MFT 3.5.1 Skipping BT | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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MFT 3.5.1 Skipping BT

MattVol

Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Tennessee
Year, Model & Trim Level
'11 XLT Explorer
Hello everyone.

I have a 2011 Explorer XLT. I currently have MFT 3.5.1 installed, though this problem has been plaguing me before the current update. It probably goes back 2 updates ago and hasn't stopped.

I have had 3 different Android Phones, the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, and the HTC EVO LTE, all Sprint phones. All phones have been in perfect working condition.

All 3 phones have had problems streaming music over bluetooth in my Explorer only. My BT headphones work perfect, as well as streaming over bluetooth on a computer.

They connect fine, I'm able to sync the phonebook and even messaging, though I choose not to use that feature.

The music streaming, however, has always been screwy. The music skips every 5-10 seconds and continues to do so for 10-15 minutes.

But here's where it gets weird. After 10-15 minutes, it eventually sorts itself out and starts playing fine. No rhyme or reason to it, it just happens.

Unfortunately, this isn't ALWAYS the case. Sometimes it skips the entire duration of my trip. Now you could say "This isn't such a big deal, because after a while it works." But when most trips in the vehicle are 10-15 minutes long, it fixes itself just about the time I'm arriving at my destination. So what's the point?

I'd like to know if there is something I can do, or if I definitive fix is in the works for bluetooth issues, cause browsing this board and experiencing it myself, the issues are certainly there.

Thanks!
 



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See - 3.5.1 BT Stereo Issues - thread, not much to be done.
 






Not sure why the phones would be working fine on other devices, but Android version 4.1 has a bluetooth streaming bug. Perhaps the Explorer is more sensitive to it?
 






Not sure why the phones would be working fine on other devices, but Android version 4.1 has a bluetooth streaming bug. Perhaps the Explorer is more sensitive to it?

I know the newer devices are equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, I'm not sure what version the MFT has. If it's lower than 4.0 I could imagine them conflicting in some way, even though they shouldn't. But with MFT anything is possible. That's been another thought that's crossed my mind.

The Android 4.1 bug certainly is a possibility, but I've had a phone using 4.2.2 hooked up to it, and the skipping continues. The 4.2.2 update lists bluetooth improvement in the changelog. I'm going to unpair it and try the reverse pairing technique as well as not syncing any contacts to see if that helps.
 






I know the newer devices are equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, I'm not sure what version the MFT has. If it's lower than 4.0 I could imagine them conflicting in some way, even though they shouldn't. But with MFT anything is possible. That's been another thought that's crossed my mind.

The Android 4.1 bug certainly is a possibility, but I've had a phone using 4.2.2 hooked up to it, and the skipping continues. The 4.2.2 update lists bluetooth improvement in the changelog. I'm going to unpair it and try the reverse pairing technique as well as not syncing any contacts to see if that helps.

Unfortunately the problem is not your phone.
Tested - Droid, ios & WP8 all fail -
this issue is 3.5.1 MFT
Rebecca - where is our next update?
 






Good news.

Here are the steps I took, and so far it's actually worked perfect (first time in a long time)

I deleted my phone from the list of devices on MFT, and deleted SYNC from my phone and rebooted the phone.

I then went to add a device with SYNC only instead of searching for SYNC on my phone, I had SYNC search for my phone.

This is done by choosing "Add a Phone" like normal, except when it shows the 6-digit PIN, you bypass this and select "Find Other Devices" and SYNC will actively look for your phone, so be sure your phone is discoverable. You select your phone from SYNC, instead of selecting SYNC from your phone.

It will verify PIN's on both devices and pair. The other step I took out of the ordinary is I opted to NOT automatically download my phonebook. I read on another site that if it is enabled, SYNC will check your phonebook every single time the phone is connected, bogging down the system and causing issues.

The phonebook can be downloaded manually in the settings, so you can still have your contacts in there, it just won't look every single time you turn the car on and connect your phone.

Yesterday I did these steps and immediately my BT music playback was perfect. I even made a few stops, brought my phone with me (left bluetooth on), got back in the explorer later, only for it to automatically reconnect and continue playing where I had left off. Again this morning, got in the car, connected, and playback was immediately perfect.

I hope someone reads this and maybe hasn't tried those steps and sees some success like I have, it's so much more enjoyable when something works the way it should (duh).
 






Are you streaming music over the phone network or are you playing music that is saved locally on your phone ?

I stream TuneIn all the time and this is obviously effected by the cell phone reception, quality of the broadcast etc.

If you were streaming live, what happens when you are parked at home and connected to your wifi ?
 






This was happening with all music. Files saved on my phone, as well as streaming. I don't stream often though, mainly music already on the phone.

Another day has passed and the fix I described above still holds true.
 






This was happening with all music. Files saved on my phone, as well as streaming. I don't stream often though, mainly music already on the phone.

Another day has passed and the fix I described above still holds true.

Wow - I will try it today -hope I am as successful as you!:)
 






I hope so too. The skipping was driving me nuts!
 












I hope so too. The skipping was driving me nuts!

two days so far working great- I am still afraid to shut the car down while on bt - that used to mess with MFT something fierce...have you done it?
 






Yes, I've turned it off while playing a song via BT, went inside somewhere, did some shopping, came back out and turned it on. It reconnected and actually started playing the song where it left off. I've been impressed so far.
 






WOW, Thanks Matt......but how come the Ford people can't figure this kind of stuff out to help the end user? Seems to me Ford does not really care much about the product or the user.....
 






WOW, Thanks Matt......but how come the Ford people can't figure this kind of stuff out to help the end user? Seems to me Ford does not really care much about the product or the user.....

I'm sure ford cares or the 2013 would be crappy like 2011 explorer was.

This might be far off but Microsoft's "sync" is junk and always will be no matter what. It sucked in UVO form in my Kia Optima as well. Then Ford goes and blends the whole car into sync and look!!.. It's a freaking mess lol and I still purchased one...
 






WOW, Thanks Matt......but how come the Ford people can't figure this kind of stuff out to help the end user? Seems to me Ford does not really care much about the product or the user.....

Maybe, maybe not, I'm just glad this little trick has helped a few of you like it did me. Sync obviously could have been a little more successful from the get go with some better programming (built on a different platform other than adobe air or whatever it is) and possibly some better hardware, but it's what we've got, nothing I can do about it now except find little tricks like this to make it a little more enjoyable. That's how I'm trying to look at it.
 






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