Hi Richard,
Any update on this?
Any update on this?
New ‘big TFT screen’ 1600 - Phone cubbyhole thing
- Thread starter Wapping
- Start date
I am away in France for Easter. I have a chance to give the thing a proper work out.
Two days and about 480 miles in, here is the news following the changing of my TFT screen.
A. I am running BMW Connect through an Android Samsung S10 in the cubbyhole, using bespoke routes I created in MyRoute. I am running the same routes on my XT, which is on a cradle, mounted on the steering stem.
In other words, I am using the phone, app and cubbyhole, just as BMW designed it. Similarly, I am using the XT in a ‘sensible’ position; nothing extreme.
B. The XT has not suffered any kind of demonic possession. As far as I can tell it is running normally. This is a huge improvement on the past, when the XT was unusable.
C. The Connected app is running pretty well. It occasionally shows the cursor running parallel to the road, but so far at least, this has not been a huge problem.
D. About six or eight times in total over the two days, the phone / app has lost Wi-Fi connection with the TFT screen, losing the map view. Reconnection of the S10 phone and Wi-Fi has been quick and automatic each time, without me having to stop or intervene.
Had it lost Wi-Fi connection at a critical junction, I would have been very annoyed. However, as my XT was running properly, I had a reliable back-up. Similarly, the TFT screen still showed the simpler Bluetooth directions but these are a bit awkward without the voice instructions.
E. The voice instructions from my XT into my Neotec helmet and Sena Bluetooth headset have been totally reliable.
F. The voice instructions from the Connected app have not been at all reliable. Sometimes they work, most of the time it is silent, with no voice instructions at all. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why the voice instructions sometimes work but most often do not.
G. Conclusions:
i. The replacement TFT screen is a big improvement on the past. With my old screen the XT would not work at all and the S10 would not work in the cubbyhole.
ii. I can live with the Connected app occasionally showing the bike’s position as being away from the road. Only once did this lead to a recalculation of the route. It would though be annoying if the recalculation happened at a bad time and I followed the recalculated route blindly.
iii. The dropping of the Wi-Fi connection I can live with, as the reconnection of the S10 is fast and reliable. But….
a. I have the safety net of the now reliable XT, running as a backup.
b. Had I not had the XT, the loss of the Wi-Fi at a critical moment would be very frustrating.
c. The loss of the spoken instructions is just tedious. But, I can live with it, not least as I have the XT.
d. Would I trust the Connected app, had I not had the XT? That is the acid test question, surely. The answer is:
On simple short journeys, where I just about knew where I was going, probably yes.
On all day, cross country French D roads, probably no. I would worry that the Wi-Fi would drop at a critical moment or a silly / annoying recalculation would happen at bad times.
To my mind, the BMW Connected app SHOULD be as reliable as the benchmark Garmin navigation system. It isn’t yet.
I am accepting it as it stands but ONLY because, with the new TFT screen in place, it is so much better than it was. That is not right. It SHOULD be 100% reliable; as good as a Garmin device. In short, I am making excuses for it, which I shouldn’t have to do and only because the past was so bad as to be unusable.
I haven’t tried using the S10 in my tank bag or jacket, to see if the Wi-Fi connection drop off is any less. I shouldn’t have to.
The unreliable voice instructions is just tedious. They SHOULD work. It is not a Sena problem, that I am certain of.
The rest of the big TFT screen ‘experience’ is very good. The graphics are clear and the route map, whether used in full screen or reduced to one third, when seeing the rev counter, is very good. Excellent, in fact. I cannot fault it.
I am not here to moan, just for the sake if it. The service from Park Lane to try to solve the problem has been good. BMW have tried hard with the Connected app / big TFT screen on their flagship bike. The replacement TFT screen has improved things, no question about it. I am though making excuses for it but only because I have the XT running as a backup and the past was so bad. That is not right. Similarly, I worry a bit that BMW might (I have no evidence of this) drop any further development of the Connected app for its motorcycles, leaving me in a sort of no mans land. In other words, using something that ‘Sort of works’ but only if I have the XT as a reliable back-up. That is not right, surely? But, if BMW can tweak it all a bit, it COULD be very good.
Now for three more days of testing in the wilds of France!
PS I have no idea whether I would see the same or different results, had I used my iPhone instead of my S10.
Rambler358
Registered user
I experienced this myself when running the XT and CA/TFT navigation in tandem. Taking the XT out of the equation, voice instructions from the CA/TFT navigation worked perfectly.
Having paired my Sena headset to the XT via GPS pairing, I believe the Sena prioritizes GPS over everything else, so that could possibly be the issue.
Time for another test!
Thank you.
What you say does make sense. BMW clearly designed the Connected app to be used without a separate GPS navigation device. What doesn’t make sense though (at least not to me) is why the voice instructions from the Connected app works sometimes but not others. I had thought that the voice instructions from the Connected ceased when the XT spoke, which would make sense, as the XT overrides everything. But that is not the case. They just cease randomly and sometimes (not often) randomly restart again.
I am away in France at the moment and am reluctant to start re-pairing everything but I will play around with it when I get back to home.
What you say does make sense. BMW clearly designed the Connected app to be used without a separate GPS navigation device. What doesn’t make sense though (at least not to me) is why the voice instructions from the Connected app works sometimes but not others. I had thought that the voice instructions from the Connected ceased when the XT spoke, which would make sense, as the XT overrides everything. But that is not the case. They just cease randomly and sometimes (not often) randomly restart again.
I am away in France at the moment and am reluctant to start re-pairing everything but I will play around with it when I get back to home.
Well, first day out with my new K1600 today. Although an iPhone user, having read-up on this and various other forums, I'd already decided that I wouldn't even bother trying to get my iPhone to work with the TFT. There's also the small issue of my 13 Pro Max not fitting in the stupidly small locker thing.
Anyway, I already had an old, unused Huawei P30 sitting in a drawer so that was pressed into service today. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked after a couple of hiccups to start with. It stayed connected all day although the whole stopping and powering everything off for a lunch-stop or fuel stop still meant having to give it a prod to get the wifi bit to do its thing (the phone connected straight away on bluetooth and would show the route directions without the map so its the map connecting bit that was the issue. I will see how it goes but, to be honest, I started off with the thoughts that I'd be just using a stand-alone satnav immediately but it worked well enough today for me to stick with it for the moment.
Anyway, I already had an old, unused Huawei P30 sitting in a drawer so that was pressed into service today. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked after a couple of hiccups to start with. It stayed connected all day although the whole stopping and powering everything off for a lunch-stop or fuel stop still meant having to give it a prod to get the wifi bit to do its thing (the phone connected straight away on bluetooth and would show the route directions without the map so its the map connecting bit that was the issue. I will see how it goes but, to be honest, I started off with the thoughts that I'd be just using a stand-alone satnav immediately but it worked well enough today for me to stick with it for the moment.
Excellent.
The Bluetooth connection and reconnection is indeed quick.
The wifi connection / reconnection takes up to a minute. Only once have I had to enter the connections sub-section and prompt the wifi connection to reconnect manually, when on the move.
Nope, an iPhone that large will not fit in the cubbyhole. It is the reason why I bought a secondhand Android Samsung S10, simply to use on the bike. That and the automatic wifi reconnection being a pig on an Apple phone, though that might have got better.
As to the rest, now that I am past most of the glitches, it’s pretty good. Touch wood.
The Bluetooth connection and reconnection is indeed quick.
The wifi connection / reconnection takes up to a minute. Only once have I had to enter the connections sub-section and prompt the wifi connection to reconnect manually, when on the move.
Nope, an iPhone that large will not fit in the cubbyhole. It is the reason why I bought a secondhand Android Samsung S10, simply to use on the bike. That and the automatic wifi reconnection being a pig on an Apple phone, though that might have got better.
As to the rest, now that I am past most of the glitches, it’s pretty good. Touch wood.
Rambler358
Registered user
My iPhone 14 Pro Max will fit in the cubby, but just barely and without any case. Still I prefer not using the cubby as it’s so cumbersome to do so. My Quad-Lock anti-vibration setup on the center stem mount works perfectly for me.
I was forgetting that my large phone had a very thin case when I tried.
I did take it out of the case to see if it would fit and it slipped through my fingers. The end result was inevitable.
The cubbyhole is OK, if you have the luxury of a second phone, that fits and can just leave it there for the duration of the day. It is not though one of BMW’s greatest triumphs.
Unfortunately, I am running an XT on the centre stem.
I did take it out of the case to see if it would fit and it slipped through my fingers. The end result was inevitable.
The cubbyhole is OK, if you have the luxury of a second phone, that fits and can just leave it there for the duration of the day. It is not though one of BMW’s greatest triumphs.
Unfortunately, I am running an XT on the centre stem.
Well, I've had a few weeks of trying to cope with the inbuilt navigation and I'm now admitting defeat. Its crap. Not totally, and it could be so good, so easily, but it isn't. It was designed/tested (or not) by somebody who doesn't ride bikes and/or tours using navigation. I could cope with the slow start-up at the beginning of the day. I could cope with the occasional dropping-out of the wifi link and the resulting black screen. What I couldn't cope with in the end was it being reliable all day, right up until the moment I needed it to do its thing and it chose that moment to go to the toilet. I also found it frustrating as fck when, on Sunday, I was doing a route where I came across a road closure (twice) and it was just such a pain having to stop, switch-off, gloves off, fiddle about getting the hatch open and extracting the mobile phone so as to try and plan an alternative route. All the time with a pillion on the back. It was just irritating beyond belief and I'm giving up now with it and have bought a Garmin XT. I'm hoping by mounting it as far away from the screen that I don't have the electrical interference issues you've had. Am I right in thinking you've got your XT mounted on a ball on the top of the steering head? If so, where did you get that please?
The BMW Connect system, when it is running bespoke routes, is actually pretty good. When it knows there is a road closure, it will (more often than not) route the rider around it. Whether the algorithm chooses roads that are suitable, is another matter entirely.
Leaving that aside and I’m not here to defend BMW, trust me…..
My XT is indeed mounted on the steering column. Pricey, there are no doubt cheaper versions, but well made and swift delivery:
https://www.tecnoglobe.be/tecnoglob...m-gps-mount/10211-mount-for-bmw-k1600-gt.html
I powered the XT via a relay, powering a fuse block. This was a bit of a tight fit, use a Thunderbox instead.
Leaving that aside and I’m not here to defend BMW, trust me…..
My XT is indeed mounted on the steering column. Pricey, there are no doubt cheaper versions, but well made and swift delivery:
https://www.tecnoglobe.be/tecnoglob...m-gps-mount/10211-mount-for-bmw-k1600-gt.html
I powered the XT via a relay, powering a fuse block. This was a bit of a tight fit, use a Thunderbox instead.
Thanks Richard. Did you get problems with electrical interference when the XT was mounted centrally with this mount or did you have it previously mounted closer to the screen? I appreciate you've obviously managed to get BMW to change your tft.
From day one I had the device mounted on the stem, as did another person I know.
My bike suffered from the TFT screen’s EMF problem, bad enough to render the device and the phone (in its cubbyhole) unusable as navigation devices.This problem was, for me at least, greatly reduced by the fitting of a new TFT screen.
The other fellow had a different, though related problem. His original screen (like my second screen) did not leak EMF’s so much. But, it had other problems. His second screen, did cure the problems but he gained the EMF problem instead. They have now put his first screen back on, so he can at least use the navigation system but (naturally enough) his original problems come back with it.
Based on my and his lexperience (added to by reports from the US 1600 forum) it would seem that some TFT screens leak more EMF’s than others. My first screen was really bad, the second one less so. It might be a bit of a lottery, until BMW resolve the problem fully.
My bike suffered from the TFT screen’s EMF problem, bad enough to render the device and the phone (in its cubbyhole) unusable as navigation devices.This problem was, for me at least, greatly reduced by the fitting of a new TFT screen.
The other fellow had a different, though related problem. His original screen (like my second screen) did not leak EMF’s so much. But, it had other problems. His second screen, did cure the problems but he gained the EMF problem instead. They have now put his first screen back on, so he can at least use the navigation system but (naturally enough) his original problems come back with it.
Based on my and his lexperience (added to by reports from the US 1600 forum) it would seem that some TFT screens leak more EMF’s than others. My first screen was really bad, the second one less so. It might be a bit of a lottery, until BMW resolve the problem fully.
Andyfb
Registered user
Really fascinating thread…. Thank you for all the detail and research. So, I picked up a ‘new to me’ 2022 K1600GTL today, first ride was a 4hr trip to see my sister… using the BMW Connected App on my iPhone 14 Max Pro which was in my jacket breast pocket… and I too had the crazy navigation antics…. Just as described. I have let the dealer know and asked for advice - I assumed the problem may have been because the phone wasn’t in the onboard mount….. but this thread has me really thinking! I’ll share anything useful from the dealer …. But another bike to add to your list that MAY have the same issue…..
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