I own a 2011 Mazda 3 S Sport.

An android software update came down recently and ever since installation my bluetooth phone call audio (which has worked flawlessly since I purchased the car in 2015) is extremely low in volume and horribly garbled, rendering the function unusable.

All other bluetooth audio from my phone works perfectly. It is only and specifically the phone call audio that is screwed up.

I've tried every suggested fix I've been able to find in my scouring of the net (re-pairing, toggling bluetooth off and on, etc.) short of taking the vehicle to the dealership; all to no avail, of course. If anybody here has any tips or ideas or experience in solving this issue, I would be very glad and extremely appreciative to hear about it.

Thanks in advance.

 

I have a 2010 Mazda 3i Touring with the Bose system upgrade option.
I am wondering if I have a similar issue. All my Bluetooth works perfectly also, EXCEPT for phone calls. In my calls, it seems garbled and quiet (and in my case tinny sounding), but what I have narrowed it down to is that during my phone calls, the only speakers working are the tweeters in the door pillars right by the mirrors. For all other Bluetooth audio, all the speakers work. For phone calls, just those tiny ones in the door pillars where the mirrors mount. I have no answer for my issue yet.

 

Forget device then repair. You may need to remove all BT devices then light reset Network. Does your phone bt work on other cars?

 

OP here. Thanks for chiming in. I have the Bose sound system as well.

I checked the BT behavior again yesterday and confirmed that, same as in your case, only the tweeters on the upper part of the door are being engaged in phone call audio, as well as in the entire voice menu. Every statement from the audio assistant comes solely through those little speakers. All other BT audio is still working fine. This recent test was done using a new Samsung S22 that I hadn't even bothered pairing with the car before because of these stupid BT issues. I've pretty much given up on fixing the problem. I've looked around elsewhere and found no solutions. Just been living with it and using speaker phone in the car.

So, certainly sounds like we're having the same issue. If you happen to come across a fix, please post it here. I'll do the same if I stumble across anything.

Cheers, and safe travels.

 

Thanks for your response.

I paired a new phone to the car yesterday and experienced the same exact behavior as I described in the original post, and which the other respondent describes. The BT on this device works perfectly in my fiance's 2015 Civic SI, as did the BT on my previous phone, so it's definitely the Mazda 3 that's at fault.

I will attempt your suggestion of wiping all device pairings and resetting. Will report back in the next day or two with the results.

Cheers.

 

The Bluetooth technology in your 2011 Mazda3 is virtually obsolete with todays smartphones. Try surfing the internet with a computer from 2011.

 

Yes, I have EXACTLY the same problem for the last few years and was wondering if I was alone. Agreed with the other post that the Bluetooth system in general is "out-of-date", but that doesn't explain why playing music still sounds great while the voice assistant and phone calls sound terrible.

I'm not super experienced with electronics, but my guess is that due to age and maybe temperature cycles over the years one of the electrolytic capacitors (I presume) on an audio circuit specifically for the phone and audio assistant has gone bad. I have an agreement with my wife that I'm not allowed to take anything apart that works well enough and for which we don't already have a replacement though... So unlikely I'll find a fix if it's hardware related, but if I do I'll be glad to post about it!

Sometimes it's just nice to know you're not alone especially with oddball issues like this one where music still plays great haha.

 

Sadly I do not have a solution but I am hoping someone does. It is frustrating. It is Bluetooth and with an external connection so it is very puzzling.