Ken23

I'm the fortunate owner of a new '07 S550 and I love the car but the car doesn't appear to like cellphones!

I'm in a catch-22 situation whereby, as a result of the extensive IR coating used on the glass surfaces, the signal strength on a cell phone in the car is weak at best. The US bluetooth module doesn't help as it has limited functionality with my phone (Nokia 8800) and does not make use of the car's external antennae. I read that the European version of the bluetooth module supports my phone directly with the added benefit of SAP (SIM Access Profile) whereby the bluetooth connection is made directly to the SIM card and a the car's external antennae is used, thereby solving the IR protection issue. After installing the said Euro bluetooth module, I get a prefect connection between the phone, bluetooth module and COMAND system (address book is accessible as well as SMS text messages, etc) however absolutely NO signal whatsoever (message on COMAND reads "No Service". I check the display on my phone which indicates that the Remote SIM function is active, but again NO signal bars whatsoever . Has anyone else experienced (and, hopefully, resolved) this issue?

My friends in Europe tell me the same system works perfectly over there and I have a sneaky suspicion that the Tele-Aid system may be interfering or worse, that MB USA have disabled some functionality in the external antennae, but I'm no expert. Any advice/suggestions will be gratefully received as I'm now the owner of 2 bluetooth modules and no working solution! Thanks in advance.

MagicO309D

I'm assuming you are using one of the new MB UHI Bluetooth Modules with SAP in the US? If so, you will not be able to use the SAP profile, only normal BT hands-free profile. The issue is that these new devices are dual band and only compatible with the two European network frequencies. (It can't transmit on the US 850 and 1900MHz bands). A quad-band or US dual band unit will not happen anytime soon in the US because neither T-Mobile or Cingular are interested in supporting SAP yet so no business case.

If you want great reception and full hands-free integration from you phone, switch to one of the wired cradles. There's one available for the Nokia 6230 and it's part number is B67875849.

Ken23

Thank you *so* much for that clarification. Frankly, after having shelled out several hundred dollars on the 2 UHI modules, its not what I was hoping to hear. However yours is the first explanation that actually makes sense and, hopefully, this will save others from making this expensive mistake. Thanks again.

Skylaw

Ken 23, Macic0309D is on the money for getting full functionality and full range in the US cars. Use a wired phone, and forget Bluetooth.

My particular wired phone is a Moto V710 - thick and bulky, and I hate having it in my pocket. Plus, half the time I forget either to take it with me leaving to car, or to plug it back in.

I solved that with a family plan and a second phone ($10/mo for the second line) - a RAZR V3. Thin, easy to carry. I use no-answer call forwarding from the V710 in the car. In the car, I get calls thru the V710. When out of the car, calls are forwarded to the RAZR. I only give out the number of the phone in the car, so I don't miss anything.

Not nearly as clean a solution as the European spec UHI and SAP download works in Europe, but it's much better than putting up with the BT limitations in the U.S. implementation.

Ken23

Thanks for the tip Skylaw. It seems the only way to go for now. Although I'm sorely tempted to try and build a "hybrid" unit from both of the UHI's I have. Unfortunately, I would n't know which parts to take from each unit to create a hybrid unit that combines the SAP functionality of the Euro unit with the Quad band functionality of the US unit. Ah well, we live in hope...