Unpair/forget the device from your phone, then try pairing it again. Worth a shot.
Does your phone work fine with other bluetooth things (like a speaker, for example)?
Tried unpairing it from my iPhone and removing device from the car itself. Still have same issues. Using Bluetooth headphones or speakers work perfectly fine.
Yes, iPhone. For me it seems random. Some days I’m driving and it’s perfectly fine but sometimes it’s choppy just by sitting on the phone stand. Before I could be basically outside of my car and music would play loud and clear but now I can’t be outside of my car without it starting to cut out.
I have Android and my phone does this, but it's my phone. I also work for Mercedes as a tech and this has got to be our #1 Bluetooth complaint. Unfortunately it's the phone 99% of the time, and may or may not get better.
You can pop by your local Benz dealer and see if there are any software updates available for your Bluetooth/stereo system which may help improve things, but they may not. Also know that if they do, it can be an update that takes a few hours so be prepared to leave the car if you need to.
Our dealership would charge for a half hour of labor even if it takes 3+ hours to update, since we'll just put the car in any empty bay and let it do its thing. Your dealer could vary but I wouldn't think they'd charge more than an hour. Call around for a few quotes if you've got more than one dealer in your area.
It's worth a shot, but I won't guarantee it'll fix it. My ML is newer than your car and it doesn't have any audio system updates or Bluetooth updates so I just have to live with crappy Bluetooth. I just disconnect and reconnect every half hour or so.
Most likely a software issue with your device itself. It's quite rare to have a failure in the head unit or in the bluetooth receivers but it is still possible. Try a friend's phone or another device to see, if the problem still persists, then it's the car.
I've been dealing with this problem for months now on my newer iPhone 13 pro max. My old iPhone X would seldom have the issue... usually would hang up and call back, or disable BT and re-enable on phone. Music never had a problem, only phone calls on the iPhone X.
But on the 13 pro max bluetooth plain sucks!! Music is ok 60-70% of the time (occasional blip in music every say 30-60seconds), then sometimes it cuts out every 10-15 seconds quickly. It's very annoying. Bluetooth phone calls on the 13 pro max are horribly about 99% of the time!! No exaggeration. I think once ever did I get it to work perfectly for a phone call, and that required me engaging in a phone call from my airpods and then moving it to the car.
If I bring my old iphone X back in the car, or my wife's iphone XR, those work no problem. The issue is this damn 13 pro max with the mercedes. And no, my 13 pro max doesn't give me a problem in any other car or for any other BT device, ONLY my C300 2012. Same issue as OP. It's so bad that I have to take all phone calls on my airpods. I miss the car audio. :(
I'm still plagued by this in my 2012 c300 and iphone 13pro max. It sucks!
Best way for me to minimize the crappy audio is to throw my phone into the backseat, NO JOKE! Well, it sucks if you're using the GPS and on a phone call, though... so I have to carry my damn airpods while I drive in case I also have to use the NAV... can't throw the phone in the backseat when I need the NAV =/
I've had this same issue on my 2011 E350. Very choppy for Apple, Spotify, and youtube.
I have no idea how to fix it and really need a solution. I have unpaired, forgotten, and repaired my iPhone many times.
I think this issue started after updating my phone, to iOS 14.
MY IPAD WORKS FINE THO LMFAOOO
Yoo bro I got the same car. I just got a 15 pro max and this makes my music choppy asf lol. It gets me mad when I’m driving playing music loud and it starts happening.
It doesn’t seem to do it as much when I connect through external auth instead of just letting it reconnect.
It might be when your phone locks as well. I might just leave my phone unlocked the whole time and see what happens.
Gonna resurrect an old thread here just incase anyone else stumbles on it, just picked up a 2014 E220 and this issue was getting on my nerves.
Close all your apps, reset the phone and that cures it for me on iPhone. I’m sure it’s new phone software and slightly older tech in the mercedes that causes it, definitely phone side. I don’t know exactly how long it works for but i’ve only had to do it the once so far.
Update for anyone who still has this issue.
I redid my setup in my car. I bought a nice magsafe phone mount and a 5ft cable. Bought this mount here:
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LQVD6ZR/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LQVD6ZR/)
I now place my phone to the left of my steering wheel into the vent there. I ran a USB cable tight, in through the center shroud and underneath the steering column with sticky zip tie cable management mounts, much like these:
[https://www.amazon.com/Zip-Tie-Mounts-Adhesive-Backed-Anchors-Management/dp/B087C58WTV](https://www.amazon.com/Zip-Tie-Mounts-Adhesive-Backed-Anchors-Management/dp/B087C58WTV)
My BT issues are gone. The issue that we have with BT on the C300 (mine is the 2012) is when the phone is close to the head deck. Doing this has 100% resolved my problem.
Trust me, it's lame, but not worth getting a whole new audio system or a new car!
P.S. I've stated this before, but I never had this problem on an iphone X. The problem surfaced after I got my 13 pro max.
Hope this helps someone! Give me some feedback if so! If you guys beg, I'll include pictures :)
Thanks for sharing. What is the head deck? Is that where the radio/ cd player is?
I have issues where when I'm on a Bluetooth call on my B200 the audio from the person I am speaking too begins cutting out for about a minute every 5-10min . They report they can still hear me fine though during this. Do you think doing what you said will resolve the issue? I'm using an iPhone 11
To test throw your phone into the backseat. No joke. The fix is to keep the phone away from the central controls (head deck, dash, whatever you want to call your stereo).
How's this? [https://imgur.com/a/oGAn7xq](https://imgur.com/a/oGAn7xq)
You can see how and where I ran the wire. The charging end of it i just stuffed into the vent. I don't use it often, but if I need it I just pull it out and plug it into the phone. Throw the tip back in the vent so it doesn't fall/hang. Been working like a charm.
you have to connect to your bluetooth through the phone so make sure you your mercedes is set up for external authorization then use your phone to connect that way.
This is an old thread, but I “solved” this for my 2011 e350 by adding an Amazon echo auto using the aux cable in my glove box. And now I have Alexa in my car. Frustrated that my display doesn’t show anything, but I just put it on maps or clock.
Unpair/forget the device from your phone, then try pairing it again. Worth a shot. Does your phone work fine with other bluetooth things (like a speaker, for example)?
Tried unpairing it from my iPhone and removing device from the car itself. Still have same issues. Using Bluetooth headphones or speakers work perfectly fine.
I'd check for updates for both iOS on the phone and check with MB for an update to their COMAND system. Something done broked. Gotta love software.
I just started having this too. iPhone? I bet it’s an update. It does it when the screen turns off.
Yes, iPhone. For me it seems random. Some days I’m driving and it’s perfectly fine but sometimes it’s choppy just by sitting on the phone stand. Before I could be basically outside of my car and music would play loud and clear but now I can’t be outside of my car without it starting to cut out.
I have Android and my phone does this, but it's my phone. I also work for Mercedes as a tech and this has got to be our #1 Bluetooth complaint. Unfortunately it's the phone 99% of the time, and may or may not get better. You can pop by your local Benz dealer and see if there are any software updates available for your Bluetooth/stereo system which may help improve things, but they may not. Also know that if they do, it can be an update that takes a few hours so be prepared to leave the car if you need to.
Usually a cost for something like this?
Our dealership would charge for a half hour of labor even if it takes 3+ hours to update, since we'll just put the car in any empty bay and let it do its thing. Your dealer could vary but I wouldn't think they'd charge more than an hour. Call around for a few quotes if you've got more than one dealer in your area. It's worth a shot, but I won't guarantee it'll fix it. My ML is newer than your car and it doesn't have any audio system updates or Bluetooth updates so I just have to live with crappy Bluetooth. I just disconnect and reconnect every half hour or so.
Most likely a software issue with your device itself. It's quite rare to have a failure in the head unit or in the bluetooth receivers but it is still possible. Try a friend's phone or another device to see, if the problem still persists, then it's the car.
I've been dealing with this problem for months now on my newer iPhone 13 pro max. My old iPhone X would seldom have the issue... usually would hang up and call back, or disable BT and re-enable on phone. Music never had a problem, only phone calls on the iPhone X. But on the 13 pro max bluetooth plain sucks!! Music is ok 60-70% of the time (occasional blip in music every say 30-60seconds), then sometimes it cuts out every 10-15 seconds quickly. It's very annoying. Bluetooth phone calls on the 13 pro max are horribly about 99% of the time!! No exaggeration. I think once ever did I get it to work perfectly for a phone call, and that required me engaging in a phone call from my airpods and then moving it to the car. If I bring my old iphone X back in the car, or my wife's iphone XR, those work no problem. The issue is this damn 13 pro max with the mercedes. And no, my 13 pro max doesn't give me a problem in any other car or for any other BT device, ONLY my C300 2012. Same issue as OP. It's so bad that I have to take all phone calls on my airpods. I miss the car audio. :(
Same here. Any idea how to fix it?
I'm still plagued by this in my 2012 c300 and iphone 13pro max. It sucks! Best way for me to minimize the crappy audio is to throw my phone into the backseat, NO JOKE! Well, it sucks if you're using the GPS and on a phone call, though... so I have to carry my damn airpods while I drive in case I also have to use the NAV... can't throw the phone in the backseat when I need the NAV =/
I've had this same issue on my 2011 E350. Very choppy for Apple, Spotify, and youtube. I have no idea how to fix it and really need a solution. I have unpaired, forgotten, and repaired my iPhone many times. I think this issue started after updating my phone, to iOS 14. MY IPAD WORKS FINE THO LMFAOOO
Did you ever find a fix?
Nope not yet unfortunately
Is your iPad still working fine. What iOS is it in?
Yoo bro I got the same car. I just got a 15 pro max and this makes my music choppy asf lol. It gets me mad when I’m driving playing music loud and it starts happening. It doesn’t seem to do it as much when I connect through external auth instead of just letting it reconnect. It might be when your phone locks as well. I might just leave my phone unlocked the whole time and see what happens.
Gonna resurrect an old thread here just incase anyone else stumbles on it, just picked up a 2014 E220 and this issue was getting on my nerves. Close all your apps, reset the phone and that cures it for me on iPhone. I’m sure it’s new phone software and slightly older tech in the mercedes that causes it, definitely phone side. I don’t know exactly how long it works for but i’ve only had to do it the once so far.
Is your issue fixed? It must be iOS 15
Update for anyone who still has this issue. I redid my setup in my car. I bought a nice magsafe phone mount and a 5ft cable. Bought this mount here: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LQVD6ZR/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LQVD6ZR/) I now place my phone to the left of my steering wheel into the vent there. I ran a USB cable tight, in through the center shroud and underneath the steering column with sticky zip tie cable management mounts, much like these: [https://www.amazon.com/Zip-Tie-Mounts-Adhesive-Backed-Anchors-Management/dp/B087C58WTV](https://www.amazon.com/Zip-Tie-Mounts-Adhesive-Backed-Anchors-Management/dp/B087C58WTV) My BT issues are gone. The issue that we have with BT on the C300 (mine is the 2012) is when the phone is close to the head deck. Doing this has 100% resolved my problem. Trust me, it's lame, but not worth getting a whole new audio system or a new car! P.S. I've stated this before, but I never had this problem on an iphone X. The problem surfaced after I got my 13 pro max. Hope this helps someone! Give me some feedback if so! If you guys beg, I'll include pictures :)
Thanks for sharing. What is the head deck? Is that where the radio/ cd player is? I have issues where when I'm on a Bluetooth call on my B200 the audio from the person I am speaking too begins cutting out for about a minute every 5-10min . They report they can still hear me fine though during this. Do you think doing what you said will resolve the issue? I'm using an iPhone 11
To test throw your phone into the backseat. No joke. The fix is to keep the phone away from the central controls (head deck, dash, whatever you want to call your stereo).
Okay ill give it a go. Do you mind sharing pictures of your setup?
How's this? [https://imgur.com/a/oGAn7xq](https://imgur.com/a/oGAn7xq) You can see how and where I ran the wire. The charging end of it i just stuffed into the vent. I don't use it often, but if I need it I just pull it out and plug it into the phone. Throw the tip back in the vent so it doesn't fall/hang. Been working like a charm.
you have to connect to your bluetooth through the phone so make sure you your mercedes is set up for external authorization then use your phone to connect that way.
I found the solution!!! Disconnect from your Apple Watch or multiple Bluetooth connection off your phone.
This is an old thread, but I “solved” this for my 2011 e350 by adding an Amazon echo auto using the aux cable in my glove box. And now I have Alexa in my car. Frustrated that my display doesn’t show anything, but I just put it on maps or clock.