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2006 Prius and Bluetooth Battery & Signal meter

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Kross, May 10, 2006.

  1. Kross

    Kross New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I currently have a Nokia 6256i on Verizon. I have it paired with my Prius and it works (for the most part); I was able to push over my address book with it (one contact at a time). As far as the phone itself is concerned, I HATE IT. It is completely counter-intuitive and I always have a weaker signal (regardless of how many bars show) than other Verizon phones, not too mention an insane amount of dropped calls. And I know it's because of the phone because I was using an older (less fancy) phone before this in the very same area with no problems (it just didnt have BT) In addition to all this, it does NOT show anything on the Bluetooth Battery/Signal meter on the Prius' screen.

    Keeping all the above-mentioned facts under consideration, I am getting myself another Verizon phone. I don't need anything exceedingly fancy and I don't really require that it be able to push over the address book (although it would be nice) since mine is already in the Prius. All I need is a phone that will work efficiently with the Prius and ALSO SHOW the battery and signal status ON THE PRIUS.

    Since Verizon is notorious for disabling many BT features on their phones, I realize I will most likely not be able to get a phone that can do both: update the BT Status bars on the Prius Screen AND be able to push over the Contacts. Also, I do not want to get a Motorolla Razor...Too many people I know have it.

    So to all those who are currently using Verizon phones...if yours can do what I am looking to do above, PLEASE let me know! Thanks!
     
  2. pabhouse

    pabhouse New Member

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    I have the lg vx9800 and it will show the signal meter. On all of the phones that I have had even non verizon the battery has never been displayed. Maybe they added that feature in the 06 prius but I have never seen it in the 04.
     
  3. ttabbal

    ttabbal New Member

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    In my 2006 I have tried the RAZR and the E815. Both show the BT/Signal/Battery bars just fine. Those are the only phones I have direct experience with. Neither can transfer the phonebook in stock form. I have Alltel firmware on my RAZR, so I can do it one at a time, just like your Nokia. I have used it once, I generally find it eaiser to type them in on the MFD.
     
  4. YBLee

    YBLee Junior Member

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    Five
    I have a Blackberry and it works great! After the initial paring which was very easy, it has worked flawlessly! The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to download my Address Book to the Prius. I probably haven't spent enough time reading the "How To"!
     
  5. Kross

    Kross New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pabhouse @ May 10 2006, 08:47 AM) [snapback]252688[/snapback]</div>
    Maybe they did add the battery meter on the 2006. Do you even have that little battery icon on the BT bar that shows up on the top right side of your MFD when the phone is connected?
    I have always liked the VX9800...maybe I will go with that... quick question about that while I'm at it. You have it on Verizon I presume...can you browse the web on it (when it opens up on that horizontal screen), and if you can, does that ONLY cost you airtime minutes? I don't really have a data plan in place but end up with tons of extra airtime minutes every month. Thank you!




    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ttabbal @ May 10 2006, 12:55 PM) [snapback]252854[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks ttabbal! Its good to know that they do show the Batt/Signal meters.
    Also, yeah, that one contact at a time does seem to get a bit tiring...How did you get Alltel firmware on it though? Does that affect how you use the phone on Verizon at all? Just curious...




    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(YBLee @ May 10 2006, 04:29 PM) [snapback]253044[/snapback]</div>
    I was hoping my work would give me a blackberry, but as it turns out, they won't, so I'll probably just be getting a phone for now. I am interested to see if you would be able to transfer all your contacts over at once. Knowing Verizon, they probably disabled that on your blackberry as well, although I had always thought that the PDA phones usually kept all their features. Well, good luck either way!
     
  6. ttabbal

    ttabbal New Member

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    For installing the Alltel firmware there is a wiki linked at howardforums.com in the Motorola section of the Verizon forum. It's a bit involved, but everything seems to work fine. The big difference is that I don't have the stock Verizon menu, it's the Motorola menu now. As a result, the phone is much faster and has all the capabilities of the other RAZR phones from other carriers.

    If the situation hasn't improved with Verizon crippling phones when my contract is up, I may have to reconsider them. They have the best network, but the phones are starting to become "least common denominator" with all of them having the same menus and features.
     
  7. samkusnetz

    samkusnetz New Member

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    my sony phone displays signal and battery, but i'm on cingular... are there any sony phones on verizon?

    cheers
     
  8. AzizaVFR

    AzizaVFR Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I work for Verizon and I get to see all the internal reports of customer service and what we are doing right/wrong. If you are looking for the phone with the best signal and longest battery life, the Motorola E815 is the best one we currently offer, if you do not require a PDA/Smartphone.

    I have helped a couple of people pair their phones with their cars, including a VX8100 to a Prius, a Motorola Razr V3c to a BMW X5, and my Prius to the E815. Of all of them, the Prius to the E815 gives the best signal strength and battery life. Not to sound like a salesman, but that phone is now available for $50 after the rebates. I bought it, at the employee price, when it was $150 and I still feel it was well worth the money.

    Now if I could just get my concession phone switched over to an E815 or the upcoming Motorola Q.....
     
  9. Kross

    Kross New Member

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    Quick update... I ended up getting the LG VX9800 (called the "V" by VZW). I love the phone so far! The signal strength is great (compared to the 6256i, even though this one doesn't have an external antenna!). Also, it shows both the battery and the signal strength on the Prius MFD. I didn't really test to see if it will push over my contacts because I already have them on my Prius from the 6256i.

    The only thing the VX9800 has going against it is its size, since it is quite thick, even for a candy-bar phone. BUT I really don't need a small phone; the VX9800 fits fine in my pockets.

    So all in all, I am happy with my purchase... thank you to all those who helped!
     
  10. madams

    madams New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AzizaVFR @ May 13 2006, 03:06 AM) [snapback]254650[/snapback]</div>
    Maybe you can answer a question, I got a Razr about 2 months ago and once in awhile while driving if a call comes in the off-hook button on the Prius doesn't work. If I open the phone it immediately hooks through the speaker system and I can close the phone and continue the conversation. Does this sound like a Prius or Razr problem to you?
     
  11. Syclone

    Syclone Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AzizaVFR @ May 13 2006, 04:06 AM) [snapback]254650[/snapback]</div>

    I'm trying to load my E815 phone book into my 2006 Prius. Pairing works well. I can see battery condition and signal strength ok. Voice send and receive is perfect after manually dialing or voice dialing. Directory download doesn't work. Apparently the phone must initiate the download, and the E815 has OBEX turned off, and may not even be OPP capable.

    What's the secret of your bluetooth success?

    SY Cohen
     
  12. myprius2005

    myprius2005 New Member

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    I have 2005 Toyota Prius, I have following bluetooth phones, Nokia e61, Nokia n70, Moto Razr, T-Mobile SDA, Samsung T509 and Sony Ericsson P910i. all of them have bluetooth, but none of them show any info on the 2005 prius, excep Moto Razr shows the signal strength, but I can't load the phone book.

    Which models support phone book uploading? Or is there like a firmware upgrade fom Toyota on Prius bluetooth?
     
  13. ttabbal

    ttabbal New Member

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    For the most part, non-Verizon phones can upload contacts into the Prius in stock form. Some Verizon phones can be hacked to enable it. It all depends on the phone manufacturer and the carrier. Verizon locks out many nice Bluetooth features, but TMobile and Cingular seem to keep thiers pretty open. How to do it varries by manufacturer, in the Razr you tell it to share the contact from the options menu in the phonebook. You can only send one at a time with it.

    The car has little to do with it, the transfer must come from the phone while the car is in receive mode. If you can get your phone to send a contact to another phone, you can probably make it work with the Prius. If you need a computer to do it, then you probably can't.
     
  14. Sarge

    Sarge Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ttabbal @ Jun 7 2006, 03:54 PM) [snapback]267406[/snapback]</div>
    I know this is an old thread that was just resurrected, so I thought I would contribute my experience for the archives. :)

    I have the '06 Prius and the Motorola V710 on the Telus network in Canada. Voice quality is superb, no dropped calls, and shows the signal & battery on the MFD. My only complaint is that Telus locks down the BT functionality on the phone, so I can't transfer contacts to the car at all, not even one contact at a time. Very annoying, but only a minor annoyance since I do not have a huge phone book.

    One complaint I do have with the phone is that the Bluetooth seems to die every other day and I need to 'reboot' the phone to get it to connect with anything, whether it is a headset or the Prius. I have had the same problem with two headsets and now the Prius, so it is definitely the phone and not the car/headset. Unfortunately, I bought it at retail store and it's been more than a month, so I need to send it to Motorola for repairs... grrr... but I digress. <_<

    - Kevin
     
  15. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Hello all, name is Pat but I go by my amateur call KK6PD.
    Just yesterday my wife called and said its time to buy new cellphones, we are with Verizon. Having just gotten my 2008 Prius a week ago, and discovering that my current phone is CRAP, I spent a good portion of yesterday at

    WWW.TOYOTA.LETSTALK.COM

    All you have to do is input the make and model and year of your car, select either the list of current NEW phones, or ALL phones. It will then give you a page of EVERY phone and if its compatable with the Prius, and if every option of the phone is compatable!!!

    SWEET!!

    After spending 2 hours narrowing down the field, I chose the "LG enV" thru Verizon. Its 99.9% compatable with the Prius.

    Hope this helps some of you, and I will be on this board quite a bit in the future, so would love to hear from you'all!!!

    Pat KK6PD