[VE9NOM]

Hi folks. We purchased a 2021 Kia Seltos LX AWD this summer. It's the base model but has what we need in a daily driver. So we thought.

The issue we have is with the Bluetooth. We are able to pair her iPhone XR or my iPhone 8 without issue. However, we cannot make calls by pressing the hands free call button on the steering wheel. It says it needs to be connect via USB so CarPlay can be used. We have CarPlay disabled and still asks to to have phone connected via USB. We did try CarPlay and it works fine but again you have to be USB connected.

Whats really confusing is that if you are on a call in the house, walk out and get into the car and start it up, it will automatically connect to bluetooth and the audio switches over to the car. No need for CarPlay! Wow! Magic!

We have had several cars with handsfree bluetooth but never had to plug it in to make it work. We tried reseting the head unit via software and the hard reset button. Removing and re-adding the phone(s). Software updates from last summer. We don't have NAV so I don't think the latest PURPLE update will work on ours. I also disconnected the power form the battery overnight to reset everything. No luck. The salesman said this is the new normal for Kia and you have to connect via USB and use CarPlay all the time now. This seems like a step backward to me and a feature thats on my base model Ford Focus from 2014. I understand Kia's software has had many bluetooth connecting issues in the past but its 2021. This is not new technology.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

 

[DIGG]

I have an android and don't have this issue. I can press the voice command and place a call successfully. So I can confirm you don't need to use android auto at least..

Maybe try the steps listed under the question here?

Cannot place voice call over bluetooth - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[VE9NOM]

Thanks for the response. At least it works with Android so I'm thinking this is an iPhone issue. I tried the support link you mentioned but still no luck.

Anyone with iPhones have any issues? Again we have the base model head unit with no NAV.

Cheers!

 

[DIGG]

On your Iphone try going to Settings>General>Accessibility>Call Audio Routing

And choose 'automatic'

Not sure if that'll work...

 

[JDR]

My iphone 8 works fine using bluetooth handsfree OR siri. To use carplay, it must be plugged in to usb port. On the steering wheel, to use the handsfree.....do a single quick press, wait for tone then "call sam smith mobile", it should use your downloaded directory and call the name.
Do a long press, wait for SIRI tone and tell siri to call your contact. Be sure you have enabled handsfree and that it is working.....also authorize download of directory when setting up phonelink in blue tooth.
Plug in phone if you want carplay features.

 

[Crusader]

We have the exact phones as you and no issues. Make sure not to hold the button down. Just press and let go.
We have the SX trim. I remember reading somewhere, I believe in the Soul forum, that lower trims may not have this feature.

 

[VE9NOM]

On your Iphone try going to Settings>General>Accessibility>Call Audio Routing

And choose 'automatic'

Not sure if that'll work...

Thanks for the tip. Tried that setting and it had no affect. Cheers!

 

[VE9NOM]

My iphone 8 works fine using bluetooth handsfree OR siri. To use carplay, it must be plugged in to usb port. On the steering wheel, to use the handsfree.....do a single quick press, wait for tone then "call sam smith mobile", it should use your downloaded directory and call the name.
Do a long press, wait for SIRI tone and tell siri to call your contact. Be sure you have enabled handsfree and that it is working.....also authorize download of directory when setting up phonelink in blue tooth.
Plug in phone if you want carplay features.

Thank you for the info. Nice to know it works for someone. When we press the button we automatically get a message that is must be plugged in to use no matter if CarPlay setting is activated or not. Another poster has mentioned that our trim may lack the feature. Can I ask what trim you have?

 

[VE9NOM]

We have the exact phones as you and no issues. Make sure not to hold the button down. Just press and let go.
We have the SX trim. I remember reading somewhere, I believe in the Soul forum, that lower trims may not have this feature.

Thanks for responding. You may be right that is a trim feature... but it seems a backward step to remove a basic bluetooth feature that is pretty much standard in cars these days. I would have rather had CarPlay/Android Auto to be the option. And it still doesn't answer the question whey it will connect if your on a call outside the car and then start the car and it will auto connect to bluetooth.. a feature that is not there. lol. Very strange. Appreciate the info. I'm going to go play with it again this morning. It's my wife's daily driver so I don't drive it much and she doesn't care much about the issue. It bugs the hell out of me.

 

[VE9NOM]

Hi all. So I spent some time yesterday messing around with our phones and the Seltos. I did a reset on everything. I have had some success. Bluetooth does connect to our phones upon start. I can stream music and make calls via the phone only. The only thing missing is the steering wheel button. If we press the button we get a message that the phone must be plugged in. On our other cars it signals the phone directly so you can say the name you want and it dials the number. I'm going to do a video soon to show you folks what's happening. Maybe I'm missing something. Perhaps that's not considered handsfree but it seems every other car we have had with bluetooth hands free, across multiple makes all have the same "face button" and they do the same thing.. until now. More to come. Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[JDR]

Thank you for the info. Nice to know it works for someone. When we press the button we automatically get a message that is must be plugged in to use no matter if CarPlay setting is activated or not. Another poster has mentioned that our trim may lack the feature. Can I ask what trim you have?

The Seltos is an SX TGDI AWD. I am still learning what and what not to do as far as using this feature.

 

[ALAP]

Try uninstalling the car play app from your phone and then try it. Also, although you're not using car play at the time, perhaps the app is running in the background. Try to disable/exit the app and try again. Had similar issue with my 2017 Sportage and found Android Auto was running in the background on my phone.

 

[Steve Kady]

Hi folks. We purchased a 2021 Kia Seltos LX AWD this summer. It's the base model but has what we need in a daily driver. So we thought.

The issue we have is with the Bluetooth. We are able to pair her iPhone XR or my iPhone 8 without issue. However, we cannot make calls by pressing the hands free call button on the steering wheel. It says it needs to be connect via USB so CarPlay can be used. We have CarPlay disabled and still asks to to have phone connected via USB. We did try CarPlay and it works fine but again you have to be USB connected.

Whats really confusing is that if you are on a call in the house, walk out and get into the car and start it up, it will automatically connect to bluetooth and the audio switches over to the car. No need for CarPlay! Wow! Magic!

We have had several cars with handsfree bluetooth but never had to plug it in to make it work. We tried reseting the head unit via software and the hard reset button. Removing and re-adding the phone(s). Software updates from last summer. We don't have NAV so I don't think the latest PURPLE update will work on ours. I also disconnected the power form the battery overnight to reset everything. No luck. The salesman said this is the new normal for Kia and you have to connect via USB and use CarPlay all the time now. This seems like a step backward to me and a feature thats on my base model Ford Focus from 2014. I understand Kia's software has had many bluetooth connecting issues in the past but its 2021. This is not new technology.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

I would think the dealer could walk you through the steps to make it work or at least advise you what to do

 

[BernieO]

Hi folks. We purchased a 2021 Kia Seltos LX AWD this summer. It's the base model but has what we need in a daily driver. So we thought.

The issue we have is with the Bluetooth. We are able to pair her iPhone XR or my iPhone 8 without issue. However, we cannot make calls by pressing the hands free call button on the steering wheel. It says it needs to be connect via USB so CarPlay can be used. We have CarPlay disabled and still asks to to have phone connected via USB. We did try CarPlay and it works fine but again you have to be USB connected.

Whats really confusing is that if you are on a call in the house, walk out and get into the car and start it up, it will automatically connect to bluetooth and the audio switches over to the car. No need for CarPlay! Wow! Magic!

We have had several cars with handsfree bluetooth but never had to plug it in to make it work. We tried reseting the head unit via software and the hard reset button. Removing and re-adding the phone(s). Software updates from last summer. We don't have NAV so I don't think the latest PURPLE update will work on ours. I also disconnected the power form the battery overnight to reset everything. No luck. The salesman said this is the new normal for Kia and you have to connect via USB and use CarPlay all the time now. This seems like a step backward to me and a feature thats on my base model Ford Focus from 2014. I understand Kia's software has had many bluetooth connecting issues in the past but its 2021. This is not new technology.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

Hello, just some observations; I had a 2013 Soul and always used the hands free button. But after one of many iPhone updates it stopped functioning-period. Since there was no CarPlay it couldn't ask for that, just wouldn't do anything. So, I am thinking it is an iPhone issue. Not a user issue or Kia issue. I currently have a 2021 Seltos and as stated the hands free button will not work unless the phone is plugged in. I typically have my phone plugged in for music. If I find myself without a cable and need to make a call, I will either wait till I am at a red light or pull over and grab my phone, find the person I want to call and call them. It automatically picks up the Bluetooth in the car. Not the best but something about an iPhone and Kia Motors doesn't mesh. Just for a laugh, I was on the phone in my living room the other day and my hubby decides to take my car. As soon as he started it, the call went to the Seltos and he was hearing the conversation. Once he drove away it ended my call. Just something to remember if another family member has access to your car!

 

[VE9NOM]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been doing more digging and checking how our other cars respond when the handsfree button is pushed. It seems as there is internal voice software that takes over and works with the phone... such as Ford Sync on our Fords. Perhaps this Seltos trim does not have voice capability and relies on Apple's CarPlay feature to make up for this? A way to save a few bucks on the trim level. Can anyone confirm who has a higher trim that have voice capability available to "talk" to the car? If not it could be an iPhone issue. I wanna get an Android phone just to see if it works. Thanks!

 

[VE9NOM]

Hello, just some observations; I had a 2013 Soul and always used the hands free button. But after one of many iPhone updates it stopped functioning-period. Since there was no CarPlay it couldn't ask for that, just wouldn't do anything. So, I am thinking it is an iPhone issue. Not a user issue or Kia issue. I currently have a 2021 Seltos and as stated the hands free button will not work unless the phone is plugged in. I typically have my phone plugged in for music. If I find myself without a cable and need to make a call, I will either wait till I am at a red light or pull over and grab my phone, find the person I want to call and call them. It automatically picks up the Bluetooth in the car. Not the best but something about an iPhone and Kia Motors doesn't mesh. Just for a laugh, I was on the phone in my living room the other day and my hubby decides to take my car. As soon as he started it, the call went to the Seltos and he was hearing the conversation. Once he drove away it ended my call. Just something to remember if another family member has access to your car!

Thanks for the info. Can you confirm what trim you have? Thanks! Yeah the car taking over calls has happened here as well. lol

 

[Moondog007]

Hi folks. We purchased a 2021 Kia Seltos LX AWD this summer. It's the base model but has what we need in a daily driver. So we thought.

The issue we have is with the Bluetooth. We are able to pair her iPhone XR or my iPhone 8 without issue. However, we cannot make calls by pressing the hands free call button on the steering wheel. It says it needs to be connect via USB so CarPlay can be used. We have CarPlay disabled and still asks to to have phone connected via USB. We did try CarPlay and it works fine but again you have to be USB connected.

Whats really confusing is that if you are on a call in the house, walk out and get into the car and start it up, it will automatically connect to bluetooth and the audio switches over to the car. No need for CarPlay! Wow! Magic!

We have had several cars with handsfree bluetooth but never had to plug it in to make it work. We tried reseting the head unit via software and the hard reset button. Removing and re-adding the phone(s). Software updates from last summer. We don't have NAV so I don't think the latest PURPLE update will work on ours. I also disconnected the power form the battery overnight to reset everything. No luck. The salesman said this is the new normal for Kia and you have to connect via USB and use CarPlay all the time now. This seems like a step backward to me and a feature thats on my base model Ford Focus from 2014. I understand Kia's software has had many bluetooth connecting issues in the past but its 2021. This is not new technology.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

The sales guy doesnt know what he's talking about. You dont need to be plugged in. My guess is the bluetooth has an issue. I'm having an issue of disconnecting and reconnecting. I had a 2012 Kia soul and had no issues with bluetooth.

 

[c3nvermont]

Hi folks. We purchased a 2021 Kia Seltos LX AWD this summer. It's the base model but has what we need in a daily driver. So we thought.

The issue we have is with the Bluetooth. We are able to pair her iPhone XR or my iPhone 8 without issue. However, we cannot make calls by pressing the hands free call button on the steering wheel. It says it needs to be connect via USB so CarPlay can be used. We have CarPlay disabled and still asks to to have phone connected via USB. We did try CarPlay and it works fine but again you have to be USB connected.

Whats really confusing is that if you are on a call in the house, walk out and get into the car and start it up, it will automatically connect to bluetooth and the audio switches over to the car. No need for CarPlay! Wow! Magic!

We have had several cars with handsfree bluetooth but never had to plug it in to make it work. We tried reseting the head unit via software and the hard reset button. Removing and re-adding the phone(s). Software updates from last summer. We don't have NAV so I don't think the latest PURPLE update will work on ours. I also disconnected the power form the battery overnight to reset everything. No luck. The salesman said this is the new normal for Kia and you have to connect via USB and use CarPlay all the time now. This seems like a step backward to me and a feature thats on my base model Ford Focus from 2014. I understand Kia's software has had many bluetooth connecting issues in the past but its 2021. This is not new technology.

Any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

 

[c3nvermont]

I had the same issue but I was able to finally make a call using bluetooth without having my phone plugged in or applecar play involved. With bluetooth on and phone connected (but not plugged in via a cable), I depressed the voice button (steering wheel left top button face with sounds waves) for longer than press and release. This activated Siri and then I could speak a command like "Call Cathy" and it worked. Hope this helps.

 

[VE9NOM]

Thanks! Will give it a try!