Mini Cooper Forum banner
Cancel

Siri Doesn't Work

Jump to Latest Follow
1 - 20 of 78 Posts
S

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hey all -- I have a brand-new 2015 5-door and I'm loving it so far. The only problem -- Siri can't hear me in the car!

The bluetooth connects fine every time, phone calls work without a hitch, as does Google Maps breaking in to give me directions... but whenever I press the home button on my phone, Siri activates, connects to the car's mic... and then can't hear anything.

I think the Mini's software is not activating the microphone. I went to the dealership to ask about this and we tested it out on a floor model using the dealer's phone. Sure enough, it didn't work either.

Am I alone on this? If not, is Mini planning a software update to address this? Does anyone have a email/phone number I should contact to see about more answers? I never had this problem in my 2010 Mini so it's disappointing that, with all the tech advances in this car, it's taken a huge step backward at the same time!
 
S

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Discussion Starter · #6 ·
Tiger: I'll give that a try again when I get off work, but I think my button is basically inactive since I didn't spring for the voice control package.

Shigaman: I forgot they enabled the "Siri's always listening when the phone's plugged in" thing in iOS8! And bwahahahaha Syria! :D
 
S

· Registered
Joined
·
1,189 Posts
#10 ·
SpecialAgentCooper said:
Yeah, I think you guys have the answer -- the Visual Boost & MediaXL packages work, but the basic stereo package seems to have a bug.

Does anyone have a thought of the best way to contact Mini about this issue?
Click to expand...
Not sure if this is a bug - on US MINIs with the base radio, the voice activation button isn't wired into anything. If you have an iPhone connected and press the voice activation button (long press or short press), nothing happens.

Visual Boost and the XL headunits support voice activation so they work fine. Maybe the bug is that yours is connecting somehow?

Anyone else with a base radio want to chime in?
 
Save Share
Reply Quote
S

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Discussion Starter · #11 ·
Yeah, I'm not expecting the voice activation button to do anything (the dealer mentioned it was essentially vestigial), but on my 2010 Mini Cooper, if I pressed the home button on my iPhone, Siri would come on over the bluetooth in the car. Now when I do the same, it tries to connect, but the car's mic doesn't turn on.

I really hope they wouldn't take the tech a step backwards on the base models on purpose just to encourage people to upgrade to the Visual Boost! :D
 
sirron

· Registered
Joined
·
280 Posts
#13 ·
SpecialAgentCooper said:
Yeah, I think you guys have the answer -- the Visual Boost & MediaXL packages work, but the basic stereo package seems to have a bug.

Does anyone have a thought of the best way to contact Mini about this issue?
Click to expand...
Use Siri to call them.>:D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skullee
Save Share
Reply Quote
S

· Registered
Joined
·
9 Posts
#15 ·
SpecialAgentCooper said:
Quick update -- I contacted Mini and they're "getting back to me". Will keep you posted in case anyone else has this problem! :)
Click to expand...
Who did you contact? I would like to lodge a complaint regarding this.

I have discovered if I activate Siri as soon as my phone connects to the car, it will work as you expect. Siri comes on over the car stereo and the BT mic works perfectly, it has to be before the radio starts playing music. Setting the stereo to media with your phone disconnected seems to work best.
 
S

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
Discussion Starter · #16 ·
I emailed them and heard back from "Emily Lane, MINI Motoring Relations Representative". Here's all she had to say...

You can access Siri in your MINI two different ways-using your Apple cord or via Bluetooth. When you pull up Siri on your phone, you'll see a Bluetooth icon at the bottom right-hard corner. You'll want to be sure that the source indicated is your MINI rather than your phone. Once you do that, you can press and hold the voice activation button on your steering wheel.

If you're still having trouble, you may want to contact the service team at your authorized MINI dealer. They have the expertise to provide you with detailed technical support. A list of our authorized MINI dealers can be found on our website at: www.MINIUSA.com, under “Dealers & Inventory.”
Click to expand...
...so basically what I already tried. Not much help, but I emailed back asking if I could put in a note to whoever updates the Mini software. We'll see about that. I'd probably have more luck calling, which I might try next week.

I haven't tried connecting as soon as I get in the car. I'll try that and report back!
 
M

· Registered
Joined
·
1 Posts
#17 ·
Have the same problem, just picked up a Cooper S with no tech package and it does the same thing, SIRI doesn't work. Also tried the trick of activating SIRI as soon as I got in the car - that worked once so guess I am not fast enough the other times I tried it :)

I mentioned the issue to the mini dealership today, they didn't know the problem existed, though agreed with the other members here that the s/w is probably looking for the voice command button on the steering wheel and disables the SIRI mic - not much use for the non tech package !

They said they would let me know if they heard anything - but would be good to know if mini knows about this and are intending to fix it.
 
C

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
#19 ·
I just picked up my new 2015 Mini Cooper today. On the drive home from the dealer, I discovered Siri does not work when my iPhone is wirelessly bluetooth connected to the car. My car does not have the NAV or WIRED package (basic radio). In my 2006 BMW, Siri function is flawless: I press my iPhone home button, and Siri's voice comes through the speakers and I answer via the car's microphone.

If anyone has a solution to this, it would be much appreciated. I really hope this is a bug and not an engineered incompatibility to encourage purchase of the upcharged tech packages.
 
C

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
#20 ·
Hi All,

I wanted to give you my experience with this topic as a new MINI owner of 3 days.

Long story short: I can confirm that Siri does not work while connected to bluetooth with the base radio. I discovered this on my drive home from the dealership. It was so odd and surprising to me that it wouldn't work, I never tested it out on the lot. In all other auto bluetooth implementations I have used, I can use Siri on my phone while still connected to bluetooth, even with the most basic, 10-year old systems.

The issue is that when speaking with dealers or even MINI customer service, they are hung up on thinking I am asking for car-based voice activation, which they go on to explain (correctly) is not available without the tech packages. I try to explain I dont want car-based voice, my issue is the car is effectively crippling a phone function (which could be argued is a safety liability). After awhile, the dealer and MINI admit it's not working, not going to work, no solution, don't expect any more response from us, thanks.

Mechanically, the car is great, but I am very disappointed that MINI regressed a basic bluetooth feature (which I would argue is unexpected for the consumer as evidenced by the existence of this thread) to create differentiation for their upcharged tech packages.

My hope is enough people will lodge a complaint with MINI about this and a software fix will be implemented.
 
1 - 20 of 78 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
About this Discussion
77 Replies
25 Participants
Last post:
Ameliamckenzie
Mini Cooper Forum
You’re looking at the best place to talk about the Mini Cooper with other owners of the Mini F56 to discuss mods, problems and share tuning tips!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
MINI F56 General Discussion Electronics and Audio Introductions MINI JCW F56 Forum Purchasing and Ordering
Top