I just upgraded my March 04 production for Bluetooth. The upgrade worked fine but I am having a problem with my phone. I have a Blackberry 7100t and I did the software upgrade to the phone so it now pairs and does not disconnect. When I place the call, the radio mutes and I can hear the caller perfectly--one problem--they cannot hear me when I talk. Am I supposed to press any button once connected ? Has anyone else had a similar problem with anonther type of phone and do you know of a fix? Thanks for the help.

 

When you say "upgrade" was it just a retrofit via software, or did you replace the TCU? If you have an early March production vehicle you may need to have the TCU replaced with latest version (84-11-6-955-688). Also the Blackberries don't have full Bluetooth functionality, as they do not broadcast address books to vehicle. I was told that this was a security measure so that no one could gather sensitive information from the device as many government agencies use them.

 

This was the retrofit via the software. The Bluetooth works as described in the instructions. A new TCU was not necessary. You are correct, that the address book of the Blackberry will not transfer but with the Blackberry software upgrade, it is supposed to act as a speaker phone e.g: you dial from the phone and then the car's bluetooth capabilities take over. As previously stated, everything works with the exception that the caller cannot hear me. BMW customer service says it may be a microphone issue. Does anyone know when the software uopgrade is done if tthe microphone in the car needs to be activated? If so, that would explain why I can't be heard.

 

A simple test to see if your car microphone is working is to try your BMW Assist. If they can hear you (or could hear you before the retrofit), then your microphone is fine since it is the only one in the car. I had a customer come in with an early March production vehicle and it sounds like you are having the same symptoms after we tried to retrofit via software. It turned out that we had to replace his TCU with the latest hardware version. I have seen the Blackberry 7100r (which is very similar to your model) work with 2 X5's. However that being said there were some Bluetooth connectivity issues where the phone would lose its connection with the car intermittently. I contacted tech support for Blackberries and was told that a firmware update (version 4.something) would be out later this month or early next month that should solve this issue. If you have a Canadian model you can PM me the last 8 digits of your VIN and I will see what exact date your car was manufactured.

 

Just a wild guess, but have you tried pressing the phone button on the steering wheel ? Maybe it activates the microphone ?

 

Yes, but it did not work.

 

Can you get someone else with a different bluetooth phone to connect and see if it does it with that phone aswell

Then you can see if its the phone or the car

 

I will try.

 

My best educated guess is that your TCU doesn't support full BT...your problem is exactly what occurs with the older TCUs if you enable BT thru software. I suggest you look at the TCU part # (behind panel of L side of trunk). If the # doesn't have a 955 or 956 in it, that is your problem.

 

welcome aboard, maug1 !