How to fix Kia Bluetooth connection problems
Technology is a wonderful thing, but there is nothing more frustrating than when it stops working. This is especially the case in the car. Not only is malfunctioning technology annoying, it can also potentially be dangerous. One common complaint we hear has to do with Bluetooth. If you’re experiencing dropped calls or general connection problems, we are here to help. There are a number of things you can do to fix your Kia’s Bluetooth and correctly sync your smartphone to it. These include disconnecting and then reconnecting, using a fully charged device, clearing clutter away from the vehicle’s dashboard and double-checking your USB and AUX cables.
What to do if Kia drops calls
First thing’s first. Double-check to make sure your smartphone or other electronic device is compatible with your Kia. If all is good there, then double-check the AUX or USB cable you are using. Try these cables in a different vehicle to make sure both work and also check for any tears in the plastic. A bad cable could be the source of your issues. If it’s not, try these other solutions.
Read More: How to connect your smartphone to Kia’s Bluetooth system
- Keep your smartphone close to your Kia’s audio system
- Try disconnecting all devices from the Kia and permanently remove all from the vehicle’s infotainment system. You will want to only connect one electronic device at a time. Any other devices not in use should have the Bluetooth turned off to avoid connection issues. Turn Bluetooth off on your smartphone and your Kia. Then restart the vehicle and your electronic device. Once both are restarted, enable Bluetooth on both and try connecting again.
- Remove all clutter, including coins and pens, from the area near the Kia’s infotainment system to help maximize the Bluetooth signal between the vehicle and your smartphone.
- Make sure your smartphone is fully charged. When it’s low on battery it will put out a weak Bluetooth signal, which in turn can cause problems, such as dropped calls.
How did it go? Are you still having issues connecting your smartphone? Contact our team of experts! We can help you troubleshoot. From all of us at Matt Castrucci Kia, we look forward to speaking with you.
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My Kia will receive calls but just keeps saying pardon or randomly dialing numbers when I try to make a call…any suggestions appreciated
My media button will not display my Bluetooth mode, until I turn everything off then back on.
The Bluetooth then will not stay connected to my phone. In other words I connect/pair my iPhone, select pandora or YouTube the music play through car speakers as it have always done so, then in less than 2 mins it flips off and the Bluetooth disconnect on its own. Help this is so frustrating
Mine is doing the same! And I found your comment when googling the problem. I updated my iPhone with recent updates and was wondering if it was the update or my Kia
I updated my iPhone recently as well and I was wondering the same thing. Maybe we should attempt connecting another device and check how the newly connected device performs.
My Bluetooth keeps saying not ready and I’ve turned it off and on but it still says not ready
My phone/Kia is doing the same (connecting and quickly disconnecting) and it started after the newest IOS update to my iPhone. Anyone know how to fix it? Or are we stuck waiting for a new update that doesn’t have the same issue? Ughhhh
I was having the same issue with my Kia Rio not pairing my iPhone 7 since the new IOS 13.1.3 update. Connecting then quickly disconnecting, then getting an unsupported message. I tried deleting the device from my car, turning my phone on and off again… nothing. Looked it up online and found this… re-set the network settings on your iPhone (Settings > General > Reset Network Connections), delete all devices from both car and iPhone and re-pair the device with your car. It worked for me! 🙂
My iPhone 11 pro max won’t be able to connect Bluetooth on my Kia, I did follow the instructions and still won’t work 🙁
Mine is doing the same thing did anyone figure it out
Same problem. Since the last update my Kia won’t stay connected to my iPhone. Anyone have any solutions? Do we just wait for the next update?
How do I delete all contacts from the 2015 KIA Soul on Bluetooth? When I originally paired my new smartphone contacts with KIA Bluetooth it only captured 3 of 34 contacts. I have talked to KIA and cell phone provider without success in resolving the issue. I’ve tried everything suggested but nothing works.
I have a 2013 Optima EX, Bluetooth stopped working. Looked on web, small button next to volume button, look hard doesn’t look like a button. Pushed with tiny tooth pick, and reset uvo.
Same issues since upgrading to iOS 13 on my iPhone 7. 2016 Kia Soul +.
My iPhone 8 has also started misbehaving in my Kia – the bluetooth connection keeps dropping out. I have tried the turn off/reset steps, which hasn’t helped. It connects (and stays connected and streams just fine) to devices other than my Kia, so I am suspecting the car itself, not the phone. Any suggestions, Matt?
I am having the same issue got to connect my blue tooth each time I start the car as it disconnect when I shut off the car. whether if it’s 5 minutes or 24 hours it disconnect each time.
I have a flip-phone I can not get my Bluetooth to work it says I need a passkey but I don not know it
when i get in my car, my phone starts dialing the same number, as soon as i hang up, it calls it again. even if i’m on the phone with the person of the number that the car/phone is dialing, it will continue to call. it does it about 12 to 15 times in a row. i have to turn off my radio to get it to stop. any ideas?
My samsung a50 phone is paired with my Kia. it has always worked until now. All my contacts are downloaded successfully but when I receive a phone call it transfers the call to my handset. Please help.
I purchased a Kia Sorrento LXS 2020 last week and I can not make any calls using the hands-Free feature, I was able to connect my phone via Bluetooth with no problems and I had it connected via Android phone as well but when I tried to make a call using a voice command while pressing the “speak/mic” button that s in the driving wheel next to the Volume controls and I say a command like ” Call __________” is not doing anything!
If I want to call someone I have to look in the address book of the LCD screen and press manually the name I need to call, what’s the point of having Bluetooth connection when you can not use the Hands-Free feature?
Bonjour
Pour ma part le Bluetooth fonctionne 1 fois sur 10. C est à dire, lorsque j appuie sur paramètre et ensuite sur la touche Bluetooth, celle ci ne fonctionne pas donc je ne peux même pas essayer de mettre mon téléphone en Bluetooth
I paired my iPhone 11 Pro to my new Kia Proceed 2020, and it keeps disconnecting and then reconnecting and then disconnecting and so on. Very frustrating. Any one know what to do.
I have same problem with music via Bluetooth. I interupt song like 5 to 10 Times per song. So anoying.
I have a 2013 Kia Soul. I bought it new in 2013. My new android cell worked with my car’s bluetooth until this month. Now it always says “pairing failed” my cell is no longer able to be paired with my car bluetooth. My cell no longer lists Kia Soul or anything in its list of things able to be paired so all I can do now is use the speaker on my cell not my bluetooth
I have the same issue, its like KIA has just vanished when trying to locate
I have the same problem as Peegy Laso #23 with one exception. When trying different things i got voice prompts at a very low volume, but I dont know exactly what i did to get them. keep in mind im using bluetooth only no usb cable connected.
HI,
My kia dials the phone but never connects the call and then it drops it. Any suggestions?
I can’t stream music on my Sportage 2015, only I’m able to do and receive calls. This issues is new, one week ago it worked fine.
I have a 2013 kia sorento. My Bluetooth connects but only works for calls. It won’t let me turn on the audio.
so the display screen says what it is playing on Bluetooth but no sound…
Tried disconnecting etc…
any ideas??
J’ai le même problème avec une Kia Forte 2010 depuis quelques semaines. La composition avec bluetooth se fait mais l’appel ne s’achemine pas avec un iPhone 6s et un nouveau iPhone 7. Je ne peux donc pas faire d’appels, cependant je peux en recevoir. J’aimerais bien savoir comment régler ce problème contrariant. J’ai passé des heures au téléphone avec mon fournisseur de service et avec Apple sans résultat.
My 2015 Kia is doing the same it plays for a bit then disconnects I have to go back disconnect from car setup and reconnect 😫
I have a Kia Optima LX under the list of phone connections, shows a phone icon with lightning bolt beside a name. What does this mean?
My 2010 kia forte coupe dials the phone but never connects the call and then it drops it. I have an iphone SE. I’ve tried disconnecting and reconnecting but it still just dials the call and then drops it. It worked perfectly up until about 2 months ago. Please help?
Sharon, my car is doing the same thing. 2010 Kia Forte Koup. Have you seen any replies? I think mine started about 3 months ago.
Your a miracle worker. Thank you
I cant call on my Kia ceed 2015 just usualy… I ment is in Bluetooth but i dont know… if i tap on button call (e.g.) Mom, Nothing happend… If i turn off and then turn on Bluetooth It will call 1 time please help me…
My KIA Sorento Bluetooth works fine with phone calls but when I try to connect Pandora from my iPhone there’s no sound.
I have a 2015 Sorento with the standard uvo. I had a Samsung S8+, and the Bluetooth kept crashing when I was connected to the car. I figured it was the phone. I did everything, formatted a few times ,cleared the dalvic cache, nothing worked. I got a new S20 5G. Same thing. I sat in the car troubleshooting this because it was pissing me off. Bluetooth just kept crashing on the phone. I found that it was message access that was causing it. I disabled message access and it works fine now, but obviously I cannot listen to texts while I drive. I can live with that. The other thing that pisses me off is that there was never a single update to my uvo. I checked every time I brought it to the dealer for an oil change. The my car zone was never activated. When I bought it, they told me the update to activate it would be coming soon.
I got a new cp Samsung20+ 5G and contacts can’t be downloaded to my Sorento 2019. I got Seltos2021 recently and contacts were immediately downloaded. Please advise.
Just had to add in…after reading about the messages and contacts not working with Bluetooth in my 2015 Kia optima, I tried it. It totally worked. Thank you for posting this! I was going crazy sitting in my car for hours!!
Patrick, did you ever find out what happened to your Bluetooth? I just got a 2020 Forte and it has no handsfree bluetooth also. My Sportage, 2 years older, I just said Call Ed. Now I have to go to a screen, pick contacts, then pick Ed’s number. What a pain. I’ve been though every manual, and searched everywhere on the internet.
I have a 2013 kia sportage.i have installed my Samsung j3 phone and it works fine until I switch the car off.when I put the ignition back on the phone does not connect. It’s as if the phone is not saved
How do I download my new contacts in my Kia Optimum 2018.
My Kia ex sorento2005 I can not connect my Bluetooth with my I phone you have any idea please
Hi. I have a kia ceed 2011 with bt
I, have no problem connecting my android device to Bluetooth, i can play music and answering calls easy with the wheel buttons.
The problem is when I try to make a phone call.
I press call and then it just switches to BT to radio, and it gets on headset or speaker. I have to manually switch to phone headset to BT car again.
Anyone know any solution?
I can connect my phone by BT and answer phone calls but it won’t disconnect from the call even after I have hung up. Only way to fix it is disconnect Bluetooth which isn’t safe while driving.
Any solutions??
I have never been as disappointed in Kia’s Dealership’s neglect to respond to all the numerous concerns of customer complaints that they are unable to use their BLUETOOTH HANDS-FREE calling!
I purchased a new 2020 Kia Sportage with the safety features. Not imagining! I should have been questioning the availability & importance of a functional HANDS-FREE phone!
Neither mic’s are responsive to making a call! If I want to call someone I have to look in the address book of the LCD screen and press manually the name I need to call. And as a senior this is unacceptable.
Hands free works. But can’t play my music from iPhone. Radio is stuck on Sirius.
2019 Sorento – about three weeks ago, I no longer hear audio from the distant end of the phone call. They can hear me, but I can no longer hear them, but I am able to switch the call over to my phone vice the bluetooth. Restarting the phone did not correct issue.
Any advice.
I am having the exact same issue! My phone has always connected to my Bluetooth until a few weeks ago. I can still play music from my phone to the car but it will not pick up any calls. So frustrating and that fact that no one seems to reply to these complaints or questions. Typical Kia