Blue and Me

[John Reid]

My phone will pair with Blue & Me but will not automatically load the phone book, which is a real hassle. I would like to ask people to list phone models that do indeed pair and load the phone book automatically. Many thanks.

[ciddyguy]

John Reid wrote

My phone will pair with Blue & Me but will not automatically load the phone book, which is a real hassle. I would like to ask people to list phone models that do indeed pair and load the phone book automatically. Many thanks.

I'd research your phone with the Blue & Me for the US but in the meantime, why not mention your phone, its model here and see if anyone else has a similar problem, also, some phones do NOT automatically download the phone book, but it CAN be done manually and there is a procedure for that and once done, it's done, until you replace said phone with a new one.

I think the PDF of the Blue & Me manual shows at least SOME of the models that will pair with the system and so far, I've not seen the Blackberry Storm listed, but I suspect it WILL work as I have that phone but not bought the Fiat yet and may be replacing the phone eventually anyway.

[John Reid]

In terms of manual entry, I was told that you need to do it each time you start the car, that the phone book is not saved. Is this correct? It seems to be so with me. Also, can the issue also be the phone provider or is it simlpy a matter of individual phones. Any help greatly appreciated.

[Prima148]

If I'm understanding you:  There are two types of connections, and with some you have to push the phone book to B&M.  It's a one and done thing (though if you are constantly adding numbers to your phone, I suppose it's a hassle to update).

I have a blackberry 8900 that connected but wouldn't slurp up the phonebook.  You have to go to the bluetooth menu in the blackberry and send it to B&M.

[John Reid]

My confusion is with the "one and done". I was told by a Fiat person that the phone book is loaded each time the car starts so that if manual entry is necessary, it must be done every time. In other words, there is no memory with the phone book. If this is wrong, I would love to know how to save the contacts after manual entry.

[ciddyguy]

John Reid wrote

My confusion is with the "one and done". I was told by a Fiat person that the phone book is loaded each time the car starts so that if manual entry is necessary, it must be done every time. In other words, there is no memory with the phone book. If this is wrong, I would love to know how to save the contacts after manual entry.

The issue is a phone by phone thing in that some phones will allow the B&M to see and load the contacts, otherwise, your phone has to be told to push the contacts list to the B&M, I tried looking at the US manual for the B&M infotainment booklet PDF and so far, all it says is when B&M asks to download the phone book, say yes, otherwise, you will have to look up the instructions for your particular phone to do the pushing of the phone book.

However, it doesn't say anything about having to do this every time you get in the car. The phone should automatically connect to the B&M once in and the car's ignition to ON or is started. Up to 5 phones can be paired to the B&M at any one time.

Have you tried using it without entering each and every time or does the B&M ask you for your phone book every time you get in? The best thing is to give it a try and note what the system does with your particular phone.

The Fiat guy could be very wrong is a possibility. Technically, it SHOULD be a done once thing in either case.

[ciddyguy]

John Reid wrote

My phone will pair with Blue & Me but will not automatically load the phone book, which is a real hassle. I would like to ask people to list phone models that do indeed pair and load the phone book automatically. Many thanks.

I did a little more looking and discovered when you download a copy of the phone book, it stores it and you CAN delete/edit it as you need to. So in essence, whether done automatically or manually, it SHOULD store a copy of your phone book either way on the system.

The clue is, the manual says you can DELETE your phone book and/or the phone at any time through the USER DATA section of the menu.

Hope this helps.

[John Reid]

I very much appreciate your help. I have been able to load my contacts manually and make a call to any of my contacts.  The next time I start the car I get a recording saying " your phonebook cannot be entered automatically, to enter your contacts go to settings...".  It just appears to me that I am somehow missing a step to save the contacts to the phonebook when loaded manually.  That's why it made sense when the Fiat rep told me that the phonebook is loaded each and every time the car starts.  I hope I'm wrong.  If I'm not I guess I need to get a phone that will download automatically.  Please let me know if you learn anything else.  

[Nutmeg500fan]

John,

I didn't see anyone listing their phone models that work - so here's one for you - Motorola Droid Pro :)  I haven't had a problem - the voice activation system is very good, clarity is as good as my business partners 2011 BMW 535 and my siblings Subaru Legacy sedan - in fact both say the Fiat's system is better :)

The only thing the BMW has we don't is that he can compose text messages from his system - I haven't figured out if B&M can do that - it does read incoming texts to us, though.

Very cool feature - loving it - it was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

AJ

[navy48]

when I drove a Sport for the weekend a month ago, I paired my old Motorola Razr (can't remember exactly what model it is) and all went well.  but honestly I didn't download my phonebook as I was just borrowing the car for a short time.  didn't want to forget to delete all the numbers........who knows what THAT might have lead to! :O  LOL

[bloglo]

my blackberry 9780 work perfectly and it downloaded all the contacts in the car.

but I wish i could bypass the b&m vocal dialing and contacts manager to use the vocal recognition of my blackberry instead. the BB is very good for vocal dialing.

[ciddyguy]

bloglo wrote

my blackberry 9780 work perfectly and it downloaded all the contacts in the car.

but I wish i could bypass the b&m vocal dialing and contacts manager to use the vocal recognition of my blackberry instead. the BB is very good for vocal dialing.

To bypass the B&M is to simply NOT use it, or pair your phone to the system in the first place, the VR can be used for all other functions by the way. However, you SHOULD use either a tethered earpiece with mic or a Bluetooth enabled earpiece instead.

That being said, the B&M system is built in, seems to work very well and once the phone is paired, the phonebook downloaded, it will automatically connect with your phone upon starting the car and it's just  a matter of pressing the VR button to activate voice recognition and you can then begin your call and to me, that's way more convenient as you then don't need to pull out your phone or earpiece every time, assuming you don't already have it in your ear to begin with.

With your phone on a car charger charging, you never need to worry about anything going dead while in transit, that to me is worth it - and besides it'll automatically mute/pause your music when it detects an incoming call or you activate the phone to make a call so the less you have to do, the better in my estimation.

[bloglo]

while i do like the audio quality of the call with the B&M and many of the features, i just prefer the builtin phonebook of my Blackberry.

Since my blackberry is connected to my blackberry entreprise server, the microsoft outlook, microsoft exchange and BES server connection is just wonderful.

i would just like to be able to press the "phone" icon on the steering (the same as to answer the call) to get directly to my phone instead of using the vr of the B&M system. exactly the same way as an earpiece would do.

thst way, i could get best of both world : phone icon to get directly to my phone and vr button for other functions

the other factor that make me want this feature is that english is not my main language and the B&M is not avalaible in french yet. My dealer is trying to get an answer from fiat to see if it could be changed. So far the car EVIC is avalaible in french but B&M is not. My Blackberry work pefectly in french.

[ciddyguy]

bloglo wrote

while i do like the audio quality of the call with the B&M and many of the features, i just prefer the builtin phonebook of my Blackberry.

Since my blackberry is connected to my blackberry entreprise server, the microsoft outlook, microsoft exchange and BES server connection is just wonderful.

i would just like to be able to press the "phone" icon on the steering (the same as to answer the call) to get directly to my phone instead of using the vr of the B&M system. exactly the same way as an earpiece would do.

thst way, i could get best of both world : phone icon to get directly to my phone and vr button for other functions

Sorry, most systems don't allow for that and I think it's a technical aspect that is the reason and besides, that's why the system requires you download your phonebook in the first place.

I'm glad it's offered as standard on the car, something I definitely want in my next vehicle if at all possible, or I'll resort to an aftermarket portable unit.

[ciddyguy]

ciddyguy wrote

bloglo wrote

while i do like the audio quality of the call with the B&M and many of the features, i just prefer the builtin phonebook of my Blackberry.

Since my blackberry is connected to my blackberry entreprise server, the microsoft outlook, microsoft exchange and BES server connection is just wonderful.

i would just like to be able to press the "phone" icon on the steering (the same as to answer the call) to get directly to my phone instead of using the vr of the B&M system. exactly the same way as an earpiece would do.

thst way, i could get best of both world : phone icon to get directly to my phone and vr button for other functions

Sorry, most systems don't allow for that and I think it's a technical aspect that is the reason and besides, that's why the system requires you download your phonebook in the first place.

I'm glad it's offered as standard on the car, something I definitely want in my next vehicle if at all possible, or I'll resort to an aftermarket portable unit.

Upon thinking about it, the Bluetooth earpiece works almost exactly like the B&M does, it simply activates the VR recognition software of your phone and it then allows you to speak to the phone, where as you could do the same thing by placing the phone to your ear and speaking into it. It then uses the phone's phonebook to look up the number associated with the person being spoken and then automatically places the call.

The B&M does much the same thing, but uses its own VR software instead, but still utilizes the rest of the phone to activate and de-activate phone calls along with the wheel controls and then integrates the phone's audio through the stereo, but does it in a far more convenient manner. In this manner, you aren't tied to any one carrier for the system as it's dependent on a Bluetooth enabled phone for part of the setup, which is a common method these days, making it a much more useful feature than when they were more tied to a carrier like in the past.

[cogtooth]

I'm not able to pair my contact list of my phone to B&M.  What I can do is to use my phone to dial, then push the phone button on the steering wheel and it then can be used hands free.

[ciddyguy]

cogtooth wrote

I'm not able to pair my contact list of my phone to B&M.  What I can do is to use my phone to dial, then push the phone button on the steering wheel and it then can be used hands free.

Have you tried pushing the contact list TO the B&M? Most phones allow for this and you just need to look at how your phone goes about doing it and it'll then download to the car.

The instruction booklet that came with your phone should have the instructions on how, or look up your carrier and you may be able to find it there.

[cogtooth]

I'm probably lucky to even have bluetooth on my phone since it is so old.  I haven't found anything to tell me about transferring contacts, so a new phone would be the only other way, and cheaper than time spent in research.

[FiatGal]

Well... I'm having a related issue to the original poster. This morning, tried to pair the phone (iPhone 4) to B&M. I also bought a Blueridge Mini Jack Rx, suggested by a forum user here.

1. At first, just tried pairing phone to B&M. It would pair, then would disconnect, then would pair, then not. Very strange. Then I added the Blueridge Mini Jack, and more or less  encountered the same issues.

2. Finally, don't know why, it worked. The phone paired with B&M, and I was able to copy my phonebook.

3. However... every single time I stop then restart the car, B&M asks me whether I want to copy the phonebook, again. I say yes, and everything is back to normal.

Obviously, I'm missing a step, and really need to sit down with the manual, the big one, and go over this whole B&M, and also figure out how to set everything up.

[John Reid]

Fiat Gal, I have searched everywhere I can think of and talked to a Fiat Rep and am convinced that the phone book re-loads each time the car starts and that there is no "saving" of the phone book.  Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don' think so.  I have learned that it sometimes it is an issue with the cell phone provider.  My provider, Net 10, will not automatically load the contacts regardless of the type of phone.  When the message starts to play, I hit the mute button and it stops, that's the best I can do for now.  Let me know if you have other questions, I've researched this a lot.