10.11Fix for iPhone and BMW iDrive address book not synchronising
UPDATE [21st Nov 2008] - Apple have released iPhone 2.2 software update which appears to fix all known issues with BMW bluetooth and iPhones. If you had no contacts syncing or bluetooth kept dropping the connection every 20 or 30 seconds then update to 2.2 and you should find it’s all fixed.
Ever since Apple brought out iPhone 2.0 software many of us found that the iPhone contacts that used to appear on the BMW iDrive or BMW radio display suddenly disappeared.
Since iPhone2.0 we all waited patiently for a fix from Apple, 2.01 and 2.02 failed to deliver but hopes were high when reports that 2.1 fixed a similar problem with Chrysler uConnect systems but again no change for BMW drivers.
Recently I configured my iPhone to sync contacts with my Exchange server at work and this PUSHed another 2500 contacts onto my iPhone and suddenly all my contacts appeared on the iDrive. I suggested to others this might be because I had multiple address books on my iPhone but this theory was soon disproved, I then suggested that it might be because I had a high number of contacts on the iPhone keeping which may change a timeout option somewhere on the iPhone or iDrive.
Some blog readers tested this theory and created 2000 fake contacts with no phone numbers but that didn’t work, then they tried 2000 fake contacts each with a unique contact number and this worked! By using contact names beginning with Z they appeared at the end of the iPhone and iDrive list but it did take a while to sync so many contacts with the iDrive. Another reader then tweaked this to get 2000 fake contacts each with the same phone number, the iDrive ignores any contacts that have the same telephone number and only syncs with one of them, so now we had 2000 Z-contacts on the iPhone all with the same number and this allowed ALL the contacts on the iPhone to sync with the iDrive but only showed ONE z-contact at the end. [Thanks to Rajesh and vants for their help with this!]
So far the feedback has been extremely positive with around 10 out of 12 people reporting a success.
To make life easy for you I have compiled instructions on how to add 2000 fake contacts to Outlook for the Windows users and Address Book for the Apple users.
Apple OS X Users:
It really couldn’t be simpler for you, simply download the following zip file:
DOWNLOAD FOR APPLE USERS - 2000 Fake Contacts for Apple users
Open the zip file and you should have a single vCard file, simply double click this vCard file and Address Book should spring into life and ask you if you really want to import 2000 new contacts.
Just click add and you’re all done, 2000 contacts z0001 to z2000 should now be in your Address Book. 
All you need to do now is re-sync your contacts with the iPhone via iTunes. [Note - if you use MobileMe to PUSH all your contacts from your computer to MobileMe and then PUSH them down to your iPhone it will still work just have some patience and check your phone after 10 minutes]
If, for neatness, you want to have the 2000 z-contacts in their own folder simply click the +plus at the bottom of the group pane:
then give the group a name:
and now click on the Last Import folder, in the middle Name pane click on the first z0001 and then press Apple+A to select all the entries and then drag them onto the new group you just created.
You can now jump past the lengthy Windows Instructions to read what to do next..
Windows Outlook Users:
Its a little trickier for you guys, it seems it’s not as easy to simply import 2000 contacts from one vCard download, so instead you need to download the following CSV file:
DOWNLOAD FOR WINDOWS USERS - 2000 Fake Contacts for Windows Users
Once you have downloaded the CSV file in Outlook click on File from the top menu and select “Import & Export”
Then select “Import from another program or file”
Then select “Comma Separated Values (DOS)”
On the next screen click Browse and navigate to where ever you saved the CSV file to (in my case it’s on my Desktop)
Leave the option to allow duplicates and click next
Select a destination for all your contacts, in general this will be your Contacts folder
but if you want to you can create a sub-folder in contacts called “z Contacts” or “Fake Entires” and save them in there for neatness but this is not a necessity and has no influence on whether the fix will work or not.
Note: You cannot create the subfolder once you’ve started the import wizard so if you want to, you’ll have to click cancel to exit the wizard then right click on your Contacts Folder and select “New Folder” and name it “z-Contacts” or “Fake Entries” then restart from step one:
That should be it now, you’ll be present with the final screen of the wizard where you can choose to map custom fields. Originally this was necessary but I’ve since added a header row to vants CSV file so the Wizard picks the right fields for Name and Phone number automatically, just click Finish. It should then start importing all the contacts, leave this going, it can take some time, on my machine it took a few minutes but that’s because my profile isn’t store locally, you may find it’s done much quicker.
You should all be done now, if you look in your contacts your should see 2000 Z-contacts all with the same phone number.
All you need to do now is fire up iTunes and re-sync them all to your iPhone.
[Windows users - notice how much easier this whole process was on an Apple 
perhaps it's time to switch! Just kidding, lets not turn the comments section into an Apple vs PC bash. I spent most of my time on an XP machine at work and manage my entire office's Windows workstations and just use Apple in my free time]
Next Steps (Apple & Windows Users)
Ok so if all went well above you should now have 2000 contacts at the very end of your iPhone contact list, all of which should have the same phone number. [Remember it doesn't matter if you have the 2000 z-contacts in a sub-folder or not]
That was all I needed to do, the next time it paired with my iDrive (2006 BMW M5) the contacts list appeared after a short wait HOWEVER, some people have said it’s best to keep the iPhone from sleeping whilst waiting for the initial sync to happen and some have said they had to delete the iPhone-BMW pairing and re-pair, so lets be safe and do both.
Delete the pairing - On you iPhone go to Settings->General->Bluetooth and if you see BMW##### [where there #'s are the last 5 digits of your car's chasis number in case you didn't know that] click it and select unpair. Now go to your iDrive (or prof radio if you don’t have iDrive) and select info sources/settings and find the bluetooth page (it differs depending on software version, etc but I’m sure you know where it is) and delete any pairings for any phones you have in there to be safe. Now go through the whole re-pairing procedure again, I will try and post a video on how to do this with iDrive as a few have asked but until then just follow the manual.
NOTE - If you find your iPhone contantly connects and drops the connection via bluetooth then you may have another problem for which I don’t have a solution just yet.
Keep the iPhone awake - Once you have paired the car will try and connect with the iPhone and sync the contacts, if you go to the communications tab of the iDrive (push and hold up on the iDrive controller for 2 seconds) and try and browse A-Z it will probably say “Please wait” with a little clock. Now here’s what some say is important, whilst that is showing you need to open the contacts app on your iphone and just sit there scrolling the contacts up and down randomly to simply keep the phone from entering sleep mode.
Wait a few minutes (up to 5mins lets say)…..DONE?
Did it work for you? Your comments are much appreciated on this matter and many others reading this thread may benefit from knowing what combination of iPhone, software version, model, year, etc you have.
Good luck!
Related posts:
- iPhone 2.0 update breaks BMW iDrive contact/address book syncing!
- iPhone 2.02 doesn’t fix address book sync with BMW iDrive
- iPhone 3G and BMW iDrive compatibility
- iPhone 2.01 update officially released
- Official BMW iPhone snap-in adapter / cradle [PICS]
Scoopz,
Thanks a lote for your suggestions. Last night I went to the car and experimented a lot, and here’s what I can tell:
my 3G iPhone appears to work well with my iDrive if I reduce my contact list to 300. I then increased one at a time, and up to 315 the list appears sometimes and sometimes not. Above 300, it tries for about 5 min and nothing. I reduced again to 300 (I really don’t know how many entries that means as most of my contacts have more than one number) I will test for a couple of days and return to you for some news. However, my guess is that the problem lies within the iDrive. With all my 608 contacts on the iPhone, I still have the caller id on the iDrive, even after clearing the iPhone Contact List. Meaning that the contacts were stored somewhere in the iDrive, right? So how come they are not shown??
October 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
As per other thread - many thanks - works for me (e61, 2007, iDrive and pro nav, iPhone 2G v2.01).
Just wish it worked for everyone with the problem as I know how much of an issue this is - a great phone, a great car - just be nice if they talked to each other properly!!
Thanks again
October 11th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
[...] make life easy for you I have compiled instructions on how to add 2000 fake contacts to Outlook for the Windows users and Address Book for the Apple [...]
October 12th, 2008 at 5:19 am
scoopz your the man, works great, reducing the contacts to 2300 solved the problem, with 2450 didnt work, so now i have 2289 and its synching, THANK you all , by the way bmw 2006 3 series with idrive, iphone 2.0
October 12th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Scoopz
Success //:o))
2006 iDrive, Iphone 2G running 2.1 software
BIG Thanks fella
October 12th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
@JoaoFN - Strange you get it working with <300 contacts, i tried with just 1 contact on a factory fresh iPhone and got nothing. The iDrive definitely seems to cache contacts somewhere though, if I delete an entry and browse A-Z as soon as I connect after deleting the entry it still shows it….for a few seconds then disappears. How it picks what to cache, where it get’s cached and why is a mystery, i presume it’s to allow for quicker access to contacts as soon as you connect until it has time to refresh the entire list.
@james - Thanks for the info…iPhone2.0….I hope it all still works when you update to 2.1, it does for me and most others. I’d not tried this method with 2.0 but it seems to work based on your report. 2.1 did fix a load of other bugs btw and seriously increase the speed of loading the contacts list on the iPhone, dictionary speed, etc.
@yogi - Another happy customer! Great news, spread the word, get some brownie points with you local dealer and tell them about the fix. My local dealer has several customers who had the same problem and will be happy to hear there is a fix.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 12th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Scoopz,
After 2 days working well, my iDrive just went nuts this afternoon, and my contacts were wiped out of the display and the “No entries found” appeared. I unpaired the iPhone, deleted all contacts with my Outlook, copied the contacts again, repaired and nothing. Tried again with 30 contacts and it worked. Tried again with 290 and also worked… This is really getting annoying!!! I will keep the 290 contacts for a few days and let you know the results.
October 12th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Scoopz,
You have a very happy customer here!! I just tried your fix and it worked!! I have been fighting with my iphone 3G and my car since I got the car a month ago and until tonight I have never been able to get the address book to sync with the car. I have a 2006 730d. My car is actually waiting to have the bluetooth unit replaced next week because when I call anyone, they can’t hear me but that’s another story and they are fixing it under warranty.
Once the new bluetooth unit is fitted to my car I may try taking out the extra 2000 contacts and that might tell us whether the problem is also somehow linked to the 2006 bluetooth units?
Thanks again,
Gavin.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
@Gavin Browne - Glad to hear it worked, please do report back once you’ve had the b/t module replaced and deleted the 2000 contacts, I’m curious to know the outcome.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 13th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I certainly will. Just to clarify, my car is a 730d and the phone is a 3G running 2.1 software.
Gavin.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Scoopz - you are a hero!
Worked first time and every time I have used the car since - well done. I did not have to deviate from your instructions at all.
Well done.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:25 am
@KevinG - I can’t take all the credit, I just put out the ideas/theory once mine suddenly started working, it was dedicated blog readers (Rajesh & vants) that did the testing that probably wouldn’t taken me a week or two to find the time to do. I then checked what they were reporting and write a summary of the instructions to help others.
I get a PUSH email notification everytime there is a comment to the fix threads and once I’ve read the comment I have to spread the good news, so generally tell the nearest peson in an excited manner that the fix has worked for yet another person! I think my girlfriends getting a bit annoyed with me now
but I do like hearing from anybody it works for, so please leave a comment, just to annoy my girlf if for no other reason!
Scoopz (Admin)
October 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Worked on my BMW 7 series (2006) with the 2000 contacts.
2006 iDrive, Iphone(2G) running 2.1 software
Thank you Scoopz for the site and everyone else for the help in solving the problem (BMW and Apple Thank You for nothing).
I can put my blackberry back into the desk draw.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Der is ANOTHER FIX - I just got back my BMW form the Dealer who updated my idrive with the latest firmware that was just released.
Paired it with my Iphone 2g - no Problems - all contacts there.
so I am Happy at the moment.
Oh - cost me 25 € …
October 14th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
@Chris - Thanks for the info, I’m shocked that it only cost you €25! That’s about 1/10th the cost I think a UK dealer would charge to update the iDrive firmware unless they only updated a certain module, perhaps they can single out the bluetooth module and update just that much quicker and cheaper?
Do you know what version the dealer put on? My local dealer updated a customer to the latest version in September and it still didn’t fix things, perhaps the German dealers get updates sooner? Although adding 2000 contacts does appear to work, I too would be much happier if I could get an iDrive update (preferably under warranty) that would make it work without the 2000 fake contacts.
Thanks again
Scoopz (Admin)
October 14th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
no they updatet my whole idrive to the latest version. I cant tell you exactly which version the put un but it was released either friday or yesterday on the BMW Dealers server.
hope this helps
October 14th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Scoopz
I rang BMW UK today to check on the update. They said that the update is not yet available but should be soon - he then said that there was a fix that might work, he said there is a web site run by a guy called Scoopz……. even BMW are taking your advice now!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
@Chris - having read KevinG’s comment below I think the UK dealers don’t have access to this yet and I’m assuming you are not in the UK? Hopefully this will arrive at the dealers in the next few days and I’ll see if I can get an update and then wipe the 2000 fake contacts and see if the update has worked. Apple are also beta testing v2.2 at present so that might help others too.
@KevinG - WOW really, I know my dealer called me up today to ask for the link to the site because I mentioned to one of them there is a fix but somebody from BMW-UK! I’ve also seen an increase in visitors from my Google Analytics from BMW (bayerische motoren werke ag) and Apple (apple computer inc.) network locations so I know they’ve been reading
Scoopz (Admin)
October 14th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
nop i live in Germany at the moment. The New Idrive Software has just been released and according to my dealer there won’t be another version for quite some time.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I’ve tried the 2000 fake contact method and it does not work with my 2007 E90 w/o idrive.
Can anyone else confirm if it has worked for them w/o idrive?
October 15th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I had the problems with the phone constantly dropping and reconnecting to my car so I’ve taken Scoopz advice and sent it away for repair.
However i’ve noticed that some people still were able to see the callers name on the idrive even though the contacts weren’t synced. I was also able to do this. Whenever i got a call from someone in my contacts the name was displayed on my idrive.
I never really thought much about it until now but it is very weird.
Anyway fingers crossed my phone will work once i get it back.
October 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
@samps - If I still had access to a car with prof radio rather than iDrive I’d be out testing different things for you but unfortunately that car is now sold so I’m unable to offer much more in the way of suggestions. Mike (comment below yours) has sent his iPhone off for repair, there are a few iPhones knocking around with faulty bluetooth modules in the iPhone, keep an eye out for his response in a few days when he gets it back.
@Mike - I really do hope that the bluetooth module in your iPhone is found to be faulty and causing the dropping/reconnecting of b/t all the time. I’m stumped as to how the name was able to appear for an incoming call but no contacts appear in A-Z, it HAS to be something to do with the iDrive caching the name list locally?! Perhaps the name list cached on your car is from pre 2.0 update, if you added a name recently and they call you does that also show up on the display or just ******? I hope you get it all working, if not then there may be new hope if you read Chris’ comments above. He’s managed to get everything working with the very latest iDrive update just released this week but I don’t think it’s filtered down to dealers outside Genrmany yet.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Just got back from a visit to my local BMW dealer (South lakes area, BMW dealer of the year a coupe of times)
Anyway the guy who i was passed onto told me that he was on a course last week and was told for contacts to synch across to the car the contacts have to be on the sim card and not on the phone. I just walked away shaking my head.
(Non idrive, contacts don’t appear on car radio, but if a contact phones their name appears)
October 15th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
@PeterM - “for contacts to synch across to the car the contacts have to be on the sim card and not on the phone”
…..ouch….nice to see BMW are teaching their techies complete b.s. on these course which I’m sure they pay a fortune to host. If contacts stored on the phone now the SIM of a Nokia 6230i will sync with a prof radio (non-idrive) then why would they need to be on the iPhone SIM and not the iPhone itself and what’s their reasoning for the incoming calls showing the name but A-Z lists being empty.
Once thing I haven’t checked with the prof radio (non-iDrive) is whether or not you have any “illegal” characters in your contact names or in the iPhone device name itself? Normally iTunes tries to call the iPhone device “PeterM’s iPhone” or similar with an apostrophe, try renaming the phone in iTunes to simply iPhone and then also have a glance through your contact list and see if there are any names with accents, punctuation marks, etc (E.g - O’Brien, Café, etc) and try removing them? The iDrive seems ok with these, it can’t display Santíago but instead shows Sant?ago but perhaps the non-iDrive struggles with accents and apostrophes in the device name too?
Scoopz (Admin)
October 15th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It works! I just tried the procedure and I am finally able to see my contacts. I have iPhone 1G 2.1 software (jailbroken and unlocked to T-Mobile USA), 2007 BMW 328i Coupe with v25 program and Feb 2007 build.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Forgot to mention that I have the Nav with iDrive. Thanks again for the fix. You guys are awesome
October 15th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
@scoopz
Thanks for the suggestions. My phone actually syncs to the car quite well. Just the phonebook doesn’t sync.
I’m just going to have to wait for Apple and BMW to resolve this with some sort of a software update.
My old 2G iPhone running 1.1.4 ran like a charm. Too bad about the new software. =’(
October 15th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Works for me too - thanks *so* much for persevering where two of the World’s most innovative multinationals have failed….
‘05 535d, 16GB 3G iPhone.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I tried the this when it was first posted and it didn’t work, but last week i did a full reset and restore of my iphone, so thought i should maybe try again.
And, NO, it still doesn’t work. very disappointing.
So, a 2005 330DM, with Bus Prof - does not work.
BMW - If you are reading this blog, please give us some feedback when this will be hopefully working.
October 16th, 2008 at 9:35 am
[...] a new blog entry Scoopz has documented what needs to be done: http://blog.scoopz.com/2008/10/11/fix-for-iphone-and-bmw-idrive-address-book-not-synchronising. It seems to work for many people but not all, it hasn’t worked for [...]
October 16th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@bumble - Thanks for the link from your blog. Sorry it hasn’t worked for you
it does seem to only work for those with iDrive as opposed to Business Professional radio’s with bluetooth. I think now the only glimmer of hope left for the non-iDrivers is a software update from BMW, hopefully it’ll be an update for the bluetooth module rather than an iDrive update. Failing that iPhone 2.2 should be out in the next month but I won’t hold my breath for it fixing these issues.
Does you iPhone seem to connect/disconnect/connect…etc as others with the prof radio have reported?
Scoopz (Admin)
October 16th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Re the previous post I made
The reason I was in my local BMW dealer was to enquire about having a iphone interface thingy added to my non idrive prof radio car. This would allow me to change tracks using the multi function steering wheel etc.
He said that whilst the installation would only take about an hour, they would have to remap the software which might take the rest of the day.
Does anyone think having the software remapped would allow me to see my contacts?
October 16th, 2008 at 11:12 am
@PeterM - I think it’s a bit of a long shot but it might. I suspect the update is purely to the music side of the bus prof radio to tell it to recognise the iPhone/iPod as a CD changer and update the commands it needs to send to the device when you press the steering wheel controls for fwd/bck. I would be surprised if it affected any portion of the telecomms/bluetooth software but it might be one of those updates that requires a complete re-flash of the entire unit rather than individual units so who knows.
Why not get them to update the software for the music interface and then suddenly turn round to them and say since the update the contacts no longer appear on the prof radio screen…
Cheeky but it might get you a free software update some time in the future if BMW release a fix. [Note - if the dealer already knows your contacts don't appear then then obviosuly don't try this trick]
Scoopz (Admin)
October 16th, 2008 at 11:35 am
@bumble
I was lent a 2008 320 coupe with Prof Radio last week and after adding the 2000 fake contacts my 3G iPhone synched the address book fine. I could navigate A-Z via the push buttons on the radio and save and make voice dialed calls
October 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Brillant, followed instructions and worked first time this morning. 330d “56 plate”
October 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I have a 53 plate 530d with iDrive. Will the fix work on this. I have not bought the phone yet, but I’m in my upgrade zone. I also read of similar problems with nokia
October 18th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Works perfectly thankyou!
UK Aug 06 535D with professional navigation.
Cheers.
October 18th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
having just got the iphone 3G. The idrive and the iphone bluetooth connection is intermitent. 15seconds on 5 seconds off 15 secs on etc………… Approx. Any ideas?
This is before I get to the problem of sync of contacts
October 18th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
@KevinM - I honestly don’t know if this would work with a 53-plate (2003/2004 model for those outside the UK), most of the responses have been with 2005 or newer. I’d see if you can get a friend with an iPhone to try it with your car before you commit to buying an iPhone.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 18th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
@Chris
Can you ask your dealer for the software version number?
It may take longer for it to reach the states/UK/etc so having the version number would ensure we don’t have to buy the upgrade twice.
October 18th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I’ll try calling him. I will let you know once i have the info
October 18th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
@Chris - Thanks! It would be very useful if you could find out the details of the software update disk from your dealer.
I spoke with my UK dealer yesterday and asked about a recently released version but he said they’ve not heard of one. I mentioned the source of the info was in Germany and he said they don’t always get all the updates in the UK that are released in Germany but if he knew the disk reference number, CIP version, or SIB technical reference he’d look into it.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 18th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Well, Apple have lost at least one customer.
I’ve been holding off buying an iPhone 3G because of these problems, and I have persevered with my old Motorola. However, the Motorola has developed some annoying problems and I really want to replace it.
So today I will go and get an upgrade - and not to an iPhone. Why have Apple been dragging their heels so much?
(Oh, I know Scoopz has come up with a workaround, but I don’t have iDrive and I really don’t want to get one and then find it doesn’t work).
October 19th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
@DocRob - It’s a shame that Apple & BMW have kept quiet on this whole situation, I think more out of embarrassment than arrogance. Had one of them come forward and acknowledged the problem, stating that a fix was being worked on with an approximate date for a fix I’m sure many people in your situation would postpone upgrading to a non-iPhone a little longer until there was a fix.
As it happens neither manufacturers have come forward with any remotely useful information and considering safe handsfree driving is a big issue at present (in many countries) I for one am very disappointed at their silence.
In your situation I’d have probably gone for an iPhone but stumped up the extra cash for a 3rd party bluetooth car kit with external display, in fact I had to get a Nokia car kit installed in my sister’s 1-series because her Nokia wouldn’t work with the BMW prof radio bluetooth that we paid BMW £500 for, but it all depends on how badly you want an iPhone i guess.
With the Google android phone now launched Apple’s domination of the multi-function mobile phone market isn’t as strong as it used to be and whilst losing customers over bluetooth incompatibilities isn’t going to damage the sales figures that much it’s still leaving a sour taste in a few people’s mouths.
Good luck with whatever phone you opt to upgrade to, just make sure it’s on BMW’s bluetooth compatibility list first, for all we know the latest offerings from Sony, Nokia, LG, etc might not work either
Scoopz (Admin)
October 19th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Apologies for the watermarks I’ve had to put on my images, it seems another blog had simply cut’n'pasted my entire post and claimed it as their own with no recognition or link back to this original post!
Since they’d hot-linked my images too I had to watermark them to get a least a mention on their site.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 19th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Hi Scoopz,
Tried your fix but it doesn’t work for me. My BT looses connection every 20sec or so. This might be the reason it doesn’t work for me. I too have the names showing when people call me and the delay in connection when u answer the phone.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am
@Eoin -
do you have iDrive or BMW Professional Radio? It seems everybody without iDrive has connectivity issues, connecting and dropping the connection every 20-30 seconds like you describe.
I’ve not come across anybody yet who has iDrive that this didn’t work for; but similarly i don’t think anybody with Prof Radio has it working.
Sorry it didn’t work for you
Scoopz (Admin)
October 20th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Hi Scoopz
Keep up the good work on this - clearly BMW and Apple aren’t (or at least aren’t prepared to tell we paying customers what they are actually doing).
My 2004 E60 has iDrive and Pro Nav and my 3G iPhone repeatedly connects, dops, connects in roughly 10, 5, 10 second intervals. It may be that the car’s BTUM is too old to ever work with iPhone. In which case I’ll have to consider going back to my trusty “old” WM6 phone.
I may well try your 2000+ phone book trick just to see if that makes any difference.
October 20th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
@ChrisB - If your iPhone isn’t able to hold a stable connection via bluetooth I’d be surprised if the 2000 contact fix helped anything
Most of the comments from people having bluetooth dropping/connecting issues are non-iDrive and they had no luck with the fix above.
It could be that your B/T module is too old to support the iPhone but it could also be that the iPhone’s B/T module is faulty. See if you can try a friend’s iPhone and see if that connects/drops repeatedly. Also make sure you try with wi-fi turned off and make sure there are no other phones in the paired list and no other bluetooth devices within range.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 20th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Thank you BMW and Apple for nothing.
Thank you Scoopz for solving the problem. Worked like a charm first time. I nearly ordered a Blackberry Storm today as I was so frustrated with my iPhone not syncing with my 2005 525d Sport.
I pick up my 635d at the weekend and will confirm back if I have a problem. If you don’t hear from me then it’s OK!
Now if only I could get the info up on my heads up display!
Thanks Scoopz.
BMW 525d 2005, iDrive, Sat Nav Professional
October 20th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
BMW UPDATE :
The current Software / Firmware Versions of my BMW after the update are :
idrive : E89X-08-09-520
Ipod : 9196669
Bluetooth : 9165008
with these the issue was resolved. At least for me.
best of luck to you guys.
oh btw : I paid 29 € for the Software update. Normally he would have charged me ~ 66 €. After I talked to my BMW Dealer they went down with the price, since i only did it because of the iphone. Hope this helps.
October 21st, 2008 at 2:04 pm
@Chris - You’re a legend! Thanks for getting that info it could prove to be very useful to myself and others. My car is in with the dealer tomorrow so I shall pass on those details and see what happens.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
good luck
October 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Hi Scoopz,
Yes I have an idrive and it didn’t work. Cant see how it will when it seems to loose connection every 20sec. The connection symbol on the sceen just vanishes for a second in every 20. Thanks for your efforts in anycase.
October 21st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Scoopz, thank you for this workaround. Downloaded your file, installed on outlook following your detailed instructions Worked flawlessly 1st time. Was about to go back to 1.1.4 - now all my contacts appear so I can use my iPhone legally and more safely while driving my 525xi in Canada.
Keep up the great work.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:04 pm
P. S. For reference re privious post.
2006 525xi original iDrive software. Best of luck to all in resolving this pesky issue sans BMW-Apple assistance
October 21st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Brilliant..worked first time. Followed instructions to the letter and hey presto..sorted. BMW E60 530 d se 2006 i drive pro nav and i phone 3g running software v.2.1. All contacts now synchronised for the first time….huge thanks chap..really nice work.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Awesome work. Last night I downloaded the vcf and imported it to my iPhone contacts. This morning while I was driving to work I suddenly realised and then checked the Communication Menu. All the Address Book contacts were synced to my 2004 BMW 530i Address book.
I didnt have to unpair/repair or do anything.
Excellent job guys.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
@Janimax @Mike @Manjunath - Great news, more happy customers, thanks for the comments guys!
I’m kicking myself now, I should have rolled this into an iPhone App that adds 2000 fake contacts to the iPhone and called it “BMW iDrive fix”
I know I’d have paid £5+ to get it back up and running with my iDrive, I’d be rolling in £££ by now 
Doubt it would have made it through Apple’s application scrutineering though.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Received an email today from someone at BMW group uk who says that “a new software update for bluetooth will be available within the next few weeks. The update will be chargeable as a labour rate only and will not be offered free of charge”.
It its a case of plugging car into a computer and just pressing a few buttons it shouldn’t cost to much.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Tried this contacts trick for a 56 Z4 - worked a treat many thanks
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
@Scoopz: Nice work Neil!
Thanks for keeping me up-to-date & for providing a means for Apple to identify a ‘fix’ for the problem.
As you say, the more people that use the iPhone 3G Feedback form to let Apple know about this ‘fix’, the sooner they’ll hopefully update their software in a forthcoming firmware update.
BTW- the ‘fix’ works fine for me- THANK-YOU
Car: BMW E90 330i SE with SatNavPro
Build date: Sept 05
Current Progman: v27.x.x
There is a small issue of some names not appearing for me at all (all with the same surname, all have email contact info & different, multiple phone numbers), but I’ll have a ‘play’ with those contacts to see what is causing the problem.
As for the idea of the iPhone App- if the app icon ‘looks’ good enough, it’ll get through the scutineering & into the iTunes Store, although it could take months for any of your updates (additional ‘z-packs’) to make their way to the customers.
Viv
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Hi,
I just tried your trick with blue&Me (Fiat and alfa buetooth system) as you proposed, but it is unfortunately not working… I can still Not sync the contacts.
Calvin
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 am
@Calvin - Thanks for trying it and for the feedback. It was a long-shot I guess, but since the Fiat/Alfa drivers seem to be experiencing a similar problem to the BMW drivers with no contacts showing up I had my fingers crossed this would work. I hope you get it resolved via a software update from Apple/Alfa/Fiat soon!
Scoopz (Admin)
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Hi. I have an e46 (2005) without idrive (I have the professional CD system). I just downloaded the contacts file and updated my iphone contacts.
I will try tomorrow and hope for the best. so far my iphone 3G was pairing with my bluetooth but after that the screen in my MK4 was stuck on ‘please wait’. I hope your fix works. I have no idea what version my bluetooth is though….
October 24th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Hey Scoopz, I finally got my Exchange Sync working again after my company upgraded to Exchange 2007 and I got an opportunity to try your work-around and it works just great. I was concerned at first… I was ready to give up on the iDrive’s “Please wait” screen but just as I was about to navigate away, my contacts appeared! It took about 60-90 seconds I’m guessing (which seems like an eternity). I really appreciate your contribution to the iPhone/BMW community on this! Awesome!
October 24th, 2008 at 6:24 am
OK. It worked.
I AM ETERNALLY IN YOUR DEBT!
THANKS!
October 24th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
@Psyxologos - Great news! I think you’re one of a few with non-iDrive to report back with any success.
@VirtualRain - Yet again another happy customer! Let’s hope Apple don’t f**k things up with the release of 2.2 that’s coming soon.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 24th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
You know what Scoopz? I have no idea if I have idrive. All I know is that I have an e46 2005 330 Ci SE coupe with Navigation unit MK4 and the CD behind the navigation screen. There is also the Navigation DVD in my boot. I *think* I have the professional set-up. What is the easiest way to know?
October 24th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
@Psyxologos - iDrive has the rotary iDrive controller down by the hand brake and a screen similar to
I think you have the same thing I had in my E39 with full screen sat-nav display that drops down to allow cd?
Scoopz (Admin)
October 24th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Yep. You are right. I have NO iDrive.
I have the one on the second pic.
I have to say here that, apart from following the instructions here, I also changed the order my contacts appear on my iphone 3G as well as the sorting (I do not really understand how these two differ but there are two option buttons so I changed them both ). I now have them sorted with first name—>surname rather than surname—>first name. Some people say this also helps.
October 24th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
wow what can i say, worked first time, e87 mcoupe here & iphone 3g 16gb 2.1 all working fine again!! BMW can stick there £400 new BT module up there AR$E
very happy thanks for figuring this out!!
October 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
was just about to get rid of phone and found your blog. amazing i can now see All my numbers on my IDrive. Better than before.
BMW 325i coupe (56 plate new model).
VERY HAPPY PERSON NOW. THANK YOU.
October 25th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hi Scoopz,
many thanks from Germany. I just came out of my garage and my 2G with 2.1
works again with my 535d 2005 Nav.Prof.
2 weeks ago i got the latest software, but adress book was still not syncing.
I brought me a Nokia 6500 to replace the IPhone. It is syncing!
Finally my BMW dealer wants to change the bluetooth unit.
But I did it today with your help! Great!
We also have a X3 from 2008…no problem at all.
So what´s with the 2000 fake contacts? Did they have to stay in the adress book or can I delete them? Should my Dealer still change the bluetooth unit?
Thanks so far.
October 26th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Hi Scoopz,
I am in the UK with an 05 530d with idrive, prof nav, media kit etc.
I have tried all the tricks you suggest - 2000 contacts, unpairing and re-pairing and nothing works.
On re-pairing the phone and car connect for a couple of minutes and then start the 20 second drop-out, where the bluetooth connection seems to drop on a regular basis.
Funny thing is that when a call comes in I still get to see that contact’s information on screen and can use the handsfree kit as normal, with no drop-out. However, my A-Z list remains empty …
As an aside, in June I had the software for the stereo updated (to allow me ot play MP3 CD’s) and the software for the nav system (to allow me to use the latest nav disks). Not sure if this would have updated the bluetooth software as well.
Anyway - thanks for all your work - I’ll keep coming back to see the latest.
bellbrie.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:14 am
@andyW - That’s another £400 you can now spend over the festive period on presents for others or food/drink for yourself!
@LloydR - Just about to get rid of your iPhone? Shame on you…just kidding…I’m glad you found my blog and got it working before it was too late.
@Local - Yes the 2000 fake contacts need to stay in the address book…for now, once iPhone 2.2 is released I’ll test it as soon as I can without the 2000 fake contacts and report back. Until such time, if it’s working with the 2000 fake contacts added, leave them there. They shouldn’t cause too much trouble being at the very end of the list and the iDrive should only import ONE of the fake contacts since they all have the same phone number. If the dealer wants to change your bluetooth unit FREE OF CHARGE and under warranty then definitely let them do that. If you’d have to pay to change the unit save the money and leave the fake contacts
@bellbrie - Sorry to hear you are still having difficulties with the connection dropping all the time. Is your iPhone running 2.1 or an older version? There were issues with pre 2.1 connections being a little flakey unless you turned off wi-fi but that seemed to be resolved for me at least with 2.1. I doubt BMW would have updated the b/t module firmware when they updated the stereo to play MP3 cd’s etc. From other comments on here there is still a suggestion that BMW are releasing a fix for the b/tooth module that will be released to all dealers and can be done for a nominal charge (1/2hr labour). This is yet to be confirmed though so don’t take it as bible.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 27th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Hello SCOOPZ,
You’ve made another happy camper with this fix! I have been looking for such a fix since I got the phone in August. Looked every where and today whilst reviewing all of my E60 forums I came accross a post with your link!
Followed your instruction (OUTLOOK) but diviated slightly and did not use iTunes to load the contacts I simply waited for them to transfer on my iPhone via MS Exchange. Re-paired and 96secs later, voila, everything magically appreared!
Thank you so much for orchestrating this fix and taking time to make it public!
APPLE/BMW owe you.
SCOOPZ, SCOOPZ, SCOOPZ
BMW 545i 2004 (Canadian Car)
iPhone 3G 2.1
October 28th, 2008 at 1:04 am
working but not every time, somtimes contacts wont show up an ill need to un pair - re pair its not stable i dont know whay…
P.s newly added contacts won’t show up on idrive, iteresting….
October 28th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Well I’ve just got my iphone back from being repaired. They actually sent out a brand new phone. However I’m still having the same problem of the connection constantly dropping and re-connecting.
Totally gutted. I’m now starting to wonder if it’s the car.
2006 520d MSport.
October 28th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
@KBO - Thanks for the detailed and positive feedback, I’m surprised it worked with a 2004 car!
@james - very strange that you need to constantly unpair and repair. Have you tried unpairing from both and then changing the *name* of the iPhone via iTunes and then repairing to see if that makes a difference? Keep an eye on the comments for this thread (Comments RSS Feed) and hopefully 2.2 might fix things, or BMW may bring out this rumored update.
@Mike - Thanks for reporting back, I feel your pain! If you’ve got a brand new unit and it’s still dropping the b/t connection constantly then it does appear to be a problem on the car side of things. Since KBO (2 comments above yours) has had success with a 2004 5-series I’d perhaps suggest to the dealer that your bluetooth module itself is faulty? Ask them to locate an identical car to yours (model/year/options) and then try your iPhone with that one, if it pairs up OK then ask them to consider replacing your b/t module under warranty. Failing that, you’ll have to wait and see if BMW bring out a software update, or again see if 2.2 fixes things for you in a few weeks.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I had the TCU upgraded this year when it became mandatory to use handsfree devices. That should explain why it worked with an 04.
October 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
@KBO - That explains it, thanks!
But considering you had the TCU upgraded earlier this year and it still wouldn’t work without the 2000 fake contact fix, I’d be looking to claw some money back off the dealer that upgraded the TCU? Although I suppose if it allowed the iPhone to operate in basic accept incoming call mode without caller ID then at least you remained legal.
@Mike - At least you know as a last resort that upgrading the TCU (Telephone Control Unit) in combination with the 2000 contact fix should get things working like it did for KBO.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Great work guys - it works…
Late 05 535dSport with Full Sat-Nav
New iPhone 3G with 2.1 installed
Had paired the phone with the car before but no luck with sync. Downloaded the 2000 users from your link - 2000 users 1 number.
Dragged from download folder to Apple Address Book
Created Group, added users to Group
Just turned on Bluetooth on Phone
In the car I just started the car, after less than a minute the phone and car paired.
Selected A-Z listing
Waiting probably 3-5 mins
All entries displayed
And better than the old Nokia 6230i I had before which would only give me the first number in the contact.
Great work guys. A VERY pleased iPhone/BMW owner.
_tim..
October 28th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Hello, first of all, sorry for my english….
My car is a Alfa Romeo 159 with the Blue and me connection.
I just bought an Iphone 3 G and it’s also impossible to transfer the contacts of my phone in the car.
But I owned an Garmin Zumo 550 GPS and when I made the bluetooth connection,
all the contacts were automatically transfered in the Zumo….
So I think the problem is with the Blue and Me and not with the Iphone….
Can you confirm this opinion
Thanks
October 28th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Scoopz, I have the same experience with James. Newly added contacts won’t show up when I pair again. also, numbers that I have deleted from my phone continue to show up on my car screen…
Any idea how to remedy this (apart from unpairing, deleting all pairings and trying again? I am too scared to try…
)
October 29th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
@TimUK -
glad it worked and thanks for the feedback. 3-5mins to sync though, that’s longer than I’d have expected, bet you had your doubts whilst you were waiting!
@Le Phil - No need to apologise for your English, it’s better than some British people I know and if you take into account lots of my typo’s it may even be better than mine
I’ve only heard back from one Blue&Me user who reported that he cannot get contacts to transfer and he tried adding the 2000 fake contacts described above and that didn’t work either 
There is no harm in giving it a try with your iPhone 3G, if it doesn’t work simply remove the 2000 contacts and resync your iPhone to remove them all in one easy step. If it does work please let me know. Good Luck!
@Psyxologos - I’d hang fire on unpairing and deleting all pairings just yet, you’ll kick yourself if it breaks it all completely! I’m pretty sure that new numbers were showing up in my listing, I’ve just added a new number “Test New - 01244 112233″ and will see if this transfers to the iDrive on my drive home from work tonight. I must admit though, that from experience when running 1.1.4 (the good old days when everything ‘just worked’) that newly added numbers could take some time to sync, the car seemingly using a cached snapshot of all the contacts to speed up initial connection and then looking for new/modified/deleted contacts after a short time out. I’ve also just scrolled through and deleted an entry “Nokia Service Centre
” and will see if that disappears too.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 29th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Great! Please keep us posted!
October 30th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Update on yesterday’s tests, now I’m confused
.
I first went looking for the entry I deleted “Nokia Service Centre” and it wasn’t there, great, but then I noticed a few other N’s were missing from the list
, people or companies I don’t like or phone too often so never really noticed before. I thought it might be because the entries on my iPhone either have no phone number (just email) or are a duplicate for another entry, but they weren’t.
I checked if the newly added entry was in there but it wasn’t
however I also modified an entry and that modified entry updated, wtf?
Basically I haven’t got a clue what’s going on, all I know is that 90%+ of the numbers appear to be on the iDrive, and all the numbers I need on a daily basis are on the iDrive so I’m not too bothered.
I think that perhaps I’ve reached the iDrive’s max capacity, which has been discussed in the comments before. What I really need to do is sit in the car with a cuppa tea and scroll through the idrive counting one by one how many entries are sync’d, then try reducing the 2000 fake contacts in small chunks of 10 to see if that makes a difference. I’ll be honest with you all though, I don’t think I’ll do that just yet, eveything is working smoothly and reliably for me bar a few missing numbers so I’m not going to rock the boat just yet.
Scoopz (Admin)
October 30th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Hi Scoopz,
My BMW dealer wants to charge me €200 for a S/W upgrade they say will fix the problem. They say they have to check that all sensors etc are working following the upgrade and thats why the cost is so high. Its really not worth that so I hope Apple can help fix this problem with the next release. It seems a few people have the same problem as me still. Your fix doesn’t work and BT connection dropping every 20 - 30 secs. Anyway - thought I’d let you know what BMW Ireland are saying.
October 30th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Scoopz,
I put a new number in that didn’t show up on iDrive straight away. It didn’t appear for around 30mins I was in the car. I didn’t worry about it but when I checked again a few days ago (after the car & phone had synced a few more times), I noticed that the number had appeared. I didn’t pair or unpair or anything (infact I haven’t changed the pairing for ages, even when I put the 2000 fix in - it just started working automatically) - so perhaps the phone and the car decide when to update the contacts on some unknown schedule/basis!
October 30th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Thanks for the post. I’m so glad there are other people that were just as frustrated with this problem as I am. Did the fix just now and it works perfectly! Thanks everyone for your help!
October 31st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
oh I have a 2007 E92 with idrive
October 31st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Off topic, sorry - but someone may know the answer!
Does anyone know the settings to get an unlocked Iphone working on Orange UK to access the 3g network. (I can get on Edge but not 3g)
Many thanks
November 1st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Just worked with current iPhone 16Gb, current software 2.1 and E60 M5 07/05.
Thanks - will update as necessary.
November 1st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
@Eoin - Thanks for the update on what the BMW dealers (Ireland) are saying to those with connection dropping issues. If you do end up paying €200 for the dealer to update it make sure you get in writing that they guarantee this will make the iPhone 3G compatible including contact syncing, that way if you have any issues you can easily get your money back. The problem is, what if Apple bring out another update in a few weeks that breaks it all again
?
@J - I’ve not done any long journeys to give the car a change to sync any changes but you are right, the iDrive might only be set to look for differences every 24/48 hours?
@tennis @tonach - Thanks for the feedback, glad there’s two more happy BMW owner out on the roads, and more importantly safer drivers now you can access all your numbers on your iDrive (voice dial if fitted).
@KevinG - I’ve not had any experience using the iPhone on networks other than O2 but I just did a quick search and it seems there might not be ’separate’ settings for 3G, if you have Edge working then 3G should just take over when coverage is good enough?
Scoopz (Admin)
November 1st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I am about to buy a new 3 series with professional sat nav. Been looking at all these posts as obviously important to me that my iPhone works perfectly when i’m spending a fortune on professional sat nav and the usb interface…a few questions from what i’ve read:
It seems to be that there is no problem at all between iPhone 3Gs and new BMW’s. Am I right with this?
If so can I connect my iPhone to the car via bluetooth and see all of my contacts and call them via the voice control (without doing this fix of 2000 fake contacts)?
Further, can I also have my iPhone connected to the USB/Aux and play music through the stereo, with the names of the tracks coming up on my sat nav screen?
Even further, can I have bluetooth and aux/usb connected at the same time so that i’m playing music and it goes off when a call comes through???
Sorry for all these questions, but it seems that it isn’t just me that wants my iPhone to work perfectly with my new car!! I would seriously not get the car if the above was not going to work!!
November 1st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
@hmmmupgrades:
Correct
Yes, new cars don’t seem to have any issues with contacts and no need for the 2000 fake contacts.
Yes
Yes
However - Before signing off on the new car, ask the dealer to show you their 3 series demonstrator (which should have prof nav and usb interface) and get him to give you the keys so you can sit in it for half an hour and check out all the queries you have above. Better to be 100% sure before handing over lots of cash!
Scoopz (Admin)
November 1st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Thanks for that, very helpful!
November 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Thanks Scoopz - I must be never be in a 3g area as the speed is very slow!
November 1st, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Hi,
Has anyone managed to get their contacts listed using a 2005 E90 BMW with Prof Sat Nav/i drive?
The software in my car was upated in March 2008, I think it is V31 and it came out the day before the upgrade, so got the latest at that time.
I can pair sucessfully, but cannot see the contacts even with using the 2000 contacts fix, maybe I need to be doing something else…
I have around 155 contacts on outlook which get sync’d but most have more than 1 number to a name, plus addresses and emails….would this cause problems?
Any help is appreciated
Thanks
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:15 am
sorry, I am using the iphone 36 16gb 2.1 software
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:16 am
arrrghhh… meant to say 3g iphone not 36… too early in the morning…
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:23 am
@JackP - Several people have managed to get this to work with a 2005 E90, a commenter called Viv has a sept 2005 E90:
I have multiple numbers, addresses, url’s, etc under many of my names and it doesn’t affect it, the iDrive simply appends (Home) (Mobile) (Office) etc onto the end of each entry.
My suggestions:
If that doesn’t work try somebody else’s iPhone with your car and your iPhone with somebody else’s car and see what the results are.
Good luck
Scoopz (Admin)
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
@hmmmupgrades
If you haven’t bought either yet, bear in mind most BMW snap in cradles out there are for iPhone 2G and don’t fit the 3G model. These charge the phone and connect it to the car antenna. There is rumoured to be a 3G one coming (it maybe available already), but I don’t think it will allow you to use the USB music thing at the same time.
As my car is not USB enabled anyway, I went and got a Kensington LiquidAux (joins the aux in and charges the iPhone, and also comes with an RF remote for play/shuffle/next track etc.) and also a “straight-through” Brodit iPhone holder. I then fitted this to the “Blank” bluetooth snap-in adapter, so I can easily slide the iPhone into and out of the car without messing about with cables. You may find that a Brodit adapter fitted in the armrest, coupled with the 6FL cable for USB (if this charges the iPhone - does it?), maybe your best solution.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
@ Scoopz (Admin)
Hi Scoopz,
Thanks for your advice!
I actually got my iphone 3g replaced today as I’m sure something was not right…
Anyway, the 1st iPhone 3g I had came with 2.02 s/w and I upgraded the s/w to 2.1. Other than pairing it with my October 2005 E90 BMW with March 2008 s/w on the idrive (think v.31) I could not see my contacts even with the 2000 fake patch.
My replacement iPhone came with 2.02 s/w but this time I did not upgrade it. I followed your instructions and sync’d my contact plus the 2000 fake ones and guess what? My car lists all my contacts - using the 2.02 iPhone s/w! But it took a couple of times cycling the ignition to disconnect and reconnect the phone by bluetooth before the list appeared.
I am a little reluctant to upgrade to 2.1 as the saying goes “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”
I will try to see if I can see my contacts without the 2000 fake patch and update this site in the next day or so. Also i will put back the ‘ and - in my contact names and see if this causes any issues.
Hopefully the list will be displayed from now on and this isn’t just a blip!
Other than that - THANKS VERY MUCH!!!!!
Will update back soon….
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Hi All
I’m just about to take delivery of a brand new X5 3.0d. I’ve had the Media Pack installed which I believe also includes IDrive. I was just wondering if anybody as yet has been successful in getting the IPhone 3G fully working with the X5. I would really appreciate if somebody would come back to me as i’m planning to buy an IPhone in the next couple of days if it works fully with the X5.
Thanks a million, great forum!!!
Vijaaz
(An excited soon to be owner of a BMW for the FIRST time)
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 pm
@J - Great post, lots of useful info there for @hmmmupgrades
@JackP - If it’s working now using the 2000 fake contacts and 2.02 then like you say “if it aint broke, don’t fix it”, just leave things alone at least until 2.2 is out and I’ve done some test
I’m curious to know if the apostrophe in the phone name or removing special characters affected anything?
Scoopz (Admin)
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
@Vijaaz - On an earlier blog post about this (see here) there were 400+ comments, I’ve just done a quick search for “X5″ on that page and it threw up quite a lot of positive responses from people with 2007 & 2008 X5’s that have no p