Bluetooth & iphone 4 issue

5985 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by avlnch, Dec 4, 2010

stormingjock

Discussion Starter · Nov 12, 2010

Hello everyone, I'm new to this site having purchased a 2005 Silverstone II M5 a week or so ago. I have to say i'm absolutely loving the car although taking it very easy at the moment until i get used to having that much power at my disposal!

I do have one issue which I'm hoping you can help me with. I've paired my iphone 4 to the bluetooth system no problem and can access my contact lists and make calls, however while in a call the signal has a lot of interference and a constant clicking sound (sounds a bit like morse code on the line) which makes it very difficult to have a conversation.

I've turned the wifi off on the phone but this hasn't made any difference.

Anything else I should be doing?

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

bkesler

· #2 · Nov 12, 2010

I have an MY2007 and iPhone4 and have not had any trouble. Did a search on Apple support and this seems to be a known issue with the iPhone and could possible be due to decreased signal while in your car. See the following Apple thread:

Apple - Support - Discussions - Popping/Clicking noise when making ...

and also

Weird Popping/Clicking Noise during Call - MacRumors Forums

Hope this helps.

stormingjock

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 12, 2010

I don't think it's a problem with the phone as I had a 3 series on loan while my car was being prepared and I had no problems with the connection in that car. That suggests the problem is with the car, do you think it could be a software issue with the Bluetooth in the car? The 3 series was brand new so would have the latest software.

Dealer is saying that the official BMW line is that the iPhone 4 is not compatible with my car which is not much help.

bkesler

· #4 · Nov 12, 2010 (Edited)

Possibly, but from what I have read, consensus is that it happens when there is GSM interference, which could be coming from car. I would try opening the moon roof and setting the phone on roof of car (obviously while the car is parked) and see if it still does it. That would at least give you an idea as to whether or not the car is causing signal interference. If it still happens, then I would try to test it with another iPhone 4. BMW recommends using their cradle so as to take advantage of the cars external antenna. Unfortunately for us, they have not released a cradle for the iPhone4

Also, does this happen if you make a call from inside the car not using bluetooth (with engine running)?

Reactions: 1

stormingjock

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 12, 2010

Will try that when it eventually stops raining here!

Hopefully the cradle will be released soon.

bkesler

· #6 · Nov 12, 2010

Have you noticed whether it makes any difference if the engine is running or not?

m33ufo

· #7 · Nov 13, 2010

I've got an iPhone 3GS and my bluetooth has been acting up since updating the firmware to version 4.1 just over a week ago.

AlbanyM5

· #8 · Nov 14, 2010

I have occasional issues with my iPhone 4 that sound similar. I usual just switch to the phone for a minute and then back to the Bluetooth and it almost always solves it.

potassium

· #9 · Nov 14, 2010

Hi stormingjock and welcome to the wonderful world of M5.

I have the same spec as yourself which I also bought recently and yes I have the same issue on my 3GS and iPhone4.

I am not positive I had it in May on he 3GS when I obtained the car but I don't recall not being able to make a decent phone call in the car but I also have a 2nd HTC I used at the time which had no issues then or now.

Its a pain and normally I would be spending time investigating but honestly when I get in the beast the last thing I am thinking about is taking/making calls - too busy enjoying myself (driving that is!).

What I did pick up somewhere is its probably a bluetooth connection thing with our cars. Bluetooth works fine when I use an earpiece but with the car and iphones it also does extra functions like transfer phonebook entries. So the suggestion was start out with a blank phonebook and try it that way and add your entries in small blocks if you dont have the issue. As I have my phonebook entries in sync with my email accounts I am loathed to try it but will probably give it a go once I figure out how to backup and restore contacts on the 4.

Good luck...but for me its a niggle I can live with for now when you have a car like this to compensate you.

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Viperboss7

· #10 · Nov 27, 2010

I see a few of you got used Cars and programmed your phone. This is for my wife's 2005 E60 but I cannot find the PIN# to Sync my Iphone. An old thread showed the unit in the car to find the Pin called the PK. Mine shows a sticker but and says PK but there is no #!! There is an esn and other numbers. Which one is used for the PIN#? How many digits is it supposed to be? Thx!

bkesler

· #11 · Nov 27, 2010

Viperboss7 said:
I see a few of you got used Cars and programmed your phone. This is for my wife's 2005 E60 but I cannot find the PIN# to Sync my Iphone. An old thread showed the unit in the car to find the Pin called the PK. Mine shows a sticker but and says PK but there is no #!! There is an esn and other numbers. Which one is used for the PIN#? How many digits is it supposed to be? Thx!

I sync'ed both my wife's and my iPhone4s to my MY2007 and don't remember having to use any special number. I believe just picked a 4 digit number on the iPhone, then used same number on the car. Remember that only a certain number (4 I believe) of phones can be paired with the car, so if there are already the maximum number of devices paired, you'll need to delete some before adding your phone.

avlnch

· #12 · Nov 27, 2010 (Edited)

Viperboss7 said:
I see a few of you got used Cars and programmed your phone. This is for my wife's 2005 E60 but I cannot find the PIN# to Sync my Iphone. An old thread showed the unit in the car to find the Pin called the PK. Mine shows a sticker but and says PK but there is no #!! There is an esn and other numbers. Which one is used for the PIN#? How many digits is it supposed to be? Thx!

For my BMW's I can enter any PIN #, however for my Mercedes's you need to enter the numerical equivalent of "MBUSA". My point being, every car manufacturer is different (who knows why). I can confirm that on MY2008 thru MY2010 you can enter any pin combination that meets the criteria below. I will tell you exactly what I have used, and my methods worked on both MY's. I cannot be sure about this, but I am assuming that the instructions below will work for MY2006 thru MY2010.

The PIN # must be FOUR/4 (XXXX) DIGITS

For the PIN # use: 0000
If that does not work -
Try it again, this time using PIN #: 1234

** Be sure to enter identical PIN#'s on both sides. If you enter 0000 for the iDrive, enter 0000 for your phone.

If you are still having trouble pairing your phone to your BMW's iDrive then take note of the method you are using. If you are searching/beginning the bluetooth pairing process on your iPhone and the result is unsuccessful, then try it backwards and it should work. What I mean by backwards is search/begin the pairing process on your iDrive (instead of your iPhone). I find this a great solution whenever I have pairing issues on either BMW or Mercedes (usually never have BT Pairing issues with BMW, it's always Mercedes).

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Viperboss7

· #13 · Nov 27, 2010

Bluetooth pairing

That is a great idea. I have some difficulty getting the BMW to initiate the pairing. The computer is a little slow and the idrive is not intuitive but I will try pairing from the BMW. Thx!

stormingjock

Discussion Starter · #14 · Dec 3, 2010

Just had the idrive software upgraded to see if that resolved my iphone 4 issue but nothing has changed.

Does anyone know the bluetooth phone models that BMW officially support for a 2005 car as I want to test one of those to see if its a bluetooth issue with the car which I 'm starting to believe to be the case.

Kungpo

· #15 · Dec 3, 2010

I find call quality varies somewhat with my iPhone 4 (my M5 is 2007). Sometimes it's pin perfect, sometimes utter rubbish. I suspect it's as much to do with the phone as it is the car. I didn't have quite as many complaints from callers with the 3GS as I do with the 4 but enough all the same. Plus, software on the phone is as much an element as the hardware itself. Also I find signal strength on the 4 generally nowhere near as reliable or as good as previous iPhones (and I've had em all).

It wouldn't suprise me it's the phone more than the car either as I had moans on my 2008 Land Rover Freelander 2 as well with the 3G and 3GS.

Gustav

· #16 · Dec 4, 2010

Why was / is this locked?

avlnch

· #17 · Dec 4, 2010

3

Gustav said:
Why was / is this locked?

Gustav --

Great question.. check the panel to see who did the lock.

Thread Unlocked, sorry OP.

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OP --

Any updates? If you are still having trouble, refer to the owners manual. If you do not have the manual handy, and you have an M5 Model Year 06 thru 08, here is a direct link to the online version: BMW E60 M5 (MY06-08) Owners Manual PDF

In addition, as I mentioned earlier try the PIN # 0000 or PIN # 1234 while making sure it is correctly input into both devices (iDrive & Phone).
If you have already tried this, try again while following the correct procedure as outlined in the owners manual. I have attached an except below:

Let us know how you make out after following the steps outline above and in the owners manual.

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