You have bought a new smartphone, a new car, or you have just replaced car radio, each of these explanations can be a good reason to learn to connect your mobile phone to your car by Bluetooth. To achieve this, you are wondering how to activate Bluetooth on BMW i3, know that you are in the right place. Our team has written this content page to help you perform this process and let you to give a call in the car or connect your Android or Apple phone to it. To do this, to start with, we will have a look at the benefit that your Bluetooth car radio can provide you, then how to activate Bluetooth on BMW i3 and finally, how to activate Bluetooth hands-free kit on BMW i3.

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Bluetooth car radio on BMW i3: How does it work?

Bluetooth technology: What is it?

To begin this article, we will focus on bluetooth technology, and more specifically on its source and how bluetooth functions on BMW i3. Bluetooth technology was developed in 1994 by the Ericsson mobile phone brand and in 1999, an interest group bringing together different technology firms was made and Bluetooth technology was included into the first items. Its objective is to supplant the infrared technology that could already transfer data wirelessly between two equipment but needed to be close and not have an obstacle between the transmitter and receiver of data. Unlike infrared (IrDA) which used light waves, bluetooth uses 2.4 Ghz radio waves, which permits it to go through objects. In most cases, the transmission power will enable data to be transferred over a distance of about ten metres. As for the bluetooth operation on BMW i3, it will enable you to pair your mobile phone to your vehicle’s car radio and take advantage from the basic features of your car hands-free kit. This is a fair advantage, simply because since couple of years, the use of Bluetooth headsets has been prohibited in cars.

Bluetooth features on BMW i3

Let’s take a closer look at the features of Bluetooth on BMW i3. Bluetooth, as we have seen just before, has the basic function of transmitting data between two devices. However, its capabilities are quite limited. In fact, we will mainly employ Bluetooth on vehicles to:

  • Make hands-free calls with the sound on the speakers of your BMW i3.
  • Transfer your music by bluetooth and listen to it on the speakers of your BMW i3.
  • Get your phone’s contacts from the car radio of your BMW i3
  • Order your mobile phone by voice (example: Call someone or change music)

All these functionalities are close to what you could now get with a USB connection from your mobile phone to your BMW i3, even so, not all BMW i3 models are fitted with a USB port, and Bluetooth technology is becoming the norm. It permits you to avoid having to link up your mobile phone to your BMW i3 to take advantage of these functions.

How to activate Bluetooth on BMW i3

Now let’s concentrate on the part that is probably most significant to you. How to activate Bluetooth on BMW i3? It’s nice to know that your car provides this technology, but how to do concretely if you want to phone in Bluetooth with your BMW i3? The technique is quite easy and we will teach you in a few steps how to activate your Bluetooth and how to pair your smartphone to your BMW i3:

  • Go to your mobile phone options, then, in the “network” tab select Bluetooth and search for devices with which to pair.
  • Once the search is completed, start the connection with your vehicle, there should be a code in the name of the Bluetooth “BMW i3”, a code should appear on the screen of your vehicle, it is up to you to examine that it is the same on the mobile phone and confirm the connection with the radio of your BMW i3

Second possibility, you can also carry out the process straight through your car’s car radio:

    • Go to your car radio options, “connection” tab
    • Choose the option “search for a device”
    • Select your mobile phone from the list, taking care to switch on the Bluetooth connection on it before handling
    • To complete the connection, all you have to accomplish is confirm that the two codes shown on your two devices are similar.

Now you know how to activate Bluetooth on BMW i3. All you have to do now is to benefit of all the functionalities that this technology will enable you to do, such as making a phone call with Bluetooth on BMW i3, or listening to your music with Bluetooth on BMW i3. If you want to connect or activate Android Auto on your BMW i3, we have made a complete content page that should enable you to do this operation without any trouble.

How to activate Bluetooth hands-free car kit on BMW i3

Finally, last part of our content page, how to activate the Bluetooth hands-free kit on BMW i3? This action is only the result of the technique we have just performed. Once you have achieved the previous steps, activating the hands-free kit should be a formality. In fact, your BMW i3’s car radio should be ready to manage calls to your vehicle’s speakers and allow you to use the built-in microphone to speak. Try to simulate a call to verify that it is turned on, otherwise you will have to go to the Bluetooth options of your BMW i3 and switch on the “hands-free call” option. If you have problems with the Bluetooth of your BMW i3, do not hesitate to read this article which will help you to fix them.

To find more tips on the BMW i3, take a look at the BMW i3 category.