iPhone 12 Not Discovering Bluetooth Devices? Fix

You want to pair or connect a Bluetooth speaker, car stereo, headphones or something else to your iPhone 12. However, something isn’t working right, and your iPhone 12 is not discovering Bluetooth devices. In this article, I’ll explain what to do when your iPhone 12 is not finding Bluetooth devices!

Many iPhone 12 owners use Bluetooth technology on a daily basis. As for those users, they cannot go on through their daily tasks without using accessories connected by Bluetooth. However, what if iPhone 12 does not discover Bluetooth devices?

If your iPhone 12 doesn’t recognize Bluetooth devices, you’re not alone. This article provides instructions on what you can do when your iPhone 12 won’t find Bluetooth devices. The instructions explain on this article applies to iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max that won’t find Bluetooth devices. Let’s dive in.

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Turn Bluetooth off and on again

The oldest trick in the book, this. You’ve probably tried it, but head to your iPhone’s settings and toggle Bluetooth off and then back on. Here’s how:

Swipe down from the upper right hand corner of your screen to launch the Control Centre and tap on the Bluetooth button to toggle it off and on. Alternatively, start the Settings app and tap on Bluetooth. You’ll see the toggle as well as your list of paired devices (and which ones are currently connected).

Turn off Bluetooth and Force Reboot

The next thing to try is to turn off your Bluetooth and force reboot your iPhone:

Turn off Bluetooth by launching the Settings app, navigating to Bluetooth, and turning off the Bluetooth toggle.
Then force restart your iPhone 12 by following the steps below:

Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple Logo.

Charge and move closer

Sometimes, it helps to fully charge both devices. Also, move your iPhone 12 closer the device you’re trying to pair or connect to. These simple things can fix the Bluetooth issues you are experiencing.

Is your Bluetooth device discoverable?

One of the reason why your iPhone 12 is not finding Bluetooth is because the device’s own Bluetooth is switched off, or isn’t in pairing mode.
Check the manufacturere’s documentation to find out how to make it discoverable by turning on pairing mode. With some headphones, it’s a case of holding the power button down for longer, but with other devices there’s a dedicated Bluetooth button.
Some of the most frustrating devices have to be completely reset before they’ll be discoverable again.

Is your iPhone discoverable?

Even if Bluetooth is turned on, your iPhone 12 itself might not be ‘discoverable’. This means that a Bluetooth device you haven’t yet paired cannot see your iPhone 12.

To make it visible to other devices, open the main Bluetooth settings. Your iPhone 12 will be discoverable when Bluetooth is turned on. It will search for Bluetooth devices available for pairing when you go to Settings > Bluetooth.

Try re-pairing

Sometimes the easiest solution when you’re having problems of iPhone 12 not discovering Bluetooth devices is to make your phone ‘forget’ the device and start from scratch. Here’s how:

Go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap the ‘i’ to the right of the device in question and tap ‘Forget This Device’. You might also have to remove or ‘forget’ the device in its app as well: this can apply to Bluetooth trackers, the Pokémon Go Plus and other gadgets.

Install the Latest iOS Update

The problem of iPhone 12 not finding Bluetooth devices might be due to a buggy build released by Apple. After all, Apple isn’t having good times releasing quality updates. If the Bluetooth connectivity issue is widespread then you can bank on Apple to release bug fixes via a firmware update.

Start the Settings app and go to General > Software Update and see if there is a new firmware update available or not.

Broken Bluetooth?

It’s rare, but not impossible, for the issue to be that Bluetooth isn’t working properly or at all on your iPhone 12. If you find that the Bluetooth toggle is greyed out in the iPhone’s settings, then you know the reason why your iPhone 12 is not discovering Bluetooth devices. Check the last solution on this article..

Reset Network Settings

If none of the above tips worked, you could also try resetting your network settings. A side effect of doing this is that all your Wi-Fi settings will also be cleared, so you might have to rejoin Wi-Fi networks, and configure VPN all over again.

Follow the steps below to learn how to Reset Network Settings on iPhone.

Start the Settings app and go to General > Reset
Select Reset Network Settings
Type in your passcode when prompted.
Confirm your action in the popup

Your iPhone 12 will reboot. Once it starts up, check if it can find Bluetooth devices. If your problem still isn’t solved, move to the next solution.

Reset the Bluetooth Accessory

Are you still facing the problem of iPhone 12 not recognizing Bluetooth devices? Don’t worry, the problem could be with your Bluetooth accessory. So, try resetting the Bluetooth device. Keep in mind, the process varies from one device to the other. Therefore, take the help of the user manual or contact the manufacturer for help if you don’t know how to reset the device.

Restore and Setup as new iPhone

This is not ideal, but if you find your iPhone 12 not discovering Bluetooth devices after trying the above tips, the last resort is to restore your iPhone via iTunes or Finder in macOS Catalina/Big Sur and set it up as a new device. This way, you start afresh and get rid of possibly problematic customizations and settings on your device.

Visit an Apple Store

If none of the tricks are working for you then it’s a trip to the nearest Apple Store. Your iPhone 12 might be having an hardware issue.