BMW & Garmin confirm to me known issue with music playback - they are trying to solve

[oxforshirerider]

BMW & Garmin confirm to me known issue with music playback - they are trying to solve

Hi guys,

First post, so be nice. I recently purchased a R1200GS Adv (lc) and with it I purchased the Nav V GPS unit.

I paired the Nav V unto my Scala G3 headset and loaded music onto an SD card.

Jumped on bike and headed off, listening to my favourite tracks, when half way through the first one, the music cuts out for a few seconds before coming back......this is repeated every 5/6minutes no matter what music is being listened to.

I logged a case with Garmin and sent over GPS logs as requested. I didn't hear much back after initial communication, so raised case for a warranty replacement with local BMW dealer.

BMW dealer have been in contact with Garmin, and come back to me today, saying that "Garmin are aware of this issue, it is not an isolated issue and many reports have been made to them. Their tech team is working on trying to find a fix."

They have currently given no time frame for this and I don't know how far 'up the food chain' it is for them, but just wanted to flag it up incase anyone has a similar setup or is about to set up like this, they may run into same issue.

 

[Beemerman59]

I have a Garmin Zumo 660 and Scala G9 COMBO. This MP3 playback issue was inherent in my combination from s/w versions 4.8, 4.9 and 5.0 and has been the case for years now. It sounds exactly the same problem as you have. In my case, its been solved with the release of 5.1 s/w for the 660 although I've heard of some owners of the 660 who use a different Bluetooth intercom and still have the same problem on 5.1. I think Garmin's Bluetooth firmware/software is very flaky at best. I won't change software now I have a working product.

Go onto the zumoforums - its been documented well over on that.

 

[oxforshirerider]

Hey Beemerman59,

Great to hear you got a resolution, not so great it took a longtime to get to.....fingers crossed they'll sort something out, but won't hold my breath.

 

[paul08]

I had a problem Alright for 30mins, then persistent very short interruptions to the music) with my Nav IV (used with a Sena SMH10R). Garmin had it back twice to fix and failed. BMW eventually replaced it with a Nav V and, to date (and with a big dose of touching wood) have had no problems since.

It seemed to me that the load on the processor when using maps/navigations and playing music was sometimes to great for the Nav IV to cope.

 

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

I had a similar problem a few times with my Nav V and Sena. Managed to get it sorted myself by a process of elimination, IIRC it was happening when my Nav V was trying to connect to my Smart Phone. In the end I just removed the Smart Phone from the Nav V's 'paired' equipment list and that resolved it.

 

[stever1]

The problem is your all getting to much technology involved !. You don't hear of people having problems with wired products (such as Autocom/Starcom), maybe yall should learn from this.

 

[iand46]

Nav V needs Bluetooth.

 

[stever1]

Nav V needs Bluetooth.

I think you mean a nav 5 needs an audio output socket so you can plug it into a system that works IE a wired one.

 

[oxforshirerider]

The problem is your all getting to much technology involved !. You don't hear of people having problems with wired products (such as Autocom/Starcom), maybe yall should learn from this.

Does make bike to bike a bit awkward through, as other road users aren't loving the cable ;-)

 

[Bumpkin]

Does make bike to bike a bit awkward through, as other road users aren't loving the cable ;-)

Manage perfectly well with a PMR radio plumbed into my Autocom

Great range with an external antenna, up to 5km in real world conditions, sometimes further. Also I can communicate with other brands of PMR radio as PMR is a widely adopted standard. Connected to the Autocom the priority stack for the various inputs (GPS, Music, phone and PMR) works seamlessly, the only physical thing I need to do is use the PTT switch to transmit, though there is a VOX option that works pretty well I prefer not to transmit my burps, curses and other whitterings...

If it isn't broken why bother to fix it

We did use Bluetooth on this years Pyrenees trip as my riding buddy refused to get kitted out with PMR. It worked, though range was reduced and we both had issues with audio from GPS and MP3 playback. The bike to bike in full duplex was admittedly slight more natural when we were in range but no great shakes. Reverting back to my wired Autocom set-up before my next ride. Note the connection between my Zumo 660 and the Autocom is via a BTM02 Bluetooth module which works well for GPS directions, music and phone.

The Autocom is proven as robust and long lasting, spare parts are readily available, both used and new. In fact I've accumulated something of a spares box from canny eBay purchases that should see me out. My full outfit including PMR and external antenna, but excluding GPS, cost about the same as a high end BT headset. I wager that it will be still working in five to ten years time, I doubt the same could be said for a BT headset.