How to: move the Bluetooth microphone

[rasputinj]

Originally Posted by schatzy62

The plastic ring yo are talking about is not glued to the headliner (at least in my car) as this would make it almost impossible to change the headliner or repair the module there if needed.

I found on mine that if i pulled the lower section out (the one with the screws) and brought the upper holder back down to wehre is was supposed to be, then put the lower section in rear side first and then press up on the front side (closest to window) last. Put the screws back in and the carefully place the cover back on.

Sorry for the confusion I am refering to the plastic ring that is on the opening attached above the headliner, this is where the black plastic piece attaches to it and then the cover attaches to it. The front of this ring is not attached/loose so big plastic piece never fully snaps in the front.

[jtop]

I did this a couple days after I got the car. Pretty simple for the most part, the only trouble I had was trying to pull the clip with the wires from the mic. BF says it sounds better now.

[schatzy62]

Originally Posted by rasputinj

Sorry for the confusion I am refering to the plastic ring that is on the opening attached above the headliner, this is where the black plastic piece attaches to it and then the cover attaches to it. The front of this ring is not attached/loose so big plastic piece never fully snaps in the front.

Exactly the same thing i am talking about. The "Ring" as you call it is not attached to the headliner in any way on my car never had any glue and as far as I remember there was not even a way to really glue it anyway.

[Eoff]

I just did this on my new MINI. Took 5-10 mins.

Used a smooth dinner knife (almost like a butter knife) to gently pry the plastic trim piece from the headliner.

Fishing the wire across was not quite as easy as the YouTube video, but I managed it without using a screwdriver to take the whole thing down. Instead of fishing it across, I had to go up into the empty cavity and pull it down through the driver's side. Fingers are a little scuffed, but no biggie.

I recommend putting the mic back into the plasic trim piece first and then connecting the wire. I had a booger of a time getting the mic back in. Very, very tight fit. At any rate, it's all good now.

In summary, anybody can do this. However, it does help if you have skinny fingers.

[chefghryll]

So after much trial and error the complaint l'm getting is it sounds like l'm in a wind tunnel. l covered up the dash vents and still getting some wind like noise. When l'm stopped it's fine, but as l speed up so does the noise, so l know it has something to do with speed, just don't know where it's coming from. Any thoughts?

[Eoff]

Originally Posted by chefghryll

So after much trial and error the complaint l'm getting is it sounds like l'm in a wind tunnel. l covered up the dash vents and still getting some wind like noise. When l'm stopped it's fine, but as l speed up so does the noise, so l know it has something to do with speed, just don't know where it's coming from. Any thoughts?

Is your mic on the passenger side (default) or have you moved it to the driver's side?

[chefghryll]

l moved it over and even went as far as drive it and move the mic around to try and find the best spot( had my wife on the other end of the bluetooth phone). Maybe l got a bad mic! l thought l'd call the service dept on it and say l'm having a problem and see how frustrated they get

[Goines]

Any more updates on this?

I haven't moved my mic yet (but plan on it), but I am getting more complaints now than ever about it sounding terrible. :(

Has anyone put a different mic in?

[hopper]

Great thread, thanks! Under two minutes. :-)

[MrTIer]

This is probably one on the easiest mod to to! Just take you time and enjoy. Also, if you do the front to rear speaker connector swap, the BT sound coming from the back instead of the front is still pretty good. In other words, don't worry about the poor BT sound, as the difference is barely noticable.

[daspiderboris]

sorry, this is slightly off topic, but I haven't been able to find any other information and since this thread is looking at the right area I thought I'd ask.

The grill/vent that is at the very front of the piece of trim that holds the mic, what's that for?

Thanks,
-Boris

[richs10]

I did mine after work tonight. The video really helped. The only problem I had was disconnecting the wire from the mike. I had to use a small screwdriver to pry it out of the socket on the mike.

Thanks all!
Rich

[schatzy62]

Originally Posted by daspiderboris

sorry, this is slightly off topic, but I haven't been able to find any other information and since this thread is looking at the right area I thought I'd ask.

The grill/vent that is at the very front of the piece of trim that holds the mic, what's that for?

Thanks,
-Boris

The vent at the end of the cover is for the interior alarm system motion sensor.

[daspiderboris]

Cool. Thanks for the info. I didn't get an alarm for my mini, so this would be a perfect place to mount a screen for a computer... now if I can only convince my girlfriend.

[thbugman]

Very easy mod....5-10 mins complete!

[truck75]

This was easy to do and THANK YOU for the directions! But I'm afraid it yielded no results with sound quality. mine still sounds like a hollow wind tunnel. I asked my Service rep and he said that was the nature of the beast... bummer.

Anyone try rerouting to a completely different location?

[austex]

Originally Posted by truck75

This was easy to do and THANK YOU for the directions! But I'm afraid it yielded no results with sound quality. mine still sounds like a hollow wind tunnel. I asked my Service rep and he said that was the nature of the beast... bummer.

Anyone try rerouting to a completely different location?

Does it sound so when your interior fan is turned off? I can tell immediately when my wife calls me if the fan/AC is on, because the dash-top vent blows right onto the mic location and aggravates noise levels. To be fair, though, most speaker-phones I have listened to do have an unpleasant echo effect.

[mccsab]

Dear schatzy62,

The short video was perfect! I'm saving this one for when mine is delivered. Your Video should be sent to the right people @ BMW / MINI to get the plant to make the 2 minute swap.....

Thanks,

[truck75]

Originally Posted by austex

Does it sound so when your interior fan is turned off? I can tell immediately when my wife calls me if the fan/AC is on, because the dash-top vent blows right onto the mic location and aggravates noise levels. To be fair, though, most speaker-phones I have listened to do have an unpleasant echo effect.

It does not seem to make a huge difference if I have the vent on or off, maybe a little better with the vent off. (??) I am looking at getting a new Nav setup, and I am now considering ones with BT to see if that makes a difference.

on the other hand, I am enjoying not taking calls when I'm in the car and just enjoying the drive... I never answer on a motorcycle, so why should I in the Coop?

[tedswoods]

truck75, I just looked at this thread after several months, but I'm not sure your situation (or mine?) is 'normal'. I haven't done this mod yet but those that I routinely converse with via cellphone tell me the current setup (integrated BT) sounds great! In fact, even WITH the window down, I'm told the phone sounds great. I realize there are numerous variables (phone, carrier, BT setup, etc.) but I used to use a headset with my cellphone and am told there is a definite improvement with the MINI's integrated BT. Good luck!

[schatzy62]

Originally Posted by daspiderboris

Cool. Thanks for the info. I didn't get an alarm for my mini, so this would be a perfect place to mount a screen for a computer... now if I can only convince my girlfriend.

I was looking into putting a 7" Screen there but there really is noting there to attach the mount to that is solid. The weight of the mount and the screen will cause the whole ceiling console to break and fall out. I have tried it and well it was rather expensive to buy the replacement parts.

[Dr Obnxs]

to my wife's 09 Clubbie. We'll see how it sounds some other time...

Took about three minutes...

Thanks to all for posting this.

Matt

[hizhonor]

Originally Posted by kellypgh

Shatzy and Chefghryll, thanks so much for all the help. Shatzy, your video made me comfortable enough to try this mod but once I got started, I ran into my initial problem of the wiring too snug to pull out. The needle nose plier suggestion with rocking it back and forth gently, worked perfectly.

The second problem I encountered was that my wiring wasn't long enough to feed through via Shatzy's video. Fortunately I have long, skinny fingers, so I pushed the wiring up into the housing and brought it through the left(driver's) side with some hemostats.

Everything is back together and works well so far. I'll give it a work out tomorrow on my way to work!

The video rocks, Shatz!!! With this new addition to the thread, it should definitely be made a sticky.

Watching the video was all it took for me as well. After just 10 minutes, my calls are being understood! A side benefit is the voice dial option is now working for me. Before moving the microphone my voice was not being understood at all, rendering this option useless.

Steve

[schatzy62]

Glad to hear we helped you out. Enjoy

[zoltiz]

Just another "thank you" bump for the thread. Moved mine over this weekend while hardwiring the V1 - girlfriend says that she can now hear me over BT even on the highway.

Great job, guys!