Trouble with Dice on '06 X5 4.4i with Nav
 

Picked up my 06 X5 4.4i with Nav about a month ago. Loved my ipod in my E39 540i using icelink plus with text to MID, so I gave Tom at EAS a call to get me hooked up for the X5.
He suggested the Dice was the way to go and that the Icelink was too buggy and now discontinued, replaced by the much better Dice. I was excited.
Tom is a great guy to deal with, we need more people like this out there, so I place my trust and order with him.

Received the Dice a few days ago and but have been severely disappointed to say the least.

Relevant info:
2006 X5 4.4i with Nav & bluetooth, analog DSP
Ipod: 3G fw:v2.1
Dice

The Dice has been extremely buggy and unreliable. It seems to have a mind of it's own.
Sort of goes like this:
Start car, playing mp3 fine, drive. Turn the car off come back 15 minutes later, start car it's on FM. Change mode to CD changer, it's back to the Dice but initializing wait. Have to press CD6/track6 to get text back onto Nav again it was gone.

Turn off car. Get some lunch come back to the car. It's still on Dice but PAUSED. No way to play so press-> skips to next track. Noticed text on Nav is gone again. Press CD6/trk6.
Cell phone rings, handsfree bluetooth answer, headunit auto mutes, finish up phone convo and hangup, expect Dice to resume. Nothing, no music. Press R/T says PAUSED. Press -> skips to next track. Woops nav text is gone again says CD22 instead. Next phone call, end convo, woops it's back to FM.

Anyways I won't bore you with the rest, but you get the idea. This thing is not stable at least not on my brand new X5. Not happy at all.

Replied to your post on Bimmerfest - the firmware version posted needs to be 2.3, your version is very old.

I installed a dice in my 2006 x5 with new ipod... I can get it to work fine in ipod mode but have to control everything from the ipod. No display or steering wheel control. Can't for the life of me figure out how to get it out of ipod mode. CD 6 doesn't do anything...

Problems with my Dice
 

Tom:

I sent you an e-mail a few days ago regarding the problems I am having with my Dice and I have not received your reply yet so I am thinking you did not get my e-mail. I have a Gen 3 ipod with 2.3 firmware. I am having issues with the sound dropping 2 short times in a row after the start of every new track and it is very anoying. It has also even completely faded minutes into a track and not come back until I FF to the next track. What's up with this thing?

Try rebooting the iPod by pressing the MENU and CENTER buttons for +5 seconds and rebooting - then reconnect to the iPod cable.

Also, verify the DIP switches are all set to the OFF position.

Thanks for your patience, we were at SEMA for a few days last week and am catching up on email.

Have you tried testing with another iPod to see if you get the same results? If so, try reinitializing the system with a battery reset:

1. Disconnect iPod from cable
2. Remove battery cables, negative first
3. Touch battery cable terminals together (away from battery) for +5 seconds, a small spark is normal as this is stored power draining from the system.
4. Allow cables to remain disconnected for about 5-7 minutes
5. Reconnect battery cables onto battery, negative last.
6. Reboot iPod by pressing on MENU and CENTER buttons for +5 seconds and then reconnecting to the DICE cable after the reboot process is completed.

Let me know if these steps correct the problem.

Not intending to jump on the bandwagon. But... if I didn't share my experiences, I would be doing the group a disservice.

I'm extremely happy with everything about my X5 with the exception of the DICE unit. I've done the battery deal, I've verified firmware, dips switches and so on.

IMHO, DICE is a very poor solution, but it is pretty much the only solution. I have every issue you describe above as well as the problem where you cannot switch from AM/FM to the iPod without pressing the "mode" button 10+ times.

Getting back in the car after a stop is a crapshoot.. sometimes the iPod will be selected, others it's back on the radio. Often, I'll get in the car and the iPod is playing and no matter what I do, I cannot change tracks, playlists or anything.

How I long for an X5 solution that is the equal of the factory setup I have in my E63. I really enjoy my music and while I want to wait for the new E70 to go through its paces, it may just push me over the edge to buy one sooner than later...

Gene,

There was an appointment made for datalogging in your case, what were the results?

Nothing... they made a "custom" frmware patch to solve the bluetooth issue. An incoming BT phone call no longer removes the track data.

I'm aware of the Bluetooth fix, were the other problems presented when the vehicle was being logged?

Hello all,

I have also ordered and received (In France) a dice for my 2002 4.4 X5, Nav + DSP.
All connections are ok and the Dice system works pretty well (Text, sound)
I'm a bit disappointed with the following points:

When you start the car and plug your Ipod, put on the radio, the Ipod automatically starts playing the first playlist.
From there you cannot come back and start playing an album, without doing it on the ipod it's self.

If you chose to play an album on you ipod, then there is no way you can browse in you album list using the steering or nav buttons.
You have to select on the ipod it's self the entire Album list and then browse to album 400 (by pressing 400 times on the forward button) to get the album.
How come?

I get the text display OK, but I can't really understand what the point is to use the steering or nav buttons, as they are not really helpful.

Also when I go from CD1 to CD3 or the other way around, sound cuts off for half a second. Is that normal?

I hope I'm doing something wrong using the system.

Bye for now.

Squirrel

Tom, I mentioned all of these to you several times. The problems that I presented there were primarily bluetooth related.

I was led to believe that this was a mature product. I drove three hours (one way) in LA traffic for them to fix my BT issue. As you are aware, this is the third module you have sent.

I don't want to be the R&D dept for DICE.

I'll live with it.. I have a small degree of "ipod integration". Nowhere near as good as it can be, but it sort of works.

Gene I noticed the exact same problems when it comes to bluetooth calls. If I deactivate the BT on my phone, the Dice seems to behave a little better although not completely. It does continue to have reliability issues, but less, if that makes any sense.

Tom: I did the whole battery disconnect procedure last night and no joy. Still the same problems. I don't the Dice is ready for mainstream just yet. I'm very disappointed to learn that the only way to upgrade for future firmware fixes is by sending the unit in. At least the icelink allowed the user to flash the firmware. If it's ok with you, I'd like to return the Dice and wait until a more stable version or better product is released.

There's always the option of sending the module beforehand so that you are never without music, and simply return the outdated module when needed.

Contact me via email and I will provide instructions on how to return the unit.

When switching browsing modes, a short drop is normal.

When the iPod is disconnected, all "bookmarks" are removed, the iPod cannot resume if the connection is broken. For your Album question - I don't quite understand what you are asking. Email me directly at [email protected] and I will be happy to assist.

Thanks Tom appreciate your reply. I'm really glad to have bought this from you and not anywhere else. Your service is fantastic and you're a swell guy. We need more people like you out there.