Heejin

This morning, I have placed an order of bluetooth module from AWS. It was $350, no tax and free ground shipping. They told me that I still need to get the hands free system installed at the dealer in order to use this module.

So I stopped by at the dealer to make an appointment. The service manager told me that it will cost around $1,500 for installation of the hands free system without the voice control functionality which is another $500. So I made an appointment for next week.

I guess it will cost around $2,000 in total for the whole thing.

I will keep you dated on the installation.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

Heejin

Here are some updates on the bluetooth installation.

Here are parts for this installation.

Q6 820955 Core kit: $600
Q6 820950 Completer kit: $ 323
(Optional voice kit: $?)

According to the dealership, it's 2.5 warranty hour which means it could take a bit longer. The labor charge will be somewhere around $300.

The dealership found out that they don't have the part delivered yet, so the installation got pushed out till this Thursday. I have decided to have them installed since it requires some delicate fiber optic installation according to dealership

I will keep you guys updated on how the installation goes.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

chet

What is "AWS?"

Is this an aftermarket or factory system?


chet

Heejin

AWS is Auto Wireless Solution(http://wireless4mb.com) who distributes Mercedes OEM bluetooth solution.

Finally, I have the Hands-free communication and bluetooth installed today. It took 5 hours for dealership to install the whole thing since it was their first installation. However, I was charged for the 3.5 hours of labour which was initially committed by service manager.

As you all know, it's even very new to dealership, so you really have to know what you want in order to have this installed. You just can't depend on the dealership to do this for you. I think Mercedes should do the better job on training the service team at the dealership on this since this is getting pretty popular.

Anyway, I have tried it with my black Razr and latest Samsung phone which I got from ebay. Because this phone is not available in US yet, it's not on the compatible phone list. However, both of the phone worked fine with the system. At the beginning, it looked like there is some problem, but it works great after reconnecting bluetooth connection. Only issue is the phone book synch. I guess this is something really requires the compatible phone. Still it works great and my wife loves it. I guess this is all that matters

The total cost was $350 for bluetooth module and $1,500 for hands-free system(core kit + completer kit) including installation.

I hope this helps. If you have any further question, please let me know.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

ATS

So with this kit you can take almost any bluetooth phone into your car and it will work on the car system?

The problem is that I do not want the V60..

CJ_E350

Heejin - I'm also in Seattle and just had my E350 for it's first inspection after 1,000 miles. I had the dealer confirm my car is wired for the phone...so does that still mean I have to purchase the core kit? I have a Treo phone and it also is not on the AWS list of approved phones...not sure if it's worth it, or if I should just continue to use my Motorola BT headset.

Heejin

My Black Razr and lastest Samsung phone(SGH-D600) works fine. Unless you want the full synch of your address, I think you could go with most of bluetooth phone.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

Heejin

Unless you have "Hands-free communication" option, you need to install core kit and completer kit. The wire is just simple wire which connects core and completer kits to command control center.

As I mentioned above, I think most of bluetooth handset work with this kit. My non-standard handset works well. If you really want to make sure your Treo works before you make $1,800 purchase, I am more than happy to help you to try your Treo phone on my car. We could meet at the dealership(Barrier motors) or Bellevue Sqaure mall over the weekend. Please, send me a PM with your contact info.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

CJ_E350

Cool...I'll get a PM to you - not sure if this weekend will work, but I'll get back with you.

Thanks!!

Heejin

BTW, I just found out that my black Razr is compatible for phonebook synch. Now the phonebook button is enabled so I can look at the phonebook via command system.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

JohnAMG

I just installed the bluetooth module couple of days ago when I took delivery of my 06' E55. I have Verizon Motorola E815, it downloads the phone book into the Comand and the reception is very good. The only glitch is the phone is not display in the dash cluster and the probable cause is when the MHI was installed at VPC, someone didn't activate the instrument cluster function for the phone. I am dropping by the dealership wednesday for them to activate it. Other than that, I am quite happy with the bluetooth.

John

DavidNJ

I've been out of this forum too long.

Is this an MB thing or aftermarket? The AWS site says they will contact me when the 'V60' Motorola kit (apparently the kit for all Motorola and Blackberry phones) is available. If it is factory, doesn't it need to be sold by the dealer? Doesn't the Comand system need to be configured?

And on a practical note, can it handle multiple phone concurrently (when my wife and I travel together, we can end up with 4 phones in the car).

Heejin

It is MB part. However, they set up AWS for some reason. I am not quite sure why. According to my conversation with the dealership, they will carry this one pretty soon.

Regarding multiple phone support, it only work with single phone. Even though it's paired with multiple phones, it get connected to the one which comes within the range first. So this is how it works, I walk to the car before my wife, it will connect to my phone during that ride. When we come back later, it could connect to my wife's phone if she comes before me.

I hope this makes sense.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

chet

Heejin,

Thanks For This Very Excellent Information On The Bluetooth.

I Have A Razr Phone, So This Sounds Like An Ideal Solution For Me.

I Just Have To Decide If The Price Is Worth It!!

But It's Great To Have You Verify It Is Technically Feasible.

Heejin

Glad that I was able to help.

I know that a lot of people wants this cool feature including me, but there was no clear info on what to buy and how to install.

I had to spend many hours to figure out all of this, so I just wanted to share the finding with everybody.

I am so happy with the bluetooth module in my wife's E350. Every time I call my wife, I don't have to worry about she trying to reach out for the phone while driving. It really gives me the peace of mind.

I am just hoping that Porsche comes out with something similar for my 997. Currently Porsche has some weird phone system which requires a SIM card in the command system.

Cheers,
Heejin in Seattle

lpolo

Heejin: What does the AWS bluetooth device connect to? Is there some kind of cable to connect the bluetooth device with system in the car?

CJ_E350

Heejin - sent you a PM

theteeman

I have the new krzr 1m and the bluetooth module with verizon. does anyone know how or where I can get the optional voice control system.
is it tough to install
thanks

lkchris

The answer to this question is simply and always ...

... do you have a mount for a phone in your console?

(Oh, BTW, the mounts differ depending on choice of phone.)

revstriker

FYI: 9 Month old thread.

tyltan

Bring back from the old tread.
I just set up BT for my wife E350. It happened exactly what you described above. I thought I did something wrong. Have any members figured out how to fix/correct this?

Polar Bear

Are you referring to the order in which it is paired?

tyltan

Yes. It only recognized/paired one phone. If my wife's phone paired with the puck, my phone couldn't. Vice versa.

Diesel Benz

Further above you quoted a comment explaining that the puck does pair with multiple phones but only keeps active connection to one at a time.

This is the case for all BT hands free kits today as far as I'm aware. A simple reason for this is that if both phones are in call, it would be difficult to have the conversation when the single microphone in the car allows both remote callers hear both in the car equally and both remote callers' voice would come from the speakers. Instead of this, it is better that the passenger's phone is used on its own, not connected to the car.

You can swap the active connection if you wanted to but then the driver should not accept any incoming calls until connected to the car HF again.

tyltan

You made perfectly sense. Thank you.