Ford Sync DOESN'T Sync anymore, and it's bugging me!

[davehultin]

Hi everyone,

We purchased a 2010 Ford Expedition at the beginning of the year and just started pulling with it. It's doing great at towing, but the Sync Bluetooth doesn't connect to my iPhone any more and it's really bugging me!

I couldn't get it to sync when I first got it. Sync wouldn't generate a Pass-Key on this screen:



Then I did a system reset on Sync and it generated the Pass-Key and I was able to connect!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Sync started acting goofy. The phone was still connected and I could answer calls and play audio through the bluetooth connection, but the Sync on-screen controls didn't respond any more. I tried a handful of things, including unpairing the phone and Sync with the intention of re-pairing them, but then I was back to that same screen that wouldn't generate a Pass-Key. And this time a system reset isn't changing anything.

Any other ideas to try?

[davehultin]

GOOD NEWS!!!

I did the "disconnect the battery" version of the reset tonight and now everything works again!

The Pass-Key is now displayed, so I can pair my phone!
The System Reset option is back!
The Master Reset button is now there (but I don't need it, of course!)
Sync recognizes the USB drive, so I can install the firmware update! (Haven't done that yet, but I probably will.)
And there are more goodies that I don't think I've seen before!

So I guess Microsoft's equivalent of Ctrl-Alt-Delete for Sync is "disconnect the battery cable".

[davehultin]

Well, this is just going nowhere. 😞 I followed every step of preparing for the firmware upgrade, plugged in the USB drive and ...

NOTHING.

I'm assuming that something was supposed to happen. The instructions implied that it's just a matter of plugging it in and everything just happens. But all I got was a whole bunch o' nothing.

😞

All this because Sync doesn't show a Pass-Key to allow me to re-pair my phone to Sync.

Random notes:
- Now the system reset option has disappeared too.
- Back when the system reset option was available, doing the reset would cause the clock to be off by one hour. Don't know if that's a hint to any of the problems. Probably not.
- Any instructions about the master reset don't seem to match my system

[Crowe]

We have a 2012 F150 with the same issue-new phone, though. Just loses sync. Ford had no answer. All the electronics in this vehicle are sketchy already. Looks like we should look into a firmware update.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

You might want to do a hard reset. There should be directions in the owners manual or on the My Sync web-site. Then do the update and see what happens.

Good luck Don

[davehultin]

Toddupton wrote:
Have you updated the firmware?

No, but I think that's my next move.

OH48Lt wrote:
Delete any devices in the system that were paired from the previous owner, maybe that will help.

BenK wrote:
Try clearing all devices (delete) and starting all over in the middle of somewhere, where there are no other Blue Tooth devices....

No devices are displayed, so I gotta think they're gone. Anyways, after the initial "not working" period of time it worked fine. Until now. 😞

thomasmnile wrote:
Time for a new vehicle?

This IS my new (to me!) vehicle! We reserved the splurge for the camper!

goducks10 wrote:
How new are your iPhones?

iPhone 6s

mbopp wrote:
Have you tried emailing or chatting with Sync support?

Not yet. Wanted to ask all the smart people here first!

Krusty wrote:
Disconnect the vehicle battery for 5-10 minutes, then do SYNC reset again. Also restart your phone. Good idea to check the SYNC website (or Ford dealer)to see if you have an available software update

That's what I do to zap the phantom "Check fuel inlet" warning, guess the battery disconnect is worth a try. I've restarted the phone more times than I care to count. Working on the update now.

Captain_Happy wrote:
Have you looked in your phone under setting and see if the Bluetooth is even linked to your vehicle? On my smart phone sometimes it don't link up when I start my car. I go to the Bluetooth and press on it to make sure it's linked to my truck.

Sync shows up in the "other devices" list, but that's where I get stuck. Without the Pass-Key (see the photo in my original post) I can't do anything. Last time this happened I didn't know what was missing, then after the reset the Pass-Key just appeared! Now I know it's supposed to be there but it doesn't show up (even after the reset, which is when it showed up last time).

carringb wrote:
Do the firmware update. Dealer will provide a USB stick if you ask, or order from Ford.

I'm going down the firmware update path now.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

[carringb]

Do the firmware update. Dealer will provide a USB stick if you ask, or order from Ford.

[Captain_Happy]

Have you looked in your phone under setting and see if the Bluetooth is even linked to your vehicle? On my smart phone sometimes it don't link up when I start my car. I go to the Bluetooth and press on it to make sure it's linked to my truck.

[SCVJeff]

My original iPhone 6 was rock-solid with SYNC, including reading text messages even though Ford says that it's incompatible. Then it was replaced and cloned from the 1st phone and there are a handful of issues showing up now. No more text message reading, and it will occasionally just drop the BT for no reason for 15-30sec, then reconnect. I have had the opposite problem with both devices generating a pass key for the other, and neither has a place to enter one... Have you looked at the Ford forums on this?

[Krusty]

Disconnect the vehicle battery for 5-10 minutes, then do SYNC reset again. Also restart your phone. Good idea to check the SYNC website (or Ford dealer)to see if you have an available software update

[mbopp]

I have a dumb phone that Sync wouldn't get messages from. I ended up resetting Sync, and deleting and re-installing my phone.

Have you tried emailing or chatting with Sync support?

[BenK]

It may have sync'd up with a neighbors Blue Tooth device without them, nor you knowing...

That is happening more and more...

If so...it is looking for that long lost device...

Try clearing all devices (delete) and starting all over in the middle of somewhere, where there are no other Blue Tooth devices...

Or some baddies 'tried' to get into your device...again, clear/delete all and start over

Updating firmware is always a good thing, but make sure your source is a trusted source...

[goducks10]

How new are your iPhones? When I had my 2010 F150 my older phone wouldn't stay sync'd for very long. I got a newer Android and the problem never showed up again.

[thomasmnile]

I have a decidedly 20th century dashboard in both my vehicles, but a question comes to mind. Is the data storage of these devices a limited capacity so at some point a firmware or other update is no longer possible, like smartphones, Garmin GPS devices (have experience with them), etc? Programmed obsolescence? Time for a new vehicle?

[OH48Lt]

That old Sync system only allows 2 devices to be paired, if its the same as what was in my wife's 2011 Edge. It would drop pairing occasionally also. Delete any devices in the system that were paired from the previous owner, maybe that will help.

The new Sync 3 system by the Blackberry people on the wife's new 2017 Edge is a vast improvement over the former Microsoft Sync, but it also drops pairing sometimes. Pain in the azz.