Can't connect Samsung phone to bluetooth. Extremely frustrated

[Seek14]

Hello, I have a 2018 Genesis G80 Sport. Totally love the car.! This is my 3rd Genesis. My previous 2 were both 2015 Genesis ultimates. I have had multiple Samsung phones over the years and none of them would connect through Bluetooth. All of my phones connect easily to and other device, vehicle, etc. with no issue whatsoever. Right now I have a Galaxy s10+ and my wife has the Note 20. Neither phone will connect. They didn't connect to the 2015 either.
Here is what happens: when I try to connect, it recognizes the phone right away and connects briefly. Then, it asks if I want to allow contact download, which I allow. A few seconds after it says contacts downloading, the screen says `disconnecting`. The phone disconnects, then goes into an endless cycle of connecting and disconnecting. Same exact thing happened to my 2 other genesis. My kids have iphones and they connect with no issue whatsoever. I am an android guy and don't want to change. Since it happened on all 3 cars, its more than a coincidence. It can't just be me. Has anyone else had this issue? Any help or guidance please? I am even having an issue with android auto, but I want to get a resolution to this problem first.
Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you. Steve

 

[EdP]

Hello, I have a 2018 Genesis G80 Sport. Totally love the car.! This is my 3rd Genesis. My previous 2 were both 2015 Genesis ultimates. I have had multiple Samsung phones over the years and none of them would connect through Bluetooth. All of my phones connect easily to and other device, vehicle, etc. with no issue whatsoever. Right now I have a Galaxy s10+ and my wife has the Note 20. Neither phone will connect. They didn't connect to the 2015 either.
Here is what happens: when I try to connect, it recognizes the phone right away and connects briefly. Then, it asks if I want to allow contact download, which I allow. A few seconds after it says contacts downloading, the screen says `disconnecting`. The phone disconnects, then goes into an endless cycle of connecting and disconnecting. Same exact thing happened to my 2 other genesis. My kids have iphones and they connect with no issue whatsoever. I am an android guy and don't want to change. Since it happened on all 3 cars, its more than a coincidence. It can't just be me. Has anyone else had this issue? Any help or guidance please? I am even having an issue with android auto, but I want to get a resolution to this problem first.
Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you. Steve

Do you have the lasted software on the car? Just a guess, the S10 was not introduced when your G80 went into production so there could be a compatibility issue.
Unless someone has a definite fix, at least try updating from
www.mapnsoft.com/genesis to be sure you have the latest.

 

[Seek14]

Do you have the lasted software on the car? Just a guess, the S10 was not introduced when your G80 went into production so there could be a compatibility issue.
Unless someone has a definite fix, at least try updating from
www.mapnsoft.com/genesis to be sure you have the latest.

Thank you for responding. How do I perform the update?

 

[EdP]

Thank you for responding. How do I perform the update?

Go to the website. You will need your VIN. If you bought it new in the last 3 years it is free. If not, $25. They will send you and SD card to put in, replacing the existing card. Instructions included.

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[ronflorida3]

I have a similar problem in that my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 never had a problem until I had the car serviced. Now I have to re-connect the phone every time I turn on the car. It stays connected and downloads all the contacts, etc. until I shut the engine off - then I have to start all over again.

 

[ronflorida3]

I've downloaded the new update onto my computer. Is it okay to remove, format, and download the new update onto the old sd card, or should you use a new sd card and keep the older one.

 

[EdP]

I've downloaded the new update onto my computer. Is it okay to remove, format, and download the new update onto the old sd card, or should you use a new sd card and keep the older one.

As long as it is the correct size you should be good. Once you update the old card would be useless anyway.

 

[Don88]

As long as it is the correct size you should be good. Once you update the old card would be useless anyway.

Ed, if I may correct a bit to "almost", "in most cases", or "usually" but one could use the old SD Card to erase the existing data and use the space to store random files for your computer.

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[TinsleyC]

Seek14, that would drive me crazy. I have a 2019 G80 base and the Samsung s10e and have no issues whatsoever with the Bluetooth.

 

[Seek14]

It drives me nuts. 3 Genesis vehicles, multiple Samsung phone, not one will connect. They connect to everything else. So frustrating

 

[Richard Mississauga]

My Samsung S20 connected first time and is totally stable.

A few things to look at - just making some silly guesses here, hopefully one will work:

Is your phone software up to date? Settings/Software Update on the phone.​

​

How many contacts do you have? It might be an issue with the contacts themselves?​

​

Does the phone stay connected if you do NOT upload the contacts?​

​

How many old phones are in the car's memory? I found about six when I got the car and deleted them before connecting.​

​

 

[Seek14]

Software is up to date.
Yes, my phone will stay connected without the contact upload.
It a consolation prize because I don't know who is calling.
I don't believe I have an excessive amount of contacts.

I love this car but this is crazy. Thanks

______________________________

 

[Seek14]

My Samsung S20 connected first time and is totally stable.

A few things to look at - just making some silly guesses here, hopefully one will work:

Is your phone software up to date? Settings/Software Update on the phone.​

​

How many contacts do you have? It might be an issue with the contacts themselves?​

​

Does the phone stay connected if you do NOT upload the contacts?​

​

How many old phones are in the car's memory? I found about six when I got the car and deleted them before connecting.​

​

Software is up to date.
Yes, my phone will stay connected without the contact upload.
It a consolation prize because I don't know who is calling.
I don't believe I have an excessive amount of contacts.
No other phones are in the cars memory.

I love this car but this is crazy. Thanks

 

[ronflorida3]

Same here. The important thing is that I had no phone problems whatsoever before getting the car serviced. When it was returned to me, I noticed, when trying to use the phone, 2 lines of gibberish in place of the name of my phone. I was eventually able to delete those and then install my phone, which dutifully downloaded my contacts, etc. and worked fine - until I turned off the car and when I got back in and started it again, there was no phone shown. I have no phones whatsoever installed, other than when I install my own phone, which uninstalls when I turn off the car.

 

[MrRich4]

The fact that it wouldn't connect to multiple different devices makes me think its an issue with the car's settings or bluetooth radio receiver.

 

[phwill1976]

Hello, I have a 2018 Genesis G80 Sport. Totally love the car.! This is my 3rd Genesis. My previous 2 were both 2015 Genesis ultimates. I have had multiple Samsung phones over the years and none of them would connect through Bluetooth. All of my phones connect easily to and other device, vehicle, etc. with no issue whatsoever. Right now I have a Galaxy s10+ and my wife has the Note 20. Neither phone will connect. They didn't connect to the 2015 either.
Here is what happens: when I try to connect, it recognizes the phone right away and connects briefly. Then, it asks if I want to allow contact download, which I allow. A few seconds after it says contacts downloading, the screen says `disconnecting`. The phone disconnects, then goes into an endless cycle of connecting and disconnecting. Same exact thing happened to my 2 other genesis. My kids have iphones and they connect with no issue whatsoever. I am an android guy and don't want to change. Since it happened on all 3 cars, its more than a coincidence. It can't just be me. Has anyone else had this issue? Any help or guidance please? I am even having an issue with android auto, but I want to get a resolution to this problem first.
Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you. Steve

Hey Steve, yes I had same issue...I had 2015 Genesis not a problem...but I got a 2017 G80 couple months ago and I have an S9 with Tmobile. It did exactly what you described...went back to dealership and they didn't fix it...I had to do some research myself....Turns out there is a Bluetooth list of phones and carriers on Genesis website...and it doesn't have any 5G phones or any Android pass S9 as compatible....So the S20 won't work....My S9 with Tmobile would not stay connected...by a S9 with AT&T did accept contact download...go figure. Any rate, what I did was change the settings to not auto connect and when it asked to download contacts...I said ,"No"....Also in my phone settings under blue tooth I turn off contacts sync..and allow audio and media connection only...Its just a compromise.....It keeps my blue tooth connected, I can play my music etc ...make and receive calls. ..the only problem is that no names display, just the numbers for all calls...but its better than nothing...Oh and the other annoying thing, every time you get it the car it says" Contacts download is beginning...download unsuccessful...do you want to try again.?" I say no...and it goes away. Again, not ideal but it works for now. Again, you have to say No when it ask to download contacts but you also have to turn contacts off in the Bluetooth settings of your phone or it will keep connecting and disconnecting.. Good luck.

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[Trixie86]

Hey Steve, yes I had same issue...I had 2015 Genesis not a problem...but I got a 2017 G80 couple months ago and I have an S9 with Tmobile. It did exactly what you described...went back to dealership and they didn't fix it...I had to do some research myself....Turns out there is a Bluetooth list of phones and carriers on Genesis website...and it doesn't have any 5G phones or any Android pass S9 as compatible....So the S20 won't work....My S9 with Tmobile would not stay connected...by a S9 with AT&T did accept contact download...go figure. Any rate, what I did was change the settings to not auto connect and when it asked to download contacts...I said ,"No"....Also in my phone settings under blue tooth I turn off contacts sync..and allow audio and media connection only...Its just a compromise.....It keeps my blue tooth connected, I can play my music etc ...make and receive calls. ..the only problem is that no names display, just the numbers for all calls...but its better than nothing...Oh and the other annoying thing, every time you get it the car it says" Contacts download is beginning...download unsuccessful...do you want to try again.?" I say no...and it goes away. Again, not ideal but it works for now. Again, you have to say No when it ask to download contacts but you also have to turn contacts off in the Bluetooth settings of your phone or it will keep connecting and disconnecting.. Good luck.

FYI, Samsung S7 connected in Mar on my 20 G80 Sport

 

[MrRich4]

I have a Samsung S20 with 5G and do not have the issues you guys are experiencing.
The 5G (theoretically) shouldn't have anything to do with Bluetooth connectivity, but I also turn OFF my 5g receiver since the speeds are slower than LTE in my area.

 

[MizterPolo]

If anyone is having issues with Samsung's newest phone and phone not downloading. Make sure you contact access is checked on your phone.

 

[ronflorida3]

To reiterate, none of this was a concern until I sent the car in for regular service and a recall for an oil seal problem.

After getting the car back, I had no problem adding the Samsung Note 8, including contacts, etc., BUT once I turned off the engine, everything was lost and I had to start all over installing the phone every time I got back in the car.

As of about three weeks ago, I received a 2020-2021 map update, which somehow more or less kept the Note 8 installed (it sometimes does it automatically, sometimes I have to choose it on the screen and approve the contacts download, etc) BUT now my wife's phone still will not stay installed, as it had always done before.