TL;DR: Audio connected via Bluetooth on iOS 17.4+ has issues with glitching/skipping/stuttering while streaming/offline/downloaded. It happens while connected to vehicles and Bluetooth headsets. Possible fix: go into Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth, and then turn off all of the apps listed. As of 7/19/2024, it appears the issue is related to the Alexa app, at least for me.

For months now, I’ve experience an issue with Apple iOS Bluetooth being incapable of performing appropriately. It all started with my iPhone 12 and has continued with my iPhone 15 Plus. I initialized my complaint of the issue on the Apple Discussion Forums in February 2024. Below is my post and all of the subsequent updates since then.

You can find my discussion at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255456627?sortBy=best

You can hear audio examples of the issue at: http://www.sndup.net/tntr6 AND http://www.sndup.net/r3j5v

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When using Spotify or Apple Music (or any audio service) while connected to cellular data, the songs constantly stutter and skip (like CDs used to do back in the day). I have tried EVERYTHING and nothing will fix it. It doesn’t happen while connected to WiFi.

1. It was a problem with my iPhone 12 and it is also doing it with my new iPhone 15 Plus – so it’s not the device.
2. It happens while streaming songs and with downloaded songs on Apple Music & Spotify. I can even turn on “offline” and it still happens, which is bizarre, unless it’s somehow still trying to communicate with a server somewhere?
3. It happens regardless of the audio or playback settings (I’ve tried them all)
4. It happens while connected to T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Boost Unlimited cellular data services – so it’s not carrier related
5. I’ve tried resetting and erasing my iPhone 12 when I had it, and I did the same with my iPhone 15 plus, and it doesn’t help
6. I did a fresh iOS install with no backup and it doesn’t help
7. It has been a problem with multiple iOS versions, but I’m currently using iOS 17.4
8. I have 64.82GB available on my device, so that’s not the issue
9. All data saver settings are turned off, so that is not the issue
10. I’ve removed unnecessary apps and stopped background processes
11. Restarting the device will help for a few minutes sometimes, but it’s hit & miss
12. The cellular signal is full on LTE/5G/5Guw
13. It happens while listening through the Bluetooth connected to a vehicle, and through Apple Airpods, AirPod 2 Pro, and Soundcore earbuds
14. It doesn’t matter if Apple Music or Spotify (or any audio service) is open or running in the background
15. It is not isolated to a certain city. It happens where I live now, it happened in Iowa and it happened in Arizona. It also happened during both of my moves driving from Iowa to Arizona and Arizona to Kansas.
16. All apps and everything on the device is updated

Doing a Google search reveals numerous other people complaining of similar issues, although explained differently since it’s difficult to explain. Many describe it as glitching, stuttering or skipping like a CD.

After some additional research, it appears that this issue is related to Bluetooth. It seems to be something with iOS because this glitching and stuttering is happening when connected to my vehicle and also when connected to my Airpods, Airpod 2 Pro, and Soundcore Earbuds, although it’s much worse with my vehicle. I’m assuming my vehicle has outdated firmware which could be part of the issue, but that doesn’t explain why it happens with the Airpods other products.

I tried disconnecting and deleting all Bluetooth devices from iOS and my vehicle to reset everything, but it is still a problem.

I discovered it was Bluetooth related because I bought a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter and didn’t have the problem in my vehicle.

This bug has returned. It went away completely in iOS 17.4.1. 

As soon as I updated to iOS 17.5 the stuttering, skipping, and glitching started again just as previously described. 

Still happening in iOS 17.5.1

This issue is still present on iOS 18 Developer Beta 1 the latest version of iOS. On 06/19/2024 at 1pm (CDT), I attempted to get assistance through Apple Support Chat for 53 minutes. I provided all of the information that I’ve posted here, yet the representative continued to ask questions and suggest things I’ve already tried multiple times. After realizing they were unable to help, I was assured the issue was being escalated and that I would receive a phone call that evening at 6:30pm (CDT). No phone call was ever received and there’s been no further contact by Apple as of 06/20/2024 at 1:40pm (CDT). 

I have an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, AirPod 2 Pro, and AppleTV 4K. I also had a MacBook Pro that recently had to be recycled. Between the poor customer service received with this issue, the poor customer service received recently in regard to my MacBook Pro, and the poor customer service around the shipping of my AirPod 2 Pros, it is becoming obvious that a change is needed. I feel like concerns aren’t important or valued because they think we’re so deep in the Apple ecosystem that we won’t take our business elsewhere. This entire thread is going to be published online as well since Apple deleted my last update on 06/19/2024.

Not 100% confident in this resolution yet, but I wanted to post the update.
It seems this issue is stemming from apps installed on the device that utilize Bluetooth. To make the glitching/skipping stop, try going into Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth, and then turn off all of the apps listed.

Once I did that yesterday, I haven’t had any problems since. I will start turning on apps one by one until I find the one responsible for the Bluetooth problem. Some posts online have suggested it could be a weight scale app like Fitdays, or Amazon Alexa. I will post updates once available.

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Here are even more discussion threads from people experience the same or similar issues:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254535913?sortBy=best

https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleMusic/comments/tm4gzz/apple_music_songs_jumpingskipping

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255082883?sortBy=best

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253462241?sortBy=best

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255064991?sortBy=best

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/z8jvce/is_anyone_elses_bluetooth_audio_stuttering_with/

Note: There are parts of this article that have been italicized or stricken out. This was done to make sure all of the information has been updated and is current as of 06/20/2024.

It appears the issue is related to the Alexa app, at least for me. Yesterday I had to enable Bluetooth to setup an Echo Dot, and as soon as I had to leave and run errands, the glitching started up again. I disabled the Bluetooth for Alexa and restarted my iPhone. I haven’t had the problem again since.