There can be a number of connectivity problems with an iPod touch or
iPhone and a vehicle's hands-free Bluetooth system. This is a workshop
to see how to solve problems playing Bluetooth music through a
connection with a Ford Microsoft Sync system.
From a review of
online forums you can see that both Microsoft and Apple are pointing
fingers at each other regarding why the connection to SYNC occasionally
causes problems. Bluetooth "is what it is" - it's a low power short
range way to connect computer devices wirelessly. Often the system can
get out of phase and cause connection problems. Here's what you can do
to set things back to normal...
While in your car with the radio
on, go to the Phone Menu and select "System Settings" on a vehicle with
the LED screen on the top of the center console. Later in this workshop,
we'll go over how to do this process with a touch screen system. Turn
the turning knob to select "Delete Device." Find your device by name and
then press OK to delete the device. Now go to your iPhone. Go to the
Settings icon, go to the General icon, then select the Bluetooth
connectivity area. Delete "Sync" from your list of connected devices
(tap on the blue arrow at the right, it takes you to another screen and
then select "Forget Device." Then, power your phone completely off, or
pull the battery for at least a minute, then replace the battery.
Restart your phone.
Now turn off your vehicle. Open the hood.
Loosen the bolt holding the black battery cable clamp assembly and
remove it from the battery for about two minutes or more. Then replace
it and retighten the clamp. Close the hood.
Return to your vehicle
and start it up. Let the vehicle run for at least four or five minutes.
This reboots the electrical systems from factory specs. Your radio may
default back to the AM band and you may need to reset your clock time.
Turn your vehicle off again and open the door (this completely powers
down the vehicle). Start the vehicle back up.
Now go to the Phone
Menu on the center console, go to Bluetooth Devices, and select "Add
Device." It will prompt you to press OK to begin Pairing a device. Go to
your phone, to the Settings icon, select General, then Bluetooth
Settings. Look for the "Handsfree" Button and let it become a "Sync"
button. Touch this button and another screen appears asking for the
6-digit Pin that is being displayed on your center console. Enter that
number and push "Pair" on your phone. Within a few seconds the Sync
system will respond that it has connected. Be sure to activate the 911
Assist when prompted, push OK to set the phone as the Primary Phone and
then OK to allow the phone book to download. It may take up to three
minutes for the phone book to download.
Now when you push the "Voice" button on the steering wheel, you
can say "Bluetooth Audio" to access your iPhone music (or go to the
Pandora App, or other App, and turn it on). The music should start
within a few seconds, if not, push the Voice button again and say
"Play." If you push the Voice button again you can also say "Shuffle"
(to have the system automatically pick the next song) or a variety of
other commands (check you Sync manual for details.)
For some, it
may be easier to transfer your music files to a USB flash drive. Then
you can push the Voice button and say "USB." The Sync System will go to
the USB to start playing music. You should be able to push the Voice
button to call out "Play Artist The Beatles (or which ever artist you
prefer)" and the system will find and play those songs. The command
"Play All" resumes playing from the whole library on the USB stick. If
you press the hard button on the console to access AM/FM or CD, you can
return to the USB by pushing the AUX button. The iPhone streams better
sounding music via Bluetooth. When you use a USB cable to connect your
iPhone to the Sync System it defaults to the Mp3 format and has a lesser
sound quality, but sometimes this connection will allow you to find
music via voice commands (especially with the iPhone 4 or 4S).
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