German Language in US :-(
08-12-2004, 01:30 PM
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More on the BMW phone with Verizon service: another Verizon store told me today that the phone would "no longer work" in the BMW if they upgraded it. The BMW dealership called me back and confirmed now that BMW has instructed Verizon not to upgrade the phones anymore because of all the problems that existed...
The BMW phone that I have, although brand new, apparently does not have the latest software (firmware), which is different from the updated tower list that you get with dialing *228. But now I am stuck with the current software until BMW figures out what to fix. (and yes, the rubber cap is removed, and I can only speak for my experience with Verizon). The dealership now also said that the problem seems to be with the car kit thinking that my speaking is background noise (no, my voice isn't that horrible ;-) ) and that's why it gets so chopped up. Should work better with the windows open and more driving noise, they said...
Yes, indeed, the car is a dream to drive, but it should be no surprise that perfectionists are drawn to this car, and then they are disappointed if not everything is perfect -- but the drive definitely is!
The BMW phone that I have, although brand new, apparently does not have the latest software (firmware), which is different from the updated tower list that you get with dialing *228. But now I am stuck with the current software until BMW figures out what to fix. (and yes, the rubber cap is removed, and I can only speak for my experience with Verizon). The dealership now also said that the problem seems to be with the car kit thinking that my speaking is background noise (no, my voice isn't that horrible ;-) ) and that's why it gets so chopped up. Should work better with the windows open and more driving noise, they said...
Yes, indeed, the car is a dream to drive, but it should be no surprise that perfectionists are drawn to this car, and then they are disappointed if not everything is perfect -- but the drive definitely is!
08-12-2004, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by PeterF' date='Aug 12 2004, 11:30 PM
Yes, indeed, the car is a dream to drive, but it should be no surprise that perfectionists are drawn to this car, and then they are disappointed if not everything is perfect -- but the drive definitely is!
I AM a perfectionist, and it hurts driving around with this beautiful car, knowing it could be even better!
08-12-2004, 03:14 PM
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You won't believe this!!!:
Someone mentioned that with one key they still had RDS labels, and with the other not. This made me curious, and so I went to see what happens if I use my second key again (I believe I had used that one when I initially took the car in for the phone installation AND the switch to German language).
Well, I don't have RDS with either key, but interestingly I have the German language still set with the second key -- and voice commands function, too (in English, but that's ok). Apparently, the key stores the language preference, and this one still had it set. Now I can pick which key -- and which language -- I want to use. The BMW service was not able to get voice commands working with the German language setting, but my second key can... LMAO
I went into the language settings menu while in German, but the menu did not have an option for German anymore, so I would have been forced to select US English or Spanish or French again, without any other way out -- I quickly turned off the ignition so I would not have to do so, and it stayed in German for this key.
Someone mentioned that with one key they still had RDS labels, and with the other not. This made me curious, and so I went to see what happens if I use my second key again (I believe I had used that one when I initially took the car in for the phone installation AND the switch to German language).
Well, I don't have RDS with either key, but interestingly I have the German language still set with the second key -- and voice commands function, too (in English, but that's ok). Apparently, the key stores the language preference, and this one still had it set. Now I can pick which key -- and which language -- I want to use. The BMW service was not able to get voice commands working with the German language setting, but my second key can... LMAO
I went into the language settings menu while in German, but the menu did not have an option for German anymore, so I would have been forced to select US English or Spanish or French again, without any other way out -- I quickly turned off the ignition so I would not have to do so, and it stayed in German for this key.
08-12-2004, 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by PeterF' date='Aug 12 2004, 10:01 AM
My phone is still not working well (BMW's V60s with Verizon service) in that whenever I call someone from the car, they can barely understand me, the connection is chopped up and very poor quality -- it works fine without the hands-free kit. Another Verizon phone (an older V60i) with me in the car shows much better signal strength than the BMW phone when installed in its cradle... So, that still needs to be resolved.
Phone installation post
If you go to page 3 of the post you will see the following pictures explained:
Above is a picture of the antenna not being attached.
Below is a picture of the antenna attached.
A big thanks to mrbelk and jksanford for this original post. It saved me some major aggravation with my dealer.
08-13-2004, 07:10 AM
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Yes, indeed thanks to mrbelk and jksanford, and thanks for your detailed reply, Wash n Wax!!
I had found this information yesterday evening and already looked in the trunk to confirm that the antenna cable was indeed NOT connected. I tried it out today, and VOILA signal strength is way up and at least my short tests so far went very well, seem to work perfectly now (I will see better next week when driving longer commutes where I have had serious problems before).
I stopped by the dealership today as well and showed the technician the connection that had to be made -- he had no clue of this, their instructions don't include that step... They were very appreciative of the information I shared, so hopefully this is the beginning of a positive partnership -- thanks to THIS FORUM!
I appreciate everyone's help.
I had found this information yesterday evening and already looked in the trunk to confirm that the antenna cable was indeed NOT connected. I tried it out today, and VOILA signal strength is way up and at least my short tests so far went very well, seem to work perfectly now (I will see better next week when driving longer commutes where I have had serious problems before).
I stopped by the dealership today as well and showed the technician the connection that had to be made -- he had no clue of this, their instructions don't include that step... They were very appreciative of the information I shared, so hopefully this is the beginning of a positive partnership -- thanks to THIS FORUM!
I appreciate everyone's help.
08-13-2004, 07:26 AM
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Originally Posted by PeterF' date='Aug 12 2004, 12:01 PM
Another Verizon phone (an older V60i) with me in the car shows much better signal strength than the BMW phone when installed in its cradle... So, that still needs to be resolved.
Based on the quote above, I assumed the problem was related to the phone since he implied that a different phone worked (which only left the rubber cap on the phone possibility). It just goes to show you that you never know until you ask and us "troubleshooters" shouldn't assume anything!
Glad the forum came through for you Fred!
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