larryV

but in my case it seems to be very inconsistent. It worked perfectly last night but today I noticed that it would stay paired with the audi for a long time and then at other times it would intermitently unpair and re-pair again and would have nothing to do with the being locked or unlocked. And once, it unpaired randomly after 20 minutes of driving and refused to pair up again unless I restarted the iPhone's bluetooth. Very strange. I'm beginning to think it's more of an issue on the audi's end than the iPhone since like you said it works perfectly fine in a BMW and I am actually mildly impressed by how compatible it is with my ML63. Not only does the iPhone pair and stays paired with the benz, but I can also dock it via the factory-installed iPod connection, play and navigate through music from my steering wheel controls as if it was a normal iPod, and when a call comes in, the interface is smart enough on both ends that it would pause the iPod mode playback on the iPhone, patch the call through bluetooth, and when the call is over, resume playback where it left off without a hitch, all while the connection is actually charging the iPhone. Wished the RS4's worked the same way. Perhaps if enough audi owners complain, Apple would soon have an update to at least remedy the bluetooth functionality.

ELEVENS

...that my Blackberry 7130e has been a real pain as well. Some days it will pair and stay paired. Other times it will pair/unpair constanty. Yet other days it will stay paired for 20 minutes, unpair, etc. Completely unpredictable. I've downgraded the handset softare, upgraded it, reset it a bazillion times, tried every possible combination of settings a dozen times, reset the Audi system a bazillion times, upgraded the Audi to the latest Nav firmware - no go.

After hearing you guys go ga ga over the iPhone along with initial reports that it pairs good with the RS4, I was set to order one tomorrow just to have a decent reliable bluetooth car phone with push email and a decent web browser. But now I dunno. Me thinks the Audi Bluetooth sux (implementation is not exactly up to spec) - what a damn shame. I feel like an idiot holding a f'ing phone to my ear in the car.

DirkM

Sounds like it works fine when cradled/charged (like in the Benz and maybe the BMW) and would confirm what others saw when they started to use a charger for the iPhone to get rid of the BT disconnect issue. While the Audi iPod adapter is a very poor design, it still does a good job in keeping the iPod charged and play music through the speakers in the car. What I would like to see is an Audi Music Interface like the A6/A8/Q7 that fully integrates the iPod, keeps it charged and prevents the iPhone from going into standby.

larryV

so yes, it seems to be an Audi Bluetooth issue.

I will use a car charger for the iPhone on the Audi later to see if the unpairing is due to a standby mode/charger-presence issue.

gtc

I have two phones, a Sony Ericsson W600i, and a Nokia N93.

When I use the W600i, the bluetooth connection is very stable between the phone and the car, and all the options such as directory browsing and the shared phone book are enabled.

When I use my N93 (the more expensive of the two by far), the connection is flaky and the advanced features are disabled.

At first, the N93 is pretty stable, but after a week or so, I will notice random disconnect reconnects at first, and eventually the N93 stops pairing with the car's bluetooth altogether.

I actually have to turn it off and take the battery out of the phone for several minutes to completely reset the state of the phone before it will ever pair again.

I currently suspect that the phone is the weaker link of the two since I do have a phone that works everytime all the time.

Snark

...I turned off the setting that asked it to upload my address book to the RS4. Before the Pearl would randomly lose and re-establish the BT connection with the Audi. After turning off the address book upload, it works perfectly.

Now I have an iPhone (which, by the way, is an amazing device) and I'm having the same inconsistent connection problems. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any way to stop the address book from uploading itself. ;-(

Bob W.

I've noticed that if you leave it in unlocked mode (screen on), it stays paired. Obviously, the problem with that is it drains the battery quicker. Supposedly it can be used like an iPod in the BMW also, as you described with your ML63...I don't have an iPod interface in the car, though.