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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions First time BMW owner with a new 330i

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      05-22-2019, 10:08 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Hello all and greetings,

This is my first time posting. Hopefully I can make it worthwhile.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased my first BMW and I am proudly in the BMW family. I got a new 2019 330i, Msport package, Alpine White with Black Interior, and a few other things. We also have an Audi Q7, which for an SUV, handles pretty amazingly.

My first car was a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. The speedometer stopped at 85mph. I would read and dream about owning a BMW, at least a 3-series to start.

I graduated to a Pontiac Sunfire, a Honda Civic, then a Honda Prelude – back in 2001, just before they were discontinued. Loved the Prelude but I needed a back seat. After that, I drove an Acura TSX before switching to a few different family SUVs and then finally a Camry. These were all either a FWD car or some sort of SUV. I never owned a RWD sports car, especially a German one.

Before I got the 330, I agonized over this car, an A4, & an A5 (Coupe and Sportback). I was pretty sure I wanted the 330, but I wasn't sure until I drove it.

It was instant love. I've driven an A4, A5, 5-Series, and of course the Q7. This was something special. For me, the size and proportions are just right.

I went in thinking I wanted the analog dash. I just like the old-fashioned dials – I wear an analog watch, not a smartwatch - and I wasn't crazy about the reverse tach. But during the test drive, I already liked it. Now that I've had it for awhile, I actually like the digital cluster because of the flexibility and the incorporation of the radio/infotainment controls.

So, speaking of tech and infotainment. Unfortunately, this is where the problem is. The cluster and controls are fine. The touchscreen display (even though I don't touch it) is beautiful. I don't need all the customizations that you can get on my Audi. For me, it does enough and it all looks nice, well-crafted and sporty.

My problem is with the Bluetooth and Apple Car Play integration. It's a nightmare. I could write pages and pages about all the things I have tried and it's just horrible.

Mind you, I work in technology. I'm pretty tech savvy. Following all the troubleshooting steps of removing other devices and then re-installing the connections; removing and re-establishing WiFi, etc. are all easy for me. I did most of that before even consulting the help guides. I've also tried USB – that was a whole different mess.

It's still not fixed. I've called and been told by both BMW and the dealer that it's due to the server migration – but articles online say this was all resolved already. So…I'm still waiting it out. But if it's not the server issue, we have a serious problem. Either my car has a defective Bluetooth receiver, or there is an inherent software issue that is causing all of this.

It's not the phone. It works just fine in the Audi and my Camry worked flawlessly with two generations of iPhones. Got the new BMW and suddenly it's a game of roulette every time I start the car – will it find the phone or not? It does about 50-60% of the time. I truly hope it's the server migration issue because if it's an ongoing software problem with BMWs (and I have read that it is), we've got a serious problem here. To be honest, it's rather heartbreaking to finally, finally get my 3-series and then have to deal with this about half the time I get into the car. Talk about a major, major letdown.

Now, when it works – or I've had enough waiting and just switch to the radio – it drives like a dream. I love the way it handles. The engine is powerful enough for me and I haven't even pressed it real hard yet. I love the sound of it. It's all that I expected. The handling is magnificent. I'm not too crazy about the Sensatec (I'd rather just have old-fashioned leather because it breathes), but the rest of the interior is great.

I really love this car. It drives like no other vehicle I have ever owned before. Now, if they could just fix that iPhone connectivity issue…
Congratulations on new car
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      05-23-2019, 01:19 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by clee1982 View Post
I have 540 (so iDrive 6), I don't use CarPlay a lot but for the time I have used it's pretty decent, can see why you pick 3 over 5, if I didn't have kid I would probably get M340 instead (more toss able, lighter, smaller and in all honest at the same time current 3 series is like E39 5 series big so plenty big enough)
It's big enough you don't need a 5 series, plenty of back seat space, it is practically mid size, but it definitely looks big too and is wider. It still has a smallish trunk though. They are trying to keep it compact enough to still be tossable and fun. If you opt for the spare, it eats up trunk space.
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      05-23-2019, 08:08 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Unfortunately the Bluetooth issues continue. I have an appointment with a Genius on Saturday but I don’t know what he/she will do that I haven’t already tried. We’ll see...
Schedule a service appointment directly ... I found most Geniuses not knowledgeable enough their main customer base is the mediocre
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      05-24-2019, 07:08 AM   #26
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picked mine up today.

Bluetooth was driving me crazy with drop outs. uninstalled the phone, reinstalled it, then reset the phone while it was connected.

after doing that, the phone popped up with a message asking if it was OK to share messages with the car. i hit yes, and Bluetooth is now rock solid.

dont know if that can help you, but fixed my issue.
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      05-26-2019, 12:42 AM   #27
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Took my car in today to get tinted and met with the Genius. It was John at BMW West in Houston. He knows his stuff - I work in technology, so I know. Fantastic experience with this dealer!!

He said that there were still a few issues with Apple Car Play, but they just had a new build and I needed to make sure I had iOS upgraded to 12.3. I was still on 12.2 and I upgraded while waiting for my tint.

Viola! Things seem to be working OK now. It still takes awhile for the playlists to load over Bluetooth, but I was told that is expected. The main issue is that my phone now seems to consistently connect.

I have to say, the more I drive the car, the more I love it. They did a good job with the new 3-series, despite some of the old purists' complaints.
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      05-26-2019, 10:09 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Took my car in today to get tinted and met with the Genius. It was John at BMW West in Houston. He knows his stuff - I work in technology, so I know. Fantastic experience with this dealer!!

He said that there were still a few issues with Apple Car Play, but they just had a new build and I needed to make sure I had iOS upgraded to 12.3. I was still on 12.2 and I upgraded while waiting for my tint.

Viola! Things seem to be working OK now. It still takes awhile for the playlists to load over Bluetooth, but I was told that is expected. The main issue is that my phone now seems to consistently connect.

I have to say, the more I drive the car, the more I love it. They did a good job with the new 3-series, despite some of the old purists' complaints.
So do you use Bluetooth rather than CarPlay? I would do that, but CarPlay has all my podcasts show up nicely and does text messages too. I didn’t know wireless charging was the only way to get text message read out without CarPlay :/
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      05-28-2019, 02:08 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Hello all and greetings,

This is my first time posting. Hopefully I can make it worthwhile.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased my first BMW and I am proudly in the BMW family. I got a new 2019 330i, Msport package, Alpine White with Black Interior, and a few other things. We also have an Audi Q7, which for an SUV, handles pretty amazingly.

My first car was a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. The speedometer stopped at 85mph. I would read and dream about owning a BMW, at least a 3-series to start.

I graduated to a Pontiac Sunfire, a Honda Civic, then a Honda Prelude – back in 2001, just before they were discontinued. Loved the Prelude but I needed a back seat. After that, I drove an Acura TSX before switching to a few different family SUVs and then finally a Camry. These were all either a FWD car or some sort of SUV. I never owned a RWD sports car, especially a German one.

Before I got the 330, I agonized over this car, an A4, & an A5 (Coupe and Sportback). I was pretty sure I wanted the 330, but I wasn’t sure until I drove it.

It was instant love. I’ve driven an A4, A5, 5-Series, and of course the Q7. This was something special. For me, the size and proportions are just right.

I went in thinking I wanted the analog dash. I just like the old-fashioned dials – I wear an analog watch, not a smartwatch - and I wasn’t crazy about the reverse tach. But during the test drive, I already liked it. Now that I’ve had it for awhile, I actually like the digital cluster because of the flexibility and the incorporation of the radio/infotainment controls.

So, speaking of tech and infotainment. Unfortunately, this is where the problem is. The cluster and controls are fine. The touchscreen display (even though I don’t touch it) is beautiful. I don’t need all the customizations that you can get on my Audi. For me, it does enough and it all looks nice, well-crafted and sporty.

My problem is with the Bluetooth and Apple Car Play integration. It’s a nightmare. I could write pages and pages about all the things I have tried and it’s just horrible.

Mind you, I work in technology. I’m pretty tech savvy. Following all the troubleshooting steps of removing other devices and then re-installing the connections; removing and re-establishing WiFi, etc. are all easy for me. I did most of that before even consulting the help guides. I’ve also tried USB – that was a whole different mess.

It’s still not fixed. I’ve called and been told by both BMW and the dealer that it’s due to the server migration – but articles online say this was all resolved already. So…I’m still waiting it out. But if it’s not the server issue, we have a serious problem. Either my car has a defective Bluetooth receiver, or there is an inherent software issue that is causing all of this.

It’s not the phone. It works just fine in the Audi and my Camry worked flawlessly with two generations of iPhones. Got the new BMW and suddenly it’s a game of roulette every time I start the car – will it find the phone or not? It does about 50-60% of the time. I truly hope it’s the server migration issue because if it’s an ongoing software problem with BMWs (and I have read that it is), we’ve got a serious problem here. To be honest, it’s rather heartbreaking to finally, finally get my 3-series and then have to deal with this about half the time I get into the car. Talk about a major, major letdown.

Now, when it works – or I’ve had enough waiting and just switch to the radio – it drives like a dream. I love the way it handles. The engine is powerful enough for me and I haven’t even pressed it real hard yet. I love the sound of it. It’s all that I expected. The handling is magnificent. I’m not too crazy about the Sensatec (I’d rather just have old-fashioned leather because it breathes), but the rest of the interior is great.

I really love this car. It drives like no other vehicle I have ever owned before. Now, if they could just fix that iPhone connectivity issue…
Had mine (mineral while metallic) for a month. A fun car to drive that's for sure and excellent MPG as well. I did go with the analog dials and I like the old-school look and functionality. I guess that dates me. Can’t help you with your phone issue. I guess that dates me too.

Bob
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      05-29-2019, 05:00 AM   #30
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Congrats on your first BMW. Mine is also my first and still love it with 173,600 miles on it and 8 years of ownership. I found this article that came out this month that could be part of an on going issue with car play.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/19...service-outage

Also I haven’t looked lately, so I don’t know if there is a specific update for the G20, but there is a Bluetooth software download available on BMW’s web site.
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      07-08-2019, 07:57 PM   #31
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Thought I would give everyone a quick update on this...

I took my car in for service, and they did a complete re-programming. All of my bluetooth issues have been resolved and Apple Car Play works like it should - all is well!
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      07-08-2019, 08:08 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Thought I would give everyone a quick update on this...

I took my car in for service, and they did a complete re-programming. All of my bluetooth issues have been resolved and Apple Car Play works like it should - all is well!
That’s awesome-what exactly did they say they did? If things aren’t improving may ask to get it done..
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