Will a compatible phone with Verizon service download its phone book to a late model (5 or 3 Series) BMW Bluetooth? I've heard conflicting answers. Thanks, in advance.
Verizon Bluetooth issues I don't know about the 5, but Verizon seems to work as it should in the 335i with nav/iDrive. (Of course, it may be the phone and not the carrier!) It's actually quite usable, with names accessible via the nav screen by alpha input. In my Z4, with no nav, my Verizon Motorola links up (mostly) without a problem; I just get confused about which button to push when the damn thing rings! And I dassn't initiate a call with the steering-wheel button, because it automatically goes to the first name in my contact list and starts calling Barbara Adams! I think there may be some way to start scrolling before it starts dialing, but I haven't figured it out yet. All it has as a display is the radio band, so it lists one name at a time. . . . Of course, a phone in a roadster is wishful thinking anyway.
Try holding down the phone button on the steering wheel until the list appears on your radio then use up and down (tuning) buttons to scroll.
Um. . . it's a. . . um. . . lemme see. . . It's a Motorola, but it's distributed through Verizon; it's a world phone (tri-band), so you can experience the joy of having a friend call you while you're trying to get some sleep in Munich, he thinking it's, like, five p.m. when it's really, like, 3:30 in the morning. "Oh, you're not home?!" "No---but I hear you just like you were next door!" And you get a whole new understanding of roaming charges. That said, I must say that the advice to hit the voicy-voicy button and then start scrolling like mad with the up and down keys (maybe they're plus and minus) is spot on---I was able to scroll through many of my contacts until my thumb got tired (one click per name; holding down the key is wishful thinking). But hey, at least the system works!
Bluestar. We have an entire review section on mobile phones here on the site where we've rated over 30 phones in terms of compatbility with late-model BMWs with Bluetooth.. Read this thread and it will point you where you need to go.
Thanks, but I was more concerned about Verizon and hearing that with this provider the phonebook will not download in BMW's, rather than the phone, per se.
Bluestar, I'm a bit confused about what you said. The provider is largely irrelevant (although the hone mfr. may make minor tweaks to a phone that cause variances in compatibility) - it's the hardware (mobile phone) that matters. If you look at our test results, you'll see that Verizon does quite well in compatibility. I tested a bunch of mobiles connected to Verizon that had no trouble sending over the phone book.
