Ongoing reworking of my newly acquired coupe. One of the current projects is reactivating the OEM Bluetooth unit. After ensuring all of the wiring behind the head unit was in the right place again ( https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=124746 ) and unplugging the battery for half an hour to perform a reset I managed to get the unit into pairing mode but it wouldn't connect to my iPhone 11 (either with the passkey printed on the ULF or with "0000"), just kept saying "Failed" on the head unit.
The unit comes up as "BMW ULF" on my phone's Bluetooth menu, apparently it should come up as "BMW XXXXX" where XXXXX are the last numbers of the VIN. Furthermore, when I enter the passcode "1234" it pairs, saying "Succeeded" but then immediately drops the connection. Apparently this means there might be a coding issue ( https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/ulf-iphone-7plus-not-working.1119423/ and https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/ulf-not-responding.1336203/ )
I have successfully got the ULF to clear previously paired phones (get it into pairing mode, hold pairing button for 10s until it beeps), and at one point managed to get it to activate a voice command action (although this failed as there was no connection to a phone) - so the ULF seems to have some functionality.
Of note - after each session trying to get it to work it is then impossible to get it back into pairing mode until I have performed a reset via a battery disconnect (note to self - never do this then close the boot...
)
So:
- Is the ULF kaput? Should I buy a replacement on eBay (I have found the identical model from the identical car claiming to be working for £40)?
- Does it just need a recode? If so, any suggestions on the best way to do this?
- Am I just fighting a losing battle with a piece of 14 year old technology which will never play nicely with my iPhone? (I thought Apple were good at backward compatibility...)
The unit comes up as "BMW ULF" on my phone's Bluetooth menu, apparently it should come up as "BMW XXXXX" where XXXXX are the last numbers of the VIN. Furthermore, when I enter the passcode "1234" it pairs, saying "Succeeded" but then immediately drops the connection. Apparently this means there might be a coding issue ( https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/ulf-iphone-7plus-not-working.1119423/ and https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/ulf-not-responding.1336203/ )
I have successfully got the ULF to clear previously paired phones (get it into pairing mode, hold pairing button for 10s until it beeps), and at one point managed to get it to activate a voice command action (although this failed as there was no connection to a phone) - so the ULF seems to have some functionality.
Of note - after each session trying to get it to work it is then impossible to get it back into pairing mode until I have performed a reset via a battery disconnect (note to self - never do this then close the boot...
)So:
- Is the ULF kaput? Should I buy a replacement on eBay (I have found the identical model from the identical car claiming to be working for £40)?
- Does it just need a recode? If so, any suggestions on the best way to do this?
- Am I just fighting a losing battle with a piece of 14 year old technology which will never play nicely with my iPhone? (I thought Apple were good at backward compatibility...)