Parrot MKI 9200 & iPhone - tomtom

[ally]

Anyone using tom tom on iPhone with a Parrot MKI9200 at all?

I noticed with mines I can only get voice instructions through the speakers if the iPhone lead is connected & music playing from itunes on the phone, if I pause the music and it then defaults to radio I loose the voice instructions through the speakers.

If the phone lead is not connected I can get voice instructions through the speakers via bluetooth with the radio on, but it's not the best to be honest

So, has anyone else seen this & just wondered if there was a way round it?

Using a Brodit holder with pass through lead and one of those charging passport things if that makes any difference

TIA

[mikealder]

I use a similar set up with no issue but I only have power from the car to charge the iPhone through the Brodit holder, the audio is sent to my iO-Play unit via Bluetooth for both handsfree and/ or music and TomTom audio. The iO-Play is similar in spec to the Parrot kit you are using in that it supports both the A2DP and HFP bluetooth protocols.

What is the "Pass through" lead doing as all audio should be routed viua Bluetooth, also can you confirm what iOS the iPhone is running and is Jail Broken as I have seen intermittant bluetooth behaviour using a JB iPhone - Mike

[ally]

Hi Mike
I'm not sure what you mean that all audio should be via bluetooth, the parrot kit is hardwired to the car amp via the fibre optic and comes with a lead to connect to the iphone or ipod directly, as well as other devices.
I'm not sure how to stream the music via bluetooth but I think this would reduce sound quality?
The only thing that should be bluetooth for me is the phone calls.
The pass through lead is simply an extension lead, I could have plugged the parrot directly in to the Brodit holder which I might try.
The phone is a new 4s, not jail broken
Thanks again
Ally

[mikealder]

You need to pair the iPhone with the Parrot using Bluetooth settings, once the audio is using the A2DP bluetooth connection the sound quality will be just as good as a wired connection with no interference issues at all - Mike

[ally]

Thanks again Mike, I don't want use the iTunes without the lead so I think I will have to live with this for now
The phone is of course paired with the parrot kit via blue tooth but I only use this for calls

[mikealder]

Try it with the iPhone in your hand not connected to anything by wires just to prove it does work, then decide why you need the wire connecting it to the car - Mike

[ally]

Thanks again
My reasons for using the cable as follows
It comes with the kit and is designed for it's purpose
I t charges the phone, I don't like cig lighter chargers which are untidy, i had one and it got in the way
If I use Bluetooth, will I have to keep touching the phone to control the music, volume etc, or will the parrot controller still work? The OE stereo doesn't control the ipod or iphone so I use the Parrot controller

That said I will try a few scenarios to see what works

[ally]

Tried it today with no cable and music quality seemed pretty good using bluetooth, certainly better than I expected, & tomtom worked through speakers both when using ipod & with ipod paused and radio on.
Only downside was that i could not control the music in terms of selecting tracks, playlists etc without touching the phone itself, I could however control the volume using the Parrot controller.
So I know what can work now & it will be mostly handy not to have it connected up with the cable
Thanks again Mike for all the good info & help with this.

[mikealder]

You should still be able to skip to the next/ previous track using Bluetooth from the control on the Parrot as well as adjusting the volume, as you state though you can't control playlists/ album selection etc - Mike

[ally]

Tried it today and it does select tracks too, I was in the back yesterday and asked my wife try forwarding a track, she must have had some kind of female malfunction which happens a lot when it comes to cars.