Quick tech questions...

[RRi3]

My dealer just received delivery of the Ionic Blue Giga i3 REX I ordered, and I checked it out overnight to make a final buy/no-buy decision. If I approve, we'll close the deal tomorrow. It has all of the options except I specified the smaller wheels. I've come up with some questions that I hope the members of this forum can answer for me.

I am a big Sirius/XM Radio listener, especially for the sports channels. Here in the US we can get just about any baseball, football or basketball game if we have the sports subscription. Those sports channels are up in the 200's, but I was unable to tune to any of them at all in the i3 tonight. I expected to be able to tune to channel 212, for example, but get a message that says something like "you must be subscribed to this channel". Can anyone confirm that I will actually be able to get these channels once I've subscribed to the XM sports services, or is this radio somehow limited? I'm already disappointed about the lack of AM radio.

I linked my smart phone to the car via Bluetooth and have been able to make and receive phone calls. Does the i3 support reading back text messages I receive on the phone, like my Ford does? I couldn't find any feature like that.

I appreciate any and all responses. I may add other questions to this thread as I continue to explore the i3's features.

Thanks!
-RRi3

 

[jadnashuanh]

The i3 does have a text to speech function...tried it once, don't remember the steps to get there.

Keep in mind that the 20" wheels/tires come with SUMMER tires, and if you live in an area where it gets colder than say 40-degrees F, or you get snow or ice, you WILL want to buy another set of tires/wheels for the thing to run through the winter.

 

[RRi3]

The i3 does have a text to speech function...tried it once, don't remember the steps to get there.

Keep in mind that the 20" wheels/tires come with SUMMER tires, and if you live in an area where it gets colder than say 40-degrees F, or you get snow or ice, you WILL want to buy another set of tires/wheels for the thing to run through the winter.

Thanks for the tire advice, but I live in Texas. I need tires that won't melt in 100+F temperatures!

-RRi3

 

[Boatguy]

I am a big Sirius/XM Radio listener, especially for the sports channels. Here in the US we can get just about any baseball, football or basketball game if we have the sports subscription. Those sports channels are up in the 200's, but I was unable to tune to any of them at all in the i3 tonight. I expected to be able to tune to channel 212, for example, but get a message that says something like "you must be subscribed to this channel". Can anyone confirm that I will actually be able to get these channels once I've subscribed to the XM sports services, or is this radio somehow limited? I'm already disappointed about the lack of AM radio.

I linked my smart phone to the car via Bluetooth and have been able to make and receive phone calls. Does the i3 support reading back text messages I receive on the phone, like my Ford does? I couldn't find any feature like that.
-RRi3

The i3 comes with a one year free subscription to Sirius which does not include all the channels. I would be very surprised if you couldn't get the sports channels with a paid subscription, but it's a question better directed to Sirius.

Text messages are a subject of great debate here, but I haven't seen anyone actually say they have it working. I'm unable to get them to work and my service advisor tells me they don't work on anything after the iPhone 4, but he's also pretty ignorant of software and the i3 overall. Since you're on a short time fuse here, I suggest you call the BMW iConcierge directly at (855) 236-1025 and ask them.

Alternatively, I doubt that the car is going to be sold off the lot if you don't take it tomorrow. You could consider telling the salesman that you'll buy the car if he can demonstrate the two features that are of concern to you. He should have better resources than we do and a strong incentive! Please post whatever you learn.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

Regards, Steven

 

[RRi3]

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.
n

I'm an Android user, so I'll have to try this with the Android/Google equivalents. I'll report back on how this works. Thanks for the suggestions.

-RRi3

 

[Boatguy]

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

This is option is not available on my iPhone (5s - iOS 7). The only settings are for contacts. I'm beginning to think they disabled it in the US.

I'll try Siri.

 

[Buskraut]

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

This is option is not available on my iPhone (5s - iOS 7). The only settings are for contacts. I'm beginning to think they disabled it in the US.

I'll try Siri.

What's weird is that for my wife's 2012 328i, I get a "show notifications" option in the bluetooth settings on my phone, but no such option for the i3 bluetooth settings.

I'm using an iPhone 5.

 

[i3Alan]

Hi guys,

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

Regards, Steven

Steven, could you please provide more details. I could find no related options on either the iPhone (5s, iOS 7.1.2) or in any of the i3 menus. The iPhone settings under Bluetooth only have contact synching options. The i3 menus under my Bluetooth name only have phone and audio options. Thx.

 

[RRi3]

Hi guys,

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

Regards, Steven

I just checked, and there is no "Office" menu available on my i3. Interestingly, "Office" shows up in the index of my Owner's Manual and references Page 6. However, that page does not have the word "Office" anywhere. If I look at page 19 of the manual under "Selecting menu items", there is a screen shot of the main menu showing the "Office" menu item just under the Navigation menu item. In my i3, that menu item does not exist.

Have we been denied yet another feature here in the US?

-RRi3

 

[canuckjc]

I spent some time chasing this down with my local product genius at BMW Mountain View. He arrived at the conclusion that this functionality requires Advanced Bluetooth which is not available in North American i3s. Besides the inability to read text messages on the screen, we are also unable to connect more than one BT phone at a time, and a couple of other inconveniences.

There are a couple of different threads discussing this which I haven't looked at in a while.

Hi guys,

what works for me, for text messages that are received while in the car, is to switch on 'Show Messages' on the iPhone in the 'Settings->Bluetooth->BMW iXXXXX' menu (XXXXX=last 5 digits of your VIN = bluetooth-name). Messages can be viewed or read out loud while driving through the 'Office' menu of your car.
On a different note: you can also let Siri read your messages or emails to you by asking her. Press the 'talk' button on the steering wheel ca. 2 seconds to start a conversation with Siri.

Regards, Steven

I just checked, and there is no "Office" menu available on my i3. Interestingly, "Office" shows up in the index of my Owner's Manual and references Page 6. However, that page does not have the word "Office" anywhere. If I look at page 19 of the manual under "Selecting menu items", there is a screen shot of the main menu showing the "Office" menu item just under the Navigation menu item. In my i3, that menu item does not exist.

Have we been denied yet another feature here in the US?

-RRi3

 

[Stevei3]

...this functionality requires Advanced Bluetooth

Wow, could well be, for I do have Adv.BT.

Thanks, Steven

 

[RRi3]

...this functionality requires Advanced Bluetooth

Wow, could well be, for I do have Adv.BT.

Thanks, Steven

I wonder, why on Earth would BMW leave this out of the USA version??? I've had this in my Ford for 3 years.

I still love my new i3 but I guess my expectations for the technology were a little higher, based on reviews from Europe.

-RRi3

 

[Blue20]

i3 is fun to drive and the powertrain may be the car of the future. However, in terms of digital, i3 is a follower at best.

 

[canuckjc]

Although the i3 is not specifically mentioned, I believe the differences between standard and enhanced BT shown in this link do apply.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=778185

If anyone is feeling adventurous, I've read you can have your car reprogrammed (not by BMW) to enable enhanced BT if you have the correct combox.

I'm not brave enough to try it…yet.

 

[RRi3]

I am a big Sirius/XM Radio listener, especially for the sports channels. Here in the US we can get just about any baseball, football or basketball game if we have the sports subscription. Those sports channels are up in the 200's, but I was unable to tune to any of them at all in the i3 tonight. I expected to be able to tune to channel 212, for example, but get a message that says something like "you must be subscribed to this channel". Can anyone confirm that I will actually be able to get these channels once I've subscribed to the XM sports services, or is this radio somehow limited? I'm already disappointed about the lack of AM radio.

I linked my smart phone to the car via Bluetooth and have been able to make and receive phone calls. Does the i3 support reading back text messages I receive on the phone, like my Ford does? I couldn't find any feature like that.

I picked up my i3 yesterday, so I'm now able to answer or confirm some of my own questions (above):

Once the SiriusXM account was activated, the additional sports (and other) channels appeared. It looks like the free, one-year activation includes ALL channels. This is great news!

The disappointing news is that the Bluetooth phone support is just rudimentary. I can make and receive calls and stream music from my phone, but I can't receive and have the car read text messages to me, even though this feature is available in European i3s. This is a very nice feature in my other cars, especially since we now have local laws prohibiting cell phone use unless hands-free (which I favor, BTW). I understand from another reply that this might be because the US i3 does not support the appropriate Bluetooth profiles. Hopefully, BMW will fix this.

Otherwise, greatly enjoying my Ionic Silver i3 REX!

-RRi3

 

[Boatguy]

Once the SiriusXM account was activated, the additional sports (and other) channels appeared. It looks like the free, one-year activation includes ALL channels. This is great news!

How did you activate the free account?

 

[RRi3]

Once the SiriusXM account was activated, the additional sports (and other) channels appeared. It looks like the free, one-year activation includes ALL channels. This is great news!

How did you activate the free account?

The i3 Giga comes with a one-year free subscription for SiriusXM. A specialist activated it when I picked up the car.

-RRi3

 

[Boatguy]

Once the SiriusXM account was activated, the additional sports (and other) channels appeared. It looks like the free, one-year activation includes ALL channels. This is great news!

How did you activate the free account?

The i3 Giga comes with a one-year free subscription for SiriusXM. A specialist activated it when I picked up the car.

-RRi3

I also have a Giga, but it turns out my dealer did not set it up. I contacted Sirius and they set it up. Thanks!

 

[juniorbeep]

shame you aren't in the UK I have the 19" wheels and really wanted the 20"... we could have done a swap! ;-)