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Bluetooth problem with 2006 Prius and iPhone 4S

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by 60sAlum, Dec 22, 2013.

  1. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    When I got my 2006 Prius, I had an iPhone 3G and it worked fine. Since upgrading to an iPhone 4S, however, I have one small problem: when I receive a phone call, the originating number rarely displays and the address book entry for the originator never displays. I assume this new problem has something to do with the higher Bluetooth version used by the iPhone 4S, but I'm wondering if anything can be done about it short of buying a new car :)) ).
     
    #1 60sAlum, Dec 22, 2013
  2. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    That seems very odd indeed. When I purchased my 2nd Gen Prius T Spirit, I initially had an iPhone 3GS which connected quite happily via Bluetooth to the vehicle. Then I upgraded to the iPhone 5 - and once connected to the Prius, it worked seamlessly too, despite its iOS 7 software and the latest Bluetooth firmware too.

    I did delete the older iPhone from the vehicles Bluetooth setup though.

    I'd delete your Bluetooth setup completely, reboot your Prius (shutdown then startup again - not pull the battery :p ) then try connecting it again. Make sure you've shut down all non essential programs on your 4S and that includes wifi. Reboot your iPhone just before you commence reconnecting it to your Prius via Bluetooth.

    Let us know if that works :)


    iPad ? HD
     
    #2 Data Daedalus, Dec 26, 2013
  3. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    Just to clarify: by "reboot your Prius" do you just mean I should power off the car and power it back up (after first deleting my Bluetooth pairing configuration)?

    Thanks.
     
    #3 60sAlum, Dec 26, 2013
  4. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    Affirmative - I had to do the same when first trying to set up my iPhone 3GS - and my Prius wasn't playing ball initially.

    Reboot because to me (an IT Engineer) that seems to suit the shutdown and startup functions of the Prius better than the word "restart" - unless there IS a specific "Reboot" sequence for the Prius that I'm unaware of - in which case I do apologise and stand corrected.

    Nexus 7 ?
     
    #4 Data Daedalus, Dec 27, 2013
  5. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    Indeed. In my case, as a programmer for 34 years (now retired), I find it a bit difficult to think of my car as a computer, even though much of its functionality is driven (no pun intended) by various kinds of processors. :)

    I'll try your suggestion, and post the results, as soon as I get a chance.

    Thanks again.
     
    #5 60sAlum, Dec 27, 2013
  6. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    I tried your suggestion and, unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem. After clearing all my Bluetooth info, restarting the Prius and then re-pairing my phone, I had someone call me and only the origin phone number displayed (which would sometimes occur before), but not the person's name from the stored address book.

    Then I ran the test again, after turning off Siri (because others in this forum had indicated other iPhone/Bluetooth problems seemed to relate to conflicts with Siri). However, this didn't help either.

    When I look at the Prius call log, I notice that all (5) incoming calls show only the phone number, whereas the log of outgoing calls displays the name of the person called. So, the address book info is recognized on outgoing calls; it's incoming calls where it seems the address book isn't being consulted.

    I'm now skeptical that there is a fix for this problem.
     
    #6 60sAlum, Dec 29, 2013
  7. Chris Lawes

    Chris Lawes New Member

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    There is a section on Toyota's website where you can plug in your Prius, phone, provider and see what is and is not tested as compatible. For a 2006 Prius with an ATT iPhone 5S it says:

    Compatible:
    Multimedia system displays incoming caller identification.
    The multimedia system displays an incoming call notification and ringing is heard through the vehicle's speakers.
    Phone will place a call through the multimedia system.

    Not Compatible:
    Transfer a single phonebook entry to the multimedia system.
    Transfer multiple phonebook entries to the multimedia system at once.

    So I believe this means that the multimedia system is unable to copy contacts from the iPhone 5S into it's system, but if the contact was manually entered there it should show up on caller ID? Also, this would explain the earlier post when Daedalus had a 3GS (which correctly transferred his contacts into multimedia system) and then plugged in a 5S (which worked because the contacts were already in the system.)

    So... hopefully I can just borrow and old iPhone 3, load in my address book, load it into my Prius multimedia system, and then put my current 5S in there and have it work with all my contacts except for new ones that I create, which I suppose I should be able to enter manually into my Prius via touchscreen.
     
    #7 Chris Lawes, Dec 29, 2013
  8. Chris Lawes

    Chris Lawes New Member

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    Here's the link to the Toyota website:
    Toyota - Entune

    What do y'all think?
     
    #8 Chris Lawes, Dec 29, 2013
  9. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    It says the same thing for a 4S, which is my phone. And I do (sometimes) see the calling number. But I never see the caller's name from the address book. The above is ambiguous on this matter, since "incoming caller identification" could refer just to the phone number (I suppose).
     
    #9 60sAlum, Dec 29, 2013
  10. Chris Lawes

    Chris Lawes New Member

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    What do you think about my idea of buying an old iPhone 3GS on ebay to "shuttle" my contacts into the Prius handsfree system?
     
    #10 Chris Lawes, Dec 31, 2013
  11. Sarge

    Sarge Senior Member

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    Well, I also have a 2006 Prius and an iPhone 4S for over 2 years now, and the number and name display has always worked perfectly for me.

    One potentially obvious question - were you trying this while in motion or stationary? The Prius will NOT display the number if moving, however it WILL display the Address Book name if it finds a match.

    For the name to match, the number has to match exactly - in my case, the iPhone always displays a "1" at the start of the number, so if I program the number in the address book with the prefix of 1, then the name matches and the name display shows up (in motion or not). The phone number does not display while in motion, even if it is in address book.

    Now, I do have a Canadian Prius, and the phone provider may be a factor (I am with Telus), but that is my experience... :)

    Edit - it is annoying that iOS does not allow transfer of contacts over bluetooth (even my old Motorola "dumb" phone did), though I know if you sync your contacts with another bluetooth device like a Windows or Mac notebook you should be able to connect that to the Prius and push them over bluetooth that way. I haven't done it myself, but I have heard others have.
     
    #11 Sarge, Jan 23, 2014
  12. 60sAlum

    60sAlum Junior Member

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    Sarge,

    THANKS! You've hit the nail on the head!

    In my case (I'm in Northern Calif, USA, using AT&T), the incoming numbers display without the '1' prefix. Unfortunately, I've always registered (on my iPhone as well as in my Prius address book) phone numbers with the '1' prefix. (This is because when I first started using a cell phone I thought the '1' was needed for outgoing calls, as it is with land line phones).

    Anyway, everything works just as you said:

    1. If the incoming number is not in my Prius address book, the number displays only when the car is not moving.
    2. Now that I've removed the '1' prefix from all my address book entries (about 70 of them), the names do display, whether or not the car is moving.

    One thing that has been confusing me is that the name display used to work, years ago. But it occurs to me that that would have been when I had 'dumb' cell phones (LG phones in particular). I don't know if that explains it, especially since on my iPhone itself, the matching between numbers without the prefix and my address book with the prefix has always worked. So I figured the problem was on the Prius itself.

    Yes, my LG phones allowed me to download my address book (in batches of 10 numbers at a time) to the Prius, which is how most of my current entries got there. I, too, wish the iPhone had this facility.

    Anyway, thanks again. I was already resigned to never getting this problem resolved.
     
    #12 60sAlum, Jan 25, 2014
  13. Sarge

    Sarge Senior Member

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    No problem, glad I could help. :)

    Apple is a bit annoying with how limited the phone functionality is - that for a device as technology-sophisticated as a 5th or 6th Gen iPhone (I've lost count with the S models and so on), that it still struggles with something as simple as supporting a Bluetooth profile for transferring contacts, (which many non-smart phones did long before), or even something like customizing how the device presents the call display. Mind-boggling, really. As I have said for years, the iPhone is an amazing piece of technology for all sorts of amazing functionality, from streaming media, gaming, acting as a remote control for any other type of technology, (and many more things), but fails on the most simple of tasks, such as the aforementioned, or (up until iOS6 (six!)) the ability of simply manually attaching a photo to an email, without having to initiate a brand new email from your photo app.

    Anyway, I do enjoy my iPhone despite these minor annoyances, it is just frustrating that Apple chooses to ignore them.

    Anyway, /rant.

    Cheers!
     
    #13 Sarge, Jan 26, 2014
  14. Sarge

    Sarge Senior Member

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    No problem, glad I could help. :)

    Apple is a bit annoying with how limited the phone functionality is - that for a device as technology-sophisticated as a 5th or 6th Gen iPhone (I've lost count with the S models and so on), that it still struggles with something as simple as supporting a Bluetooth profile for transferring contacts, (which many non-smart phones did long before), or even something like customizing how the device presents the call display. Mind-boggling, really. As I have said for year, the iPhone is an amazing piece of technology for all sorts of amazing functionality, from streaming media, gaming, acting as a remote control for any other type of technology, (and many more things), but fails on the most simple of tasks, such as the aforementioned, or (up until iOS6 (six!)) the ability of simply manually attaching a photo to an email, without having to initiate a brand new email from your photo app.

    Anyway, I do enjoy my iPhone despite these minor annoyances, it is just frustrating that Apple chooses to ignore them.

    Anyway, /rant.

    Cheers!
     
    #14 Sarge, Jan 26, 2014
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