Explain Bluetooth

jcrosi · Mar 21, 2004

Waiting on delivery of 2004 325I. (Prem/Sport Package) Bmw assist

What exactly is Bluetooth?
Will I have in my car?
What is the cost?

Finally have production date with estimated completion date of 03/31

Need to sell A-4, 1998 2.8 quattro with Sport and Winter packages, only 61,000 miles, with an automatic starter and Bose sound system -Anyone interested?

Thanks for all the great info I find these forums

Millreef · Mar 21, 2004

Bluetooth (simply put) is a wireless technology that allows two devices to speak to each other (let's say up to 30 ft away). Generally, it can be used wherever you used to connect devices with cables (eg. compute to printer; keyboard to printer; cell phone to earpiece, etc.....). I'd be surprised if that option is available on your 3 series....I'd have liked to have that option if I'd know.

TheBry · Mar 21, 2004

Actually, BlueTooth was included with my car without me having to ask. When I took delivery, there was a BlueTooth ID card as part of the delivery paperwork. The ID is supposed to be unique to my car. Perhaps they're throwing in BlueTooth as part of the telephone prep and BMW Assist. Then, again, I've got a 330ci... maybe it's standard on the 330 and optional on the 325. Regardless, I think it's a cool feature. Some of the luxury Japanese makes have had this as an option for over a year now... it's about time BMW showed them how to do it right.

vlad · Mar 21, 2004

From what my dealer told me the last time I inquired about bluetooth, BMW is supposedly going to be available for all BMWS. Personally, I think that BMW will put in a cut off though. I mean comon, how may Isetta owners will want to install bluetooth!

deutsch100 · Mar 21, 2004

Bluetooth ID card????

TheBry said:

Hey there TheBry!!! Does your Bluetooth work?? I was not given a Bluetooth ID card when I took delivery of my 04' 330cic in mid February. I was told by the dealer and BMWNA that Bluetooth will NOT work if you have BMW assist. Since I have BMW assist...no Bluetooth. BMWNA said they "should/are hoping to have a retro fit kit by Sept. 2004.

Let me know if yours works...then I will def. contact my dealer for my Bluetooth ID card. Thanks a lot!!!!!

gizzy · Mar 22, 2004

The bluetooth ID card that comes with your 2004 car has something to do with the BMW assist. BMW has a seperate module for bluetooth that uses some of the same wiring that the Assist module uses. The bluetooth module costs about $500 and allows you to pare a bluetooth enabled phone to your car so that you have hands-free comunication available. Since your car has Assist already though, you would have to remove the Assist module and install the Bluetooth module to work. Rumor (a message found on another board) has it that BMW will have a new Assist module that will work with Bluetooth in September though I have not seen anything from BMW on this.

suntigen · Mar 22, 2004

I have a 2004 330xi. I took delivery in late Feb/2004.

My car came with the Bluetooth Card... but that's just because my car (like all 3-Series produced after 5/2003) is pre-wired for a Bluetooth module.

gizzy (posted above) is right however. In order for me to activate Bluetooth... I had to pay about $500 and disconnect BMW Assist.

I have heard rumors about a hybrid BMW Assist/Bluetooth module also... but no confirmation of when/if it will be available.

Bluetooth essentially activates an inbound/outbound phone for my car wirelessly every time I have the phone in my pocket (or briefcase) while driving. The BT Module uploads your directory to the car, and you can scroll through you numbers to dial (like you would an integrated phone kit) on your display (if you have Nav) or your radio. The BMW BT module also supports voice dialing, so you can speak a number and it will dial your phone for you.

It's really a very well done kit. I love it, and now I don't know what I would do without it!

- matthewk

jcrosi · Mar 22, 2004

Thanks for the Info

Good info, thanks....$500 bucks, I think thats expensive given the fact that you are buying a luxery sedan and then have to disconnect another feature that was already included. ( in my case - BMW Assisit). BMW has to come up with a better way to integrate the two

Just my thoughts

TheBry · Mar 22, 2004

$500 bucks does seem expensive. I just assumed since my car came with the BlueTooth info card, that it featured the BlueTooth module. Amazing the stuff you learn on the board that your dealer won't (or neglected to) tell you. So... another question for you, Matthew... do you have the NAV system? You described the behavior of the address book above, but I'd like confirmation before moving forward. I'm seriously thinking about dropping the BMW Assist in favor of the BlueTooth functionality.

suntigen · Mar 22, 2004

I have Nav... and it works great.

Once you have paired your BT phone to your car (takes about 5 minutes, only the first time you use it) (and you can pair up to 4 phones)... you're car then remembers your phone. During the pairing process, you will need the BT number that comes on the car (as sort of a PIN) so your phone and car authenticate each other.

I start the engine and the red (middle) light on the top right of the Nav system comes on. After about 30 seconds (sometimes as long as a minute), the light goes out. This means my phone and car are "in sync" and connected.

At this point the phone's address book is uploaded to the car, and you can scroll through it either with the steering wheel controls, or Nav controls.

When the phone is in use, the green (left) light on the top right of the Nav unit comes on.

When a call is placed or recieved, the radio auto-mutes, and the speakers from your radio are used for the conversation. There also is a mike (already installed on BMW Assist equipped cars) located on the roof closer to the passanger side (I would have thought it would be better closer to the driver, but I'm not a BMW Engineer).

Your call history is all stored on the phone, so inbound and outbound calls still show up on your phone's history. The car only knows about call history made or recieved on the car.

BTW - I'm using a Motorola V600 phone... On limitation I've found with the Moto phone is the wacky way Moto phones store phone numbers. Every person I know has multiple ways to call them, and on most address books (read: Nokia or Sony Ericcson) there is one name in the address book, with multiple numbers assigned. Mototrola seems to create an address book entry for each phone number, and you assign the entry a tag like "mobile", or "home".

This presented a problem when my phone sync's to the BMW BT kit, because the name is all that is sync'ed (not the tag indicating if the number was a "mobile" or "home" number). I band-aided the problem by re-entering my address book on my phone so that the number type is in the name as well (i.e., a user who used to be called "John Smith" with a mobile tag became "Smith, J - M".

I had to shorten many names also, because the BMW BT only displays the first 8 (don't quote me on 8... but its a few) characters of an address book entry name.

Aside from those two limitations, it works great!

It a nice setup, and I feel much safer using this car kit then a wired hands-free kit, or holding the phone up to my ear.

Maxer · Mar 22, 2004

I'm 100% on dropping BMW Assist for Bluetooth. It'd be sweet to just walk in the car and have it connect with my phone. Do you really need BMW Assist if you have a cell phone?

TheBry · Mar 22, 2004

That seals it for me guys... thanks so much for the detail, Matthew. I've got NAV and BMW Assist, and am going to cancel my BMW Assist (and get a bluetooth mobile phone). I've been eyeing the Sony/Ericsson T-616.

Matthew, if I may ask one more favor... I'd like to know how much labor was involved in having the BMW Assist deactivated, and the BMW BlueTooth module installed. Did you have it done at your dealer? My dealer charges something like $150 per hour for labor.

Talk2USoon · Mar 23, 2004

BLUETOOTH and 2004 330ci convertibles INCOMPATIBILITY at present time

Found this post when researching the options for my car. I wanted to know if the navigation screen would be visible with my convertible top down (2004 Orient Blue/Sand 330ciC with NO option spared - Hardtop, Steptronic, Sport, Cold Weather & Premium packages, rear side airbags, 6 CD changer, alarm, Xexon headlights, park distance control & fee-activated BMW assist).

It details an 2204 330ci convertible owner's frustration with trying to get Blue Tooth to work.

Subject: Re: 2004 BMW 330i and Blue tooth
View: Complete Thread (5 articles)
Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.autos.bmw
Date: 2003-12-01 16:19:04 PST

It is available from BMW for the 2004ci, but NOT for the 2004 330cic.

I ordered the phone, they tried to install it (yes, an authorized BMW
dealership and service center), they kept the car two days, and gave up in
despair. I then spent several weeks trying to reach corporate without
success and gave up in disgust.

The 330cic has a volume control to adjust volume (louder) when the top is
down. The service center claims that the kit is incompatible with the
volume control and results in the volume going in the wrong direction with
the danger of bursting speakers and eardrums.

BWM North America claims only that it is not available, the engineers are
working on it, and hope to have it Real Soon Now.

All my attempts to contact BMW in other countries (UK, GE, NL) get routed
back to the poor hapless customer rep ("Tricia") in BMW NA who gives me the
same canned response.

When I threw a hissy fit, the poor hapless soul's supervisor wrote back to
say:

QUOTE
Congratulations on the purchase of your new 2004 BMW 330Cic. We appreciate
your business and are happy to read of your excitement regarding your new
BMW and Bluetooth technology. I am Tricia's supervisor and have reviewed
your questions and concerns.

I agree Bluetooth technology is an amazing feature and advancement in the
cellular industry and I can understand your eagerness to get this installed
in your new BMW. I apologize that I have to reiterate that the service
department was correct when they explained to you that the Bluetooth
technology is not available on your model at this time. There are specific
electronic and component requirements for Bluetooth technology on each BMW
model. Our engineers are diligently working on the compatibility and
needed hardware for the 2004 BMW 330Cic. There should be more information
shortly regarding the availability of a Bluetooth accessory kit for your
BMW 330Cic and we appreciate your patience during this exciting time.

It is best for you to stay in contact with your center, as they are
provided with the most up-to-date information regarding the availability of
Bluetooth technology. We would be delighted to contact the Parts Manager
and let him know you are still interested in this accessory if you would
like for us to do that. If you would like to discuss this further please
call us at 800-831-1117 or respond to this e-mail.

UNQUOTE

All of which throws in a lot of marketing hyperbole but still says it isn't
available for the cic. I know that.

My response was

QUOTE

Thank you for your reply.

Regarding all the marketing hyperbole, I'm not all that excited or amazed. I
was just concerned that I was getting a computer generated answer instead
of a logical comprehensive reply from a responsible person who could look
beyond the answer on the screen.

Now I get cheerful marketing hyperbole but the same answer, "It is not
available." I know that.

What I still do not have is the answer that BMW senior management knows
about this, nor an answer as to when it will be available, nor an answer to
why all this information was included with the car without the capability
being available, nor an acknowledgement to the fact that they *did* have a
kit for the convertible that just didn't work, etc. etc. etc.

I suspect I never shall get those answers so shall not spend any more time
on this.

Please do have [the service center] contact me when the product is
available.

Thank you for taking the time to putting a human face on the response.

UNQUOTE

to which I have received no reply, but that is ok. If they can't deliver the
results there is nothing to talk about.

Haven't had time to track down the actual mailing address of the CEO in
Germany, but when I do I'll give him an earful. (None of the websites give
mailing addresses that I can find.) I can't believe they would 1) prewire
the car 2) include documentation for the kit and 3) offer the kit for sale
if it hadn't been tested ten ways to Sunday in Germany. My guess is they
just haven't gotten around to properly instructing the folks on this side
of the pond, and the latter don't have the time or motivation to track it
down.

I DID get a call from their marketing people asking for a customer
satisfaction reply, gave them all ones for the service department because
of this.

But, I have a life and have to work, so haven't taken the time to pursue it
further. I'll bet they can make it work in the UK, where they just
instigated a NO CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING policy...

Cheers, Andy

Kaos wrote:

> On 30/11/03 4:46 pm, in article
> I9pyb.28127$aN3.26261@newssvr29.news.prodigy.com, "ag"
> <ageisse@pacbell.net> wrote:
>
>> Sales told me that "blue tooth was availble" for the 330i. But I can't
>> find
>> it on the web site, or the sales brochure. Is it true? Made by BMW or
>> aftermarket?
>>
>>
> It's BMW, and well worth it. It will also allow you to select the more
> expensive voice activation feature for BMW, which integrates cd
> interchanger, sat nav and phone functions.

suntigen · Mar 23, 2004

One of the chief advantages of BMW Assist (over a BT Phone) is it's ability to call for help when airbags deploy. The BT kit doesn't do that.

As far as labor goes. I think it was 2 hours... but I don't know for certain. They charged me the "book rate", because it took them the better part of a day to install it properly (this was their first BT kit install).

One thing you can and should do, is ask for the assist module to take with you. essentially the BT kit takes the assist module out of the trunk of your car (driver's side behind moudling), and replaces with an almost identicle looking module for BT.

BT then uses the same interface to your radio, same mic, and same steering wheel controls. The BT kit also require the installation of a "sync" button under the armrest, and attaching a BT antena to the kit. If you have assist, it's very easy (even for DIY) to install.

TheBry · Mar 23, 2004

Matthew, it hadn't occurred to me that you have the sedan. I've got the convertible, and Talk2USoon says BlueTooth is not compatible at this time. That seems really odd since they did, indeed, provide BlueTooth ID cards, etc.

Talk2USoon... please let me know if you hear anything back. I really want this feature.

uber_3er · Mar 23, 2004

Hey- this has been a really interesting thread.

I am just about to take delivery of a 2004 330Ci in Munich in a couple of weeks. I did NOT order the car with BMW Assist, so I'm wondering what's involved to set it up for BT?

If the BT module still has to be installed, I also wonder if they can do this at a dealer in Germany while I'm there, as my Sony Ericsson T616 is a Tri-Band phone and with a European SIM Chip installed, I can use it over there on a local network. (How cool is that gonna be!?)

Any ideas?

Hey I'm back- one quick call to 800-831-1117 got my question answered (sort of)... so here's the FYI-

I still need the module (the only difference is there is no ASSIST to disconnect now), but it must be done back in the US, as apparantly the German module would not be compatible. I'm actually suspicious of this, as my phone works in both countries!! I may pop into a German dealer and try and explain all this (probably not very well as I don't speak more than a few words of German...)

I'm off to Europe on Thursday [wave]

Talk2USoon · Mar 23, 2004

BLUETOOTH ID card = Direct dial access to your vehicle!!

Matthew, it hadn't occurred to me that you have the sedan. I've got the convertible, and Talk2USoon says BlueTooth is not compatible at this time. That seems really odd since they did, indeed, provide BlueTooth ID cards, etc.

Talk2USoon... please let me know if you hear anything back. I really want this feature.<<<<<

The BLUE TOOTH ID card reveals your vehicle's direct dial phone number (necessary for the BMW ASSIST to contact you in an emergency).

I certainly will post if I hear anything. I wanted to clarify though, that the experience
I posted about was not my own. I had done a GOOGLE "Groups" search using the query
"2004 BMW 330cic" and saved the link for future reference as I am very much interested in having/using a BLUE TOOTH enabled phone.

I have been able to dial INTO my car using the ID number supplied on the BlueTooth card (you answer using the phone icon on your steering wheel).
I realized it was possible during the BMW ASSIST registration process (where I paid the fee to activate).
I don't know if you incur any charges in doing this (Satellite phone fees can cost upwards of $8 a minute) but it explains WHY(at the present time, you can't have both BLUETOOTH and BMW ASSIST.
I see no reason that I wouldn't be able to dial out as well, but I will reserve further testing until I know what charges I may have already incurred.

deutsch100 · Mar 23, 2004

hey über_3er. Have a good trip/hab doch eine schöne Reise. Keep us posted with what you find out. I too am a bit skeptical with whtt they said...it should be able to be installed in Deutschland. Authorized BMW dealers want the money for the service visit here!!!

Ich wünsche Dir ein guter Flug und eine sichere, schöne Reise. You will do fine mit deinem Deutsch...just relax and smile a lot!!!!! [:)]

uber_3er · Mar 23, 2004

Thanks Deutsch100. Maybe you should compile a handy phrase list for me [:D]

Stuff like,

"Excuse me, how much will it be to install a Blue Tooth module for this US spec car?"

"That much!! Can you do any better than that?"

"Do you have a car with Blue Tooth enabled on the lot? Perhaps you can synch it with this US phone- that way I will know if it will work..."

"Can you recommend a really cool road in the area to drive my car on??"

"Where do all the hotties hang out?"

[:o)]

deutsch100 · Mar 23, 2004

hey again uber_3er. Here are your phrases translated for you...just practice your pronunciation.... Let me know if this is cool!!!!!

1. Entschuldigung..." Wieviel kostet um Sie das Bluetoothhandysystem in einem Amerikanischen BMW zu installieren"?

2. "Das ist aber zu viel!!!!! Mit sicherheit können Sie das billiger machen"!

3. "Haben sie jetzt einen Wagen mit dem Bluetoothsystem? Vielleicht können Sie bitte es mit meinem amerikanischen Handy synchronisieren, also ich weiss, ob es functioniert"

4. "Emphelen Sie eine gute Bahn in der Nähe, um mein neuer Wagen zu probieien?"

5. Do you want guy hotties (gay) or girl hotties (straight)?? For guys- "Wissen Sie wo gibt's koole schwule kneipen mit heissen, schönen Typen"?
For girls- " Wissen Sie wo die schöne, heisse Mädchen herumtreiben"?

Cool!!! Good Luck. Let me know!!!!

Explain Bluetooth

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