Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX Connection Issues

Cross-post from the AV Forum for visibility for 3rd gen owners....

Like many 3rd gen owners, I installed the

$1,100 Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX 9" Capacitive Touchscreen, Modular Chassis – Wireless & Wired Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, Bluetooth, HD Radio, FLAC, Backup Camera, Hi-Volt RCA

Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX head unit ealry last year. While I otherwise love the unit, I have had a constant intermittent issue with the head unit refusing to connect to my phone. It will randomly fail to connect, and in most cases, manually trying to connect or even restarting the unit fails to resolve the problem. It will then randomly start to work the next time I drive the truck.

Was wondering if any other owners have had similar issues, and maybe have come across a fix? Pioneer support was pretty useless, blaming it on my phone or incorrect settings. This has been happening with iPhones and Androids, so I don't think it's an issue with phones themselves, but rather the unit.

I suspect there is something wrong with drops in wifi/bluetooth, as even the Car AV Assist app fails to connect most of the time. It will give a generic 'cannot cannext to bluetooth/wifi' errors, while the unit's settings seem to point that the connection is enabled and made. When this thing works, it's great. But man, it can be frustrating.

 

I have the WT7600NEX and have the same issues. Happens about once a week or so but I've found if you go into the Bluetooth settings in your phone (I have iphone) and click connect, it connects up right away. Annoying but it happens on my wife's 2025 Lexus and all her stuff is stock...