Z120BT Bluetooth headaches

[hdtvjeff]

Hi All,

 

Previously I had wrote that most people who I speak with via the 120's Bluetooth claim I sound muffled, garbled, distorted and basically can make out only every other word.

 

The car went back to the installer Friday and he proceeded to change the location of the mic from the far corner where the windshield meets the driver's window to right above the rear view mirror.

 

Same problem even now.

 

Some have said get a Garmin mic or even a Parrot mic...will that really make a difference, my dealer said it will void the warranty.

Should I just ask for a different 120BT to be put in?

 

I'm almost at the point where I'd go for a "Rosen" unit..that works beautifully on my 08 camry, while my 10 altima with the pioneer is atrocious.

 

By the way, I have also ruled out my phone as being the culprit.

 

Advice? How are your experiences with the 120BT (namely with the people hearing you on the other end)

 

Thanks,

 

jeff

[vfjdesign]

Sorry to hear that. What kind of phone are you using? I have the 110bt not upgraded yet, using iphone 4 and it is quite clear on other end as long as my air conditioning isn't blowing hard, or I am in a bad reception area (lots of those with at&t). Anyway the reason I asked about phone was that, I found some different issues and I had to re name my phone and re-pair to get it to work properly as there is no way to erase your phone from the paired devices in the head unit without doing a full system reset. You may want to try that. If you have an iphone it is a little bit of a pain to pair but it does work. Make your installer do it is difficult.

[Law-Dog]

I have had my Z120BT about 30 days in my F-250 Diesel. I pair it with a Nokia E71x smart phone and the mic is at the top of the A pillar (same place you had yours). My system is flawless as to the other party being able to hear/understand me on the phone. My side of the connection is just as good, and if anything, is to loud at times. My carrier is AT&T and I have been planning on adding the I phone 4 just waiting until they have the bugs out. My truck is not quite, and I really felt that the noise from the engine might be an issue, but this unit has been better than I hoped for. The only issue I have had is it has dropped the connection to the phone a couple of time, but that is so limited it nothing big.

 

I will at sometime have problems with the VR pulling a contact up, but I just guessed it was my southern dilect.

[hdtvjeff]

My phone is the Sprint HTC Touch pro 2.

[RonS]

You might have said in a previous thread, do you have Echo Cancel enabled? I found it made a big difference.

 

I also wrapped tape (black electrical tape) around the sides of the mic to cut down ambiant noise. Finally, I moved it up past the pillar, above the window a few inches closer to my head - tucked the wire into the trim with the headliner.

 

I don't have any problems anymore.

 

If you have an iPod, are you also having problems with VR? I was originally, which sort of ruled out that it was a just a phone/BT issue.

 

BTW. I currently have an HTC HD2. Previous phone was worse (Pharos 117). But it wasn't that great in my old car either. I am satisfied now. Of course I don't spent that much time talking when driving - got enough to keep me busy staying out of people's way in my Porsche 987.

[rrolff]

It would be interesting to hear from those who actually had a good BT setup (we have a Lexus - which is perfect), and gone the distance to fix this thing.

 

It would seem from the threads that in the end, this product has a clear issue with the mic. I have two friends who have played with it - and yes - you can get it to sound OK (meaning not close to good) - in the end, it will never be good.

 

I updated my BT to the latest, and there was no change.

 

I haven't moved the mic to the "drivers left" - or "center" - but from the posts, I still see no one with big "gains"...

 

Kinda sad for a $1K HU...

 

EDIT: Also just a guess - this is why the VR works so poorly - garbage in = garbage out...

[hdtvjeff]

What is VR?

 

I'm going to ask my dealer tomorrow if I can downgrade to a Rosen entertainment system (like the one where BT works flawlessly in my 2008 camry)

Close to $1,800 for this installed and I sound like I'm gargling under water..amazing.

[vfjdesign]

What is VR?

 

I'm going to ask my dealer tomorrow if I can downgrade to a Rosen entertainment system (like the one where BT works flawlessly in my 2008 camry)

Close to $1,800 for this installed and I sound like I'm gargling under water..amazing.

 

VR is voice recognition. You can use it to make calls, find the nearest starbucks, play artist.., etc.

 

Your phone should not be the problem. HTC makes a great product, I doubt anything attributed to that. I have seen on a thread where someone put a Parrot mic in and it helped, I don't think there is anyway that would void a warranty seeing as how the HU uses a parrot bluetooth module. I think pioneer just picked the cheapest mic they could and won't replace them.

 

Try the renaming and re-pairing thing. It worked for me.

 

Good luck!

[hdtvjeff]

What do you mean by renaming? Changing the identifier the AVIC sees my phone as?

 

For example last night I called a friend, she heard me perfectly, I was amazed, I called her back from my same location and she could hardly hear me, so would a parot mic make a difference?

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

[vfjdesign]

What do you mean by renaming? Changing the identifier the AVIC sees my phone as?

 

For example last night I called a friend, she heard me perfectly, I was amazed, I called her back from my same location and she could hardly hear me, so would a parot mic make a difference?

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

 

Jeff,

Yes changing the way the avic recognizes the phone is what I mean. I don't know how to do it on your phone, the other way is to reset your system, it is the only way (except upgrading the blue-tooth firmware) to remove your phone from the list and then re-pair it fresh. It may not work for you, it did with the i phone probably because of a firmware update on the phone, when the unit saw it, it just thought it was the same and "skipped" the update processes. If you reset system you will lose all your personal settings & preferences-no big deal just thought I would mention it.

RESET INSTRUCTIONS

tell phone to forget the BT connection and power down (leave off). When the pioneer is powering up hold down the mode and left arrow at same time until it prompts you for "user interface clear" or something like that. Reset the Head unit like that then re pair phone and HU and it should work.

 

Do you know if you have the most current blue-tooth update? I believe it is v3.11?

 

Honestly I don't know about a microphone, it seems that a higher quality mic would help, how much, I don't know?

 

Sounds like your dealer doesn't want to go through the trouble of re-wiring one.

 

Good luck to you,

Mike

[cpkdude]

hi. I have the x920Bt installed in a 2007 Mazda 3 hatch. My phone is a four year old Nokia 6133, which is the phone they give away for free with two year contracts.

My microphone is installed above the mirror, by myself, running the wire up my A-pillar and across the top of the windshield.

The sound is quite good when the car is quiet, and pretty good at 65mph. People have said that it sounds a little windy, but no one has had to hang up due to frustration.

I can hear others quite clearly, regardless of their phone, home or cell based.

I have turned on "echo-cancel", and keep the volume a little lower, as someone on this board thought it was tuned to work at a lower level of both listening volume and speech. Now, I don't SHOUT anymore.

That's two of us with Nokia's that have good success. I think Nokia gets a bad rap, actually.

Also, voice recognition works quite well. When I ask it to make calls, it usually gets the name right and places the call. It also doesn't have problems with iPod selection or source requests.

I wonder what the ratio is for successful results based on if a "pro" installed the unit, or an owner.

[hdtvjeff]

Yes Mike, I have firmware 3.11

 

I have already in the past restored the 120BT to it's factory deafault and paired from scratch.

 

I guess I'll get a new Mic...Love bluetooth but not on this, On Rosen entertainment system, it's stellar...on the pioneer it's awful.

 

Jeff

[vfjdesign]

Good luck, let us know if it works. If not I would definitely talk to your dealer about it.

[cpkdude]

Yes Mike, I have firmware 3.11

 

I have already in the past restored the 120BT to it's factory deafault and paired from scratch.

 

I guess I'll get a new Mic...Love bluetooth but not on this, On Rosen entertainment system, it's stellar...on the pioneer it's awful.

 

Jeff

 

Rosen is a Chinese company called either Caska or Coagent. Look them up on the web - you can get their OEM drop in units for a song if you order directly from China

[VBLUE42]

Well I viewed the demo vids at the following link. The navi looks good sense it uses the same software as the F and previous X series but the rest of the UI looks right out of eight years ago. Particularly the iPod interface, and no ipod video support. Maybe the BT is flawless but absolutely no mention of phonebook upload. I really don't think these Chinese made units come anywhere close to that of any aftermarket unit. Maybe the BT quality is good but everything else is trash in my opinion.

 

http://www.rosenentertainment.com/rosen ... s_2010.htm