I've still been getting complaints about the terrible quality of my in-car hands free calling. Callers get mad and have trouble understanding me due to all the excess noise.

Today I was tinkering with it (again) and went into the Tone settings (again) and adjusted the Mic volume (again). This time when nothing was making a difference I cranked it all the way down as low as it would go and my buddy says "Woah, did you stop? It just got way better!" Adjusted the volume ONE click up and all the noise was back again!

So if you have any issues you might give that a try. It was described to me as "night and day difference, like the car had stopped moving".

That all being said, I'm looking at wiring in a new microphone, or relocating the one from the steering column. I think that just isn't an ideal location. Has anyone any ideas where I might start looking for replacement microphone or even multi-microphone arrays?

I popped the mic out and its just a signal and ground wire (2 conductor) so it isn't anything fancy, and the mic itself is mounted in a way that honestly left me thinking "No wonder its bad". Pic attached. It's literally wedged down inside a plastic holder, with a foam dust thing over it, and the grill that covers that up is fairly restrictive - resulting in probably about 50% of the mic covered. This is all mounted in fairly stiff plastic shell that covers the steering column and probably serves to amplify any/all road noise.

Editing, forum did a terrible job at fitting the image.

Full Res:
https://i.imgur.com/a4wnwL1.jpg

 

Thanks for the good info. I'm anxious to give your volume setting suggestion a try.

 

Sure thing! There is enough slack in the wire that I might try sticking it on the column angled towards me. I'd like to think that the actual microphone itself is decent quality, but that perhaps it was shoved into the steering column without much thought (and apparently ignored for years, I believe the Convertible four-seater is the same design).

OH also, not only is it recessed, but its just slightly angled away from the driver, and that metal-grill part faces towards you, so basically the only part of your voice that is getting to that mic has bounced off the dash, into the grill, through the foam, and off of the inner-side of that hole that it's sunken in. The mic does NOT have even a remote line of site to the driver. Not even close!

 

Great info Zlog, thanks I'm going to give it a try. I have mine turned all the way up, thinking it would get better. Apparently, that just adds lots of ambient noise. It seem a good location for the mic would be up near the center switches...thoughts?


-Steven

 

I would put it up there with the toggles and map lights, too. Nobody is expecting to be one the phone with the top down, but it's current location is inexcusable.

One option could be to pop the mic out, cut the lead, and couple an extension in that is long enough to rout it up there. You could drill a small hole to let it poke through or figure some way to conceal it. I am going to pop the whole grill off the next time I'm driving without a lot of traffic and see if just getting it out of the steering column's "noise chamber" and angled towards me rather than away from me helps. If it does we may not need to move it at all, but just modify the mount.

 

I've noticed the covering as well and thought about taking it off.

Let us know how it helps if you did that.
Thanks

 

The microphone. Radio Shack quality at a Bose price.

If you take the grill off and it improves the sound try this: Cut the slats out with a Dremel-like tool and leave the frame. Then buy some speaker cloth to dress up the hole. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't.

On my R56, the speaker was on the passenger side of the overhead console so I took it off and moved it to the driver side. Made a difference in sound quality.

 

I probably wont cut into the grill until I'm out of options and ideas. I'm going to try a few things before I go that route.

 

Did you just use the central volume control during a call to turn down the volume?

 

I've complained about microphone issues to my service department and had my software updated and for the most part it seems to have improved and I'm in a convertible (R59).

 

You have to go into your tone settings while on a call. Buried in there there is a microphone setting. Turn that ALL the way down. When I did this my friend was like "WOAH, wait did you just stop?" lol

 

I do not have connected in my 2012 and I cannot find a tone adjustment anywhere. Please tell me how you did this if you don't have connected in your car.

Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring

 

It's with the radio volume. Just turn the radio volume ****, that worked with mine.

Bill

 

^That adjusts the speaker volume (i.e. how loud the person your talking to is on your speakers) and does not alter the microphone's sensitivity (which we're trying to turn down).

I have connected, but I'm sure the setting is somewhere on the base radio, too. Try to get into where you adjust bass and treble and see if it's there while you're on a call.

 

Very curious, is this specifically for the microphone issue? Was there a service bulletin?

 

When was this? I had mine in not long ago and all they did was add another layer of fuzz under the grill (which I removed during this newest wave of tinkering and "sounded less muffled" according to my buddy).

 

I have a 2012 roadster with the HarmonKardon audio, but not Mini Connected and I can't find the microphone volume controls. When I am on a call and hit the button with the music note icon that would take me to the bass/treble controls I just get a message saying "call active". I am connecting via bluetooth, if that makes a difference.

Any pointers greatly appreciated.

Jeff

 

Same thing here, no access to anything (except speaker volume using the normal volume ****).

 

Any new solutions? Mine has been back to dealer with no real improvement in quality. Im ready to do a non dealer modification. Any good quality microphones that might work? Ideas on how to cure the tin can sound? Most everyone I talk to now gets irritated with sound quality.

 

I was going to cut a ping pong ball in quarters and stick it to the top of the mic pointed at me to see if it improves. If it does, I'll look at a more permanent solution.

 

I can't find a mic volume setting within my Tone settings menu. Is it because I don't have Connected? How do you access the mic volume setting if you don't have Connected?

 

On my car, the mic volume can only be adjusted while actually making a call.

 

How do you do that? I can't find anything that adjusts the mic even while making a call. I tried the "music note" tone button while on a call and all I got was a message saying the phone was connected or something like that. Didn't see the normal tone, balance, fade, gong and s-volume controls. I also tried the radio volume **** while making a call both when listening and when talking and it had no effect on the mic. Again, I don't have Connected.

 

Pressing the up/down volume buttons on the steering wheel while talking worked for me. It isn't in the menus.

 

I just purchased a 2014 .....I am having the same problems with the mic....dealer will do nothing....also no one at the dealership can tell me where the mic is located on the 2014 roadster. Does anyone on here know?

Also any ideas on a fix to the problem. Mic is fine when not moving...but when moving I cannot be heard.

Rick