[BatCat]

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yes I know "Another bluetooth audio won't work thread"

I need help as I think I have gone through hundreds of threads already and testing for the last couple of hours without any luck.

I have a 2013 335i with CIC W/HK, 8.8in screen and navigation. My audio has worked fine besides the known bmw bugs with the bluetooth. Out of nowhere one day after I took it to the car shop (to fix my horns since they stopped working , those were replaced btw) my Phone wouldn't connect to my BMW.

When I took my car home I noticed that my phone was not in my list of paired devices in my car, one thing to note is that I tried re-pairing the phone and the device number changed? You know the "BMW XXXX" device name is now different (Why would this happend?). Anyways, I paired my phone but as soon as I paired it when it gives me the options for it only "Telephone" is available, there is no option for music/Audio.
When I go to the "External devices" to play music the Bluetooth option is grayed out. in the "Bluetooth Audio" option when I click it, I get a message with a tick box that says "To utilize the bluetooth devices enable Bluetooth Audio" when I click on it (even spamming it) nothing happens, it does not get activated.

phone works fine for contacts, calls and I can play music through the songs in my hard drive as well as by connecting the phone via USB in the armrest box.

What I have tried:

*Connecting my phone - Samsung Galaxy S23
*Connecting another Phone - iphone 12
*Restarting the head unit by pressing the volume knob for 20 secs
*Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery
*I also read some threads about updating the External devices firmware. Not sure if I was doing it correctly but I downloaded UPD01008.bin via following the steps in this post https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1824680 but I was getting an error that says "The software in the USB is not up to date". I can't Use bmw site to download an update as it says I have the latest version when I provide my vin (at www.bmw.com/update)
*In my phone I only got the options to configure my BMW for calls. I remember it showing differently. In my Galaxy when pairing it, it shows with a Hands-free icon instead of what it used to be before.


I was honestly thinking about purchasing an aftermarket solution as I'm not really interesting in investing to upgrade my unit to an NBT or anything BMW newer. But the doubts about what is going on is killing me.


I'm on external devices software version:

MX-003.004.031
TX-003.004.031

I have also recorded a video of what is going on, please note the "Activate Bluetooth Audio" that I can't seem to enable. (Sorry I guess I forgot I should had changed the language of my unit before recording it )

Please watch: https://youtu.be/sNaJFUrzuCo

Any ideas what could be happening?

[frankbourbeau]

no one have been able to help you with that ?

[Wires]

Any updates from the BMW site around the iDrive from BMW are just to address iPhone Bluetooth issues. It sounds like they did an update when it was in the shop. Only reason I could see why the friendly name changed.

Just to confirm, neither the Android or iPhone work?

What are you looking to use the Bluetooth for? The aftermarket Android Head Units give a great Android Auto experience, and look OEM (you could upgrade to a 10" touchscreen that drops right into the same hole). They offer Bluetooth calling through those units as well. I use the car for calls and the head unit for music/navigation though. Allows the use of the roof mic.

[BatCat]

Originally Posted by frankbourbeau

no one have been able to help you with that ?

Nope, I figured it has something to do with the combox maybe going bad? I was willing to look deeper but I figure is not worth the hassle, Im better off getting an Android head Unit as others have mentioned.

One thing to note tho, I noticed my microphone in the roof is not working. Not sure why it stopped working but it doesn't, I receive calls, can make and dial calls and hear people but they can't hear me at all. I'm pretty much using my system by connecting an iphone through usb and selecting usb input in my iDrive, that is the only way I have to play audio from a phone.