Apple Watch Causes Bluetooth Interference

I think Apple is making excuses here by saying they don’t have enough reports to fix it. Fairly certain nearly every iPhone and Apple Watch is going through the exact same thing.

There’s definitely no lack of complaints online about it.

I have tried all of these methods, including updating software on all devices and vehicles, and also spent a few hours with Apple Support over the phone to troubleshoot this issue. Unfortunately, nothing has resolved this issue, and they do not have enough reports of this issue to warrant an update/fix.

Furthermore, airplane mode does not resolve my issue. Only turning off bluetooth on my Apple Watch Series 8 resolves the skipping/slow down/speed up issue. If only bluetooth on/off was an option in the quick menu, this would at least save me some time from having to go into the app view > settings menu > bluetooth > bluetooth off... each time I climb into my car.

Believe I have a fix for this, was having exact time issue playing music Bluetooth or otherwise extremely annoying bumping your tunes to have it distorted.

in your watch settings under auto-launch, only one setting option for me called Auto-launch audio apps turn that off. As well as well as disabling Handoff !

fixed my issue good luck …thank you.

@Chartaylors -

I tried your formula and unfortunately it didn't work. My music still skips/speeds up. I have a iPhone 11, Apple watch series 7 and my car is a Subaru Ascent 2021. Putting the watch on Airplane mode is my only current workaround. Lame.

Unfortunately it's not only Apple. I have an iPhone and a non-Apple watches. Same annoying problem. Same workaround: turning off BT on the watches. It holds me from buying an Apple Watch. So far it has been noticed only in my car (Golf 7, 2016). Headphones and external speakers behave normally. I've also read other reports from Android users - same problem.

Nevertheless, I believe that Apple has to look into it even if it is a generic Bluetooth protocol or compatibility issue since they are very much aware of the standard implementation and its limitations.

If a phone (especially a pricey one) can't keep stable A2DP+HFP connection in parallel with just one-two more BT connections, it definitely looks like a problem in 2023, doesn't it?

Also experiencing the same issue in my 2019 Subaru Outback. No problem at all when it was just the 13 pro max, but once I got the Apple Watch series 8, it has been having issues nonstop until I disable Bluetooth on the Apple Watch. Very frustrating for an expensive piece of hardware.

I also have this issue however only only when using party boost to connect my my JBL Boombox2 and Charge5. I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 7. Never even hear of this issue until I recently purchased my second speaker and tried to connect them together. All other Bluetooth devices worked perfectly like my car Bluetooth. However with the two speakers they kept cutting out until I tuned off Apple Watch Bluetooth. This really sucks because it is really annoying to have to always turn off my Apple Watch just to be able to listen to music.

This audio issue was so annoying to me that I stopped wearing my watch. I finally googled today to look for a solution. Thanks for this tip. I did find a shortcut by just saying "Hey Siri - turn off bluetooth" to my watch and it did for me.

Still annoying since we likely need bluetooth on our watches for other things to work...

I too have been experiencing this ever since getting an apple watch ~ 2 years ago.

Any Bluetooth audio device I connect to will result in a distorted connection with the volume decreasing for 1-2 seconds every 10-15 seconds.

I have tried alternative speakers, headphones and headsets and this issue consistently occurs no matter how close my phone is to the speaker or headphones.

The only way to make it stop is to turn off my watch, or put it into aeroplane mode - very frustrating!

Hoping someone can sort this issue out ASAP - but it seems from the history of this question, Apple likes to ignore this.....

I have a Mercedes B200 from 2011. When I talk on the phone via Bluetooth on my car audio system from my iPhone 8, the sound often cuts out. If I put my Apple Watch Series 8 in airplane mode, the problem goes away immediately. All of this has been happening since I bought an Apple Watch Series 8 and never before.

My iPhone 8 and Apple Watch 8 are always updated to the latest iOS or watchOS available.

I just purchased my second JBL charge five speaker in order to use party boost and get stereo sound. Had a real hard time just connecting. The second speaker- would not work even though both speakers were connected through my iPhone 11 Bluetooth. After reading of bluetooth interference issues here I turned off my Apple Watch 8 and was able to finally connect the two speakers together, leaving the watch off I do not experience cut out, but if I turn it on, I absolutely cannot listen to these speakers due to the distorted nature and chop and in and out nature of the music. Very frustrating needs to be fixed apple please adjust I’m not the only one.

This is an old thread but I wanted to weigh in with my experience. I have a 2011 E550 Mercedes Benz, iPhone 12 Pro Max and Apple Watch 8. I also have the exact same problem as of today (14th Sep 2023)

The audio, if it even connects, stutters. If I turn the watch to air plane mode, it works perfectly.

I have tried resetting both Apple products and deleting and reestablishing the BT connection to the car.

Nothing has worked.

I have no problem with any audio streaming when connected to my 2016 Silverado via Car Play wirelessly (I have a dongle), but when connected via BT without Car Play, it too has the same problem. The difference is, Car Play uses WiFi

Turning on airplane mode on my watch has helped the majority of the time. It is very annoying to have to turn it on every time I want to stream music to my jeep’s uconnect system, but that is the solution I have found.

I’m having this issue when using the party up feature of my Ultimate Ears Hyperboom speakers.

iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 17.4.1

Apple Watch + Cellular series 7, Watch O.S 10.4

Yes I have Spotify. Have to put iWatch Bluetooth off. But going to try your fix.

I have the same issue ONLY in my vehicle, no where else. Thanks for tip.