iOS 4 compatibility with Mercedes Audio 20 / Audio 50 / Command

I have a Mercedes CLK 220CDI using a cradle and having exactly the same problem with the names missing now that it is upgraded to iOS4.

Apple - This is not a Mercedes problem - it is your software upgrade - please fix it quick!

Or sort it so that we can all downgrade back to iOS3

Have just been in touch with Mercedes UK this afternoon (15.30 GMT) and been advised that they are 'well aware' of the issue.
An e.mail was sent to all UK Merc dealers last night advising of the problem and stating that Mercedes are now in discussion with apple to determine what is needed to fix ASAP.

Interesting that Mercedes are able to advise customers now but that so far THERE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE FROM APPLE..... Steve Jobs, you should be ashamed of your customer service abilities!!!

Lets face it, that one of the reasons we drive merc... because mercedes actually care about their customers... clearly unlike Apple!

hi aztartarcontrol

thanks a lot for posting this - however doesn't work in my case ... and yes, I tried/repeated the procedure often enough!

maybe it's due to the fact I'm having comand aps from early 2008 (comand ngt2, not 2.5 version), and comfort telephony with iphone cradle...

but as I can read further below, obviously merc is listening to their customers, APPLE DOES NOT, WHAT A SHAME!!!

Yes Ads77... I totally agree with you.
Latest here is I managed to speak to another apple advisor this safternoon and expressed my extreme dissapointment and annoyance that so far we still had nothing concrete from apple.
I challenged the fact that under the sale of good and services act the 'upgraded' software/product combo no longer constituted goods which were suitable for the purpose intended and that effectively by using the product as it stands, anyone doing so, would be breaking the law in the UK and potentially face a £1000 fine if caught making a call whilst driving. The advisor was understanding but had no real answers!
I was then passed to a (rather arrogant) Senior advisor on the apple UK unHelpful line, who told me that this is totally a Mercedes problem and that they (apple) would never issue any statement to advise when a fix is available as it relates to a 3rd party piece of software NOT theirs.
It was however admitted that similar problems had been experienced in the past with other phone/upgrade/car combos though!!!
I asked if it was possible to revert to OS3 pending a fix and was told 'Not officially', I asked for further explanation and was advised that it was possible by 'jail breaking' the phone in which case apple would no longer support any further issues with the unit!..... catch 22!
Our best hope at the moment seems to be that we should hopefully get a fix sometime soonish but that this will come via Merc who DO seem prepared to actively communicate with their customers ..... otherwise it looks like we'll all be complaining to BBC Watchdog!..... Anne Robinson do your worst!!

I have a 2010 c-class with media interface.
I had a problem with my 3GS not charging and therefore got a new cable and now it charges. After the iOS4 upgrade it still charges but i have the following issues:

- Music browsing 8by track or artist) take like forever to scan
- WHen inc call it takes 2-4 sec before the name appears - only shows Unknown at first

Other than that, it works like a charm

I too have the same problem - my contact names do not sync with my bluetooth interface making it impossible to make calls safely through the mercedes phone system - the numbers are all there but unfortunately I cannot recall all 250 numbers according to who they belong to..

It would be good if someone could find a solution to this

This has only happened since i upgraded to OS 4 - I have a 2006 Mercedes CLK 220 Avantgarde

I have just paired my iPhone 4 with my 2008 Mercedes ML 430 CDI. I first pushed the button with the Mercedes emblem and when the associated lights began to flash I then went to systems, general, bluetooth and turned the bluetooth on. The phone said discoverable. From there, after a bit, it found two systems, in my case, the first was labeled hands free--- disregard this one as you want the one that says MB wireless. Press the latter button and you will eventually be asked for a pin. My pin was provided with the original documentation with the dealer installed module. After the system accepts the pin it took about three minutes to load call history and phone book. The telephone worked normally as before on my 3gs. I did not write this down as I was doing the steps but I should be close enough.
I have just gone to my car and restarted it to verify that all remained ok. The phone worked as designed. If you can't find your pin, I suggest you Google as it will be there somewhere. As I remember, I once tried Mercedes bluetooth and got some instructions.

I do not know if there is a 430 CDI or not, but mine should have read 320CDI. Sorry

I have tested this extensively now with a number of cradles in pre my09/my10 cars. These are cars with audio20/NTG2 system pre model year 2009 and post model year 2005.

Here are my results;

Iphone 3GS IOS 4

Mercedes HFP v1 pairs fine with address book download.
Mercedes iphone 3G(S) cradle pairs but phone book garbled.
Mercedes HFP V2 pairs fine with address book download.
Viseeo MB-2 / MBU-1000 Pairs fine but address book is garbled.

Iphone 4
Mercedes HFP v1 pairs fine with address book download.
Mercedes iphone 3G(S) cradle pairs but phone book garbled. Phone does not fit into the cradle.
Mercedes HFP V2 pairs fine but address book does not download.
Viseeo MB-2 / MBU-1000 Pairs fine but address book is garbled.

This is an APPLE problem not a Mercedes issue. This happened before with IOS 2 and eventually Apple resolved it. Viseeo are likely to release new S/W for their cradles which will work around the issue much much sooner than apple fix it!

There are some compatibility details here;

http://www.comandonline.co.uk/Cradles-and-Bluetooth-Adapters/

I have a 2007 Mercedes GL420 with the Mercedes Bluetooth HFP Cradle. I have just successfully connected my new iPhone4 (running iPhone OS4) with the car and everything is working correctly.

All 340 address book contacts and call history synced with the car and I have not had any issues with making or receiving telephone calls.

The instruction manual for pairing the cradle can be found here:
http://www.mercupgrades.com/manuals/cradles/HFP-manual.pdf

Good luck to all of you who are having issues.

thanks - this is an excellent overview and confirms my assumption that the issue is with APPLE, but let's hope that some more customer friendly company (like Mercedes or Viseeo) will find a workaround or fix before APPLE starts looking into it (if at all ...)...

Just had a call (UK GMT: 15.30 hrs) from a very helpful lady at Mercedes UK Head office: Been told that apple have finally released info to Mercedes Benz in Germany and a software fix is being developed 'as we speak'...... It will have to undergo testing to ensure compatable with the new iphone4 as well, before it is rolled out to dealers but hopefully expected in a couple of weeks if all goes well.......... still NO statement from apple!
Current advice from Mercedes UK is to contact your local dealer, who will already be aware of the wider problem. Merc dealers will be advised as soon as a fix is available and will in turn be able to advise customers accordingly.
Still NO communication from Apple whatsoever. .....
Apple, a company that market themselves as producing 'perfect', 'magical' products that give 'wonderful customer experiences'... that is untill things dont work, when the only magic seen will be a quick dissapearing act of all apple people whilst they try to hide away in the vain hope that the problem will go away!....... TOTALLY DISGUSTING CUSTOMER SERVICE APPLE! .... and Steve Jobs has the gaul to refer to other products as 'clunky old MS software' ...... well at least it works after an upgrade!!

thanks for the update - so there is hope at least!

and not surprising help is coming from a company that really cares about their customers: MERCEDES! I'll call my dealer on Monday, will keep you posted ....

@APPLE: SHAME ON YOU - BAD TESTING, POOR SERVICE, I'M MORE THAN DISAPPOINTED .... and I'm sure this is only being read by their legal department, so I better stay pc 😉

I have the following setup : COMAND-APS NTG2 with official Merc 3G/3GS cradle with cable.

After the iOS4 upgrade, the 3G phone lost its Bluetooth connected status, so the phone wouldn't appear on the Comand, just a "Please wait" message.

Went to Settings / General / Bluetooth. iPhone Cradle wasn't shown under devices.
Turn Bluetooth off, press Home button then hold down top button and slide to power off

Press top button until Apple logo appears again. Go back to Settings / General / Bluetooh and turn Bluetooth on.

Place phone back in the 3G/3GS cradle, iPhone Cradle will now appear but will show not connected. Press the blue circle with the right facing arrow next to Not Connected and the cradle will pair with the Comand head unit.

This will give you everything back except showing the phone Contacts list, it will show only numbers on the Comand unit and the dash if the iPod integration kit is fitted. According to an earlier post Apple are aware of this numbers only bug and are working on a fix.

Regards