A6 Bluetooth connection

[PatAvant]

I have a Parrot 3100 Bluetooth kit in my 2006 A6. There is an Audi phone in the car but I do not use this as Orange are iffy about giving a second SIM card for some reason ands taking the SIM out of my phone and putting it in the car every time is a pain. When I set my Nokia to search for available bluetooth it does "see" the Audi phone system (the one that runs through MMI). I can get my phone to talk to the Audi system but when it gets to the stage of binding with the MMI it just stops. Is it possible to do this or am I wasting my time ?
I would prefer to use the Audi phone as it is more user friendly than the Parrot.
All advice appreciated !

[grimfixer]

I have a similar problem with a PDA style phone. I am looking for an A6 but need to connect the phone through the MMI and can't pair it. Did you have any success.........

[PatAvant]

I have now got a Blackberry and this does not bind either. After asking several people at Audi who claimed not to know, I collared a service techy at the last service. He said there is a list of 'phones that will bind with the MMI but the blackberry was not on this list, neither was the Nokia 6230i. He said the list would never catch up with modern phones.
In my eyes this is poor, its not just Audi but BMW etc also who cannot keep up. If anyone from Audi is out there listening.....HELLO - you are missing out on money here! If the aforementioned Audi techy had said to me the list was out of date, however we can upgrade the MMI software to suit your phone at a cost of £75.00 (new parrot bluetooth kit circa £120 fitted) then I would have taken his hand off, I am not mechanically / electronically minded but it can't be rocket science can it.. ?
I just use the Parrot, which is excellent by the way, but I would rather use the MMI phone, such a nice shade of green

[grimfixer]

Thanks for the post. My phone is a Palm Treo 750, another variation of the Blackberry style using Windows mobile 5. Recognises the Audi system and the Audi recognises the Palm, it then generates a 16 digit code for input by the phone - which can only input 13! Frustrating to say the least. Your Parrot system is totally independent of the MMI isn't it? I want to make use of the steering wheel controls for the phone and move the phone book across. If this is not possible then is there a bolt on after market kit that will get into the MMI? Without a solution I will look to another car manufacturer which will be a disappointment as I am a keen Audi fan. Lots of Q's but appreciate any help on this from the forum.

[PatAvant]

I am happy with the Parrot but it depends how much you use the phone. I used to do 80k+ miles a year and the Parrot was fine in my BMW, even so I would prefer to use the Audi one for the very reason you said - steering wheel controls and phone book integration. It may be worth speaking to your local Audi dealer, if there is another solution let me know!

[audipersempre]

I work in this industry albeit at the front end where we make the Bluetooth silicon chips ratehr than products. I will see what I can find out about this issue.

From what I see the general issue is about cost (isn't it always!). The lowest cost Bluetooth solutions are based on hard coded firmware which of course may not work with the next new phone that comes out. It is possible to use Bluetooth semiconductors with a separate flash chip or embedded flash which could be re programmed and is therefore somewaht future proof but that costs more.

I am not sure if that is the issue here but I will make some enquiries.

[PatAvant]

Ah yes, the bain of modernity...cost! For a car that costs circa £50k when properly specced it grates that it cannot be future-proofed in some way but then we wouldn't upgrade cars would we! I understand that you get what you pay for and while I would be willing to pay for a software update, it seems that the manufacturers are still living in the early 90's with regards to phones. My neighbour is going through the same thing with a 5 series - incompatible blue tooth is rife. Something must be done !! Questions must be answered

[gtiller]

Do you have the Motorola Handset in the armrest?

If the answer is yes, it means that the ONLY bluetooth device that your MMI system will bind to is the Motorola. Everything else will just time out.

There are alternatives, you could change the bluetooth controller for a different bluetooth one, and lose the Motorola handset, then any bluetooth phone will couple.

You can buy the new remote SIM access profile (rSAP) bluetooth controller - again you lose the Motorola handset in the armrest.
This means your phone will bind to MMI, but then the car does the phoning (so you can use the roof aerial, you won't drain your phone bateery as quickly etc..)

The other option is to replace the controller with a wired one (where you have a universal base mounted in your armrest) This is good, as it will charge your phone, but do consider that Audi are slowing down the production of their cradles (which cost £100 every time you change your phone)

Speak to Craig http://www.tclsatnav.com as I can recommend his work.