I can't get messages from my iPhone to my car's audio system - does iPhone support MAP?

Question

I recently purchased a new car (a Toyota if that matters), and on the weekend I discovered that I should be able to receive SMS and MMS messages via the car’s audio/navigation unit.

I spent about two hours trying to get this to work with my iPhone 6s, but nothing I tried worked. All other functions seem to work fine. I can play Apple Music, podcasts etc through the unit. I can use voice control through the unit. I can make and receive phone calls through the unit. I can import my address book just fine. What I can’t do is import/receive text messages.

I’ve tried rebooting my iPhone. I’ve tried repairing my iPhone to the car’s audio system multiple times. I’ve tried changing the settings on the car’s system from being the one to initiate the bluetooth connection to letting the phone initiate the connection and vice versa.

Looking over the owners manual again I see that for a smartphone to support the messaging function it has to support the MAP bluetooth profile.

Does the iPhone 6s support the MAP bluetooth profile? If it does, how can I get this to work?

Answer 1

Firstly, all iPhones since the iPhone 5s support the Message Access Profile (MAP). For more information see Bluetooth profiles that iOS supports.

As for how you can get this to work, it seems to me you’ve done a great job of trying to troubleshoot this. However, one thing you probably missed (because it isn’t at all obvious!) is the fact you may need to enable Show Notifications.

To do this:

1. On your iPhone go into Settings
2. Tap on Bluetooth
3. Find the listing for your car’s device and tap on the info icon (it’s the blue circle with an i in it)
4. Now make sure that Show Notifications is enabled

Once you’ve done that, try again to use the messages function. Please note, however, that many car units won’t import messages already on the phone, so the best way to test this is to have someone send you a text while the phone is connected.