Top 5 Fixes for iPhone Cannot Find Bluetooth Device Issues

Bluetooth is the most common and most advanced connection medium between smartphones and accessories, peripherals and other wireless devices for many reasons. Despite how easy it is to connect your iPhone to a game controller, smartwatch, or listening devices, some Bluetooth pairing issues can sometimes interfere with the operation.

Let’s say you are trying to connect your iPhone to the AirPods or home theater soundbar system, but you cannot find the Bluetooth device in your phone’s Bluetooth settings menu. What do you do? There is a lot you can do as there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. In the next sections, we’ll outline 5 troubleshooting solutions for this issue.

We recommend that you perform some basic preliminary troubleshooting checks and actions before changing your device’s settings and configurations. First, make sure the Bluetooth device and your iPhone are nearby. Apple recommends that both devices be within 10 meters (~33 feet) of each other.

Second, check that AirPlane mode is disabled on your device. You can also turn off your iPhone’s Bluetooth, re-enable it, and try pairing the Bluetooth device again. If nothing changes after doing these, try the following.

Note: The solutions in this guide can also be applied to a similar problem on iPads if your iPad cannot find a Bluetooth device.

1. Restart the Bluetooth Device

Sometimes the problem isn’t your iPhone. But instead, it’s the Bluetooth device in question. Like smartphones, tablets, and PCs, electronic Bluetooth devices and accessories experience glitches that occasionally cause them to malfunction. If your iPhone cannot find or connect to a Bluetooth device, restart/reset the device and try again. Likewise, you should make sure that the Bluetooth device in question is turned on or fully charged, set to pairing mode, and ready to connect to your iPhone.

If the Bluetooth device is connected to another phone, tablet or PC, it may not appear in your iPhone’s settings menu. So, restart the Bluetooth device and pair it with your iPhone immediately when it turns back on.

2. Restart iPhone

Press and hold the side button and the volume up/volume down button at the same time for about 2 seconds. Move the ‘slide to power off’ slider to the right to turn off your iPhone. For iPhones with home button/Touch ID, press and hold the side button until the slider appears. Move it to the right and wait for your device to turn off.

Turn on your iPhone (hold the side button until the Apple logo appears) and try to pair the Bluetooth device again.

3. Forget Other Devices

In a situation where there are other Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone at the same time, disconnect them and try to pair the new device. Also, if you have too many (inactive) Bluetooth devices registered in your iPhone’s connection history, remove a few and try again.

Stage 1: Go to the iPhone Bluetooth settings menu (Settings > Bluetooth).

Step 2: In My devices, tap the info (i) icon next to a Bluetooth device.

Stage 3: Select ‘Forget This Device’ and press Forget Device at the prompt.

4. Reset Network Settings

If none of the solutions suggested above fix the problem, you may need to reset your iPhone’s network settings. By doing this, you restore your device’s network configurations to their default state, just like when you bought them new. This will restore your iPhone’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular connections and other related settings to factory defaults. But most importantly, this process will fix device-related hangs that cause your iPhone not to recognize Bluetooth devices.

Before we continue, take a moment to read our comprehensive guide explaining what happens when you reset network settings on iPhone. Or bookmark the address and read it later.

Stage 1: Go to the iPhone Settings menu and select General.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Reset.

Stage 3: Tap on ‘Reset Network Settings’.

Step 4: Enter your iPhone’s passcode and choose “Reset Network Settings” at the prompt.

5. Update iOS

Each iOS version has its own issues affecting certain device functions. If your iPhone cannot find Bluetooth devices, the problem may be caused by an iOS-related bug. The best way to fix this is to update your iPhone and ensure it always stays up to date. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and hit the ‘Download & Install’ button.

Contact Device Manufacturers

By manufacturers we mean Apple and the manufacturer of the Bluetooth device. But before contacting the latter, try to connect the affected Bluetooth device to other smartphones (preferably an iPhone or iPad). If other iPhones also cannot find the Bluetooth device, you should contact the manufacturer’s support team. The device is malfunctioning, possibly due to physical damage or factory defects. And if the problem is specific to your smartphone, contact Apple Support or take your iPhone to the nearest Apple Store.

Next: Getting a Call Failed error while making a call or in the middle of an ongoing call? Read the article linked below to find out how to fix the problem.