[mjh93sa]

Glad to help Viv!

[Z4 Beemer]

Keyfob cover? Like what you used to get with 'conventional' BMW keys - leather type?

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by Z4 Beemer

Keyfob cover? Like what you used to get with 'conventional' BMW keys - leather type?

I think so Gordon- leather cover that lets the fob rotate in & out- part number 51210414778 courtesy of Matt- there's a pic on the forum somewhere- here!

The dealer is posting it out to me next week, after they get it.

Viv

[peterg1965]

Sorry If I have missed this point somewhere, what is the criteria for getting 3 yrs of free BMW Assist? I thought it was 6 months gratis on buying the car?

[Z4 Beemer]

Originally Posted by vivekk

I think so Gordon- leather cover that lets the fob rotate in & out- part number 51210414778 courtesy of Matt- there's a pic on the forum somewhere- here!

The dealer is posting it out to me next week, after they get it.

Viv

Viv - no, this is different. I have a spare one in a drawer that holds conventional BMW keys (the diamond shaped ones I think they are called), but not the new type fob. Did Matt get one free with his car?

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Sorry If I have missed this point somewhere, what is the criteria for getting 3 yrs of free BMW Assist? I thought it was 6 months gratis on buying the car?

It was 6 months, Pete, until the end of August, when they changed the free period to 3 years!

Just ring BMW Assist on 0800 5610 555 & make sure they've set it up for you- I'm sure it already applies to everyone with a current subscription.

Originally Posted by Z4 Beemer

Viv - no, this is different. I have a spare one in a drawer that holds conventional BMW keys (the diamond shaped ones I think they are called), but not the new type fob. Did Matt get one free with his car?

Sorry Gordon.

I rang Matt, because I needed leather keyfob assistance, during my car's Assist installation! I knew he'd have the ability to get the info I needed, even though the dealer's parts dept couldn't!

I'm not sure if Matt had got one, but he knew someone who did!

Viv

[mjh93sa]

Not got one myself, but a quick search here turned up the info

[NFS]

Have I got this right ????

If I register for BMW assist now (didn't bother before) it's free for 3 years ?????

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

Have I got this right ????

If I register for BMW assist now (didn't bother before) it's free for 3 years ?????

YES NFS!

I was in the same situation- didn't register for 2 years, now I have & it's free for the next 3 years!

Viv

[NFS]

Originally Posted by vivekk

YES NFS!

I was in the same situation- didn't register for 2 years, now I have & it's free for the next 3 years!

Viv

Whats the catch ??

[dxb335d]

well my 6 months will be up then

i hate bmw

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

well my 6 months will be up then

i hate bmw

Carlos, call the BMW Assist telephone number and ask them for the 3yr free assist, they can only say no!

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

Whats the catch ??

I was as cynical as you are, NFS!

Strangely, no catch at all, as far as I believe.

On being told it was now free till 2010, my exact words were '..so....would you mind telling me why you are offering me this free for the next 3 years? What was wrong with the 6 months?'!

The girl on the other end of the call just laughed, surprisingly!

I finished off with '..so...let me get this straight....you give me the service free until 2010, so I can ring you up as much as I want without any carphone charges, 24hours a day, every day of the year; I can send free text messages to Europe & America; I can use Google Maps to send stuff to the car and you won't charge me a penny for any of it?'

'Not a penny!' she replied & gigled once more!

Nowt stranger than the truth!

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Carlos, call the BMW Assist telephone number and ask them for the 3yr free assist, they can only say no!

I wonder if that's what they'll say, Pete?!

Cartechnophilia, I expect you will continue getting it for free until 2010, like the rest of us, irrespective of your previous 'history' with BMW UK!

Viv

[silverbmwz3]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

Whats the catch ??

The catch, if you are me, is that it teases you by working for a few hours then stops. You try the iDrive reset (thanks Viv) and that doesn't help, you call BMW Customer Service and they suggest it is a technical problem with the car and to go to dealer.....great

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by silverbmwz3

The catch, if you are me, is that it teases you by working for a few hours then stops. You try the iDrive reset (thanks Viv) and that doesn't help, you call BMW Customer Service and they suggest it is a technical problem with the car and to go to dealer.....great

Sorry to hear that Paul.

If it's any consolation, mine is still working fine!

Here's hoping to a quick solution.

Just one thing- does it 'act' any differently when you have a phone paired up to the car?
It was just that I was using it yesterday (with my mobile paired up at the same time) & my wife rang me & it quickly diverted the call to the voicemail, because the car was 'talking' to Assist at the time.
It didn't stop working, but it could have!

You could try removing any paired phones, resetting Idrive, re-loading any Assist updates & trying again.

All the best.

Viv

[silverbmwz3]

Thanks Viv.
How do you reaload assist updates?
Haven't tried unparing my phone, might do that. Seems odd that it worked then didn't, maybe bmw didn't pay the phone company for my SIM !

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by silverbmwz3

Thanks Viv.
How do you reaload assist updates?
Haven't tried unparing my phone, might do that. Seems odd that it worked then didn't, maybe bmw didn't pay the phone company for my SIM !

Paul, you just need to do exactly the same as when you first updated the system.

Go to the imenu, by clicking the controller down on the idrive main menu -> roll down to BMW Service settings -> Service status -> Push down to options -> Update services

All of this requires the ability for your car to connect to whichever mobile network BMW Assist uses.

If there are any changes to Assist, your car will download them (which I doubt, because there hasn't been any changes, at least since you first had it installed).

I only just noticed, but the ability to call locations sent down by Assist automatically appears after you turn on your pre-paired BT phone!

Also, all of the main Assist menus are available by voice recognition, but you do still have to select any submenus yourself.

Perhaps this is the ideal time to test out your SOS button- well it is an emergency, for you, at least!

All the best.

Viv

[F31-340i]

Interesting. Is this 3 yr deal transferrable for a 2nd owner, or just for those that have bought new?

I would be surpised if BMW didn't offer this to owners who had had teh 6 months free already, and the car was less than say 18 months old.

I can see this will be a push from the marketing people to get owners really used to it to the extent that they can start charging from 2010 - they must hope it'll become so widespread & popular that you won't want to be without it.

Does the "online" function let you surf from the car? If so what, the whole web or just some "bmw prep'd" material, like a sort of old school AOL? £300 a year is too much, but I'd pay say £60 a year for the convenience. I wonder how BMW funds the GSM usage - this won't be free to them, or will it?

[Serjames]

According to my sources, I think Google may be picking up some of the tab....

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by ///ajd

Interesting. Is this 3 yr deal transferrable for a 2nd owner, or just for those that have bought new?

I would be surpised if BMW didn't offer this to owners who had had teh 6 months free already, and the car was less than say 18 months old.

I can see this will be a push from the marketing people to get owners really used to it to the extent that they can start charging from 2010 - they must hope it'll become so widespread & popular that you won't want to be without it.

Does the "online" function let you surf from the car? If so what, the whole web or just some "bmw prep'd" material, like a sort of old school AOL? £300 a year is too much, but I'd pay say £60 a year for the convenience. I wonder how BMW funds the GSM usage - this won't be free to them, or will it?

I expect it is transferable, considering BMW Germany are now 'pushing' the system across Europe for free. Check with BMW Assist to be sure.

BMW Online is supposed to allow in-car access to email & BMW-provided sources for weather, travel etc. However, some members are saying they've been told it has been stopped.
I can't see why that is the case, considering the entire BMW ConnectedDrive package (Assist AND Online) is now free & that WHOLE package has been very heavily advertised at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

BMW will have a deal with their European GSM provider(s) (Vodafone?) providing them with a heavily discounted tariff across the continent. I'm sure the deal went something like '...we'll give you a little something for the next 3 years, then you get a nice cut of the subscription we'll be charging our huge customer base after 2010, fair deal?'

As SerJames says, Google must be picking up some of the tab for sending Google Map locations to Assist customers.
I expect they too are in on the post-2010 BMW Assist deal with the GSM network provider and must be in for a cut of all subscriptions from then on.

Viv

[F31-340i]

Thanks for replies - your theories on a BMW/vodaphone grand plan seem entirely plausible.

I hope the service evolves to become really useful. Trouble is it will be hard for it to compete with the web unless it offers that degree of flexibility. When you're looking for say a hotel in a certain area, you can't beat the web to track down some off the beaten track superb hotels that may not appear on expedia or the bigger hotel booking services, and the ones a limited service from BMW might offer would probably be only a small subset of expedia for instance & hence may not make it worth the trouble.

I suppose they'd really need to put 3G in the car to open up true web browser type possibilities. I suppose if they could get near to competing with the high street, I could be swayed into a mobile phone deal that was "car" focussed, i.e. to include calls & mobile internet on my phone & in the car as part of a joint deal for say £25/month. This could be interesting, especially if they gave the car WiFi to enable laptop connectivity too through the same deal.

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by ///ajd

Thanks for replies - your theories on a BMW/vodaphone grand plan seem entirely plausible.

I hope the service evolves to become really useful. Trouble is it will be hard for it to compete with the web unless it offers that degree of flexibility. When you're looking for say a hotel in a certain area, you can't beat the web to track down some off the beaten track superb hotels that may not appear on expedia or the bigger hotel booking services, and the ones a limited service from BMW might offer would probably be only a small subset of expedia for instance & hence may not make it worth the trouble.

I suppose they'd really need to put 3G in the car to open up true web browser type possibilities. I suppose if they could get near to competing with the high street, I could be swayed into a mobile phone deal that was "car" focussed, i.e. to include calls & mobile internet on my phone & in the car as part of a joint deal for say £25/month. This could be interesting, especially if they gave the car WiFi to enable laptop connectivity too through the same deal.

I'm sure that is part of the post-2010 plan, in which BMW, Google & the networks are all involved.

If I thought I could get a good a good deal on an HSCD high-speed mobile which would work with BMW bluetooth AND would include an option & subscription to use Assist HSCD (instead of slow GSM), as part of the monthly subscription, then I'd happily 'jump' at it!

I'm sure there have been talks between all concerned parties looking at this very issue.

By 2010, I expect there'll be a large proportion of BMWs fitted with ConnectedDrive. Their owners will certainly expect a system which is more improved than it is today. As such, there will be a demand for modern, higher-speed, in-car access to ConnectedDrive services, and people will be prepared to pay for it.

BMW knows that very well & will have their media & advertising specialists working full-time, to 'force' the likes of us to go the whole hog & pay for their 'BMW ConnectedDriveNetMobile' package- ultra-speed net access from PC, car, mobile phone with full integration with ConnectedDrive.

It's probably a good time to buy shares in BMW Telematics right now!

All the best.

Viv