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iPhone 5 and Mercedes Bluetooth issues

Hello,
I just received the new iPhone 5, and it's great.
However I have an 2008 mercedes s500 with integrated bluetooth. The iPhone pairs Ok but the call quality is very poor people can hardly understand what I talk and the volume is loud but I an also hear them like talking from a bottle. I tried several restarts, nothing works.
All other phones I have are working OK.


Please give me sugestions what to do, I use this option very very often paid few hundred euros for this bluetooth system. I repeat all other phones I pair are working flawless.

iPhone 4S, iOS 5

Posted on Sep 23, 2012 7:07 AM

Reply
18 replies

Sep 23, 2012 8:38 AM in response to paul roland

Hi,


Which Bluetooth integrated system did you purchase?


Apple have broken Bluetooth between iOS 2 and 3 and 3 and 4.

It could that the firmware on the intergrated system doesn't recognise the ID for the iPhone 5 so it is falling back to a more basic version of Bluetooth, hence the call quality.


Does your Bluetooth system on the car have the ability to pull your phone contacts into Comand?


If so, can you see those contacts in Comand?

Sep 23, 2012 9:21 AM in response to BrainSuperGlue

B6 788 0000 is the part number of the bluetooth system
Is the HPF version not the sap one as the sap one is clearly not supported.
The connection is ok, the address book is visible, also the call logs. Network signal is shown. Connection is made really fast, but the call quality is very low.
This bt system from mercedes is fairly new I doubt the issues are does to some sort of downgrade. Also ios 5 is listed as supported and 4s also, but I never got the chance to test another apple product.

Iphone 5 is all i got and now I have to sell it I am driving 100 000kms at year and I use incar bt very often


I saw some old dated threads about this issue since 2010 and Apple seems to ignore this. I also doubt very much I can do anything since this phone has limited configuration options specialy on bluetooth. Just On and Off

Sep 23, 2012 1:03 PM in response to paul roland

Hi,


Given the HFP module, yes it's compatible with iOS5 but appears the firmware in the HFP Module isn't compatible with the iPhone 5 which uses iOS6.


Technically the type of Bluetooth in the 4S and the 5 is the same, Bluetooth 4.0. If the 4S works fine and 5 doesn't, then basically the HFP module isn't recognising the iPhone 5 as an iPhone 5 and is falling back to a version of Bluetooth that work but that quality of the audio transfer is bad.


Solutions.


1. Get the firmware for the B6 788 0000 upgraded so it's iOS6 compatible.


2. Wait until Mercedes release an iPhone 5 purpose built cradle for the pre-wired telephone cabling connection.


Sadly as you also point out, Apple is known for this kind of thing. I've been though it many times.


Richard

Sep 23, 2012 5:32 PM in response to paul roland

You won't find firmware for the HFP online, you'd have to get it flashed at Mercedes. When will Mercedes have the firmware that's compatible with iOS6 / iPhone 5 available? That's the question.


When the iPhone 4S came out, you had to take the original Mercedes iPhone 4 cradle into Mercedes to get it flashed. It took a few months for that firmware to become available.


You could always give Peiker Acustic a call. They make the cradles for Mercedes.


http://www.peiker.com/en/contact.html


http://www.peiker.com/en/products/automotive/hands-free-systems.html

Sep 24, 2012 10:42 AM in response to BrainSuperGlue

For completeness, I asked Pieker when the custom iPhone 5 cradle would be released to Mercedes.


They said....


"peiker is an automotive supplier. Since we are bound to the contracts we have with the automotive industry, we are not authorised to provide any information about our products to end customers. The customer support is handled by Mercedes Benz, therefore we ask you to call MB's European wide hotline 00800 1 77 77 77 7.


Thank you for understanding."


I spoke with Mercedes and they said their technical team will get back to me...


Sep 25, 2012 8:54 AM in response to paul roland

Just an update.


Mercedes came back to me with an answer regarding the custom iPhone 5 cradle.


"Thank you for contacting the Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center Maastricht N.V.

Following our telephone conversation yesterday regarding a cradle for the new iPhone 5, we have consulted our Technical Department. We can confirm that we have no information regarding a release date for the cradle, however we can advise that it usually takes around three months for a cradle to be developed.

Should you have any further requirements please do not hesitate to contact us."


Sounds like the same timeframe for when the iPhone 3G/S and iPhone 4G/S cradles came out after launch.


I'm still waiting to hear on when iOS6 compatible HFP firmware would be available.

Sep 26, 2012 4:10 PM in response to BrainSuperGlue

Another update from Mercedes re the HFP adapter and iOS 6. Nice to have confirmation that Apple didn't give Mercedes any units before launch.


"Unfortunately we are not yet in a position to advise on compatiblity of this telephone [iPhone 5] with our vehicles due to the fact that it was only released on the 21st September 2012 and we are not given the handsets in advance so have only began testing the compatibility. Once these test are run and the telephone is deemed compatible this is reflected on the website www.mercedes-benz-mobile.com.

With regards to your comments about the audio quality with the iPhone 5 and the Mercedes-Benz HFP adapter (B6 788 0000) we appreciate this feedback and have logged this comment; however, until the handset is fully tested we are unable to advise further at this stage.

Should you have any further requirements please do not hesitate to contact us."

Oct 17, 2012 8:42 AM in response to paul roland

I just got my iPhone 5 and was having great difficulty pairing it with the Bluetooth system in my 2008 S550. After hours of frustrating online searches and even discussing with Applecare (they were clueless), it turns out following the exact (and I would say annoyingly precise, and non-intuitive) pairing instructions for my model car from Mercedes-Benz’s mobile website did solve the problem and I was able to successfully pair my iPhone 5 with the system in my car and it now works perfectly.


http://www.mercedes-benz-mobile.com/extra/legacy/usa/downloads/mbm_bluetooth-int erface-module_black_paring-manual_2009-11-20.pdf


Of course, if you have a different model vehicle, visit http://www.mercedes-benz-mobile.com/us/en/#passenger to find your model).


I do think it is ridiculous that you need instructions of this detail, with a special code, to pair the phone to the system. Just glad I finally figured it out.

iPhone 5 and Mercedes Bluetooth issues

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