Bluetooth Advice Needed

[VA3TWT]

Just throwing this out there for consideration.....

Haven't you been paying attention? Go back though the different sections for different devices and among the most common trait of all the different Garmin models is Bluetooth problems. It's never been right, it's never worked reliably, and it seems to be nothing but a giant PITA when anything with a Garmin name on it is involved. Garmin Corp has yet to figure out how to make it work reliably and repeatedly. Users with yrs of experience are still creating (and passing along to newbies) all the work-arounds to sometimes make it work and it seems to always come down to something like "unpair everything and try again in a different order" or "do a master reset".

Why in the world would you voluntarily step up and abuse yourself in this way? You're better off putting your mp3 in your pocket, mounting your phone on the handlebars and turning Bluetooth off in the Garmin. My experience with Garmin Bluetooth stopped long ago with a nuvi 780. Never could get it to work without fiddling with it all the time. And I still see it with a few folks I ride with. They are constantly trying to pair and re-pair to talk on the phone and talk to each other. At every stop we have more delays, more griping, and more annoyances for the people not using it.

If I turn Bluetooth off on the XT, I won't get any voice prompts in my headset will I? I need turn-by-turn voice prompts when I am in unfamiliar territory.

[MSTOCK27370]

This question was placed in the XT forum, but I can answer this for the Zumo 590.

I have my phone (galaxy) and my headset paired to my Zumo 590. I have found this to be a very reliable setup. I tried several different headsets because I was trying to find something that worked well and was comfortable inside the helmet. It just happened that the very first headset that I tried was defective. I could not hear a caller, even though I could hear music and GPS prompts. Never determined if it was a defective unit or the model because I couldn't get another to try. Every other headset I tried paired up and worked flawlessly except that they were uncomfortable to use. I finally settled on a Jabra headset. All of this works well on the 590. I can listen to music (don't usually), receive calls and get GPS prompts. Music is automatically paused for a call or directions and returns after. The phone pairs with the 590 and accesses my contact list and call history. One touch allows me to ignore an unknown caller, and the name of callers in my contact list appear on the 590 screen. When I set this up, my only real purpose was to be able to know if a family member was calling so that I could either answer or call back (medical issue). Every other feature has just been a nice benefit.

[rbentnail]

The Nuvi 7 series is 12 years old. I can understand it was a pain back then. I may be up there with you as a tech hater but the 550/660/595 and XT i have had have worked very well on BT. There are always some little things you have to watch as well as some finessing but the forum usually sorts these out

Based solely on the number of questions re: Bluetooth in all of the device sections I disagree. It surely is NOT sorted out. And you know the interesting part? Words in replies like "should" and "usually". These words are used b/c the forums have NOT sorted out the problems. They've just figured out some methods that mostly (another pesky word there! ) work. But apparently no one has figured out a way to make it ALWAYS work.

I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I'm just mentioning that if a person wants reliable cross-connected comms that maybe using Garmin Bluetooth may not be the way to go.

If I turn Bluetooth off on the XT, I won't get any voice prompts in my headset will I? I need turn-by-turn voice prompts when I am in unfamiliar territory.

This is what I do:

I use an mp3 player from my pocket. I really need hearing protection so using speakers in my helmet with earplugs doesn't cut it for me. I use an earbud set from Etymotic with squishable ear tips, just like foam ear plugs. This way I get good ambient noise attenuation and can turn the volume way down for my music.

I chose to mount my phone front and center between my handle bars so I can see it. I refuse to answer calls while riding- everyone who knows me will either text or leave a message. Doesn't matter much any way. About half my riding is in complete dead zones. Folks understand that.

I routed the audio out section of the 595 octopus cable to pop out where my right thigh, seat and fuel tank meet. I'm normally a visual gps only guy but I understand exactly your question. This way I can unplug from the mp3 and plug directly into the Garmin output. I also put some music on an SD card so I can get tunes. The Garmin plays music, stops music, gives instruction, then plays music again.

No Bluetooth woes and I easily and unobtrusively get the audio directions when I need it.

[TripleThreat719]

I routed the audio out section of the 595 octopus cable to pop out where my right thigh, seat and fuel tank meet.

No Bluetooth woes and I easily and unobtrusively get the audio directions when I need it.

Herein lies the problem with your solution for those who own an XT...

"There is no audio out cable" Bluetooth is the ONLY option.

[rbentnail]

Herein lies the problem with your solution for those who own an XT...

"There is no audio out cable" Bluetooth is the ONLY option.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hadn't heard.....

[TripleThreat719]

Not a loss. Technology has marched on from having to be tethered via wire to get quality audio. XT pairs via Bluetooth with my iPhone and my SENA and works as intended.

Works flawlessly for me.