane Mode on. Doing so simultaneously disables wireless radios of your iPhone.
  4. While Airplane mode is turned on, restart/soft reset your iPhone.
  5. Then head back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu.
  6. Toggle the switch to turn Airplane Mode off again.

Wait for your iPhone to re-establish wireless radios. By then you can start re-enable wireless features, particularly Wi-Fi and Bluetooth so you can retry pairing your device again.

Fourth solution: Remove and re-add your Bluetooth accessory on your iPhone 11.

If you were able to use that same Bluetooth accessory with your iPhone before and then suddenly you can’t pair them, it’s probably because the previous connection has been corrupted. In this case, removing the problematic Bluetooth connection would be necessary. So this is what you should do next:

  1. Start by heading on to your iPhone Settings-> Bluetooth menu and make sure that the Bluetooth switch is enabled so you can view the list of available Bluetooth devices within range.
  2. Select the Bluetooth device that you wish to forget.
  3. Tap the information “i” icon next to the name of the device.
  4. Tap Forget This Device.
  5. If prompted, tap Forget Device to confirm action.

The selected Bluetooth device will then be deleted from the list of available devices. Follow the same steps to forge any other unused Bluetooth devices saved on your iPhone. Doing so will prevent any of these devices from causing conflict or interfering with your current Bluetooth connection.

ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 11 Pro Max that keeps disconnecting from Wi-Fi network

Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone 11.

Another factor you should rule out next if the pairing problem continues is to reset network settings on your iOS device. Doing so will erase all your current network preferences including saved Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth connections. Any associated errors will also be cleared out during the reset. You don’t need to back up files beforehand because it doesn’t affect the internal data stored on your phone’s internal memory. Just follow these steps whenever you’re ready:

iphone 11 bluetooth not working
  1. From your Home screen, tap Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Scroll down to and tap on Reset.
  4. Select Reset Network Settings from the given options.
  5. Enter your device passcode if prompted to continue.
  6. Then tap Reset Network Settings again to confirm that you want to reset network settings on your phone.

Your iPhone will then instigate the reset and then reboots when done. As soon as it’s finished rebooting, you can re-enable Bluetooth then retry pairing your iPhone with your Bluetooth accessory to see if the pairing is successful already. 

Last resort: Reset your iPhone and Bluetooth accessory to factory defaults.

If none of the previous methods worked and your iPhone 11 still cannot pair with your Bluetooth accessory, you can troubleshoot further and execute a full system reset. Should you wish to troubleshoot further, then your next option would be to factory reset your iPhone 11 and reset your Bluetooth accessory to its factory defaults. This should wipe any complex system errors that might have prevented your devices from pairing. But you have to note though that a factory reset on your iPhone also results in permanent data loss. If you think it’s worth a shot, then you may go ahead and back up your iPhone data before performing these subsequent steps. Otherwise, consider other options.

iphone 11 bluetooth not working
  1. From the Home screen, tap Settings.
  2. Tap General from the given options.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen then tap on Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
  5. If prompted with a warning message, tap on Erase iPhone to proceed.
  6. Enter your passcode to continue.
  7. Tap Erase iPhone twice to confirm.

To reset your Bluetooth accessory, refer to the user guide that came with it and follow the given steps on how to do the reset.

ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone X AirDrop that stopped working in iOS 13, cannot transfer files via AirDrop

Still having Bluetooth pairing problem on your iPhone 11?

Try to determine whether or not the problem is isolated to the Bluetooth accessory that you’re trying to pair with your iPhone 11. If you’ve got another Bluetooth device that’s compatible with or supported by iOS 13, try pairing it with your iPhone and see if the pairing process is successful. If your iPhone is able to pair with your other Bluetooth device, that means the previous device was the problem and not with your iPhone. In that case, you can switch to other alternative brands that serve the same purpose and are able to work with your iOS device. If your iPhone cannot pair with any Bluetooth devices, escalate the problem to Apple Support for further recommendations. There might be some complex iOS flaws that caused your iPhone 11’s Bluetooth feature to fail or stop working.

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