Can’t Hear Text Messages Through Your Car’s Stereo? How-to Fix

Even though smartphones have been around for quite a long time, distracted driving continues to be a very large issue. Phone companies have attempted to combat the problem with distracted driving with various features. Even Pokemon Go won’t let you play if it seems like you are moving too fast, i.e. driving in a car.

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While having something like Carplay is helpful, this is not available in every car right from the factory. Sure, you could go down the route of installing your own Carplay unit, but that’s not a viable option for everyone. Luckily, there are still some iOS features that make it possible to hear your messages come through when connected to the car’s stereo.

What happened to my text messages?

For years, it seems that folks have been running into consistent problems, meaning that users can’t hear text messages in the car. Even if the feature used to work, there are a wide variety of variables at play when trying to troubleshoot why this stopped working.

One day, everything could be working fine, and then the next day when you hop in the car to go to work, your iPhone no longer plays text messages in the car. There are a few options that you can try before giving up completely.

How to hear text messages in the car

If you’ve already had this functionality working before, but can’t hear text messages in the car any longer, there’s actually a pretty simple fix. You’ll need to make sure that your iPhone communicates properly to the car’s Bluetooth that text messages should be read.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Locate the name of your car in the Bluetooth list.
4. Tap the i icon next to the name of your car.
5. Tap the toggle next to Show Notifications to the On position.
6. Turn the car off.
7. Turn the car back on.
8. Connect your iPhone, if necessary.

After your iPhone is reconnected to your car, and the car has been restarted, then you can have someone send you a text just to make sure that everything is working properly.

Reconnect your phone to the car

In the event that you continue to have issues and can’t hear text messages through the car, then you will want to unpair and then re-pair the iPhone with your car. In order to do this, you’ll first need to disconnect your iPhone from the car’s Bluetooth.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Locate the name of your car in the Bluetooth list.
4. Tap the i icon next to the name of your car.
5. Select Forget This Device.
6. Confirm.

When it comes to pairing your iPhone to the car’s Bluetooth, this method will vary depending on the car manufacturer, along with the type of stereo. Reference the car’s manual for specific instructions on how to put your stereo into pairing mode. Then, follow these steps to pair your iPhone with your car:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Find the name of your car under Other Devices.
4. Select your car from the list.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts.

If problems persist

These are just a few of the suggestions on how you could try if you can’t hear text messages in the car. If the problems persist, then you’re going to need some help. The most obvious way to try and figure out what’s going on is to reach out to your car dealership. It’s entirely possible that there’s a chance that a software update could be needed for your car’s stereo. The dealership will be able to walk you through the process and get everything back in working order.

Andrew Myrick

Andrew Myrick is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is having a never-ending supply of different keyboards and gaming handhelds that end up collecting more dust than the consoles that are being emulated.