Correct. Needs Bluetooth. Apple CarPlay / Android Auto work in the 2018 and up with wired versions…. Wireless CarPlay/android auto is back to a wireless design.

 

What a stupid design. Guess I won't be making calls in the car, but thanks for the info.

 

Not sure I'm following the problem - your phone has no Bluetooth? You can spend a hundred bucks, probably even less, on a lightly used, older phone on eBay that will work just fine via the BT connection with the 2015 head unit. I have the latest Galaxy phone from Samsung and that also works fine on my 2015. I use it for hands free calling as well as streaming my music collection.

 

I have Bluetooth (iPhone 13), but I hate having it turned on. It always wants to communicate with every other Bluetooth device it detects, so you have to constantly turn it on when you need it and then remember to turn it off. Also seems like a security vulnerability, and I'm your typical tin-foil-hat-wearing skeptic. Reminds me of a Wifi fridge where you have to download the app and adjust temperature from your phone instead of just opening the door and turning a dial like they've done for at least 75 years.

Feels like I'm just ranting now. Thanks everyone for your input. I love the car, but there are a few annoyances that make me question what Subaru was thinking (along with Gen5 seats that are worse than Gen4 seats, CVT fake shift points, 60/40 torque bias instead of 50/50, and elimination of manual transmissions on most American models).

 

It's a 2015 so that should have Mirrorlink. Play around with that for a while and suddenly Bluetooth will seem like it is the latest state of the art technology. 😆

 

You have a good point there

 

Afaik, there's no security issue leaving BT on, it requires your permission to connect to anything new. And any nuisance connections can be stopped by simply deleting whatever device is attempting to connect. But I've never seen anything I don't use trying to connect to my phone via BT or any other wireless method.

 

I don't even think its the car. I can't recall a phone that made calls by being plugged in.

 

Detecting nearby bluetooth devices is not the same as connecting to them. The phone will not connect unless you have given it permission. Having bluetooth enabled is not a security risk.

 

I don't even think its the car. I can't recall a phone that made calls by being plugged in.

It's down to a combination of OS on both the phone and whatever the car is using to communicate with the phone.

I have an incredibly vague recollection of there being some phones that supported USB as a hands-free connectivity method, but we're talking about a seriously tiny number of models that are from around the dawn of time for Bluetooth first appearing in cars. At this point, that's 20-plus years ago, and in a modern context even wired Carplay and Android Auto used Bluetooth for handsfree.

Detecting nearby bluetooth devices is not the same as connecting to them. The phone will not connect unless you have given it permission.

True, but there is a corollary to that. More:

Having bluetooth enabled is not a security risk.

Saying that enabling it is not a security risk is dangerous: it disregards the possibility of an unpatched or not-openly-known vulnerability being exploited. There have been vulnerabilities in Bluetooth stacks from the physical layer on up over the years, and while that hasn't happened frequently, it has happened. With this in mind and security best practices being what they are, switching things off that aren't vital to intended use is generally the right call.

Now, do I leave it switched on on my phone 24/7? Yep, pretty much, and I accept the potential risks that go along with that. But the @clunker71 is in charge of how he chooses to use his devices since he's the only one who knows the environment and use cases they're placed in. Can't really fault him for taking an active approach to his security posture since ultimately it doesn't affect anyone else.

As a general comment, one good reason for disabling Bluetooth is privacy. Retail establishments love to track footfall via Bluetooth - and that New York Times article is from six years ago. This has been happening since about the early 2010s, really picked up steam after roughly 2015, and is now an exceptionally efficient aggregator of customer movements both in and between properties (i.e., stores) as well as a passive correlator of spending habits, demographic information, and so forth.

Ain't living in the future just grand?

 

@clunker71 Try to find a car app for your phone. Android has CarDashdroid that will answer a call turning on speakerphone. Then you talk away. You will need to mount the phone so you can be heard by the mic on the phone and end a call with a quick touch if needed. I have to believe iPhones have an app like that.

 

I'll just add, I was surprised the other day, that I could make a make phone call while driving my 18 3.6, with my iphone SE in my pocket. We have owned the car since new Oct 2017.

I normally have it plugged in using the WAZE app while on a long drive.

I'll admit, this BT and wifi stuff...well confuses me... but it's not like I really care. I learned to drive back in 1970, so I know how to drive without it.

 

Your phone should have a setting so it does not attempt to communicate with every other Bluetooth device it detects.

From reading back on the thread, it appears as though there may be a misconception as to how Bluetooth operates.

On the vast majority of modern devices, no attempt to connect to another unknown Bluetooth device is made unless the end user explicitly attempts it. Devices will be scanned for in the background and will appear in a list of nearby devices, sure, but until one of those nearby devices is selected there is no communication taking place. In effect, the user's device is just receiving broadcast signals from other devices, similar to how a radio or TV receives programming over the air. There is a bit more to it than that, but as a 50,000-foot view it holds.

If a nearby device is selected and is known to the user's device (i.e., they've been paired), then the two will establish a connection and communicate back and forth.

If the nearby device is unknown (not paired) to the user's device, they'll go through setting up communications with each other, typically by exchanging a PIN that the users of each device must verify before any connectivity can be established.

It's pretty safe, but I still won't argue against someone seeing a need to keep it disabled unless needed.

I'll admit, this BT and wifi stuff...well confuses me... but it's not like I really care. I learned to drive back in 1970, so I know how to drive without it.

Amazing how we survived with maps that didn't need batteries, more pedals than we have feet, and windows that were controlled by the driver, not an electronic module. Truly, we were a primitive people

 

I have a '12 OB and daily use Bluetooth to play music and talk on the phone. On my car, set up and switching between my phone and my wife's phone is tedious and sometimes frustrating, but once set up it works just fine. In comparison, the Bluetooth infotainment system in my '18 4Runner is light years ahead in pairing and connectivity. And my phone is always in my shirt pocket.

One negative aspect of Bluetooth pairing. The car might be set for either of our phones; the other of us goes to leave. One of us may be talking on our phone in the house and suddenly cannot hear whom we're talking to since now the car has taken over the phone via Bluetooth. Since I live in a rural area, I've seen my car travel over a quarter mile before it looses connection with Bluetooth.

 

This thread was already pretty neatly wrapped up IMO so continuing with these verbose replies to issues already largely addressed seems a bit much. While nobody has been casting aspersions on folks who may be a little paranoid, worrying about someone hacking your phone wirelessly really should be reconsidered in my view (you're losing out on major convenience features), it's probably even less likely than a thief using a relay attack to steal your 10 year old Outback.