RNS 510 and iPhone

[skinnywhippet]

I'm a bit confused about iPhone compatibility with the RNS 510 with Premium Bluetooth for making receiving phone calls and playing music. Should it just work or do we need to specify other kinds of input e.g.USB.

I'd be really grateful if anyone who uses the RNS 510 with an iPhone 4S could confirm how the two work together.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BerndRos]

They don't !

You need to get the extra Bluetooth for the phone and the Media add on for music if you want your playlists and title tracks etc

All very expensive !

 

[choplee]

I'm a bit confused about iPhone compatibility with the RNS 510 with Premium Bluetooth for making receiving phone calls and playing music. Should it just work or do we need to specify other kinds of input e.g.USB.

I'd be really grateful if anyone who uses the RNS 510 with an iPhone 4S could confirm how the two work together.

Thanks in advance!

mine works perfectly skinnywhippet ....bluetooth connects easy i use the phone the headunit or the mfsw to do volume or track skip ....just have to make sure volume up on the ipone.

 

[skinnywhippet]

Thanks for the replies. We do have the Bluetooth coming with the unit, so hopefully that will be all we need. I'll have another chat with the dealer as well but it's very helpful to hear some real experience.

 

[choplee]

Doesn't the rns510 support Bluetooth now then without another unit ?

 

[skinnywhippet]

It comes with what they call 'Premium Bluetooth' which sounds impressive, but might be just 'normal Bluetooth' as part of the unit. When we looked at and drove the demo vehicle we didn't pay enough attention to the detail of the audio / telephone set-up.

 

[rippers]

There are a few things you need to do to get it work. Firstly when you look at the MFD find the connected phone and make sure you have the music facility turned on, your know if it is or not as the connected phone with have a little ipod picture on it. If its not go through the settings on the MFD before going to the head unit.

Secondly to make the music play via the head unit you have turn the Bluetooth music feature on via the settings.

Thirdly to start playing through the system you must start playing the music on your phone first, then press the media button and Bluetooth music will appear (it won't show otherwise)

A lot of mucking around and no where near as good as my old base model Ford Fiesta's bluetooth :lol:

 

[skinnywhippet]

Thanks rippers, I'll refer to this post when our California arrives. Will probably quickly add a USB-in socket as well before the order gets to the factory. All works fine on the Mazda we're losing to get the Cali. The Mazda is very efficient, but very boring!

 

[Stu]

Your problem lies/will lie with the Bluetooth Telephone Unit rather than the RNS510.

It is important to understand that VW use two type of Bluetooth Unit with different protocol -

UHV - Works with iPhone and most other phones using the basic bluetooth interface.

rSAP - Remote SIM Access Profile (Phone goes inactive/standby, The built in Bluetooth Module takes over all functions). Does not support iPhone.

To make it more confusing some units can handle both!!

The bit that handles the transmission of the Bluetooth audio is a function within the telephone unit - A2DP

I'm not sure most dealers will know the finer points of this so my best advice would be to try and find a van with the so called Premium Bluetooth installed and try to connect your iPhone.

 

[Leo K]

It's indeed not the RSN510 that makes the difference but the Bluetooth implementation in Premium Telephone Unit.
I looked into the matter a few years ago and concluded that in my 2010 model (first year of the T5 upgrade), only rSAP phones can be connected. Meaning, more or less, Nokia and Siemens only.
Starting with model year 2011 the Telephone Unit should be able to communicate via other Bluetooth variants. However, with some restrictions on functionality (for instance, as I remember, the antenna in the wing mirror is not effective without rSAP).

 

[skinnywhippet]

Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if we can't work as much as we should when out and about. We'll know for sure in July when our new pride and joy should be delivered.

 

[Stu]

Leon you are correct, rSAP uses the built in antenna for the telephone with the one built into the van.

If it bothers you it is quite easy and relatively cheap to replace the controller unit fitted to your van with one that does support UHV or UHV & rSAP.

 

[Larkrise]

Are there any work arounds for iPhones to utilise the Premium bluetooth and rSAP. I do have the Premium bluetooth option in the van, but as I understand it Apple continues to not support it.

 

[Stu]

Change the controller unit

If your current controller is rSAP only then it's a plug & play plus coding swap - very simple and relatively cheap.

There used to be an App for jailbroken iPhone to do something with rSAP but it's no longer supported.

 

[Larkrise]

Oh dear, I'm a bit of an idiot in these things! What is the controller?! The rns510 has premium Bluetooth ... Do I need a non-iPhone when it is upgrade time?

 

[Stu]

The RNS 510 doesn't have bluetooth, the telephone unit (controller) has bluetooth. They are separate units.

I'm unsure of your difficulty or problem. Do you have an iPhone that will not connect to the telephone? Or is it that you think you are missing some features?

 

[Larkrise]

Thanks for this. I have an iPhone and premium Bluetooth and the phone does connect ok for making and receiving calls. The manual implies that with rSAP there would be better reception via the mirror aerial, better sound, receipt of SMS etc. What extra do we get by choosing the Premium Bluetooth option- I was starting to think it was nothing if the phone does not support rSAP.

 

[Stu]

So it's quite simple then. To get the extra features you would need an rSAP compatible handset.

 

[Larkrise]

Thanks for your time over this...I'm considerably better informed!

 

[Stu]

Thanks for your time over this...I'm considerably better informed!

You are very welcome.

 

[Raggedroy]

Are there any work arounds for iPhones to utilise the Premium bluetooth and rSAP. I do have the Premium bluetooth option in the van, but as I understand it Apple continues to not support it.

IPhone works fine on mine. Pop round and we can see if my IPhone connects to yours.

 

[Larkrise]

Yes, my iPhone works fine through the system but I think that the extra features that we paid for by having Premium Bluetooth are lost with an iPhone because Apple have not implemented rSAP. So my conclusion is that it is a waste of money to buy Premium Bluetooth if you have an iPhone. Btw camping in a most amazingly lovely place near Chester on route for Holyhead and the ferry tomorrow.