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Robotson

Bluetooth and Bmw Navigation unit?

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Hi, 

I'm looking at buying a 2003 330ci which has the navigation module. Just wondering if anyone's seen an aftermarket Bluetooth adapter which is compatible with this? They all seem to say not compatible with BMW navigation units. 

I installed one in my 02 320ci, behind the business cassette radio. Pig to install but streaming music from my phone and a auto connect/disconnect is awesome and I'd miss it if I couldn't have it in the 330!

The e46s with factory Bluetooth - is that modern enough to allow modern android phones to connect and stream to? 

Thanks

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Hi

It's because the "brains" for the nav system is in the boot, and I believe the connectors are different.

I did a bit of work with modern Android phones and the factory Bluetooth ULF - the simple answer is to just try it. If it doesn't connect, you'll have to root your Android phone and modify the phone's bluetooth driver. Some manufacturers have this mod already applied and some (read: most) don't. I believe this only affects early generation ULF's though, so a later one might be a better bet.

I have no experience with factory nav so couldn't tell you if there was a workaround for bluetooth aside from the OEM retrofit.

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Hi,

Thanks for the reply!

If you are able to connect to the Bluetooth, will you be able to stream audio through it or is it just for calls?

The guy selling the car says his Samsung Galaxy S7 connects and calls work, but he can't stream anything from the phone. 

Do you know if its possible to remove the original Navigation unit and put the business CD player and the alternative aircon unit in instead? That way I could put my bluetooth adaptor in the car. 

Thanks! 

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Hi,

No bluetooth streaming I'm afraid, it's just calls. A successful Android connection also depends on the age of the Bluetooth module (ULF) fitted. Mine's a 2004 car with a fairly early ULF and I couldn't get it to work with my Galaxy S4 or my LG G4. My iPhone connected fine.

I think you can remove the original nav unit and fit a standard setup, however it will require a loom to be run from the back of the car where the nav computer is to the front where the screen is.

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ah right, no worries. Thanks for the help though! I've been doing some research on these forums, and it seems that a guy on the forum (Baris I think?) works at carphonics.co.uk and will upgrade your car's amp in various ways - including a bluetooth input apparently - http://www.carphonics.co.uk/bm54upgrades.htm . 

Does anyone know if this is compatible with the OEM Navigation unit? Or does it depend on the exact amp in the boot? 

I'm about to buy a 2003 330ci, with the standard non-harmon/kardon speakers and standard BMW Navigation. See picture below. Does anyone know if that car comes with the right amp for this upgrade? 

20161229_113755-(2).jpg

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Hi,

All the OEM Bluetooth modules don't have the functionality for Bluetooth Audio streaming as they're too old and were out before this BT profile/functionality became popular. 

Baris at Carphonics (know him well and met him many times at shows and local events - so have every confidence in him) will indeed modify the oem modules for better/newer functionality and given that the OEM modules do fail more often, he can upgrade/repair them too. 

The car you buy if it has the OEM widescreen monitor as you show in the picture, will have the other modules in place - Amplifier/Tuner unit, GPS computer and BT module where optioned. Carphonics 'modify' those modules for repairs and upgrades at the prices you see on his website. 

For the BT audio streaming, you'll switch to the 'Aux' function and connect your phone to the new 'internal' piggybacked BT receiver installed by them. 

When a phone call comes in, then if you change to a later version of the OEM BT module, then it may support the phone you have - iPhones currently have the best chance of full compatibility, Android is more hit and miss, so you might have to change the OEM BT module and hope the one you get supports your particular handset and it's operating system revision fully. 

Lastly, keeping the OEM audio setup is the most expensive route to go longer term. As per above, the units fail and each module has multiple points of failure so sods law is you'll fix one issue, and then one of the other ones from another module will fail and you'll fix that and so forth. 

Many owners do keep the OEM modules as you get 100% oem looks and the OBC functionality. 

Cheers, Dennis!

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19 hours ago, DennisCooper said:

Hi,

All the OEM Bluetooth modules don't have the functionality for Bluetooth Audio streaming as they're too old and were out before this BT profile/functionality became popular. 

Baris at Carphonics (know him well and met him many times at shows and local events - so have every confidence in him) will indeed modify the oem modules for better/newer functionality and given that the OEM modules do fail more often, he can upgrade/repair them too. 

The car you buy if it has the OEM widescreen monitor as you show in the picture, will have the other modules in place - Amplifier/Tuner unit, GPS computer and BT module where optioned. Carphonics 'modify' those modules for repairs and upgrades at the prices you see on his website. 

For the BT audio streaming, you'll switch to the 'Aux' function and connect your phone to the new 'internal' piggybacked BT receiver installed by them. 

When a phone call comes in, then if you change to a later version of the OEM BT module, then it may support the phone you have - iPhones currently have the best chance of full compatibility, Android is more hit and miss, so you might have to change the OEM BT module and hope the one you get supports your particular handset and it's operating system revision fully. 

Lastly, keeping the OEM audio setup is the most expensive route to go longer term. As per above, the units fail and each module has multiple points of failure so sods law is you'll fix one issue, and then one of the other ones from another module will fail and you'll fix that and so forth. 

Many owners do keep the OEM modules as you get 100% oem looks and the OBC functionality. 

Cheers, Dennis!

Thanks Dennis :)

So the oem Bluetooth module is a separate thing to the module that baris would fit?

If i got the carphonics one, would I not then have 2 Bluetooth modules, ie one for streaming (baris's) and one for calls (oem one)?  

Also where is the oem Bluetooth module? 

I've tried the bit of wire in the black plug under the centre console trick but my phone won't pair with it. So i guess I'll need to try my luck with a later oem module.  

Cheers! 

 

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I have been trying to pair and use my Samsung s6 edge and I cannot do it, I have followed all the guides and the business cd tells me it's paired the phone tells me it's paired but it just won't make calls out or receive calls.  BONKERS.  I guess it's the new versus old technology.

 

Weird thing is I just fitted the cd and when I pressed the RT button on the wheel it bought up the last number in the cd player screen so I pressed the dial button and it only called the number from my phone but not through the speakers and I spoke to the woman who no clue about the cd player? 

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The number you dialled relates to the ULF module in your car, not the CD Player.

Depending on the ULF version Android phones can pair with the system, but they won't stay connected nor download the phone book. The Android bluetooth hack I used and posted on the forum somewhere should still work on the newer Android versions but it's quite technical and does require a rooted phone.

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@don't panic   this sounds interesting can you easily find the hack again please? I was hoping I had a late module as it's in an 04 vertical facelift. I am going to try and connect my old I phone 3g to see it works with that if not I will have to think of another way. CHEERS.

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😮😯🤔 I am going to give that a miss but thankyou for posting that foreign language lol

 

 

😯🤔@don't panic   this sounds interesting can you easily find the hack again please? I was hoping I had a late module as it's in an 04 vertical facelift. I am going to try and connect my old I phone 3g to see it works with that if not I will have to think of another way. CHEERS.

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@dontpannic....so the i phone 3g won't connect neither. It's getting more important to gave hands free as they have just put a purge oN phones in cars. I wonder what I can do now to achieve hands free phoning from my car. I got so close but it looks like the phone module in the boot is not able to make the connection.

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Best thing to do tbh is to do the fix dontpannic mentioned earlier. If you can't/don't want to root your phone then replace the HU with an aftermarket one that has bluetooth.

The latest Gen13 ULF's I think are in 2006/2007 E46s. If you want to buy one for your car then you're looking at ~£300 for a used one and £400 for a new one.

For ~£100 you can get a decent bluetooth aftermarket single-din HU. Job done.

 

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21 hours ago, momo said:

Best thing to do tbh is to do the fix dontpannic mentioned earlier. If you can't/don't want to root your phone then replace the HU with an aftermarket one that has bluetooth.

The latest Gen13 ULF's I think are in 2006/2007 E46s. If you want to buy one for your car then you're looking at ~£300 for a used one and £400 for a new one.

For ~£100 you can get a decent bluetooth aftermarket single-din HU. Job done.

 

This.

Apart from the fix I posted above there is no way to get an Android phone to connect to an early ULF. The Android phone tries to negotiate a protocol with the ULF which fails, so it terminates the connection. iPhones don't suffer from this, and neither do late ULF's.

Aftermarket HU or one of these bluetooth/usb/sd/aux adaptors which plug in to the cd changer plug are your only alternatives, though I can't vouch for the latter as I've never used one.

I've had various methods active in my car in the past, hacked Bluetooth stack first, then standard HU and Parrot MKi9000 (upgraded phone which couldn't be rooted), then Aftermarket HU and Parrot MKi9000 (stock HU cd drive stopped ejecting discs), then my current Chinese Android HU (Parrot unit died).

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On 3/5/2017 at 11:10, momo said:

Best thing to do tbh is to do the fix dontpannic mentioned earlier. If you can't/don't want to root your phone then replace the HU with an aftermarket one that has bluetooth.

The latest Gen13 ULF's I think are in 2006/2007 E46s. If you want to buy one for your car then you're looking at ~£300 for a used one and £400 for a new one.

For ~£100 you can get a decent bluetooth aftermarket single-din HU. Job done.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Geetarbaz said:

Hi, good to see another Kent member.

Do you know if there's a definitive ULF date/version that will definitely work with Android (Galaxy S7)? My car is 53 but I've bought a 8th gen ULF which I've yet to fit.

Cheers,

Baz.

See my post.. You'll need the Gen13 ULF which is still around £400 from the dealer, or £300 used. Part No: 84109154358

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There probably are but it's pot luck finding someone with experience of that model who can report back. The Gen13 is the only one we know works because if you're going to upgrade, you'd normally get the latest.

The Gen13 ULF's DO appear on eBay every now and then.. You just have to be patient. I only just found out 2 were sold at the end of 2016 for around £100 each!

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Hi,

Robotson - Unfortunately, there's no definitive guide for compatibility as the oem modules are very old now and support/development of them ceased years ago by BMW. Even if youy purchased a 13th Gen module, there's no guarantee it'll work fully or partially with your S7. Another car with the 13th Gen module and an S7 will work for instance and your's will not or just partially. The reason is the different firmware/software etc on the newer phones etc they can and often do differ along their production window. Soon, Bluetooth Version 5 will be out and newer handsets will adopt it, although it promises backwards compatibility with older BT versions, chances will be higher that certain things might not work fully/partially. Currently, the best chance you have of a phone to work with 13th gen and older OEM BT modules is to use an iPhone. For now, you will need to try older gen BT modules and see if they work with your S7. If you find one that does, then you'll feel great! if not, you'll be pulling your hair out (if you have any!) or smashing your fist on the table. If you do find one that works, then if you change your phone, you might find the new one doesn't work!

Good luck whichever way you go!

Cheers, Dennis!

 

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Hi, good to see another Kent member.
Do you know if there's a definitive ULF date/version that will definitely work with Android (Galaxy S7)? My car is 53 but I've bought a 8th gen ULF which I've yet to fit.
Cheers,
Baz.
As said by others, no guarantee, but my S7 on EE Nougat 7.0 firmware works perfectly with a Gen 7 ulf.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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On 23/09/2017 at 06:38, JasonK said:

As said by others, no guarantee, but my S7 on EE Nougat 7.0 firmware works perfectly with a Gen 7 ulf.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Cheers.

Still waiting for my later ULF to arrive, turns out it wasn't 8th gen at all so no improvement but the seller's promised to get what he advertised for me. We'll see...! - hard to come by without forking out big time.

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