2014 BMW 328 iDrive - The Bob Eucker of Data

2014 BMW 328 iDrive - The Bob Eucker of Data

Success!

I recently posted about issues with Contacts and iDrive, and I'm happy to report that all of the area code fixes for my contacts have been updated. My PC, online Contacts file (People app) and semi-Smartphone (Nokia running Windows) are all in sync.

About that BMW Technology Package

The Technology package (~$3000) just didn't offer me enough to add $100 per month to my lease. But, no technology package, no hard drive, and no hard drive, no stored data.

"I Must Be in the Front Row!"

I jumped in the car, navigated to Contacts and found the list was blank. (Cool!) Several minutes later the sync process was complete and my BMW 328i had the same contacts as my phone.

Curious, I then linked my wife's phone via Bluetooth, her contacts loaded into the iDrive, replacing mine.

Nice!

Bottom Line:

While it seems logical that your car should store your contact files, this "lack of storage feature" on my BMW insures that whatever phone is connected, with whatever data is on that phone, is available. I'm not sure if BMW planned for this "real-time" functionality, but it works for me.

Just remember to link the phone when you start your trip - to allow time for the data to sync, and you're good to go.

~Tot1