Volvo XC60 Bluetooth Problems

juxta

I just got a myTouch 4G from T-Mobile and although it connects though Bluetooth, it immediately disconnects after a few seconds. My old cell phone connected just fine.

T-Mobile blames Volvo. Where do you think the problem lies? I'm guessing the 4G phone has new features related to Bluetooth so perhaps the car's Bluetooth software needs updating? You'd think the new phone would be backward compatible but oh well.

My XC60's Bluetooth version is 5.00.17L. Looking at the Volvo's Bluetooth page, the compatibility test dates are mostly October 2010 so it seems the vehicle's Bluetooth may need an update (the myTouch 4G won't connect to a 2011 Audi Q5 either).

http://www.volvocars.com/us/sales-services/sales/soundandnavigation/bluetooth/pa- ges/default.aspx

I sent an email to Volvo customer service asking them to do a Bluetooth software update that supports new 4G phones (if that's the problem).

So I'm guessing whenever I go in for service I just ask if there are any software updates? Has anyone gotten any kind of software update for a 2010 or 2011 yet? Just wondering about the experience. Thanks.

juxta

I just heard back from Volvo, North America. Volvo doesn't do Bluetooth upgrades. But they will send info to the phone's manufacturer or service provider for them to do an upgrade to the phone. I was told this was done for the iPhone 4G.

Volvo customer care asked that I email them the phone's model number and software version numbers.

So if your phone doesn't have correct/full compatibility with your car's Bluetooth, send Volvo an email and they will try to work to the get phone updated. T-Mobile was fairly useless in getting the problem solved.

idmd

My guess is that the BT hardware in the car is going to always be "fixed" as is from the factory. The part that can be changed is the software on the phone. Much like MS struggles to keep drivers up-to-date for every peripheral out there cell phone manufacturers struggle to keep compatibility with all the BT hardware installed in cars. I'm new to Volvo but my 2010 Acura was always spotty with BT on my latest generation iPhone. Seems like every other update broke or fixed the issue.

juxta

I found out my problem. It's a silly work around - always deny access to the phone book.

After pairing the car and the phone, I get a prompt on the phone that says "Allow XC60 to access the phonebook?" If I hit no, it prompts again and I hit no again. Then they disconnect. But when I try to connect again on the car and again hit no on the phone when prompted to access the phonebook, everything works fine. The phone book is accessible, and I can make and receive calls handfree.

idmd, you're right. My wife's older phone's BT is compatible on both the Volvo and Audi so it is not a problem with the cars. I called T-mobile last week and they still hadn't fixed the problem, and ridiculously gave me the number to HTC's customer service. Really? You'd think fixing problems with their service would something T-mobile folks would handle, not me. Anyway I searched the internet and found the workaround above.

carbuyer140

Just took delivery one week ago (T6 Platinum, BLIS, Tech, Silver). So nice to drive...makes my 66 mile roundtrip commute fly by. But just the day before yesterday for the first time, my phonebook failed to load. Then again yesterday. I see forum discussions re: bluetooth issues. Anyone else using the Blackberry Torch 9850?

juxta

I just installed a large update to my cell phone and the Bluetooth now works with the car with no problems. My phone connects, disconnects and reconnects via Bluetooth with no problems.

It's pretty sorry that it took T-Mobile 10 months to completely roll out a fix.

newyorkonly

I have a 2011 XC60 and a new Verizon Pantech Breakout 4G. It pairs up with the BT but connection drops after synching. Haven't been able to make one call. It never holds a connection. After spending over 40G on a car you'd think it would work with whatever the new phones would have.

juxta

It's Verizon's fault! After an Andriod 2.3.4 upgrade my phone worked perfectly with the 2011 XC60 and the 2011 Audi Q5.

Make sure to bother Verizon a bit about your problem.

Also in the mean time, if you haven't already, try denying access to the phone book as I mentioned early in this thread. Dumb work around but that's the only thing I could do.

newyorkonly1

Thank you for answering my post. I just saw it. What do I tell verizon when I phone them? I read your post about the phone book but I never entered any of it in the system on the car.

juxta

I let T-Mobile know that the Bluetooth on my phone wasn't connecting properly to both my vehicles when my previous phone worked with both vehicles. I asked T-Mobile if there was an update coming but they didn't have any information.

There's not really much to do except complain and they'll make a note of it. Most likely they'll do nothing and your Bluetooth won't connect until there's a major upgrade to your phone or until you buy a new phone.

newyorkonly1

I went to verizon and it was fixed. Apparently I was doing something wrong. On the phone where you turn on bluetooth below that there is something that says bluetooth settings...go into that and there is another item all the way at the bottom that says "my car"l...that was saying paired but not connecting....it had to be clicked. Now it works.

oldjim3

I have not had any difficulty pairing my phones with the car's Bluetooth implementation but the functionality is very poor. I have determined that Volvo is still installing an old version of the Bluetooth software that does not support several current Bluetooth features.

The most problematic of the shortcomings is the lack of hands free support. All phone functions require you to press a switch or turn a knob on the car's console no matter what the phone is capable of doing.

Voice dialing is not supported at all unless you install the ~$2500 Volvo Navigation System. Navigating the address book by hand requires multiple steps and long views of the display screen. This is very cumbersome in the best of situations, and makes initiating a call while driving totally illegal in California.

jms914

My iphone5 has been working perfectly with the bluetooth in my car until this morning - all of a sudden the car shows that the iphone is connected but the phone itself says that it's not paired with any vehicle. I tried turning the phone off and on and that didn't do anything. I believe this is a problem with the car, not the phone, because nothing in the bluetooth menu on the car is working properly at all. It won't even let me uninstall the phone - when I go to the menu and try to do this, the screen just goes back to the home screen with the name of my phone. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ciaram22

Have driven both cars and each has their pros and cons, but the volvo seems to win. I tend to drive my cars to the ground (200k). Which car do you think would last longer or at least make it to 200k?

woodinva

Our Volvo XC60 2010 AWD pairs up fine to a 3G LG OCTANE Verizon phone and a Plantronics headset. But it was not made for BT y upgrades into 4G. Think you need a 2014 Volvo to match up with 2014 phones. Also our cars are made in Europe. What is to say they will match to USA phone systems anyway?