yikes

hello

i have read every post in this thread and ive been to http://www.wireless4mb.com/ and even called them today to get an updated and comprehensive list of phones that works with mb blutooth. the list on their page is really old and not updated. they told me that they no longer keep track of the list of phones that may or may not work cause

1. they dont make the product anymore
2. the new mb are all intergrated now with the hu

so i guess its going to have to be a list of working phones that is added by the users themselves.

Skylaw

Thanks for the update.

alx914

Do you know if the Gateway 500 will work in a 2003 S600. Do you know which system my vehicle has? COMMAND or MOST? I'm a bit confused on this issue. I have the phone cradle and steering column stalk...but do not have the phone itself. I would like to install the Gateway 500 system but am also looking for BT Streaming technology that is available with the Parrot MKi9200 unit. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Skylaw

Welcome to the forum.

Your '03 S600 has a widescreen COMAND MOPF with a CD-based nav system and a D2B fiber optic bus.

Unfortunately there is no CarTronics, mObridge or Dension combination unit that I know of that will provide both iPod and Bluetooth connectivity for D2B systems (such units do exist for the MOST fiber optics units in the '04 and later cars). In addition, OE W220 ('00-'06 S-Class) bluetooth equipment does not support A2DP Bluetooth music streaming. Some Parrot units do (I have a Parrot-based Alpine head unit in my '78 450SL that supports it), but I don't know if they're available for D2B integration - and if it is just an add-on rather than an integrated unit, you will not have control via your COMAND or the steering wheel buttons.

It is very likely you currently have an Autosense PSE and a V60 phone cradle. If that is the case, all you need to convert it to Bluetooth is a V60 Bluetooth puck that will plug into the cradle. If your cradle is for a TimePort phone, then you need to replace the cradle with the "Puck-with-tail." It's a V60 puck with wiring added to connect inside your center console.

In the early posts this guide discusses what you need to do, and gives you links to the phone bulletins that will help you identify what you already have.

Here is a HUGE hint: AWS is no longer testing new phones with the retrofit Bluetooth equipment, so they are no longer updating the compatibility list for phones. Before you buy any new phone, be sure to test it with your car's equipment!!! It is a LOT easier to buy a phone that works with the equipment already installed in the car than to change the car so it will work with a particular phone. While the V60 puck will work with iPhones, including the iPhone 4, it is older technology and is not compatible with as many phones as the newer systems are.

The Gateway 500 for D2B has been discontinued, and replaced by the Gateway LITE for D2B. Please see http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...ml#post4403592 where I just responded to questions concerning D2B iPod integration.

Another option would be to replace virtually everything on your fiber optic loop with something like the Kenwood Excelon units (Alpine, Pioneer and others make similar ones) - such units have Bluetooth, music streaming, navigation, DVD playback, etc - but will also likely require a new amp and possibly new speakers and an audio processing unit such as an Audion Bit-1 or a JL Cleansweep. Some units work with optional interfaces that will keep your steering wheel button function; however, they will not look like an OE installation. You should consult a high-end audio shop for that, and such a system isn't cheap.

alx914

Thank you for the prompt reply. If I understand you correctly, the Gateway Lite will not support Bluetooth. Its just an iPod and USB interface. Have you heard of the MB20 unit from NAV-TV.

http://www.navtv.com/product/16/mb20.html

I'm told, by my radio guy, that this is the one to use. Also, with the use of 2 PAC adapters the steering wheel controls will function as well.

Schweinhund

Here's a helpful link

http://www.2phast.com/clk32k/electro...lectronics.htm

Skylaw

You are correct, the Gateway LITE is not for Bluetooth. You would follow the recommendation I made for Bluetooth, as well as installing the Gateway LITE.

Personally, I do not like the DICE unit; please feel free to research the comments that have been made about them.

Nav-TV makes some good equipment, and used to make it for for D2B equipped cars; but you had to pull the head unit and send it to them for modification. Folks who have done this have been happy with the result. I do not know if Nav-TV makes a combination audio/Bluetooth unit, and their compatibility chart doesn't show much for the '03 S-Class, so I don't know if more is available than they show.

tg1322

I have an E320 2004 model with the V60 (??) phone cradle. I would like to be able to connect my iPhone 4 and listen to music, charge it and answer phone calls... what are my options? Thank you!

Skylaw

Add a V60 puck, and a Dension Gateway 500 (the most recently edited and easiest to follow writeup is at http://www.mbca.org/forum/how-integr...se-mb-ipod-kit) - you may have to register as a guest to see and download the pdf file.

You could also look at combination kits from InCarTronics or mObridge, but they would duplicate your existing phone capability and you would have to give up your CDC. The Gateway 500 lets you keep your CDC; but the V60 puck may not be as compatible with as many phones as the InCartronics or mObridge. It does work with all iPhones, including the iPhone 4, firmware version 4.1 or later. iPhone 3GS users who upgraded to iOS4.0 lost phone book download capability, which was restored with iOS4.1. iPhone 4 users were OK with iOS4.0.

Skylaw

Some iPhone owners report loss of their music library on the iPhone after updating to iOS 4.2 (it happened to me). No problem. Reconnect your iPhone, open iTunes, select the iPhone when it appears in the left column, and re-synch it (you may have set iTunes to do this automatically, so all you have to do is plug your iPhone into your computer and let it re-synch). The music will reappear (it was probably never gone, and the synch will go quickly).

Still_Waters_43

Anyone had any issues or luck using this Bluetooth setup with an HTC Evo on Sprint?

Skylaw

^^You may need to be more specific to get a good answer. "This Bluetooth setup" can cover a number of different equipment installations depending on the model year of your car.

Still_Waters_43

Skylaw, I'm thinking of going with Option 5 from your original post (great post BTW). I am planning on istalling the Mercedes Core and Completer kits with the version 2 puck (i.e. ....5878).

So, specifically I'm wondering if anyone has issues using the Mercedes phone features with the Evo and with Sprint (i.e. steering wheel buttons, sound quality, dropped calls, etc.)

mfortis

Need some help. I want to install hands free cell phone in my 2005 CLK320 conv. First question is regarding installation core kit. Somewhere in my research I got BQ 682 0965 as the kit I needed, but when I picked up the Star installation instructions from a link on this forum it had BQ 682 0906 as the core kit. I wanted to compare the parts in each kit to make sure they are compatible. I could not find any component listing of the BQ 682 0906 kit. I did find the items for the BQ 682 0965 kit.
Vehicle core installation kit BQ 682 0965
Hardware kit BQ 682 0462
Linear compensator, dual band BQ 682 0829
Control module, MHI BQ 682 0936
Can someone help me confirm if the parts are the same in the 06 kit?

Thanks

TampabaySL65AMG

Anyone out there recommend a tried and proven IPOD integration product to interface with the 2008 COMAND system for the OEM SL65 radio.

I'm told there are integration constraints merrying up an IPOD integration to the AMG radio units for model yrs 07-08 ... can anyone chime in if this is correct?

If so, what is the work-around, if any exists?

Thx all.

mfortis

Ok, so I ordered the both the core and completer kits. Installed everything per (http://home.earthlink.net/~phdwebsit..._bulletins.htm) the bulletin, except that I did not do the splicing for the Tele-aid.
When I try to configure the MOST ring I don't see the Tel orange wire in the trunk of my 05 CLK320 CAB. The bulletin I got from the link is not too detailed on how to connect the MOST ring. The diagram it has show the TEL included. I saw some other posts that mention there has to be some configuration down in the transmition well inside the car, but that was for a coupe. Would that also apply to a cab? there is no mention of it in the bulletin.

mfortis

After some trial and error the phone was recognized. All my contact data was downloaded from my Verizon Motorola Droid (v2.2). I was able to place a call but the other person on the other line could not hear me.
The connections I made were;
UHI OUT >> CDC IN
SOUND OUT >> UHI IN
SDARS OUT >> SDARS IN

The original set up was;
SDARS OUT >> SDARS IN
SOUND OUT >> CDC IN
UHI OUT >> UHI IN

The only thing that comes to mind for the microphone fix is double checking the microphone array connection. When going over identifying the cables the microphone array was already connected, but going to double check just o make sure.

seehack

I installed the OEM phone kit with bluetooth and tested it connected successful to 3 different cell phones with directory download in my 2007 C203 last night. However this morning I encountered a new issue. The bluetooth puck keep powering off (the TEL menu on Audio 20 display says Phone Off) even after I turned the puck on manually through the Audio 20 Phone On button.

Is this problem due to the fact I did not take to the dealer for coding? I thought I don't have to it as it was working immediately after I completed the installation.

Any advise if I have a coding or hardware issue?

Thanks.

nilop

What is the "AWS" site that everyone is referring to above?

Skylaw

It is explained in post #6, and multiple links to their website are given in the first seven posts. However, see the bold print note at post #229 concerning AWS and testing phone compatibility.

Skylaw

My iPhone had been doing perfect downloads of its contacts (phone book), using iTunes 10.2.1 and iOS4.2.1. Suddenly, I was only getting partial downloads - 4 or 5 items in a list of 192. I tried re-synching the contacts, deleting and re-synching the contacts, deleting the iPhone backup and re-synching. I also tried removing the Bluetooth puck from my car, and reinstalling it, and re-initializing the COMAND - nothing worked.

After working on it for an hour, it occurred to me to try the phone on the Alpine head unit in my '78 450SL; the identical thing was happening, tending to indicate that the problem was with the phone, and not COMAND.

Finally, at the suggestion of Apple support, I "restored" the entire iPhone from the "Summary" page in iTunes (and I selected the option not to restore the phone from a backup, but to restore from scratch). That did the trick. I had to go in and re-do a lot of my settings, and re-pair the phone to the car using the "MBUSA" code - but it worked.

BTW, Apple support first told me that my S500 probably needed a COMAND firmware update for compatibility with iOS4.2. He backed off that when I told him about the problem occurring with the Alpine HU as well; plus the fact that the phone had worked perfectly for weeks after iOS4.2 and iTunes 10.2.1 had been released. The problem is not the cars, at least with those Apple software/firmware versions!

NOTE: iOS4.3 was released on March 9, 2011, for GSM (i.e., AT&T) iPhones. I installed it this morning (Mar. 10) and can verify that it also has no problems with the firmware in either of my cars.

What I did not try before restoring the phone was entirely breaking the pairing between the phone and the car by turning BT entirely off, so that the "MBUSA" code had to be re-entered in order to re-pair. Doing that MAY have resolved the problem - I don't know. If so, it would have kept me from having to re-enter all of my phone settings, email access passwords, WiFi key, and the like. If anyone has the partial phone book download with an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, you might want to try that before doing a full restoration of your phone - and if it works, please let us know. If not, then the full "restore" will likely work.

There is a memory limit in both the iPhone and the MB Bluetooth system. The number of contacts that will download is often limited by the available memory in the car's BT system (I have seen it handle 250 entries, but I don't know what the limit is). However, if you are having trouble with partial downloads, especially downloading a very small percentage of what is in your contacts, try the "Restore" feature of iTunes.

Cartronics

As a sponsor, you can always check out all the proven plug-in items we have for phone systems (we developed or codeveloped all of them). We have over 15,000 installed systems and many add new features to the car as well. ALL of them are software upgradable by the end user, so when new phones or changes come about, they can be easily upgraded.

Skylaw

However, as noted in my preceding post, the problem was clearly with the phone, and not with the installed equipment in either car. The advice initially given by the Apple tech was patently wrong.

seehack

I am posting an update to my puck "random" powering down problem post a few threads above. Its not a hardware or coding issue.

I troubleshoot and found it has to do with the contact list on my iPhone. I have 3 contact lists, one near a 1000, one near 350 in iPhone contacts dir and one shorlisted to about 50 for my BMW. In my BMW, only the 50 shorlist appear on the car phone. However whenever I enable the BMW, the puck would shut down after a few minutes. One can manually power up the puck through the A20 control but it will shut down again.

If I enable the default iPhone contacts list, no further problem. Now its more difficult to select from the 300+ names from the steering wheel.

FWIW.

Skylaw

Thank you for the update, seehack. I haven't seen that problem (or solution) described before.

Out of curiosity - when your iPhone is configured for your Benz, can you download all 350 contacts? What is the largest number your car has been able to handle?

Also, how are you "enabling" or selecting the different lists to load? My own contacts list has several Groups (subsets of the "All Contacts" list on my computer) but if I load more than one Group into the iPhone, it creates its own "All Contacts" list comprised of all the numbers in the Groups that are loaded on the phone. My '05 W220 then seems to load the "All Contacts" list that is on the phone, rather than any Group.

Because I do not load all of my contacts that I have on my computer on the iPhone, the phone does not have the computer's "All Contacts" list (and I don't want it to). However, I have not been able to determine how to select only one Group to load into the car, as you seem to be able to do (except by loading only one Group into the iPhone during iTunes synchronization). It's not in the iPhone manual, in iTunes, or in my telephone or COMAND manual.