iPhone 16 Pro randomly connects to Echo Dot devices via Bluetooth

Hi BoostJet3,

Thanks for pursuing this issue!

I live in a rural area and not in Bluetooth range of a nearest neighbor. HOWEVER, I have quite a few Echo devices along with numerous non-Echo Bluetooth speakers and headphones including two pairs of AirPods. The Echo devices have been in use for years and up until a few months ago, I was able to use my other non-Echo Bluetooth speakers and headphones without fault.

Over the past few months I experienced the same issue you accurately described and discovered the issue when my AirPod connection dropped and didn’t automatically reconnect. When the disconnect occurred I went into the iPhone Bluetooth settings and noticed a number of the Echo devices showing “Connected” but no “i” to force disconnect/forget device. The Echo devices connect and disconnect randomly. Sometimes they disconnect for a long period of time and other times they seem to constantly connect/disconnect.

It seems this issue started with either IOS 18.5 or 18.6 and I’m hoping IOS26 addresses the issue.

Please let us know if Apple Support provides a resolution.

• A few other notes:
• I tried most of the troubleshooting steps in this post and others I found online to no avail.
• There have been occasions when I contact Apple Support about an issue and they don’t have a record of the issue in their knowledge base, but apparently Apple software engineering/development seem to know about the issue because the issue appears to be get resolved in a subsequent software release. I’ve noticed this with iPhone/iPad/Mac/Watch OS issues I’ve encountered and reported to Apple Support.
• I have the Alexa app installed on my iPhone, but the “Sidewalk” option is disabled and my Echo devices are not in discovery mode. The Echo devices seem to be transmitting a Bluetooth signal in spite of not being in discovery mode and “Sidewalk” sharing disabled. Therefore the Echo devices seem be part of the problem. On the other hand, with Apple being very committed to user privacy, it seems they would want to make sure to not allow “rogue” devices to randomly connect to Apple devices without explicit permission from users.

Thank you for that. You can reset your Bluetooth settings which would clear all Bluetooth connections that you currently have by going to Settings>General>Transfer or Rest iPhone>Reset>Reset Network Settings. That will also change a number of other things, including wi-fi, the name of your device will be changed back to just iPhone. Up to you if you wish to do this and then set them back up again to see if that helps. Kind of like a nuclear fix, but it depends on what you want to do. I cannot find Echo-Dot.btn anywhere to see, the closest I get is Echo Dot Button.

Given that none of us can come up with a solution, I suggest you involve Apple Support at this point. It may have to be elevated to the engineers to study, but I don't think any of us can provide any additional steps. Official Apple Support

I'm having this issue as well so I went to the Alexa App and started looking through the all the settings. On the App, one of the setting called Amazon Sidewalk. Apparently it connects t o echo devices and ring devices when you're near them. I'm going to disable this and hopefully I can enjoy my music in peace.

Lets hope it works

Those are BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices, that connect to an app and do not require pairing. Do you have the Alexa app on your iPhone, even if you are not using it? That’s what they are trying to connect to.

If you don’t have it then they just appear because you are close to them, but they likely aren’t the source of the interference; there is something else in the neighborhood that is causing it.

There is something odd. I have 2 Echo Dots, and neither of them appear in my Bluetooth list, even when I am right next to them as I am as I write post (about 1 foot away).

If you are not paired with an Echo Dot, and you do not have Settings/Bluetooth open, your phone cannot see any bluetooth device. It’s only if you open Settings/Bluetooth that you can see a device, and it will only show as available, not as Connected.

As it is hard to find ANY home that does not have Amazon Echo devices, if they are the problem it would happen everywhere.

As a quick clarification: are you talking about an Echo Dot, or an AiDot, which is a totally different device that DOES use Bluetooth.

As both Tim and I have said, the problem is some other form of interference→Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

If it happens in specific places, and the same places every time, it is almost certainly microwave interference→Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support. The frequency range used by Bluetooth is in an unlicensed band, and is also included in S band (2 to 4 GHz) radar. Uses include airport surveillance radar, air traffic control radar, surface ship radar, weather radar and ground penetrating radar. So if you are near an airport, body of water when larger boats and ships or weather stations that is a likely cause. Bluetooth’s 2.4 GHz is right in the middle of S band.

iOS 26 did not resolve the issue in my case. However, I DO have the Alexa app installed and turned off “Bluetooth” in the Alexa app settings (located in the “Settings” app, not the Alexa app).

Turning off Bluetooth for the Alexa app seems to have resolved the issue in my case. I understand others do NOT have the Alexa app and continue to experience the problem. I’ll provide and update if the issue returns.

Echo devices connect to the Echo (Alexa) app via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), a mode that does not require pairing with the phone. If the app is on your device and enabled all Echo devices within range will connect to that app. (I used to have that problem with Tiles until the Tile app switched to a “round robin” connection method, so only one was connected at a time). Amazon is apparently not smart enough to do that, or they assume that you don’t have that many Echo devices in range.

The BT standard limits a master device like an iPhone to 7 simultaneous devices.

What you need to do is observe your phone and monitor the connections in real time. I understand what you're seeing leads you to believe the Dots are at fault, however, correlation does not necessarily imply causation.

Given the popularity and widespread use of Echo dots, it's entirely possible that there is something else in the locations where you observer the issue that is causing the problem. It's equally likely that there are locations with Dots where the problem does not occur, which would indicate the dots are not the cause of the problem.

I've been reading this thread and wanted to clarify something. Like Lawrence, I have an Echo Dot here at home, although it is an older generation that looks like a thick pill. It does not appear in my Bluetooth list, but I do have the Alexa app on my iPhone.

Let me ask, if you are at home and not experiencing any of this interference, does the Echo appear in your Bluetooth list when you open it? Then, when you are out walking in the neighborhood and experience the interference, are you stopping right then and opening your Bluetooth app and then noticing this Echo in your list and it says "Connected"? As mentioned earlier, your iPhone will not attempt to connect to anything via Bluetooth until it is placed into pairing mode. Opening the Bluetooth app puts the iPhone into pairing mode. If you close the Bluetooth app, it takes it out of pairing mode and nothing can attempt to connect to your device.