Connected iDrive Problem

[Titan]

According to BMW's web site you can transfer routes to your vehicle using 2 methods:

As a BMW ConnectedDrive contract customer, you can transfer the routes you plan yourself or BMW Routes to your BMW via BMW Online. Alternatively, you can save your planned route to a USB stick and then import it from there to the navigation system

It is also possible to send routes generated in Google maps using Classic View, Link/Send/Car.

I can get the BMW Online method to work and it imports a route directly into the navigation side of iDrive.
I can also get the Google link to work although this appears as a system message which can be used as a route source, but you cant save it into navigation.
However, I cannot get the USB stick transfer to work.

I'm pretty sure the USB port is OK because it allows software updates and music transfer but the "Import My Route" option refuses to see any waypoint data (file format filename.tar.gz)
I know it's a minor issue but it irritates me that it won't do what it says on the tin
Has anyone else successfully used the USB method and if so can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Regards
Terry

 

[Maniac]

OK I've used the USB method once, when I couldn't get the portal to work properly. The file downloads from the portal to the USB stick, you must put the USB stick in the glovebox USB port, it will not work from the armrest. When you put the stick in, dependent on where you are in iDrive, it will either read it and prompt you to import it immediately or you can choose from navigation/online to import it.

 

[Titan]

How many USB ports are there in an E89?
One more than I knew about !!
Thanks Maniac - it took me longer to find the port than it did to import the route!

Roll on Ste and Tom's cruise next weekend

 

[Maniac]

Two; The one in the arm rest is for playing music directly. The one in the glovebox is for importing music to the hard drive (music collection) and for importing routes.

 

[Titan]

It was a rhetorical question but it's possibly worthwhile pointing out that the USB in the glove box is not exactly the easiest one to find.
If you're sat in the drivers seat it's invisible
If you're sat in the passenger seat it's almost invisible
If you stand on your head in the footwell it's in the bottom LH corner!

 

[Anonymous]

The USB glove box port can also used to update the Navigation Maps and add additional Bluetooth device support on post Sept 2009 models.