[susabd]

Hi!

I have 520d 2016 (European) non navigation, small iDrive display & Harman Kardon and with following problems:

* AUDIO QUALITY IN PHONE CALLS OVER HANDSFREE BLUETOOTH/USB IS BAD.
People in phone say it sounds I'm to far from microphone and I have to speak louder for them to hear me. I have compared to MINI och 4 series from 2016 that I borrowed a week and they sounded better than my car.

* SOUND QUALITY FROM HARMAN KARDON IS SPOOR WHEN PLAYING MUSIC from iPhone Spotify and Music app. Same goes either USB/Bluetooth. I have tweaked the EQ witch makes it sounds better but still not good. I have had HK stereos before on my cars and the never let me down. When compared with MINI och 4 series which also had HK sounded much better.

* DELAY IN SOUND FROM PHONE. There seems to be a delay from the sound the phone (up to 2sec) when its paired with the car. It's obvious when playing music, switching songs, scrolling in music, sound from sms type etc. Some goes over USB and Bluetooth. This kind of delay is only with my car and never appeared on other manufactures like Volvo, VW RENAULT etc. Even the MINI and 4series.

I have had my car at the dealer twice and they can't find any error codes. The have also updated the cars software. The problems remain even if paired with other phones (iPhone and android)

My question is it supposed to be like this? Anyone have encountered the same? Any ideas?

[claykin]

I'm in USA so can't comment much on non Nav as all F10 here have Nav.

My NBT car is also slow at Bluetooth handoff. I would describe it as several seconds to handoff call to car. It is quite annoying at times.

BMW improved call hand off time significantly in the NBT EVO hardware.

I did recently have a 2017 F30 non Nav loaner and that was also slow to handoff calls. So, I assume only the latest BMW hardware will address this issue. I suspect that will trickle down to non Nav cars in a year or 2 or 3....

As far as Bluetooth call quality, my car has Enhanced Bluetooth with the better microphone setup and it still doesn't sound very good. Not on my end or the other side of call. I've had Japanese rental cars with much better sounding Bluetooth.

Hope this helps.

[susabd]

Thank you for your answers!

What's NBT?

Originally Posted by claykin

I'm in USA so can't comment much on non Nav as all F10 here have Nav.

My NBT car is also slow at Bluetooth handoff. I would describe it as several seconds to handoff call to car. It is quite annoying at times.

BMW improved call hand off time significantly in the NBT EVO hardware.

I did recently have a 2017 F30 non Nav loaner and that was also slow to handoff calls. So, I assume only the latest BMW hardware will address this issue. I suspect that will trickle down to non Nav cars in a year or 2 or 3....

As far as Bluetooth call quality, my car has Enhanced Bluetooth with the better microphone setup and it still doesn't sound very good. Not on my end or the other side of call. I've had Japanese rental cars with much better sounding Bluetooth.

Hope this helps.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by susabd

Thank you for your answers!

What's NBT?

NBT=BMW Nav system (iDrive). It's the first generation based on x86 (Intel processor). BMW began using NBT in 2012 and as of 2017 most models have switched to NBT_EVO hardware, which is a 2nd generation Intel based design.

[Malcolmblank]

It might be worth reaching out to BMW customer support or forums specific to BMW owners to see if others have encountered similar issues. Sometimes, the collective wisdom of fellow owners can shed light on solutions that dealers might overlook.

[dianamill]

That sounds like a frustrating situation with your car's audio system. I had a similar issue with my old car where the Bluetooth connectivity was wonky, and calls sounded like they were coming from a tin can! I stumbled upon an article (https://www.mightycall.com/cloud-call-center/) about troubleshooting audio issues, and it got me thinking. One time, I borrowed a friend's car and noticed how crisp and clear the sound was, unlike mine. Turns out, there was a software update available for my car's audio system that I hadn't installed. Maybe it's worth checking if there are any updates specifically for your car's audio system? Sometimes those updates can iron out these kinds of glitches.