2.5 Upgraded Electronics (Alpine) Bluetooth

[dsm363]

I may have to check this out if I don't like the Alpine model
New Sony unit using TomTom maps
I've used a TomTom for years so am used to it. Would be great option if the actual Sony product is any good.

[SByer]

Wow, and I thought the JVC unit was buggy.

(JVC bad bugs: sometimes is screws up iPod communication requiring an iPod reboot, it has a pathetic character set, so the music metadata often ends up displaying '_', entering an address into nav is an interminable pain typical of non-touch-screen units, but of course my Android phone is a much better nav system anyway - with there was a bluetooth video profile, it's got volume adjust for nav but not for music, it doesn't have a dial for volume, bluetooth audio connection can sometimes be glitchy and doesn't pull across metadata).

[kgb]

You can only enter the Bluetooth setup menu, when the hand brake is engaged.
When your audio source is BT audio, you can not enter the Bluetooth setup menu. Select Radio mode, then enter the setup menu.

That was it. Thanks. The manual says nothing about making sure you are switched out of Bluetooth source.

To summarize this thread:
1) even though you may be in park with the hand parking brake applied, you need to disengage the hand brake and reapply it.
2) you need to make sure that bluetooth is not selected as the source.

...with that in mind, the Alpine works reliably. It was a documentation failure (or a failure to carefully read documentation).

[ryder]

So i am helping my uncle with his new dark gray 2.5 roadster. It has the alpine unit with the kce 400bt unit for blue tooth. Got it to pair initially, then stopped working. Now i can't get the setting menu, even after attempting all the steps identified above. I am using an Iphone4.

Interestingly, the unit will be playing music just fine, then we enable blue tooth on the iphone, it finds the 400bt, then the alpine system locks up. Nothing responds but the volume keys. To fix this, even powering off the unit does not help. I have to actually power off the whole car, remove the key from the ignition, then start it up again. it is like the act of peering locks up the whole alpine unit. i spoke with a customer service person at Tesla about this, and they had no ideas on what the problem is.

I was then able to recreate this same problem with a blackberry.

note the peering attemps ultimately fail, so i can't really explain this. So frustrating.

[kgb]

So i am helping my uncle with his new dark gray 2.5 roadster. It has the alpine unit with the kce 400bt unit for blue tooth. Got it to pair initially, then stopped working. Now i can't get the setting menu, even after attempting all the steps identified above. I am using an Iphone4.

I have played with this for a while now. I haven't figured out all the quirks, but you will need to explain what exactly you mean by "stopped working." Let me explain what I know:

I have an iPhone 4 with latest iPhone OS.
Once the iPhone is paired with the Alpine, it seems to remain paired, but it will sometimes exhibit behavior as if it is not paired. Let me explain. Although I can play music from the phone, over bluetooth, through the Alpine, you cannot initiate calls with the Alpine. To initiate calls, you need to use the iPhone. In my case, the audio defaults through the Alpine, but you might have to choose it as a headset from the iPhone's in call buttons. In any case, I have found that no one can hear me when using the Alpine hands free bluetooth phone interface, so I will not be using it any more. Also, even though audio will play over bluetooth, I have found that in the system menu: If I search for devices, the iPhone does not show up.

I'm not sure what you mean by "enable bluetooth on the iPhone." Aren't you leaving bluetooth on? Once you turn on the car, within 5 seconds the Alpine and iPhone pair. If you choose bluetooth audio from the Alpine's source menu, it will start playing music. As for receiving calls, those should show up on the Alpine automatically. You can pick up the call by pressing the screen on the Alpine. As for making calls, see the previous paragraph.

As for getting into "system" setup menu, we discuss that in this thread. I have noticed that there is an additional bug that I have not yet been able to reliably reproduce. There has been a time when I placed the vehicle into park after driving it. I applied the hand brake and placed the source on radio. I released the hand brake and reapplied it. The system menu would not show. I then became frustrated and released and reapplied the handbrake multiple times with no apparent effect. I changed source a few times and played with the hand brake more and the menu appeared. I was pressing buttons and moving levers so fast, that I didn't keep a record of which maneuver worked. If this happens again, I will pay closer attention.

[tdevince]

Did you have it in "D" with the brake applied before setting the parking brake? The instruction says to have the transmission in Park, with your foot on the brake then apply the parking brake. With your foot still on the brake, release the parking brake and reapply. Then remove your foot from the brake and your menus should be there. It's very particular about having the conditions exactly as the manual states.

[dsm363]

On a slightly related note, can anyone recommend some kind of iPhone/iPod dock? I've got the upgraded stereo and right now, there is just that black iPod connector cable sticking out underneath the gear selector buttons. Something I could just slide my iPhone 4 into where it'd stay off the floor and connect to the system would be great.

Also, is there a way to keep the Alpine unit from selecting bluetooth for audio? It took me awhile to figure out that I wasn't getting any sound while it was connected because after I paired the car with the phone, it was attempting to send the audio via BT instead of the connector. Thanks.

[dsm363]

Why would you want to play audio over bluetooth if you have it connected to the dock?

[jasonhi]

I don't mind pluggingy iPhone 4 in everytime I get in the car, but a nice slide in dock would be kind of cool. I can't figure out who is at fault, but I sometimes have to unplug/replug the phone or power cycle the alpine unit to get USB audio from the phone. I will have to check next time that happens to see if it's trying to send as Bluetooth instead.

I also usually have to tell the phone to forget the stereo and redo the pairing if I want to initiate a call from the alpine. It almost always will receive calls though.

I definitely think there are some software glitches with the alpine / iPhone 4 combo. I wonder if there will be a way to upgrade that sometime or not? I love the overall setup when it works.... Driving a 2.0 a couple times lately, I've noticed I really prefer the alpine unit in my car. Actually all the 2.5 upgrades are really nice.

[dsm363]

I noticed when it did this, I clicked on the iPod app on my iPhone 4 and clicked on a tiny upwards pointing arrow at the bottom right of the screen. When I heard no audio, it had the Alpine unit selected. I moved it to the only other option (which I think was USB or something like that) and could again hear audio. Not sure what was going on. You would think selecting Alpine would be the way to go but maybe Alpine=BT audio.