So on the R56 MCS with bluetooth it was discovered that the microphone is actually placed in the European location, aimed front right seat. This was causing some problems in people being able to communicate with the NAV and make phone calls. There is a mod video and I was wondering if anyone knows where the microphone is located in the CM?
Here's a link to the video, looks fairly easy and makes a lot of sense that it will improve communication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymLQR8sYfqQ

Annette

 

It is on the right side. It is pretty easy to move if there is slack in the wiring. I used a plastic knife to remove the plastic cover. I did not have enough slack so I also had to use a torx bit to remove the metal retainer and also had to remove the clip holding the wiring. It's easier if you slid the clip to the side to get it off. With the retainer removed I could mount the mic on the left side. It did make a difference.

It took about 15 minutes total. I did not reattach the retainer as there was no play in the wiring.

Bill

 

Guess we'll have to look into it. Mike keeps having to yell to get it to pick up commands and he's not a quiet person . So I can imagine it needs to be done.
Annette

 

I moved mine.

 

We tried it, but don't seem to have any extra wire, grrrrr. What a stupid thing on the part of MINI, don't you think if they are putting the steering wheel on the left you would just go ahead and put the microphone on that side, too?
Sheesh,
Annette

 

I'm going to go a few weeks and see if it's bad. If it is I might try to swap it to the other side.

 

Well, Mike finally got it to work somehow. He ended up feeding the wire back up through and bringing it back down the driver's side. All back in now. Haven't tried it yet but will post if there is any probs.
Annette

 

Thanks for the heads up. New to the MINI world. Love it, but I did notice the mic issue and just thought it was a limitation of the system itself.

Great info!

 

Well, at least they put the brake and gas peddles on the left side

 

My '06 MCS had the bonnet release on the right side. So you had to get out of the car and walk around, open the passenger door and pull the release from up under the glove box area. Since it is not something you do very often, and certainly not while driving I found it kind of charming. But a functional issue like the microphone is pretty annoying.
Guess we'll be doing the same thing to my MCS if it EVER gets here (was put on a truck in Savannah 6 days ago!!!!).
Annette

 

 

I just did this mod, the youtube video helped get a very good look as to what to expect! Thank you to the tutorial creator & the poster!!!
I took a short cut though & snaked the wire through a larger hole closer to the mic when fitted to the left side.
There wasn't enough wire to go through the same hole on the opposite (right) side. Man, just a little more tether would have been nice. The wire is anchored down well so extra pulling force won't work. It's a tight area to maneuver but doable.
I will add that this is worth the effort, the mic pick-up is greatly improved.
The closer proximity to the mic yields a better voice quality on the receiving side & the voice commands seem to work on the first try.

 

Are you guys sure the location is on the right because they didn't bother moving it? I've noticed that on a bluetooth call that the voice is shifted to the left speakers. Wouldn't it make sense to keep the mic aimed slightly away from that so the echo filter would work better? I could be wrong, just thinking out loud.

 

Moved mine when I was hardwiring the V1.

 

The microphone seems to be unidirectional(narrow pickup pattern).
So, placing it closer to the driver, in our case on the left side, is where the mic should be & this type of mic rejects sounds from the sides which is why the pickup with the mic installed on the right side for US MINI's is poor.

 

Good to know. And I guess the proof is with those who've switched the mic and had callers say it sounds better. I know my family and friends have already said that the Bluetooth setup in the Countryman, without modification, is better than when I used the iPhone wired headset in my Jeep. The CM is quieter than the Jeep, for sure, but I think the sound cancellation is also pretty good in the CM.

So right now I don't really have a need to change the mic's position. In fact, I turned the gain down one click in order to cut down on road noise for my callers, since they said my voice was plenty loud.

 

My wife's 09 Copper S hardtop was horrible for BT Voice commands and talking. I just moved it last night so hopefully it will work better.

As far as my CM I haven't had a problem with the BT so I guess I won't mess with it since it is working good.

 

Just made the switch. Wiring is a little snug, but there was enough for me to get it done. Haven't tried a call yet, but anything has got to be an improvement.

Great tip!

 

When I asked my MA about what processing is done on the vehicle at the dealership, I made a specific inquiry if moving the microphone could be done at that time. The response from the service group was that there was no microphone moving possible. I responded with the link to the video, and, better informed, they did the microphone move for me before I picked up the car. They said it was no big deal to do. Thanks for the link!

The BT system works very well in my CM4.

 

+1, wish i thought of that before delivery....

 

I just did this and hope that it makes a difference for those on the receiving end of phone calls. I felt like I was always leaning right and yelling up at it. It took less than 5 minutes. I didn't have enough slack in the wire to just shift it but like a previous poster said I just fed the wire back up and out the other side.

Since buying this MINI I've turned into quite the DIYer Last week I installed the anthracite side scuttle holders and pink scuttles. I wonder what I'll do next?

 

Pics?

 

I tried moving my mic and found out there wasn't enough wire length for it to reach. How were you able to move it back up and out? Do you have to take off more than the snap off cover plate?

 

I've done a fair amount of research about the microphone position this winter. I contacted someone in the UK and had them look at the center panel to find the microphone's position. It turns out the UK (and all right-hand drive) MINIs have the microphone on the..........(wait for it)......... left side! So, they DO move it over for the lefthand-drive market! That is why MINI refuses to "officially" approve of the procedure.

I think tippykayak is right on track with the echo filter theory. I can tell you that I DID NOT notice any improvement in voice recognition after I moved the microphone (I still have problems with "seventeen" and "seventy"). This happens regardless of speed/ambient noise.

FWIW,

 

Interesting. Thanks for passing along the info. Maybe it just boils down to the fact that the voice quality that people talking to you hear could be better. I've already had someone say 'it sounds like you are talking to me from your car.' Don't BMW engineers and product developers test this stuff before they bring it to market? Or is it a case of just giving people the minimum that is acceptable? Maybe the cup holder development team had this one too.