[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by AlteBMW

Maybe contact the BimmerUtility folks?

I should try that. Thanks.

[SkykingUSA]

Have you tried connecting your phone to an EU car at the dealership? If not, I would also try that, just to verify that your phone is capable of connecting to an EU spec car and running Android Auto.

I understand that you and the dealer have tried EU phones with two different US spec cars and neither work, but that doesn't show your phone actually WORKING with anything. I would feel that next level of confidence if I knew my phone worked with an EU spec car as a "final" step. If it does, then as you say, you may just have to wait until your car is in the US before you can use Android Auto, or figure out how to "hack" it with BU.

[AiredaleDad]

Thanks. I also tried it with my wife's US IPhone and a freind's US Android phone, and it didn't work either. I have used my phone with several EU vehicles over the past few years. I know it works. I also have used the same phone with several US cars in the states and they all worked as well. This is the first time trying to connect to a Brand New US car delivered in the EU. They tried with the Dealer's US Spec 530iX Demo car as well and it didn't work either.

[AiredaleDad]

So to update this issue. I bought a brand new US version Samsung Galaxy S24+. Now I have the UWB, and after changing the phone in IDrive, and downloading the new Key, I have expanded the options on MyBMW app. Now it has the remote parking functioning as well as the rest. However.....I still cannot use Android Auto. The phone says I have it, the car says it wants to connect to it, but when I click on it, nothing happens. I no longer get the "Bluetooth no longer compatible message on the IDrive screen. I just get nothing. And when I go to the mobile phones app, It cannot select Android Auto. The check box is there, but if I click on it, nothing happens.

I also found out from the dealer, that when the car arrived at the dealership, they were indecisive, since I had asked them for US cartography, and apparently they did not have it, they did nothing. So there is no cartography at all on the car. Not US, nor EU. I am now wondering if that's why. I think maybe when they install the maps, it enables the NAV function in IDrive, and that's what allows me to use Android Auto, Car Play etc....And since they didn't install the cartography, it did not enable the function. I am going to ask the dealer to go ahead and install the EU cartography and see if that enables it.

[Blue Sky]

Hmm that’s interesting. Could be some missing data associated driver’s intended location that is causing a problem.

As to the original complaint of Bluetooth not working, I haven’t really looked into this in detail so this may not be correct, but as far as the cell service goes, phones used to be regional, in that you had to actually buy a version that worked in the region intended for use, mainly because the chipsets were limited in the frequencies they could produce, and what’s legal to use in whereever bandwidth space varies from country to country. In more recent times, phone hardware is a lot more flexible, and it’s mainly a data profile that tells it where you are and what’s ok to use with any particular carrier service. Sometimes you get these messages on you phone about “carrier needs to update service profile” or something, which means they want to push a new profile about what frequencies are ok to use. I don’t know if Bluetooth works similarly, but if it does, it could be the problem that the car is setup for US market and your phone (no matter where you purchased it) is currently configured for the local market and somehow they are not compatible.

Sorry that doesn’t offer anything actionable to help solve your problem but is some background you should be aware of.

[AiredaleDad]

I actually got a call from BMW AG last night. What they told me was that the car did ship with US Cartography as ordered. But as long as the vehicle is in the EU, Maps and Android Auto will not work because it considers itself outside it's designed global geolocation. If I install the EU cartography that will reset the vehicle computer to my current location and Android auto, as well as BMW maps and DAPP hands free will function (DAPP with hands on the wheel works fine though). But once I ship it to the states, I will have to have the procedure done again to get the US cartography and reset the computer to US.

After that call, I contacted my dealer here in Spain. I was told they are willing to reset the the maps to EU for free, but I will have to pay the labor. So about 200 euros. I then called the BMW Service Center in Lynnwood, WA (Where I would be taking the car once I return to the US.) and they told me it would cost me about $330.00 in programming and labor charges to have it switched back to US Cartography.

So in total it would cost me about $550.00 to have it reset twice. I have been successfully using Google maps for the past 5 1/2 years here, so I decided NOT to go through with it, and just continue as I have been until I return.

As to my phone, Bluetooth works fine and connected to the car just fine. Just Android Auto will not work. I had, until a couple of days ago, a Samsung S20+5G EU version with Dual SIM cards. One for T-Mobile, and one for Digi (Spanish) It worked fine here, and in the US The ONLY issue was that T-Mobile could not "See" the phone as what it was. But it still worked on the T-Mobile network since it had a T-Mobile SIM, and I could still access the APP etc. But it would not work on 5G in the states. Only 4G. Whereas in Europe, I got 5G on my Spanish SIM. I looked at the issue and found out that the 5G Frequencies are different in the US and the EU. But the rest are the same.

Now I have just replaced it with a new US model Samsung S24+5G. I was able to download the T-Mobile E-Sim, via Wifi, and loaded the Digi Sim. So I still have Dual Sims, and I also have 5G in the EU on a US Phone, so I think they added the frequency for the EU on the newer models as well as UWB. The incompatible Bluetooth error went away in the car, but the Android auto still does not work, and I can't check the box. I click on it and the screen blinks, like it's going to add it, but it stays unchecked.

I keep wondering if there is something I can check or uncheck on the FA using BimmerUtility, but I'm not an expert on it, and I just don't want to screw something up by selecting or deselecting the wrong thing and end up "Bricking" it