My iPhone 11 Won’t Connect To Bluetooth! Here’s The Fix.

It’s important to back up your iPhone before doing any major restores (such as a DFU restore). If something goes wrong while you’re trying to fix your iPhone, having a back up means you won’t lose any of your data (such as contacts, photos, apps, and more). Restoring from a back up is a lot more convenient than having to go and reenter all the information that was saved on your iPhone.

There are a few different ways to back up your iPhone:

Backup Your iPhone Using iCloud

1. If you have a WiFi connection, you can back up your iPhone using iCloud.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap on Your Name at the top of the screen.
4. Tap iCloud.
5. Scroll down and tap on iCloud Backup.
6. Make sure the switch next to iCloud Backup is on. You’ll know the switch is on when the switch is green.
7. Tap Back Up Now.
8. A status bar will appear to tell you how much time is remaining.

Backup Your iPhone Using iTunes

1. Plug the Lightning connector on your Lightning cable (charging cable) into the Lightning port on your iPhone.
2. Plug the other end of your Lightning cable into a USB port on your computer.
3. Open iTunes on your computer.
4. Click on the iPhone icon in the upper left hand corner of iTunes.
5. Click the circle next to “iCloud” or “This computer” to select whether you want to backup your iPhone to iCloud or your computer.
6. Click Back Up Now to backup your iPhone.
7. When the backup is complete, you’ll see the time and date updated under Latest Backup.

Backup Your iPhone Using Finder (Macs Running Catalina 10.15 or newer)

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a charging cable.
2. Open Finder.
3. Click on your iPhone under Locations.
4. Click the circle next to Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
5. Click Back Up Now.
6. When the backup is complete, you’ll see the time and date updated under Latest Backup.

When your iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device for the first time, it saves information about how to connect to that network or device. If something changes with that process, it may cause connectivity issues.

Deep software problems, especially with network settings, can be difficult to track down. Rather than trying to track an issue down, we’re going to reset all network settings and give your iPhone a fresh start.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General.
3. Scroll down and tap Transfer Or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Tap Reset Network Settings.
6. Enter your passcode if prompted.
7. Your iPhone will shut down, reset, and turn itself on again when the reset is complete.

Turning Bluetooth off and back on again is sometimes enough to fix minor connectivity issues between your iPhone and Bluetooth devices.

There are three ways to turn Bluetooth off and back on:

In The Settings App

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Tap the green switch next to Bluetooth to turn it off. You’ll know Bluetooth is off when the switch is gray.
4. Tap the switch again to turn Bluetooth back on. You’ll the Bluetooth is on when the switch turns green.

In Control Center

1. Open Control Center by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen (iPhones without Face ID) or down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen (iPhones with Face ID).
2. Tapap the Bluetooth icon, which looks like a “B” made of triangles. You’ll know Bluetooth is off when the icon is black with a gray background.
3. To turn Bluetooth back on, tap the Bluetooth icon once again. You’ll know Bluetooth is on when the icon is white with a blue background.

Using Siri

1. Open Siri by pressing and holding the Home button (iPhones without Face ID) or the side button (iPhones with Face ID) until Siri appears, or by saying, “Hey Siri.”
2. To turn off Bluetooth, say, “Turn off Bluetooth.”
3. To turn Bluetooth back on, say, “Turn on Bluetooth.”

Restarting your iPhone 11 lets all of its programs shut down naturally and get a fresh start when you turn it on again. This can often fix minor software glitches.

1. Simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button.
2. Swipe the red power icon from left to right to shut down your iPhone 11.
3. Press and hold the side button to turn your iPhone 11 on again.

A DFU restore is the last troubleshooting step you can take to rule out a software problem on your iPhone.

Watch our step-by-step DFU restore guide on YouTube, or follow the steps below:

1. Plug your iPhone in a computer.
2. Open iTunes (on PCs or Macs running macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier) or Finder (Macs running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer).
3. Press and release the volume up button.
4. Press and release the volume down button.
5. Press and hold the side button until your iPhone’s display goes black.
6. When the screen turns black, press and hold the volume down button while continuing to hold the side button.
7. Hold both buttons for five seconds.
8. After five seconds, release the side button, but continue to hold the volume down button.
9. Release the volume down button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
10. Your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder, it’s in DFU mode!
11. Click Restore and follow the on-screen prompts to DFU restore your iPhone.

When you have trouble connecting your iPhone to a Bluetooth device, you can diagnose whether the problem is coming from your iPhone or the Bluetooth device by attempting to pair your iPhone with a different Bluetooth device. If your iPhone connects to one device but not the other, then you’ve identified that the connectivity issue is being caused by the particular Bluetooth device, not your iPhone.

1. To pair your iPhone to a different Bluetooth device, make sure your iPhone has Bluetooth turned on and your Bluetooth device is in pairing mode.
2. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
3. Tap Bluetooth.
4. Under My Devices, tap the Bluetooth device you want to connect to.
5. If the Bluetooth device and your iPhone paired properly, your original connectivity issue was being caused by the other Bluetooth device.

When your iPhone forgets a Bluetooth device, it will be as if the two devices were never connected. Next time you pair the Bluetooth with your iPhone, it will be like pairing the devices for the first time, giving the connection a fresh start.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Tap on the blue “i” next to the Bluetooth device you want to forget.
4. Tap Forget This Device.
5. Tap Forget Device.
6. You’ll know the device has been forgotten when it doesn’t appear under Devices in Bluetooth.

Turn pairing mode off and back on again on your Bluetooth device can sometimes fix minor software glitches and connectivity issues between your Bluetooth device and iPhone.

1. Press and hold the Bluetooth pairing button or switch on your Bluetooth device until the device comes out of pairing mode.
2. To put the device back in pairing mode, press and hold the Bluetooth pairing mode button.

Apple repairs iPhones at the Genius Bar in Apple Stores and through their online mail-in repair service. Apple repairs are high-quality, but out-of-warranty repairs can be much more expensive than third-party solutions. If you’re looking to save some money you’re not covered by Apple’s warranty, you may want to check out our other recommendations.

How To Repair Your iPhone With Apple’s Mail-In Service

1. Visit Apple’s support website to begin the online mail-in repair process.
2. Alternatively, call 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) to set up a repair.

How To Repair Your iPhone At The Genius Bar Inside Your Local Apple Store

1. Visit Apple’s website to make a Genius Bar appointment before you go into the store. Apple Stores are extremely busy, and if you don’t have an appointment, you may have to wait for hours or end up being turned away. (Editor’s note: I’m a former Apple tech and we’re not exaggerating — please, do yourself a favor and make an appointment first!)
2. When you arrive, go to the Genius Bar to check in for your appointment.
3. Genius Bar appointments always include free diagnosis. If you’re under warranty, many repairs can be done on the spot, but it all depends upon which parts are in stock. If you’re not under warranty, the Genius will give you a quote for the cost of a repair.