# Samsung A900 and Bluetooth problems



## jerry325 (Jan 16, 2005)

Just got the new Sprint Samsung A900 "Blade". Paired up easily with 2005 325i with bluetooth, including the phonebook! Only problem is that you cannot hear the person on the other end of the line when taking or making a call. It did work once while sitting in a carwash, however. BMW says it's not an approved phone, but their listing is from August, 2005. Does anyone know if there are any BMW software upgrades for the Bluetooth that might solve this, or other possible electrical problem?

Thanks in advance!


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## Username18 (Jun 2, 2005)

jerry325 said:


> Just got the new Sprint Samsung A900 "Blade". Paired up easily with 2005 325i with bluetooth, including the phonebook! Only problem is that you cannot hear the person on the other end of the line when taking or making a call. It did work once while sitting in a carwash, however. BMW says it's not an approved phone, but their listing is from August, 2005. Does anyone know if there are any BMW software upgrades for the Bluetooth that might solve this, or other possible electrical problem?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I have an 06 325 and it pairs fine and sound is great but I have no phonebook! As for software dont know about that. SOrry


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## jerry325 (Jan 16, 2005)

*Phone book possibility*

One thing I did to get the phonebook to transfer is with the phone and car both on, go into a contact and the upper left key will allow you to "send contact" via bluetooth. I did this for a few, and now it automatically synchs up, but still have the problem above. Hope this helps you out. Nice phones!


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## blitzdad (Jan 24, 2006)

I had same exact problem with A900 --- paired entire phonebook, but no luck making or receiving calls....It would seem like it was working and then cut off in a split second, but the cell phone display would still stay "connected to BMW" and still be calling someone! A real pain in the butt...went to BMW and they said it wasn't a compatible phone and were of no help....called Sprint and I'm going to return A900 and possibly get a Treo 650...would prefer a PPC-6700 but haven't gotten any feedback to see if it works with my Bluetooth in my 750li....


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## jerry325 (Jan 16, 2005)

*Success with A900 and Bluetooth*

 After the BMW dealer told me that Bluetooth devices need to be "trained" and to give it a month with a try or two a day, I thought he was nuts. Well, today (after three weeks) the phone works perfectly with BMW Bluetooth. Able to take and make calls just as one should. The dealer did caution about trying to connect too many times without success within a brief period, as he has seen several of the BMW receiving units burn up. The units are over $1,500 each and not covered under warranty in this instance. Hope others have patience and success as Bluetooth evolves, and learns!


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## blitzdad (Jan 24, 2006)

Interesting...let me know of your progress and let me know if the success continues...I actually did get the 6700 and it doesn't work either...might go back to the A900...does your battery run out extremely fast?


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## ambishop (Oct 5, 2003)

Here is the process to Pair the Samsung A900 with the 387 or 522 ULF module. The 552 old version does not seem to work this way.

First update the software in the phone using the menu item update software

Set the ULF in pairing mode. for details see www.bimmernav.com/btfunction.html
In the a900 goto contacts
In each individual contact, choose the command to send contact via Bluetooth
After every contact is manually sent, the ULF module will display them on your instrument cluster, navigation screen or radio

I know this sucks, but SPRINT/SAMSUNG failed to put an option for send ALL contacts within the phone. Hopefully in the next software release they will get it fixed

Martin


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## Boraxo (Sep 6, 2005)

See below for a recent report on the A900 and BMWs from sprintusers.com

I was trying to find a consolidated bluetooth thread to post this info, but they are all over the map in many forums.

--------------------------------

I would like to update some info on the Samsung A900 bluetooth connection to headset.

Today I had two customers that bought the A900, and wanted to have the phone connected to their cars' handfree system.

One car was a a BMW SUV and another was a Lexus. I test my phone on the cars first which does have problems with regular bluetooth head sets to see if there would be any static. 

I was shocked, there was absolutely no static whatsoever. The calls were crystal clear. Walked away from the cars about 15 feet, the connection was still live and clear.

When we did the activation on the new A900 phones, without the updated firmware, for both customers, the connect to their cars were static free, but when connecting to a bluetooth headset there was static chaos as usual.

I am pretty confident now that there is no defect in the hardware. This is a software issue as stated before, more than likely it is the bluetooth radio tunning which can be corrected by Sprint with a firmware upgrade when it becomes available.

We are working on this right now, so everyone hold on to your seats.


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## moviebumm (Dec 18, 2005)

Just bought the new Samsung A900 with bluetooth for my 2006 BMW 330xi and it does not pair up to the car. I let my salesman pair the two up. He tried unsuccessfully 12 times. I guess I will have no choice but to get the Treo 650. Does anyone have this phone? Does it work the way Bluetooth is designed to work? Thanks in advance.


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## chuck92103 (Oct 9, 2005)

Folks, when it comes to BT issues remember it works both ways.

Updating the car's software is always an option, but updating the phone's firmware is also important.

So many times, people rush out to buy the latest phone and do not realize the early release phones have bugs in them and subsequently a few months later the firmware is updated.

My advice when posting phone issue problems is to state the model of your phone and the firmware version installed otherwise it is pointless.

You can go to the "settings" section of your phone and menu through to S/W version.

Most phones can be updated at your local cell store.

The key issue with BMW approved phones is that each carrier handles the concept of "profiles" differently. That is how the contact information is stored in the phone. This is what the iDrive/car computer Bluetooth updates are providing. General call connect inssues, dialing, hangup, etc. is more of an indication of a faulty phone or a firmware update is required on the phone.


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## sawadalla (Dec 23, 2005)

*A900 w/ 2005 325i*

I just got the samsung a900, and I was able to pair with my '05 325i right away. My phonebook won't sync up though. (When I try to send a contact, the phone asks me if I want to search. When I click yes, it searches for a few seconds and then says it can't find the bluetooth device. Has anyone else had this problem???)

My car has the most recent software (or whatever you call it) for bluetooth as I asked for it during my last service appointment.

Not sure about the phone's firmware, but I just got it yesterday (July 2).

Any suggestions on the phonebook??

Thanks!

Sarah


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## M Power (Jul 29, 2002)

I have bluetooth retrofit in my E39 M5. It worked perfectly with V3 Razr until Razr stopped working all together. So I switched carrier and got A900 two days ago. 

I was able to pair it successfully. I didn't check to see if phone book was carried over to the car. However, I noticed that calling by "voice recognition" in the car does not work, and it hangs, NAV screen literally gets hung. 

However, I am able to receive calls without any problem. I can dial numbers, but I have to do that on the phone. Once connected, I can use car's system to talk.

Very strange. I am going to give it a few more days of tries. I am going to talk to Bimmernav guys to see if there is a software update as well.


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## sawadalla (Dec 23, 2005)

With the A900, I'm able to dial numbers through the nav by going to menu, then telephone. It then lets you choose the digits to dial. (I don't even know if my car has voice recognition at all, but if it does, it doesn't work either.)

The telephone section under menu also has a "last dialed" feature which saves the last few numbers you dialed. (I'm not sure how many numbers it holds; I only have 3 in mine right now.) That's pretty handy since the phone book doesn't sync up.

There's a last 8 feature which saves the last 8 numbers you dialed, but this only works with the phone book.

I can make/receive calls just fine... but people I talk to tell me that I sound as if I'm talking from really far away and that they can barely hear me. I can hear them just fine though.... maybe the mic in my car is bad???


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