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Dumbed down bluetooth

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by GAGendel, May 10, 2005.

  1. GAGendel

    GAGendel Junior Member

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    I've bought the Jabra A210 bluetooth adapter and am trying to get it to work with the Prius. I understand that this will not get me true phone capabilities, but I was hoping to use the Prius as glorified headphones. This way I don't need to bring my teathered headphones around.

    The problem is that there seems to be no way to set a key into the Jabra. The manual on the Bluetooth settings is very sparse about what the entries on the screen actually do and whether you can pair in active mode (where it reads the key from the other device).

    Anyone have some additional information and know whether it is possible to dumb down the Prius so it can behave like bluetooth headphones?

    Thanks.
     
  2. madams

    madams New Member

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    Sorry, I tried and tried to get that Jabra A210 to work and there just isn't a way to do it. The Prius asks for you to enter the code and the non-bluetooth phones don't transmit the info. The A210 works fine with a bluetooth head but only because it transmits a code of 0000. I finally gave up and bought a V710 phone and except for the phonebook function (which I think Verizon had something to do with) everything works fine.
     
  3. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    So, why not tell the Prius the code is 0000?

    I thought that option was on a (maybe service) screen I saw once...
     
  4. madams

    madams New Member

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    Because the Prius is looking for the code to be entered into the phone and transmitted to the bluetooth in the car. Headsets do an automatic send for the code to the Jabra and the jabra sends the code back to the headset to do the pairing. Believe me I tried everything I could think of for over a week trying to make it work.

    As soon as I got the bluetooth phone (V710) and did the pairing and entered the code into the phone the Prius was happy.

    IF you decide to get a bluetooth phone you should read the threads on it, I would suggest a carrier other than Verizon that uses the Sony Ericsson bluetooth phones -- from what I've read (here on PriusChat) they allow ALL the features of the Prius to be used as they were intended.

    As it stands my bluetooth phone will not allow me to use the phonebooks and the telephone does NOT ring through the car -- you hear a 'beep' and the screen shows a call in progress.
     
  5. xevious

    xevious New Member

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    There's an even simpler answer:

    The Jabra A210 doesn't support the "Hands-free" Bluetooth profile and therefore WILL NOT WORK in the Prius.

    The Bluetooth protocol defines a number of "profiles" or communication motifs; "hands-free" is deprecated and was replaced long ago (v1.1 of the specification) by the "headset" profile. Most mobile phones, with the exception of Nokia, don't bother with this dated and buggy profile.

    Unfortunately, this is one area where our Prius are behind the technology curve.
     
  6. GAGendel

    GAGendel Junior Member

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    Thank you for the concise description of the problem. My comment is... "Arrrgggghhhh!". Any chance of pressuring Toyota for a software update?
    I'll try emailing customer support and see what they say.
     
  7. GAGendel

    GAGendel Junior Member

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    I voiced my dissatifaction to Toyota. Here is the communications so far:

    Code:
    
    Recently you contacted Toyota. Below is a summary of your contact message and our response.
    
    
    
    Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.
    
    
    
    [===> Please enter your reply below this line <===]
    
    
    
    [===> Please enter your reply above this line <===]
    
    
    
    
    
     Subject
    
    Prius Bluetooth "Headset" profile
    
     
    
     Discussion Thread
    
     Response (James)	05/12/2005 10:03 AM
    
    Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
    
    
    
    Your interest in Toyota is appreciated.
    
    
    
    We make every effort to manufacture a quality product by researching, testing, and constantly monitoring performance.
    
    
    
    Consumer opinion and perception also play an active role in our ongoing efforts to lead the automobile industry in quality, innovation, styling, and reliability.
    
    
    
    It is through communications such as yours that we become aware of the reactions and expectations of our customers.
    
    
    
    Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under file #200505120308. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
    
    
    
    Toyota Customer Experience
    
    
    
    You may wish to click on the hyperlink in this sentence for information regarding Online Toyota Technical Information available by subscription, and at no charge, recommended service intervals.
    
    
    
    Toyota manuals are available for purchase.
    
    
    
    For more Toyota information, please check out Toyota ExpressLube, our Frequently Asked Questions, ToyotaOwnersOnline.com, and our Glossary.
    
    
    
    See Genuine Toyota Accessories and Service Tips for the Toyota of your choice.
    
    
    
     Customer (Gary Gendel)	05/12/2005 09:57 AM
    
    I agree with you that it may be illegal to drive with headsets in some
    
    states. This is why I wanted to used the Prius instead of a headset
    
    (not the other way around as your reply seems to suggest).
    
    
    
    I will relay your response to the Prius user groups that I am a member
    
    of. It is just a shame that you decided to support a protocol that is
    
    no longer in the Bluetooth specs in lieu of the one that is.
    
    
    
    Gary
    
    
    
    >
    
     Response (James)	05/12/2005 09:14 AM
    
    Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
    
    
    
    We appreciate your interest in the Prius.
    
    
    
    We apologize; Toyota has not announced plans for a headset capability for the Prius's Bluetooth option. The hands-free capability allows telephone conversation without blocking or otherwise impairing the driver's hearing.
    
    
    
    Driving a motor vehicle while wearing a headset may be illegal in some states; you may wish to check with your state's motor vehicle department.
    
    
    
    Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under file #200505120308. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
    
    
    
    Toyota Customer Experience
    
     Customer (Gary Gendel)	05/11/2005 04:05 PM
    
    I just bought a 2005 Prius with Pkg #6 that includes Bluetooth phone support. I'm trying to use a Jabra 210 adapter with my phone, but discovered that the Prius doesn't support "Headset" profile. Instead it has the "Hands-free" profile, which was deprecated a long time ago (v1.1 of the specification) by the Headset profile.
    
    
    
    This was the first time that I was surprised by the lack of state-of-the-art capabilities on this car.
    
    
    
    Is there any plans to upgrade the bluetooth software to support the most common protocol? Even though it won't have the nice phone support, it will allow many of us to use the Prius's system instead of headphones.
    
    
    
    As a member of PriusChat.com and PriusOnline.com, there are a lot of people anxiously awaiting a favorable response.
    
    
    
    Thank you.
    
    
    
    Gary Gendel
    
    
     
  8. xevious

    xevious New Member

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    Your message to Toyota was very clearly and concisely worded.

    Their response, unfortunately, clearly and concisely indicated that the representative who handled your case had absolutely no idea what you were talking about. (Confusing "headset profile" with a physical headset.)

    I took this issue as far up the customer care ladder as I could about a year ago, to much the same result. Unless someone is able to get in direct contact with a product manager at Toyota or Denso, it is doubtful that our pleas will be understood.

    Thanks for trying; good luck.
     
  9. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Denso, so dense.

    In addition to all this BT hassle, the nav system shows road that never were, and doesn't show roads that have existed for years. And no way to provide constructive comment...