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      02-21-2018, 10:42 PM   #1
focker
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CarPlay Gremlin

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Today was the first day I actually drove the X3 (and love it I might add) for more than just a run to detail or dinner a couple of miles away. It has been waiting oh so impatiently in the garage for the Escape to head back to Ford and today was that day.

I had an issue crop up on the way to work and on the way home that I am hoping for a cure.
When I was first driving this morning the media was set to FM radio but switched to playing music from my iPhone via CarPlay on it's own just after CarPlay booted up. No matter what I did to switch it back to FM it refused and instead kept insisting on CarPlay. On the way home it stayed on the radio until I received a text message. I touched the screen for it to play the message (CarPlay) and as soon as the message was done the media switched to my iPhone via CarPlay.
This time it allowed to go back to FM radio but it was annoying. Should I delete and reinstall my phone and/or CarPlay or is there another cure?
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      02-23-2018, 12:30 AM   #2
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I spoke with a Genius today and he had not heard of this problem but we deleted the iPhone and reloaded it. Still getting the same results so I will do a reset in the next few days.
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      02-23-2018, 07:19 AM   #3
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I mentioned this behavior in my initial review of my M40i. Seems CarPlay hijacks iDrive. As soon as it pairs your iPhone it switches to Carplay and is ready to play the last track you had playing. It will also default to Apple Maps for navigation. I'm not sure if this is an iDrive issue or regular CarPlay behavior.
The BMW software update sight still does not recognize my M40i VIN. If it is iDrive related this could be fixed in a software update.


Quote:
Originally Posted by focker View Post
Today was the first day I actually drove the X3 (and love it I might add) for more than just a run to detail or dinner a couple of miles away. It has been waiting oh so impatiently in the garage for the Escape to head back to Ford and today was that day.

I had an issue crop up on the way to work and on the way home that I am hoping for a cure.
When I was first driving this morning the media was set to FM radio but switched to playing music from my iPhone via CarPlay on it's own just after CarPlay booted up. No matter what I did to switch it back to FM it refused and instead kept insisting on CarPlay. On the way home it stayed on the radio until I received a text message. I touched the screen for it to play the message (CarPlay) and as soon as the message was done the media switched to my iPhone via CarPlay.
This time it allowed to go back to FM radio but it was annoying. Should I delete and reinstall my phone and/or CarPlay or is there another cure?
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      02-23-2018, 10:53 AM   #4
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meanmusic I am glad it isn't just me, thank you for the validation
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      02-23-2018, 10:58 AM   #5
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I've read in forums for other vehicles that CarPlay does 'take over' when paired with a phone.

I've got it in my X3 and I would say I do like it quite a bit, more than I expected, but this aspect of it is annoying (as is forcing you to use Apple Maps when in CarPlay mode).
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      02-23-2018, 04:30 PM   #6
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i disable carplay mode for my iphone and opt for the more traditional bluetooth.

the only thing i miss would be the messages, but its not that big of a deal for me
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      02-23-2018, 05:23 PM   #7
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I removed CarPlay from my order after experiencing it more in both BMW and a cheap hire car.

I was pretty horrified with it actually and would have been really annoyed that I’d spent what in AU would have been $600 (with taxes) on something that I realised isn’t as refined and useful as iDrive and really only has a place as a “better than nothing” in low end vehicles. At the moment at least.

I’m certainly not going to miss it now that I know what it is!
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      02-23-2018, 07:17 PM   #8
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I spoke with the Genius again today and he said he thinks I will like the enhanced Bluetooth better than Carplay so I am going to try that out.
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      02-23-2018, 08:52 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by focker View Post
I spoke with the Genius again today and he said he thinks I will like the enhanced Bluetooth better than Carplay so I am going to try that out.
Can you share what the Genius told you about the enhanced bluetooth and in what way it would be better than CarPlay?
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      02-23-2018, 09:40 PM   #10
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I too have experienced the CarPlay issue - it automatically changes from FM to the iphone music player. REALLY annoying, so much so that I disabled CarPlay.
This is definitely a software issue.

In my opinion a total waste of money for the option - the native iDrive stuff is better. The ONLY thing I can see good about CarPlay is reading and replying to text messages.
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      02-23-2018, 09:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x3driver View Post
The ONLY thing I can see good about CarPlay is reading and replying to text messages.
And you can still do that anyway, with Siri in addition to whatever iDrive does or doesn’t do.

(Even without CarPlay, A long press of the voice command button means you talk to Siri instead of iDrive for anyone that hadn’t picked up on that or doesn’t like the “hey Siri” method!...)
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      02-24-2018, 12:00 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snbtwins View Post
Can you share what the Genius told you about the enhanced bluetooth and in what way it would be better than CarPlay?
It is better than CarPlay because it won't take over my media

Now to set humor aside and answer your question... You can still read and respond to text messages just like CarPlay and here are other features:

Ability to connect 2 bluetooth phones simultaneously
Additional Microphone - For improved communications
iSpeech - Voice control for contacts and music
Mobile Office - Text Messages, Email, Calendar, Tasks, Contact photos, Voice memos.
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      02-24-2018, 09:05 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by focker View Post
It is better than CarPlay because it won't take over my media

Now to set humor aside and answer your question... You can still read and respond to text messages just like CarPlay and here are other features:

Ability to connect 2 bluetooth phones simultaneously
Additional Microphone - For improved communications
iSpeech - Voice control for contacts and music
Mobile Office - Text Messages, Email, Calendar, Tasks, Contact photos, Voice memos.
Thanks. I just ordered my car yesterday and I asked for CarPlay. My current car has Siri Eyesfree, it notifies me when I receive a text message, reads it out to me and I use Siri to reply. I don't think I will like CarPlay because of the takeover issue, but couldn't figure out if I needed the enhanced bluetooth to get the notification of text messages. I understand using Siri I can read my text messages, but I like the notification feature. It's all so confusing and BMW isn't very clear and neither are the Genius' I have spoken to.
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      02-26-2018, 02:27 AM   #14
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I tried out CarPlay, and I am not experiencing any problems described in this post.

I can switch back and forth between CarPlay and iDrive without any problems. And I can switch between CarPlay streaming internet radio, iDrive FM radio and media playing with my USB drive plugged into the USB port with no issues. I am using CarPlay with iPhone X.
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      02-26-2018, 06:14 AM   #15
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This is my first vehicle with CarPlay, and I have to say.... it's performing exactly to my expectations. I have read al the horror stories on these boards from the past 1-2 years about gremlins and unexpected operations, but I've experienced none of that.

Somewhere around iOS 10.2, my older car's iDrive (2016 M3) started really going bonkers when you plugged in the iPhone via USB. Basically all the BMW supported apps (Pandora, Audible, etc) would automatically launch on your iPhone, making it difficult to get in the car and simply "play music".

Now, I get in, and CarPlay just continues playing whatever/wherever I left previously. And the wireless/Wi-Fi audio quality is much better than Bluetooth, and comparable to USB. So I'm totally satisfied from both a usability and sound quality option. I even like the fact you can have split screen (CarPlay + Nav). I don't recall having a media/Nav spilt screen like this before on iDrive?

So far, definitely the best $300 I've ever spent.
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      02-26-2018, 10:16 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamS View Post
I even like the fact you can have split screen (CarPlay + Nav). I don't recall having a media/Nav spilt screen like this before on iDrive?
Yes, it was available.
Previously, it displays album art in the main screen, but now it seems that album art can only be displayed in the split screen or iDrive main menu.
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      02-26-2018, 10:24 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nosnoop View Post
I tried out CarPlay, and I am not experiencing any problems described in this post.

I can switch back and forth between CarPlay and iDrive without any problems. And I can switch between CarPlay streaming internet radio, iDrive FM radio and media playing with my USB drive plugged into the USB port with no issues. I am using CarPlay with iPhone X.
I can switch back and forth without issue also, that is not where the problem is. Here is the typical scenario... I am listening to FM radio and someone sends an iMessage, I tap on the alert that pops up on the iDrive touch screen to hear the message and Siri plays the message beautifully. Now I hear nothing when I am done with whatever decisions I have made regarding the text message. Most of the time I can only get the system to play from content on the phone and occasionally I can get it to go back to FM but I have to go to media and reselect FM. Often I select FM and it plays for a couple of seconds and bounces back to the phone content.

Here is what I would like for you to try, listen to FM radio and have someone send you a message that you respond to via the CarPlay. Try it a few times because yes sometimes it will work normally but 75% of the time it probably will not go back to FM radio

Last edited by focker; 02-26-2018 at 06:54 PM..
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      02-26-2018, 04:44 PM   #18
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I do find Carplay integration disappointing. I don't think BMW really want to add it, but gave in to pressure. I don't have the enhance Bluetooth. I find Carplay better when I want to use Apple Music. It's also solid for texts. I'd probably use Carplay more if you could use Waze, or even Google Maps. Apple Maps is just so mediocre.

I use Carplay for calls, and it is good with Siri, but I miss being able to make my "radio" memorized buttons autodial for certain phone numbers. I don't think that can be done to set memorized actions to Carplay.

I do find that Carplay sometimes hijacks the system. For example, when I get a text, it switches to Carplay, and then the "navigation" button in idrive locks in for Apple Maps (which is useless). You have to go back to menu, then navigation to get back to BMW navigation.

I've also had a few gremlins in the audio system. Sometimes it switches modes from my presets to FM. It's not the end of the world to press the mode button a few times, but it's annoying.
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