Voice Activation for a car WITHOUT Nav

Hi guys,

Just took delivery of a 2012 Sportline 328i (Premium and Parking packages) yesterday!

First BMW! She's so pretty! Hah.

Quick question, will the voice command button on the steering wheel work if I don't have the navigation package???

I tried and nothing happens. Just making sure everything works! Thanks guys

Hmm. I know on the previous years (e.g., 2011), a base car would only have voice command for operating the telephone (see, e.g., this thread: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=608848). Have you tried just using the voice commands for the phone?

i have no voice command in muy car wihtout nav and its not such a big issue but why give me a ****ing button for it?

Its cheaper to produce 1 steering wheel with all the buttons than it is to make 2 different steering wheels with different buttons. Its the same reason all cars have power windows now, Sure a door with a crank window is cheaper to produce, but how much time and money does it take to run different assembly lines for window regulators and different door panels and wiring harnesses etc.

Originally Posted by MirtOfWaterdeep

Its cheaper to produce 1 steering wheel with all the buttons than it is to make 2 different steering wheels with different buttons. Its the same reason all cars have power windows now, Sure a door with a crank window is cheaper to produce, but how much time and money does it take to run different assembly lines for window regulators and different door panels and wiring harnesses etc.

thats fine, then let me customize that button..

You should be able to use it for Bluetooth voice commands. Have you RTFM? Did you get BMW Assist with enhanced Bluetooth? Voice command might only be included with that. Skipping BMW Assist is unwise and comprises the safety BMW offers you.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

You should be able to use it for Bluetooth voice commands. Have you RTFM? Did you get BMW Assist with enhanced Bluetooth? Voice command might only be included with that. Skipping BMW Assist is unwise and comprises the safety BMW offers you.

Lol yeah I RTFM. Unfortunately I did not get the BMW Assist w/ enhanced bluetooth. I specifically asked my CA if it's included (she said yes) and I saw on the bmwusa website that it was included in MY's 2007 and later. Didn't read the fine print that it is an option in some cars.

By the time I realized that it wasnt, the car was already in production.

My CA is a moron. She was explaining that "all i had to do was push the red button for assistance". When she found out that I didn't have a com box, all she said was "oh well". She didn't know how to go over half of the features on iDrive. WTF!

That's typical... almost zero CAs know as much about these cars as the enthusiasts on these forums do, which is why when making such an expensive purchase it is important to do your own research before signing the paperwork.

All BMWs do come with basic bluetooth for handsfree calling, I would imagine the voice dial button should work for that if you've paired your phone to the car.

I have a 328i sportline with only sport transmission. No other options. Unless I am missing something the voice command does not work at all for anything.

Originally Posted by TEAShea

I have a 328i sportline with only sport transmission. No other options. Unless I am missing something the voice command does not work at all for anything.

That might be true, but your car should still have basic handsfree bluetooth calling even if you didn't spring for the advanced bluetooth option. I would have thought BMW would have provided basic phonebook bluetooth integration even in the base model cars but maybe not.

My car does have basic bluetooth phone integration and phonebook but to call a number you need to use Idrive ---- no voice control.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

That's typical... almost zero CAs know as much about these cars as the enthusiasts on these forums do, which is why when making such an expensive purchase it is important to do your own research before signing the paperwork.

Agree, CAs are not very good on technical aspects. Any questions I have I ask on these forums, not been let down once by folks here!

Yes I definitely agree. I search these forums for all the answers I need! My CA didn't even know that the EPA downgraded the gas efficiency. She goes "really that's news to me". Lol

Just got confirmation from BMW Corporate.

For Voice Activation to work you need to get BMW ASSIST W/ENHANCED BLUETOOTH & USB (6NL)

Without it you don't have the Comm box.

It is not something that can be retrofit after the fact.

Wow that sucks. Thanks for the info. I would assume it would work for simple phone commands when paired with a Bluetooth phone......

Oh well.....I don't use my phone when driving anyway

Originally Posted by Punji

Just got confirmation from BMW Corporate.

For Voice Activation to work you need to get BMW ASSIST W/ENHANCED BLUETOOTH & USB (6NL)

Without it you don't have the Comm box.

It is not something that can be retrofit after the fact.

As stated in another thread, there is a Combox Media standard in all F30 in the USA.

The Voice Control -as all the other enhanced features of the Combox Telematics (Assist)- is simply disabled. Or apparently so... has somebody tried the button while the phone is actually paired? Voice Control has been standard with Bluetooth in the 3-Series since MY2005.

Nope. The phone button will answer and hang up calls, and you can, in fact, scroll through some things using the thumb button (it looks like it's your placed calls but I'm not positive) but no voice commands at all. One neat trick you can do is to program one of the radio buttons to go to anything, even dialing a contact. So I put my home # on a button to make it easy to call my wife.

Originally Posted by Punji

Nope. The phone button will answer and hang up calls, and you can, in fact, scroll through some things using the thumb button (it looks like it's your placed calls but I'm not positive) but no voice commands at all. One neat trick you can do is to program one of the radio buttons to go to anything, even dialing a contact. So I put my home # on a button to make it easy to call my wife.

Are you sure about this? I thought the F30 had standard Bluetooth which would be worthless without voice dialing. You probably have to program your voice dial numbers into the system which is the same as on Bluetooth equipped E90's.

I can only tell you want I have experienced first hand and what the BMW Corporate person told me after checking with Engineering in Germany. It is entirely possible they are wrong.... What I have experienced is that pushing the Talk button does nothing. Pushing the phone button will pull up on the console the most recent calls from your placed call list. You can use the thumb control to scroll through those and place a call using the phone button or pushing in the thumb button.

Your phone still connects over bluetooth. You still talk using the built in microphone, you just can't hit a button and say "call so and so". This is a change from the E90. If you want Voice Activation of any kind you have to have the Enhanced Bluetooth BMW Assist package. I'm not positive if it is possible to configure the Technology Package and not the BMW Assist Package or if the Comm unit gets included automatically with the Technology Package.

In my opinion this makes it pretty much mandatory to get the BMW Assist with Enhanced Bluetooth option. I think it should be included in the Premium package but they'll try to squeeze every dime they can.

I have a 335 without Navi or enhanced Bluetooth. The voice button do not have any function. My dealership confirmed with bmw corporate. And yes - this sucks.

It sucks because it doesn't have features you didn't opt for when you ordered your car?

Originally Posted by MirtOfWaterdeep

Its cheaper to produce 1 steering wheel with all the buttons than it is to make 2 different steering wheels with different buttons. Its the same reason all cars have power windows now, Sure a door with a crank window is cheaper to produce, but how much time and money does it take to run different assembly lines for window regulators and different door panels and wiring harnesses etc.

It's funny that you mention that. When I was touring BMW factory in South Carolina a month ago they were showing us the assembly line for all the X cars. Actually each of the models gets about 16 different variations of doors that need to be installed. Different regulations/laws in different countries, different speaker sets, safety features, etc. so whether it's expensive or not BMW has to produce all those different types of equipment and given that they produce ONLY cars that were already paid for the cars enter the production line in the sequence they were ordered, which means the factory can't even do let's say 15 doors type1 first, then 10 doors type2 - each car body that enters the production line basically gets a different door type. It's a complex process where everything needs to be timed very precisely. Just a curiosity.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

That might be true, but your car should still have basic handsfree bluetooth calling even if you didn't spring for the advanced bluetooth option. I would have thought BMW would have provided basic phonebook bluetooth integration even in the base model cars but maybe not.

And if one has basic Bluetooth and an iPhone, I believe that Siri would work. Because the iDrive system sees Siri as a phone call, I believe Siri might solve that problem and not only allow phone dialing but also things like playing Playlists, getting sports scores, reading texts etc.

Anyone out there with an iPhone, do this: Press and hold the iPhone home button. Listen to see if Siri speaks over the cars speakers. Say "what is the weather like for tomorrow?" or "call home" and see what happens.

BJ