ANGMED

Mercedes Benz S600 2005 with factory Bluetooth connector under armrest.

After having read manuals for Motorola V3m, the Mercedes Benz Bluetooth phone Cradle B6787-5869 manual, also the thorough and appropriate posts by Skylaw and others, still I’m having issues pairing those two peripherals.

With phone in my hands.... Bluetooth is set to “ON” position on the Motorola V3m, (made no other settings on the phone itself), the Motorola cradle blinks as designed, rather fast at first and pulsating slowly after a bit of time while seeking previous telephone numbers, yet, all I get is “Phone is being activated”. Tried several times leaving it for several minutes in each occassion, to no avail.
Given that the phone works fine, what gives? What am I missing?

pjkwong

Does your phone pair with another bluetooth device (headset for example)?

ANGMED

I have no other devices to pair with it, however, perhaps the problem is I am trying to pair them inside my house garage. Could that be it?

Skylaw

I believe the step you are missing is bringing up the name of the Bluetooth system that is in your car, on the phone, while the lights on the puck are blinking rapidly; then, selecting the BT system name on the phone (my iPhone shows "MB PhoneSys"), and then entering the "MBUSA" code (62872) into the phone. It should then pair, following which the phone book will download. If you never get to the point of entering the 62872 code, the phone will not pair.

The steps you follow to bring up the "code" window on your particular phone vary with the phone, and are described in its owner's manual - probably under "Pairing."

What follows may not help you, because our phones are different - but to pair my iPhone 4, I 1) apply power to COMAND and 2)push the blue button on the puck (the two lights will blink slowly at first, then rapidly); then 3) select "Settings" on the phone, then 4) select "Bluetooth." My phone will then display the names of systems with which it is already paired; OR a system that is trying to pair with it. On my phone, it would be "MB PhoneSys." I then 5) select "MB Phone Sys" which brings up the window into which I then 6) enter the "MBUSA code." Once that is done, the system pairs, I get a readout on COMAND ("Phone Activated" if I recall correctly) and then a message across the bottom of the COMAND screen indicating that phone book download has begun.

The MB system will search (blue lights will blink rapidly) for one minute, trying to find a phone with which to pair - actually, a long time. But it will help if you have the steps your must do on the phone itself pretty well memorized, or close at hand.

Again, the steps to bring up the window where you finally enter the "MBUSA" code may vary on your phone, but the basic process is the same for pairing ALL phones.

However, when my wife bought her current Android-based phone, the store had set it for "secure pairing." Her car was not equipped for "secure pairing" and the store changed her setting - after that, her pairing went normally. I doubt that the V3M has the secure pairing feature, but I thought I'd mention it.

ANGMED

As you may see from my most resent post on the same subject (yesterday), all the steps and choices my phone provides are followed. Notice the difference between your first paragraph in today’s post and Motorola’s instructions, which follows… (please bear with me, it is not copious at all)

Turn Bluetooth power on/off
Find it: MENU (s) &DSETTINGS & TOOLS
% Bluetooth
Press the left soft key to turn Bluetooth power
On or Off.
Note: To extend battery life, set Bluetooth
power to Off when not in use. However, if you
turn Bluetooth power Off, your phone will not
connect to accessories until you turn
Bluetooth power On and reconnect to the
accessories.
pair with headset,
handsfree device, or PC
Before you try to connect to another
Bluetooth device, make sure your phone’s
Bluetooth power is On and the device is in
pairing mode (see the user guide for the
device you are attempting to pair with). You
cannot perform pairing while your phone is
connected to another device.
To pair your phone to a headset accessory,
handsfree car kit, or PC that supports
Bluetooth wireless connections:
Find it: MENU (s) ��DSETTINGS & TOOLS
% Bluetooth % Add New Device
If your Bluetooth power is not turned on, your
phone will prompt you to turn it on.
1 Select Add New Device and press OK (s).
Your phone displays a list of device(s)
located within range of the phone. If your
phone is already connected to a device,
your phone lists that device and identifies
it with a > (in-use indicator).
2 Scroll to a device in the list of devices that
your phone found.

3 Press Pair to connect the device.
4 If the device requests permission to bond
with your phone, select YES and enter the
device PIN code to create a secure
connection with the device. (The PIN code
is typically set to 0000.)
Note: See the instructions that came with
your handsfree device for the device’s PIN
code and other information about the device.
When the connection is made, the à
(Bluetooth) indicator or a Bluetooth message
displays in the home screen.
Note: Once a connection is established with a
device, no other device can connect to your phone
until the currently connected device is disconnected. End.

Other than the Bluetooth symbol on the screen at power on, I see no M Benz reference in the V3M to devices near the phone, at any time. Crazy.
My thanks indeed.

Skylaw

The pairing procedure directed for your phone follows my earlier post - but provides the names and locations of the controls for your particular phone. As an aside, from what I see above, if you turn Bluetooth power off (on your phone) you will have to go through the entire pairing procedure each time. You might want to keep that in mind, and accept the battery drain.

In your very first post you said that you are using puck B6 787 5869. That is a combo Bluetooth/plug-in cradle for the Motorola V3, V3c, or V3m that should be able to be used either as a plug-in device or straight Bluetooth, and which also connects the phone to your car's external antenna. It is not usable with any other kind of phone, even in a Bluetooth-only mode - so you can't use another phone to test it, unless it's a V3, a V3c, or a V3m. I have exactly the same combo cradle (which I don't use any more).

If you can borrow one, you might want to plug in a B6 787 5878, B6 787 6131 (both are newer pucks) or B6 787 5839 (the first MHI puck used in the U.S. - it is not compatible with as many phones as the later ones are). Your V3m should pair with one of those. If it does, it tells you that your combo cradle is not working.

If the combo cradle is defective and you want to continue to use the V3m, PM me. Perhaps we can work something out on the 5869 cradle I still have. I also have the Verizon V3c phone I used with it.

And, I have the Q 683 0920 plug-in (only) cradle and Verizon V710 phone I used. It is not a combo cradle - no Bluetooth. However, it does connect to the car's external antenna. The phone must be plugged in (even though the V710 is Bluetooth capable and works fine with the other MHI Bluetooth-only pucks). Because I rarely had need to remove my phone from the car, I used that phone and cradle until I upgraded to an iPhone late last year. The V710 has better reception than the V3c when out of its cradle, because it has a better antenna. It is unfortunately much bulkier than the V3c.

ANGMED

Skylaw:
Thanks to your input, I finally found the hitch: me.

I owe you a beer, or two.... And much appreciation for your good nature and fellowship.
Cheers.

Skylaw

Glad you found the step you were missing, ANGMED. Now, time to 'fess up. What was the error?

(I would never admit it, and I will deny it if you tell anyone - but many of the little "tricks" I tell people about, I learned because I made the same mistake).

ANGMED

My error was ignorance.

Bluetooth has a "Hands Free" option, mistakenly, I thought hands free referred to those earpieces hanging from people's ears, nothing else. At first, I tried it once or twice without success concluding that it was meant for earpieces only. Your last post made me think it was a defective puck, so tried every option on the Bluetooth mode repeatedly hoping it was not a defective puck. Finally, the V3M screen changed requesting permission to hook up, thus resolving my issue and reminding me of my ignorance, sadly, an experience I go through more very frequently than I wish having to admit.

Sorry for the delay, had to fly out to Cocoa Beach.

Skylaw

Aahhh, yes. Thanks - no doubt this will help someone else.

The labeling is easily misunderstood. Actually, the "Hands Free" option invokes the hands Free Protocol (HFP) which includes things you can put in your ear, as well as things you cannot (like your car). In the U.S., automotive Bluetooth systems use the HFP.