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.

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SOLD
2000 E38 750iL Highline Edition, Upgraded with the lastest 2006 X5 Electronics
MKIV Navigation, 16:9 Display, Bluetooth, TV/Video with Backup Camera, Sirius, and Aux Input

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?

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SOLD
2000 E38 750iL Highline Edition, Upgraded with the lastest 2006 X5 Electronics
MKIV Navigation, 16:9 Display, Bluetooth, TV/Video with Backup Camera, Sirius, and Aux Input

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

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.

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

__________________
SOLD
2000 E38 750iL Highline Edition, Upgraded with the lastest 2006 X5 Electronics
MKIV Navigation, 16:9 Display, Bluetooth, TV/Video with Backup Camera, Sirius, and Aux Input

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,