Delay in answering phone w/Nav

Yeppers. Big delay for me too.

 

I wonder if there is a delay on their end or just rings a tad longer.

--Mickey

 

There is definitely a delay for them too.

 

Same here with my Samsung SPH-920. Couple second delay.

 

Yes, I have the same problem using an LG Chocolate 3 phone. In addition, I have a problem where sometimes when I get in the car and go to make an initial phone call (after the bluetooth connects) I get a message that says Call Waiting and I can't do anything... it won't let me hang up. The only way I can make a call is to pull my phone out and call... then it clears up on the car and I'm fine from then on out until the next time I start up the car. Could it just be my phone?

 

I also get the delay on our ~2 month old 2010 Prius III, and it happens both with my iPhone (original 2G) and my wife's BlackBerry.

The phones themselves are working fine -- if you unpair the car and just use a regular earpiece Bluetooth headset, you can both make & take calls without delay.

And if I make an outgoing call from the phone, dialing either from the phone or through the number presets on the radio, there isn't a delay that way either.

But answering calls is always frustrating:

* radio turns off
* phone ring comes through the car speakers
* press the steering wheel button to answer the call
* after a beat or two, the radio comes back on
* if you're lucky, the radio turns off again, then the call connects
* if you're unlucky, the call goes to the phone (maybe) or just disconnects

I've tried answering the phone from the phone, hoping that I could just jab the "source" button to switch from a Bluetooth call to a handset call, but that never works either, and more often than not ends up leading to a dropped call.

If this is a software issue, as it seems to be, and some kind of software/firmware update could potentially fix it (some day), how does Toyota handle that? I assume you have to bring it into the dealer for them to apply the patch? I assume I can't just download "Prius Bluetooth 3.1.exe" (because *of course* it would be an .exe) and copy it over via a USB flash drive or something simple like that, right?

• • • • •

Update 2010 Sep 23: I upgraded to the iPhone 4 this summer, and the Bluetooth delay problem never happens anymore with the new phone. It only got worse over time with the original iPhone, but after a couple of months with the new version, it seems to be fine these days.

 

Oh, and a lot of the other comments indicate that it is happening in cars with the Navigation package.

We didn't get that option.

This delay answering calls is happening in our base level Prius III with the upgraded stereo & Bluetooth support, but none of the other available option packages, including Nav, sunroof, etc.

 

There was a thread on this subject a month or so back. This is a universal problem with the bluetooth and the car radio regardless of if you have nav. or not. You just have to know there will be a 3 second or so delay when you answer the phone. I do not think there is any solution that I have read on Priuschat.

 

Have we all opened up calls with Toyota about this? I too am having this issue but haven't pinned down why or when it's happening. I some calls that come in that this does not happen on and then others that do.

 

While working with a District Technician from TMS yesterday I mentioned this issue. He said that they know about the issue, but he doesn't know exactly where in the software logic the issue is or if/when there will be a fix. He did say thought that during the technician training closer to launch they brought it up to Toyota.

I haven't opened a case with Toyota yet, but I plan on doing so in the next couple of days (I need to find some time when I can update them on another case and open this case and a case for the Sat Radio Song display length).

 

Always happens with my Blackberry flip and is on both ends, caller and ours but at least it is consistant, so plan ahead and you are fine. Having said that a fix would be nice

 

How would you USB it to the car? You'll be headed to the dealer.

 

Yes. I have an iPhone 3g. Here is what a techy told me to do. I haven't tried it yet, but it makes sense.

When a call is made, the coordination between the phone and the HF system doesn’t decide which microphone to turn on at first, so it leaves them both off for the first 1500 ms. After that, you may experience an echo in your own audio coming back after about half a second, or the people your calling may hear the echo. What’s happening here is that the sync between the phone and HF has decided to turn on both microphones after not knowing which to use at first. The test I would try at first would be to make a phone call while you are holding the phone outside the car with someone else (on another cell) within visual range. See if with the car doors closed that audio will pass through the microphone of the phone. Having someone in view will help if you can’t hear them because the speaker in the phone is off. I have heard of a lot of problems with the older 2.1 version of the iPhone FW and OEM Bluetooth (teeth?) kits, but not so many with Toyota. Based on what we see from this experiment, we can take it up the tree with either Apple or Toyota. It’s not too difficult either way, but we want to know where to point the finger.

 

What I've found with mine over the past few days (and this may have been reported before) is that if I wait for the timer to start on the display, the conversation may commence without issue. It's just a "three-count" and then I start talking.

Like I told someone else, "The car and I are getting to know each other right now." As with many other things on the Prius, the bluetooth is going to have a period of adjustment.

 

I haven't had this problem since 3.1.2 was released. I'm not saying that it's resolved because it only happened to me half the time. Anyone else notice this?

 

I have had people hang up because it took too long to answer.

And this is on an HTC Touch Pro. That phone worked completely fine in the 08HyHi, so I know it's not the phone.

I do know that on some phones you can change the tower polling freq from every 5 seconds to anything you want. It helps a lot.

 

I never have the problem if I initiate the call from the screen or manual dial on the screen. The problem only arises when you dial on the handset. I have a 2004 so I've gone through tons of cell phones over the past six years. Currently have an iPhone 3G and yes, it still happens. My remedy is merely to dial via the screen. Then I don't have to deal with hello? HELLO???? <CLICK>...........

 

If anything iPhone OS 3.1.2 seemed to make the problem worse for me, though that may be a coincidence.

The other thing I started doing more recently was playing music through the stereo from the iPhone (2G) rather than my iPod, just using the headphone jack on the iPhone and the AUX port on the car. When I have it hooked up this way, it seems like I can *never* successfully answer a call, and not only that, I also end up losing the BT pairing with the car, so I end up having to either toggle Airplane Mode on the phone to reset the connection, or just call back the normal way and either use speakerphone mode or just hold the phone up to my ear.

So I'm giving up on that, and just going back to using the iPod for music and the iPhone for calls. At least that has a 50% chance of being able to take a call... :-/

 

If I dial out I have no problem. If I receive a call, then I have to wait 3 seconds. And yes, I have had people hang up on me because I did not answer in that time...

 

I said in a previous post that I haven't had the problem since 3.1.2 That is not correct. I am still having this problem but only in-bound calls and it SEEMS not as often. The only thing that has change other than 3.1.2 is the fact that now I am using BT audio streaming whereas before 3.1.2 BT audio was buggy. Now that it works well it seems my outbound call are going good.