What is Bluetooth technology?

Bluetooth wireless technology

• I have a Motorola V710 phone that is Bluetooth enabled. I also have a Lexus LS 430 tha is also Bluetooth enabled. Unfortunately, there is a dispute between Verizon (my service provider) and Lexus that prevents several of the Bluetooth functions and severely limits my reception. What is the status of this dispute? With whom can I speak and at which company to solve my problem? Will I ever be able to fully utilize the car's Bluetooth capabilities?

• Answer:

  From my research, I have learned that the problem seems to lie with Verizon in that they have disabled many of the Bluetooth functions in the V710 that are needed to communicate with your Lexus, especially in early versions of the phone. I have located several suggestions that may assist you. There is a possibility of flashing a new firmware to the phone to improve its capabilities. An authorized firmware update is apparently available through Verizon that may enable some of the features you are missing. Various hacked firmware updates are also available from the Internet that purport to enable the Bluetooth features that Verizon has disabled. Use of an unauthorized firmware update is completely at your own risk and may render your phone unusable. Some people have purchased inexpensive Bluetooth phones that are known to work with Lexus and have used them to transmit their phone books into the Lexus system. They then use their existing phones. One source claims your Lexus Sales Associate can assist you with getting your V710 to function with your car, although some type of workaround is apparently required to load your phone book. Sources: "After buying the new v710, many consumers quickly discovered they were unable to perform several basic functions which other similarly equipped phones, from other carriers, were capable of doing. Simple functions, such as sending a phone book record to another phone or a picture to a laptop computer, exist only in some locked area of the v710 noone can access. This is because some critical Bluetooth profiles have been deactivated on the handset; primarily OBEX (Object Exchange) , OPP (Object Push Profile), and SPP (Serial Port Profile). These services are responsible for transferring photos and phone numbers or performing synchronization with a PC wirelessly. Lack of these feature has also caused many vehicles with Bluetooth support (such as the Prius, Acura TL, and BMW) to malfunction." "The Motorola v710: Verizon's New Crippled Phone" by Jonathan A. Zdziarski, Nuclear Elephant.com http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/v710.html "But Verizon disabled the phone's Bluetooth file-transfer function, so you can't wirelessly transfer photos to your PC without using the carrier's for-pay Pix Messaging service. Verizon also disabled the built-in Bluetooth Serial Port function, so you have to buy a $39.99 USB cable to sync the phone with your PC. With the USB cable, we synced our calendar and address book with Microsoft Outlook easily. But even with the USB cable, you can't get photos off the phone or transfer files between the phone and your PC. Verizon says that crippling Bluetooth implementation is a "fraud prevention" tactic to prevent strangers from sending unsolicited text messages to your phone. Whatever." "Motorola V710" PC Magazine http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1639784,00.asp The following thread provides information about a possible authorized Verizon firmware update and links to information about hacked firmware versions: "Difference between different v710 flashes?" Howardforums.com http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=528797 "It is not possible unless you hack the software in the e815 to allow it. There are other threads on here that explain this. Search for "Lexus" in the Verizon forum. Hacking is not for the faint hearted. There are also listings on eBay selling the software to do this on a CD, but you still need a cable to get into the phone's OS and the skill to do it. Another option is to buy a cheap GSM bluetooth phone, manually load your numbers into that phone and use it to upload to the car. I did that with a Siemens S56. Worked fine because Siemens has not crippled BT like Verizon did on the Motorola. Eventually I expect the ebayers will offer to do the software "upgrade" for a fee if you ship them the phone. There is clearly a market here among Lexus owners who paid a lot for a car that won't work with any Verizon phone." "lexus and bluetooth" by wingrant, Howardforums.com http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/725425-1.html The following thread discusses users' experience with the authorized firmware update and with using a different phone with all Bluetooth features enabled to transfer phonebook data: "Bluetooth updated, lexus problem?" Howardforums.com http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=577318&highlight=lexus "Yes...the Verison V710 OR THE 810 WILL WORK...ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER INFORMATION OVER...YOU NEED TO GET WITH YOU SALES ASSOCIATE AND HAVE THEM HELP YOU WITH GETTING YOUR CONTACTS TRANSFERED OVER..." "REgarding your question!" by THEGREATONE, CNet (September 13, 2005) http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7817-0.html?forumID=74&threadID=40070&messageID=1417892 After reading this material, my suggestion would be to contact both Lexus and Verizon to ensure that your phone has the latest authorized firmware update and that you are aware of any workarounds Lexus has made available. While a hacked firmware for the V710 may provide you with full functionality, the high risk of ruining your phone strikes me as being unattractive given how expensive that phone is. The workaround with a cheap, Bluetooth-enabled phone seems much more appealing. Alternatively, you could switch to another carrier that offers a fully enabled Bluetooth phone. A listing of Lexus-compatible phone/carrier combinations by zip code is available here: LetsTalk.com http://lexus.letstalk.com/brands/lexus/mlh_splash2.htm Best of luck. Unfortunately, it appears that the Bluetooth organization is doing a very poor job of ensuring that its logo is only being employed when all Bluetooth features are enabled. Sincerely, Wonko Search terms: Lexus Verizon Bluetooth