Question about Bluetooth/Phone Usage in Prius

macreative · 02-17-2004, 12:38 PM

I have a Sony Ericsson T616 phone and I ordered a #9 Prius in any color except Driftwood - my question is,

How well can you have conversations through the Prius using your Cell phone... Any disortion or is it not loud enough? Is it just right?

I have heard that the phone system only works through the left front speaker or something like that and I am deaf in one ear. I was hoping it utilized all of the front speakers or something....

So can anyone tell me what there experiences have been so far?

**efusco** · 02-17-2004, 01:14 PM

I find the sound quality to be quite good. There is a volume control as well, but turned up too loud causes some feedback through the microphone. I believe the L front speaker was chosen to minimize the sound reaching the microphone.

I don't think you'll have any trouble, the stereo is muted and the sound quality is quite good. There are some other adjustments that can be made in the diagnostics screen to fine tune sound quality. I think that someone could probably make a modification to add or change the speaker the sound comes out of if necessary, but it could be messy.

BTW, I use essentially the same phone (T610 through T-mobile).

HTMLSpinnr · 02-17-2004, 06:52 PM

The L speaker also happens to be closest to the driver, which makes him/her more likely to hear w/ less volume. This is more for NAV purposes. The phone coming from there is a nice side-effect.

charlieh · 02-18-2004, 03:01 AM

I have BC (9) in my Seaside Pearl and just installed a T616 about 2 weeks ago. I can hear just fine over it and folks I talk to say it is clear, but a bit tinny or like I'm in a tunnel, but no one has complained. I love it. I really didn't think I would use it that much, but I have found in quite convenient in LA traffic. I got my T616 via Cingular and piggybacked on my daughter's account (my main cell is Verizon, and they don't offer Bluetooth) for $19.99 to share her minutes since she never uses them all anyway, and we get rollover minutes and a ton of night and weekend. Phone was only $99 after rebate.

mboileau · 02-18-2004, 07:54 PM

Got my Driftwood #9 2 weeks ago (only waited 1 week, but that's another story!). Got a T616 through Cingular (free with special they had at Best Buy). Works wonderfully! The only quirky thing is that there's a few seconds of delay after the call connects (in or out) before the other party can hear you. You just have to say 'hello' more than once...

Mat · 02-20-2004, 08:51 AM

Just a note of warning which seems to be an infrequent occurrence:

I bought a T616 and excitedly set it up, only to find out that the voice quality was awful. I couldn't understand the voicemail lady to even press the right buttons, and callers couldn't hear me either.
I searched all the message boards, and came across only one other user, who more diligently swapped out his T616, thinking it was the phone, but still had the same problems.
My guess is that some individual Priuses simply have a problem with T616s for some reason.
He got a Nokia 3650 and said it worked fine, so I tried getting one and sure enough, it sounds great.
I have no idea why this was the case, and obviously many people have had flawless experiences with the T616, but just a warning-- you might be returning the phone in the future if you can't try before you buy.

Finally, the delayed call (people say Hello, Hello) before you ever hear them, seemed to happen all the time with the T616. With the Nokia 3650, i've notice it also happen when dialing from the phone, but not when using the Prius phonebook.
However, the Nokia no longer reports my signal strength on the Prius screen, which the T616 did do.
Also, there are quirks to transferring phone books. (T616 nicely did them all at once, Nokia 3650 you have to do it one by one)

Just my experiences,

MAT

Ptpiz · 04-16-2004, 08:56 AM

This happens for me as well. I have reached teh diagnostics screen for bluetooth, but what do the numbers mean, and what should they be set at?

mboileau · 04-16-2004, 12:54 PM

My best guess for the diagnostics screen is that these are gain adjustments for the speakers and microphone. The numbers are nominally set to 0 and have negative/positive adjustments which would make me suspect these are decibal (db) level adjustments. Anyone with a home theatre amplifier is used to seeing these adjustments.

I haven't messed with them since my T616 seems to work fairly reliably as long as background noise is low.

bigbaldcuban · 04-16-2004, 01:43 PM

Has anyone bought the t608(?) than Sprint uses? I don't want to switch carriers, but since it's just now being offered widespread, I hope it doesn't have bugs.

mboileau · 04-16-2004, 02:23 PM

Good news for you. There's a published list of compatible Bluetooth phones that Toyota has tested and approved for use with the Prius. They have a business connections with www.letstalk.com for Internet purchase and subscription services through local carriers in your area.

The link is http://toyota.letstalk.com .

According to the list for my area (No Cal), they've now added your T608 (from Sprint) as well as the Siemens S56.

Pretty much any carrier's version of the Sony-Ericsson T6xx model will work, as well as any version of the Nokia 36xx., in addition to the Siemens S56.

This is a much expanded list than I was seeing a month ago, so it's great to see that there are more choices now...

02-17-2004, 12:38 PM	#1
macreative Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 157 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Question about Bluetooth/Phone Usage in Prius I have a Sony Ericsson T616 phone and I ordered a #9 Prius in any color except Driftwood - my question is, How well can you have conversations through the Prius using your Cell phone... Any disortion or is it not loud enough? Is it just right? I have heard that the phone system only works through the left front speaker or something like that and I am deaf in one ear. I was hoping it utilized all of the front speakers or something.... So can anyone tell me what there experiences have been so far?

02-17-2004, 01:14 PM	#2
efusco Troll Slayer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 18,055 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 102 Thanked 501 Times in 270 Posts Friends: 41	I find the sound quality to be quite good. There is a volume control as well, but turned up too loud causes some feedback through the microphone. I believe the L front speaker was chosen to minimize the sound reaching the microphone. I don't think you'll have any trouble, the stereo is muted and the sound quality is quite good. There are some other adjustments that can be made in the diagnostics screen to fine tune sound quality. I think that someone could probably make a modification to add or change the speaker the sound comes out of if necessary, but it could be messy. BTW, I use essentially the same phone (T610 through T-mobile). __________________ Evan E. Fusco, MD "It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word." -Andrew Jackson

02-18-2004, 03:01 AM	#4
charlieh Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: California Posts: 54 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: IV Package: Navigation Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	I have BC (9) in my Seaside Pearl and just installed a T616 about 2 weeks ago. I can hear just fine over it and folks I talk to say it is clear, but a bit tinny or like I'm in a tunnel, but no one has complained. I love it. I really didn't think I would use it that much, but I have found in quite convenient in LA traffic. I got my T616 via Cingular and piggybacked on my daughter's account (my main cell is Verizon, and they don't offer Bluetooth) for $19.99 to share her minutes since she never uses them all anyway, and we get rollover minutes and a ton of night and weekend. Phone was only $99 after rebate. __________________ "Sooner or later we sit down to a banquet of consequences." Robert Louis Stevenson, 1885 Aqua '03 Seaside Pearl '04 White '10

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Phone Numbers to 2005 Prius Bluetooth?	spindoc	Gen II Prius Audio and Electronics	4	03-05-2008 09:07 PM
'04 Prius / Bluetooth / LG CU500 Cell Phone	hoferchr	Gen II Prius Audio and Electronics	0	10-09-2006 07:30 PM
T-Mobile SDA cell phone to PRIUS Bluetooth	jbhasme	Gen II Prius Main Forum	0	03-17-2006 06:55 PM
transferring calls to and from Prius and bluetooth phone	pcjr	Gen II Prius Audio and Electronics	6	07-04-2005 05:14 AM
Usage question for Nav system	ohthetrees	Gen II Prius Audio and Electronics	2	01-02-2004 08:44 PM

02-17-2004, 06:52 PM	#3
HTMLSpinnr Gen III Forums Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Surprise, AZ (Phoenix) Posts: 4,392 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: IV Package: Solar Roof Thanks: 282 Thanked 516 Times in 246 Posts Friends: 18	The L speaker also happens to be closest to the driver, which makes him/her more likely to hear w/ less volume. This is more for NAV purposes. The phone coming from there is a nice side-effect.

02-18-2004, 07:54 PM	#5
mboileau Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 278 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Got my Driftwood #9 2 weeks ago (only waited 1 week, but that's another story!). Got a T616 through Cingular (free with special they had at Best Buy). Works wonderfully! The only quirky thing is that there's a few seconds of delay after the call connects (in or out) before the other party can hear you. You just have to say 'hello' more than once...

02-20-2004, 08:51 AM	#6
Mat Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Duke University Posts: 26 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Just a note of warning which seems to be an infrequent occurrence: I bought a T616 and excitedly set it up, only to find out that the voice quality was awful. I couldn't understand the voicemail lady to even press the right buttons, and callers couldn't hear me either. I searched all the message boards, and came across only one other user, who more diligently swapped out his T616, thinking it was the phone, but still had the same problems. My guess is that some individual Priuses simply have a problem with T616s for some reason. He got a Nokia 3650 and said it worked fine, so I tried getting one and sure enough, it sounds great. I have no idea why this was the case, and obviously many people have had flawless experiences with the T616, but just a warning-- you might be returning the phone in the future if you can't try before you buy. Finally, the delayed call (people say Hello, Hello) before you ever hear them, seemed to happen all the time with the T616. With the Nokia 3650, i've notice it also happen when dialing from the phone, but not when using the Prius phonebook. However, the Nokia no longer reports my signal strength on the Prius screen, which the T616 did do. Also, there are quirks to transferring phone books. (T616 nicely did them all at once, Nokia 3650 you have to do it one by one) Just my experiences, MAT

04-16-2004, 08:56 AM	#7
Ptpiz Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: South Florida, USA Posts: 108 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	This happens for me as well. I have reached teh diagnostics screen for bluetooth, but what do the numbers mean, and what should they be set at?

04-16-2004, 12:54 PM	#8
mboileau Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 278 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	My best guess for the diagnostics screen is that these are gain adjustments for the speakers and microphone. The numbers are nominally set to 0 and have negative/positive adjustments which would make me suspect these are decibal (db) level adjustments. Anyone with a home theatre amplifier is used to seeing these adjustments. I haven't messed with them since my T616 seems to work fairly reliably as long as background noise is low.

04-16-2004, 01:43 PM	#9
bigbaldcuban Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mansfield, TX Posts: 599 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Has anyone bought the t608(?) than Sprint uses? I don't want to switch carriers, but since it's just now being offered widespread, I hope it doesn't have bugs.

04-16-2004, 02:23 PM	#10
mboileau Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 278 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Good news for you. There's a published list of compatible Bluetooth phones that Toyota has tested and approved for use with the Prius. They have a business connections with www.letstalk.com for Internet purchase and subscription services through local carriers in your area. The link is http://toyota.letstalk.com . According to the list for my area (No Cal), they've now added your T608 (from Sprint) as well as the Siemens S56. Pretty much any carrier's version of the Sony-Ericsson T6xx model will work, as well as any version of the Nokia 36xx., in addition to the Siemens S56. This is a much expanded list than I was seeing a month ago, so it's great to see that there are more choices now...