Hey guys,

Just wanted to keep everyone filled in on the news of the Avic-F series release. Pioneer is ready to officially announce the release of new software and firmware updates to resolve most of the complaints about the F-Series product. The updates will fix issues such as iPod speed issues and the iPods locking up and freezing, certain navigation issues, as well as the screen contrast problems. The boot up time will not be fixable as that's the unit's processor booting up. No official ETA on this release, but we will let everyone know once we have an official ETA from Pioneer!

Hmmm... I wonder how they went about correcting the screen contrast issue with just software updates... perhaps there was something in the code that limited the voltage it was sending to the backlight? Or perhaps changing the colors/contrast of the GUI...

Anyway. Thank you. This is good to know.

We much appreciate the info. Just to confirm - will all F-units shipped out from al-eds to fulfill orders on hold have the software and firmware updates completed before shipping?

Hmmm funny the most important thing they should fix is the bluetooth problems! Its practically unusable at any speed over 5 mph.

My bluetooth works excellently. The only time I had somebody complain about how I sounded was when I was talking to them while driving 70mph with the windows down and sunroof open... other than that, it's been loud and clear on both ends. And I got one of the very first units.

My bluetooth works excellently. The only time I had somebody complain about how I sounded was when I was talking to them while driving 70mph with the windows down and sunroof open... other than that, it's been loud and clear on both ends. And I got one of the very first units.

i got one of the first units too and myne sounds horrid where do you have yours located?

you can see myne in the signature picture, right below the f to the left

i got one of the first units too and myne sounds horrid where do you have yours located?

As you can see, the mic is located a good distance away from the unit, leaving less leftover on the wire to coil up in the dash. Coiling up wire will lead to problems with interference and the more you have bundled up, the more susceptible to it it is.

The one I have sounds good too. I don't have a picture but I have mine in the instrument cluster under the speedometer on my tundra.

The one I have sounds good too. I don't have a picture but I have mine in the instrument cluster under the speedometer on my tundra.

o wow nice placement....is it integrated into the cluster itself or its jus in front of it?

We're kinda getting off topic here...

Just infront, but as HiFiSi said, I think we are getting off topic.

apologies anyways sweet deal, that takes care fo some of the problems

NICE!

Hopefully Al-Eds gets enough to satisfy the In-store and Online orders.

thanks for the update!

So have they mentioned anything about the method of distribution for the fix? Will we have to go to Pioneer's site and download it? This guy has apparently has already gotten a fix mailed to him from Pioneer on an SD card (might be a special case, though). If it's coming on actual media in the mail, would that come straight from Pioneer and if so, how would they know who and where to send them to? Or would they send them to all the authorized dealers to have them send out to the people who bought a unit from them? And if that's the case, what would the people who bough from non-authorized dealers do?

I understand that you may not have any info on any of this, but it can't hurt to ask.

I hope that firmware fixes the BT issues, cause if not, I'm ditchin the unit. It was a major selling point for me. Talking on phone while driving already cost me $ in NJ!

Its a noise cancelling mic and needs some open space behind the mic to pick up that noise. Try movin it to a more open location and see if it works better

 

i got one of the first units too and myne sounds horrid where do you have yours located?

 

you can see myne in the signature picture, right below the f to the left

Its a noise cancelling mic and needs some open space behind the mic to pick up that noise. Try movin it to a more open location and see if it works better

damnit now i needa learn fiberglassing to cover that hole

thanks for the tip camel, ill try to find a better spot

So have they mentioned anything about the method of distribution for the fix? Will we have to go to Pioneer's site and download it? This guy has apparently has already gotten a fix mailed to him from Pioneer on an SD card (might be a special case, though). If it's coming on actual media in the mail, would that come straight from Pioneer and if so, how would they know who and where to send them to? Or would they send them to all the authorized dealers to have them send out to the people who bought a unit from them? And if that's the case, what would the people who bough from non-authorized dealers do?

 

I understand that you may not have any info on any of this, but it can't hurt to ask.

mine is on the head liner next to the windshield, behind rearview mirror, dirvers side. Maybe I'll try moving it forward of the rearview (but that gets it closer to the sunroof). Anyhow, could also be the phone, since some folks say they have no issues.

Mine is in the same location as HiFiSi's and doesnt work well at all. I also ran it around the dash to avoid looping the wire. Maybe it is the phone??

It sucks because the BT was a big selling point for me too. I have it disabled and I'm using my old stand alone BT speakerphone.

BTW, I have F90BT

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 214#108214

i created this thread to get the mic question out of the update topic.

blindmind3

norcon

HiFiSi

if you can contribute to those just to get it going, itd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

I've been looking at one of these head units to upgrade from my avic-D2 for a few weeks to see what all gets fixed.

I've been a service counter parts' guy for years for a BMW dealership. If you all have ever had exprience talking to someone with factory equipted (sp?) bluetooth interface in the past few years on a new body style 3 series. (Since '06 sedan production). The quality at highway speed w/ sunroof open, and all windows is quite good. And, In any other normal condition it's frankly amazing.

Anyway, the mics have quite a range in price, due to specific vehicle and options. Not to just use the '3' as an example but voice command (similar to F-series capabilties) with the newest of models have a different mic than bluetooth of the past 2 generations.

Regardless, I'm extremely intrested in getting a better mic in use. Does any one have a picture of the connection to the f-seires for the mic?

Further, I have about 6 mics sitting on my desk at work (All Different models). All have three pins (Waiting for a tester unit). BMW mounts all thier current production mics in what we call and "FZD". Typically placed where normal sunroof controls are located at the very foward postion on a headliner.

Finally, as vague as I have been, I'm waiting till these units are "fixed" as much as possible till experimentation starts to occur. These mics for BMW's have different purposes based on what car they are designed for and their purpose.

The problem is that Pioneer uses a crappy passive mic, whereas the OEM's use an active mic. Also, the F-Series is looking for a certain resistance to the microphone, and plugging something that is drastically different in may not only result in poor sound quality, but could also damage the unit.

That said, I do have a microphone out of an Audi that is almost identical to the type of hardware BMW is using, so I may see what happens if it's specs are close enough that it won't do any damage.

I'm right there with you though, my last Acura and Audi both had built-in Bluetooth and the sound quality was phenomenal. If Pioneer had chosen to supply a high quality mic, and designed the F-Series to take advantage of that quality, this would all be a moot point.

How can you find out what the HU "likes" in terms of mic specs?

If you have a scope or a DMM you can pull everything you need off of the connector on the mic.

You won't get all of the specs, but you'll have enough to not cause any damage.