[BETA V1]

So here is my setup:
2013 F30 with CIC, fully optioned and most up to date software according to BMW.
iPhone XS with most up to date software - iOS 13.1.3
I mainly stream via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
The phone is paired via Bluetooth to the idrive unit. I do not hardwire via center armrest.
Previous owner has done some custom coding for things like auto start stop and turn signals blinks.
The car was purchased with 32k on it in 2016 and I have 51k on it now.

Here are a list of problems/bugs/annoyances I have and I am hoping maybe someone has a good solution to any of them.

1. If Spotify is in the background of my iPhone but not playing as soon as my car connects to the iPhone it will start playing - which would be okay if it actually played through the speakers and processed the audio. The problem is that 9/10 times I have to toggle out of the “media” mode and in to the “radio” mode (disconnect/reconnect Bluetooth works too) to have the idrive unit recognize the audio and actually output it to the speakers. This is super annoying that the BT connects just does not work to consistently process the audio when you enter and turn on the vehicle.

2. While listening to Bluetooth audio if I switch my tastes and decide to listen to the radio it will not pause the song or stop the Bluetooth streaming service. It will just keep playing from my phone in the background which means if I am listening to a pod cast it will not stop where I left off.

3. Occasionally while listening to Bluetooth audio the source material will skip and sound like a jumbled mess for a split second and return to normal. Almost as if it was a CD or record that skipped. Now after that happens one of two things occurs. 1. Returns to normal audio or 2. There is a audible crackle and disturbance you can hear in the background of the song that does not go away. . Once again I fix this by toggling back to another source like “radio” And then back to “media”

4. When I receive a phone call via Bluetooth and finish and the. go back to music I lose all functionS from the car controls - idrive knob, center console, steering wheel controls - to skip the track or see updated track information. I can still control the music selection with the iPhone but the car controls are dead. I have to toggle back to radio and everything works again.

5. Phone call quality - 9/10 calls I make know (this started about 8 months ago) are garbled and have crackle noise in the background. Audio quality while streaming music is great but as soon as I make a call and I hear the first outgoing ring I know the quality is going to be crap. The audio coming from the speakers during the ringing and when the call is connects and we start talking acts as if there is some terrible connection and it’s all skippy and jumbled. When I first got the car in 2016 it was not like this.


So anyway - it’s a mess but I still love the car. Would love to get this little annoyances figured out.