> BT pairing on phones works nowadays, thanks in part to the popularity of wearable devices, but it barely functioned 5 years ago
Huh? Pairing worked like 10 years ago. And sending files between phones. Everyone in school was sending J2ME games/apps around :D Audio with media control also worked. And modem (using the phone's GPRS/EDGE connection on a PC).
I don't know, just last week I was having issues pairing my iPhone 7 to my friend's new Jeep and ended up giving up. I usually just keep bluetooth turned off on my phone and don't buy bluetooth devices since I find it's often more frustrating than not.
TL;DR: Remove old paired devices! I just went through this this week with a 2013 Wrangler. Here's what fixed it for me: deleting the other bluetooth devices from the radio. It had my old iPhone and my brother's iPhone. Neither was anywhere nearby, but when I tried to pair with my new iPhone, it wouldn't work. I tried multiple times over multiple days. Finally, as a test I just removed the other 2 phones from the profile. It paired perfectly after that and has worked since.
Any suggestions for pairing a OnePlus 3 with a (2016) BMW for audio? Mine works like a champ for speaker phone but in order to play any kind of media, the OnePlus refuses to do it. (Though my son's Samsung Galaxy S5 works.)
My experience was that Bluetooth was solid at the end of the dumbphone era (although the UI was often crap). Like you we were bluetoothing files back and forth, I was syncing phone contacts with my Mac over iSync Bluetooth, sending SMS/getting call notifications on my Mac (can't remember the name of that app), etc.
But when iOS/Android smartphones came on the scene it took a huge step back in reliability. A2DP also took a huge step back in audio quality until the new platforms tweaked their SBC parameters and added in MP3/AAC support.
The craziest setup i ran with back then was a Nokia N800 paired up with a Sony Ericsson C702 and a no-name folding keyboard. The C702 was also paired up with a pair of Jabra headphones/headset.
At certain times all of those could be in use. The C702 acting as the modem/router for the N800, whole also playing music through the Jabras, and me typing comments on the Maemo forum etc.
The only times there were a hitch were when i used the modem profile between the N800 and the C702, rather than the PAN. Something about the intensity of chatter or something between the two made the music and keyboard stutter.
Do note though that headphones can act up if you are out and about with little for the signal to bounce off. Best then to have all devices on the same side of the body for less obstructions.
I used to use Bluetooth PAN with my M600i (UIQ3): no wifi? No problem! I connected to my dodgy windows 2000 laptop with some BT software and drivers (and a dongle), and shared its connection to my phone :)
Huh? Pairing worked like 10 years ago. And sending files between phones. Everyone in school was sending J2ME games/apps around :D Audio with media control also worked. And modem (using the phone's GPRS/EDGE connection on a PC).