bluetooth problems
 

any advice here would be great, got my new x5 last week just upgraded from 03 to 05 model and i am lead to believe it has bluetooth for connecting phone to car, i have checked compatibility for my phone and people seem to say they can connect iphone 3gs to there bluetooth, but for the life of me i acnnot get this to work, ive followed every instruction guide i can find, so to sum up, how the hell can i tell if the bluetooth on the car is knackered or does it have bluetooth at all,i thought the icon on stereo in middle at bottom was showing bluetooth active but someone else told me it needs to flash to be active, im at a total loss and ive tried 3phones now that are all supposed to work but dont, is there any way to reset bluetooth if i do have it????????????????????????????? sorry for all the questions

My guess is that you do not have Bluetooth in the car. First, do you have the "Telephone" option on the main navigation screen menu? If not, then you definitely do not have Bluetooth.

If you have the Telephone option, then you will probably have to visually inspect the telephone module part number and determine if it has Bluetooth support. (You will have to compare the part number against known ULF and TCU part numbers to validate what you have.) BMW has two different types of Bluetooth systems-- the ULF and the TCU system. All ULF modules have Bluetooth support. So, if your phone module is a ULF, you definitely have Bluetooth.

Some early TCU modules did not have Bluetooth. So, if your car is equipped with a TCU, then you will have to research the part number to determine whether it is in the range of the modules that have Bluetooth support.

it has the pairing button in centre console also as well as all steering wheel buttons, is this standard equipment though

The steering wheel buttons are standard, so they won't tell us much. The pairing button would normally indicate a ULF Bluetooth module. Do you have the "TELEPHONE" option on the main menu. That will tell you if a ULF or TCU module is instaled in the car.

Also, if you push and hold the "sneezing man" button or the center console pairing, what happens? If you briefly push and release the same two buttons, what happens?

thanks for reply, the telephone is active on menu and displays activate phone, but pressing either of the buttons mentioned does nothing at all, if i press the r/t button activate phone flashes on but nothing happens, the leds mentioned in another post never flash either or even flicker, these buttons just seem to do nothing at all, ive located in the boot what i believe is the ulf module but until i remove plastics i cant tell u p/n although on my laminated card it says pn 84.10 6964113-02, ive googled p/n but cant seem to find anything constructive on this to let me no if module is ulf or tcu

OK, it sounds like you have the phone module installed, and I would bet it is a ULF module. The "Activate Phone" message is what a Bluetooth module says when it is not paired to a phone. So, you should double-check your pairing process for a ULF module.

Turn the car off (ignition position 0)
Push and hold the pairing button in the center console
Turn the car on to the accessory position (ignition position 1)
Continue holding the pairing button for another few seconds.
You should see the message "Bluetooth Pairing" on the nav screen.
Pair your phone using the passcode on the laminated card with the owners manual

tried all that but get nothing whatsoever, is there an inline fuse that goes to this button as it does not light up when lights are on as i presumed it would have bulb but i may be wrong, also do u no of any instructions to actually take this apart so i can check wiring etc etc???????

Playfuldodger - I registered just to reply to this thread as I have exactly to the letter same problem as you. I spent the weekend tearing the car apart to try to get to the bottom of the problem. Reconnected everything, made sure had all the parts etc, verified part number (we have the TCU module) but no BT connection at all to 3 different phones I tried. What happens me is if I drive for 5 mins then I get "Handsfree" come up on my phone(s) but it doesnt connect plus I know it should come up BMWXXXXX etc.

I even disconnected the module for an hour and reconnected to see if it was stuck in some way or if it could be reset. No joy.

I've had to face the fact that the TCU module is knackered and will need replacing. I called a few dealers as well as BMW, and these cost 1400EUR new or 610EUR refurbished. Ouch.

Would be really great to have it working to have everything integrated into the nav screen etc, but for that money it really is cheaper to go the retrofit route with Parrot etc. Only thing I havent tried is buying navcoder to play with some settings to try to see if something that should be there is not enabled etc, but not convinced it will work.

So frustrating not having it working when "activate phone" stares you in the face all the time, and expensive to fix!

Had you made any progress on this since your last posting?

no progress at all, given up on it as obviously its not a common fault and after pricing up the part thought definatley not, thought some1 on ere might have had a fix for it but u cant win everytime,

Thats a shame but as I say Im in the same boat as you. One final quick point to make is that after researching this by visiting literally hundreds of pages on the topic, I see that some US customers were sent a letter by BMW for a recall on this part for 04-06 models.

Would be great if BMW replaced this free of charge for us if its subject to recall. Perhaps its just wishful thinking, but I called BMW and they are checking it out with head office in the UK and supposedly will get back to me.

Worth a try I suppose before I go down the Parrot route.

If u get any joy although i doubt it but good luck anyway can u let me no please as it would be good to go to local dealer armed with the fact that youve had some joy

It is a shame the replacement parts are so costly for you in the UK. In the US, BMW dealers sell replacement ULF modules for $480 (~355 Euros) and replacement TCU modules for $340 (~250 Euros). Of course, we get ripped off in many other areas, so it all works out in the end.

It's a TCU.


The EU model is GSM, the US model is CDMA, and the two are not the same unit. Any CDMA recall will never come over here.

With Bluetooth TCU, the vehicle should be in pairing mode for a few minutes after the car is started.

Delete any existing pairings, turn on the ignition, perform a BT discovery from your phone [you may need to do it a few times].

You may also need to use Navcoder to see if your BT is turned on in the TCU.

been reading up on navcoder for different things really including turning the tv on whilst in motion, ideally though would like to see some1 perform this for me first as i would hate bugger the thing up completly

Dozens of folks have used NavCoder to do all these function and feature changes. I have it all in my car, for example. It is very reliable and proven. Plus, kiwijochen is a great guy and highly responsive when anyone has had a software issue. (I am not aware of any car issues at all.)

Playfuldodger and all, I had to come back on as soon as I had some news.

Thankfully, once and for all managed to get this working. Obviously may be a different problem for you, but as the issues seemed so alike just wanted to share in case it works for you as well.

The carkit installer arrived today to fit the Parrot system. Fair play to him, when I explained the problems I had and that I had a full BMW BT system, he got to work on nailing down where the problem lay after about an hour checking everything including fuses etc. For me, the problem was all down to the center console. As I say may be totally different for you, but this was the issue with me.

Specifically, while it says elsewhere that you dont need the eject box (even if it has the blanking plate in it) it seems you do. I had mine removed and needed to put it back. Despite it saying elsewhere that the car should go into pairing mode itself when turned on, it didnt and you need to follow the ignition procedure to get it to pair.

What resolved the issue was, in the center console, we removed the plastic cover and one by one went through each of the wires (of the cable with the big black connector, not the antenna cable) to see which had a live current and where the current stopped. By removing the blanking plate/eject button the current circle of the circuit doesnt complete. We figured this out by passing that part in creating our own complete circuit. After plenty of trial and error, once the circuit at the center console wiring was tested and confirmed had a live current, turning the ignition off, holding down the centre console talking head button for 3 secs, then turning the key to ignition 1, immediately showed the 3 LEDs on the nav screen. I released the button after 3 secs, it came up on my phone firstly as "Handsfree", then I put in the BT key, then it paired showing "BMW12345". Job done.

Suffice it to say that guy got a big tip, and saved me from having to get the Parrot system. I dont seem to have any voice recognition, so I may also invest in the NavCoder to see if that will allow that functionality.

But for the moment I am chuffed to bits. As I say, may not be the solution to your problem, but definitely worth the time to double check the wiring in the center console thoroughly and perhaps have a carkit installer or auto electrian help out in getting it working.

Certainly beats the crazy prices BMW were talking about for a TCU replacement!

Best of luck and Ill keep an eye on this post to see if you have had any success.

Cheers to everyone for their help up here, hope I was able to give something small back in return.

Gib

Yes, NavCoder can code your TCU as follows:
Any name of your choice (not just BMW12345)
Any passkey of your choice (0000 or 1234 is easy to remember)
Switch on voice recognition and set the language
And more

Can you expand a little? What circuit did you need to make? You found the Eject Box plug and shorted the power on pins maybe?

Mine seems to be a different problem all together. Mine asks for the phone number I want to dial. When I give it a number, it says phone active, but, does nothing after that.

I also do not see a pairing or BT symbol to pair anywhere, not in nav screens, not in phone screens, or even in info screens. The last owners contact and last calls are in there, but no luck!

Any help would be welcome!

If ULF: use pairing button to initiate pairing
If TCU: pairing mode is active for first 2min after ign on, so pair your phone then

I looked in the back of my X and cant see anything marked TCU or ULF. It has the 07 Nav disc in the nav CD, but I dont see anything labels for either.

I am thinking of getting the NAVCODER and see if I can get it that way. I noticed on the navcoder site that you can play TV or videos on the NAV screen? Is that correct?

Post some photos.

TCU or ULF is mounted under a panel

Yes, connect your AV source to the AV input on the TV tuner (if fitted)

If you don't have the television option on your BMW, you can consider fitting it, or using some other solution that provide you with an AV input.

Here are some photos of the nav area in the right rear cargo area.

A couple more photos

Bottom right, black cable with purple trim connector is GSM RF. Cream is BT/WDS. That silver box is a TCU or ULF
http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...00427-1610.jpg

Now that I have a TCU what are the pairing instructions for adding my phone?

There are two open conector ports on there that are not currently being used, do you know what these are for?

Yes, check out my TCU teardown thread. They are not stopping you pairing.

Again, pairing happens in the first two munutes, hold down the sneezing man, preferably on the Eject box if you have one, turn on ignition and hold for a few more seconds. When active Phone appears, start the pairing search on the phone.

When it asks for the code, where do I get this information?

It's on a sticker on the TCU, and sometimes a copy is stuck in your handbook too.

BIG BOB ROCKS!!!! Now how can I play music through my bluetooth from my phone? I had a Ford that did that?

Buy a Ford.

Streaming music via Bluetooth is not supported on the BMW Telephone system

PS: pairing instructions were in your user manual all the time, perhaps a read of the manual may help you...??

I don't want a Ford,,,, :(

The instructions were'nt in the manual, it was in the component well on the TCU but I would have never found it without BB's "tear down thread" as it was on the outside of the box and not visible.

But thanks for every-one's help! :thumbup:

Hi.

I have Bmw E46 with Oem Ulf bluetooth from factory!
I put there snap in adapter for Nokia 6310i,and phone only charge,and dont work as phone!
But why?
May be some have problem with that too...