Miserable bluetooth call quality complaints

[rellufs]

Just picked up a 2013 Genesis and am loving every mile I'm in the car. So pleased with my decision outside of one issue:

I travel daily for work and was SO looking forward to having a quality bluetooth experience that would enable me to "work" (i.e. phone calls) while on the road. Of the dozen or so calls I have made using the Bluetooth in the past 4 days, every single person I have called has complained of the call quality. "Are you in an elevator", "please call me back when you have better reception", "you sound terrible", "I can barely understand you". I'll cancel the Bluetooth connection and use the phone instead - reception is perfect.

Has anyone else dealt with this problem? Any suggestions? This feature is a must-have for me and I'm thinking it must be the phone....a Windows Phone HTC 8X (brand new).

Thank you.

 

[DRS]

Yes... With iPhone. My 5.0 is much better than the base 3.8 Genny I had used for a time. Sometimes it works great, and other times it is unbearable.


The dealer says there is a update to help. I am taking it in next week for this, a GPS update (very tough to do, but they say they have it down) and to have Hyundai rep look at the stretched drivers seat (universal defect for any cooled seat Genny).

My other cars/trucks with Ford Sync are perfect for Bluetooth quality the far end hears. No background noise and CD like voice transmission.

Misc. observations: In crowded highways or streets, it seems to pick up other Bluetooth interference that degrades quality. Same ahem passengers have Bluetooth broadcasting beacons or connected to their headsets. On open road less prone to problems unless passengers have Bluetooth turned on their phones. I find that doing quick back to back calls, making a call right away after hanging up will increase the poor quality experience. I give it a couple of minutes between calls. Received calls seems to work better for the far end. Also, using iPod, then make calls can hurt the quality for the far end. Same for DVD audio. Something about the auto cut out. Same for HD FM. XM seems to do better.

Also, do not talk "loud". Talk normal voice. It distorts when talking loud.. like when you think you are on some kind of earth to moon conversation. Of the car is on noisy road, talk a little louder, but be careful.

 

[LA Genesis]

Sorry you guys are having the problem. My bluetooth works great with my Samsung Galaxy S3. Call quality is excellent on both ends when using bluetooth.

Let's hope the dealer finds a fix.

 

[ockevin]

My Bluetooth is excellent. Much better than my Toyota and much cleared. I have a droid HD maxx phone. My wife says its same on the phone or using the car. She did say to not speak too loud.....it sounded worse.

 

[waveman]

People sometimes have difficulty hearing me if there's a lot of ambient noise, but most of the time I get no complaints. I have no problem hearing callers, either. In fact, I prefer making calls from the Genny because the incoming sound is so good. (iPhone 4S, 2011 4.6). Have you tried un-pairing and re-pairing the phone?

 

[OneFunGenesis]

This feature is a must-have for me and I'm thinking it must be the phone....a Windows Phone HTC 8X (brand new).

Thank you.

. My bluetooth works great with my Samsung Galaxy S3.

This might explain it. My bluetooth works great with my Galaxy S3. It had some connectivity issues with my Motorola Atrix 4G though. Not all bluetooth is created equal.

It would surprise me if that were the case with an HTC though...seeing as how HTC stands for High Tech Computing.....

 

[wd40]

My biggest gripe about my R-spec is the Nav/bluetooth. I have a Samsung phone (Sprint). Does not always pair properly, dropped several calls yesterday. My cheap company car was much better. I have to turn off the phone and reboot to pair on occasion. Unit is also slow to respond.

 

[WowCool]

No issues here, iPhone4 + Early iPod thro the USB..All working A1..
No issues with Voice Activation..
Scarily Good as opposed to my ex VW Passat -> a pure krap system...........

 

[EXBMWGUY]

No issues here, iPhone4 + Early iPod thro the USB..All working A1..
No issues with Voice Activation..
Scarily Good as opposed to my ex VW Passat -> a pure krap system...........

Ditto on both iPhone 4GS and old iPod using the Hyundai cable. Never failed once.

 

[GenesisCaptain]

My old iPhone 4 and current iPhone 5 have both been excellent. Never had a complaint and occasionally get a few compliments on the quality.

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[QuantumRift]

Ditto. Wife and I both have Samsung Galaxy S3 phones and both have had good Bluetooth quality with out 2012.

Sorry you guys are having the problem. My bluetooth works great with my Samsung Galaxy S3. Call quality is excellent on both ends when using bluetooth.

Let's hope the dealer finds a fix.

 

[veed]

2011 tech pkg. iPhone 5, Sanyo Katana I ... no complaints with either.

as an aside, i was unable to get the Katana to pair with several 2009 units when looking yrs ago.

 

[SmoovC]

No issues here, either. I had many people comment on the great quality of the BT during calls; with both a HTC EVO 4GLTE, and a Samsung Galaxy Note II.

I guess I should note that both have been rooted, and have custom ROMs.

 

[zielritter]

This has to be phone dependent. No one has complained of the sound quality when I make calls; however, I've noticed that when others call me sometimes it is very muffled or quiet.

Case in point: My wife's iPhone 4 sounds great when she calls me, but my dad's 5 sounds like he's holding the phone 10 feet from his mouth.

 

[rellufs]

UPDATE - I purchased a new Windows phone yesterday (completely different model) hoping this would address the issue. The first two calls were great with clear reception. However, the last 4 people I have called have complained of their voice echoing badly.

I am not a technology-minded person but this sounds like it is an issue with the car. Or could it be all Windows phones in general? I don't see how since they using the same Bluetooth technology as every other manufacturer.

Thanks!

 

[New2HyundaiGenesis]

I am using an iPhone 4s. Terrible. Coming from a BMW (Where the biggest complaint was that the iDrive screen wasn't always displaying TEXTS and EMAILS fully) this is a HUGE issue and disappointment for me. Also, why are phone conversations routed through the center speaker only ? I often cannot hear the person I am speaking with and they can't hear me. So much for "superior" Asian electronics. Barely 2 weeks with the car and I dread making or receiving calls.

 

[my2wins]

I hadn't seen this thread till now, apologies the delay as I'm having the exact same issue (on my 3 month old 2013 3.8 tech). The issue for me is effects both my phone sound quality as well as my Blue Link, which usually can't recognize voice commands. It's intermittent and I haven't been able to ascertain under what conditions it works or doesn't. I have a very clear and straight forward speaking voice, and no accent (at least that's what we all think on the West coast...LOL). And I always ensure there are no windows open or even AC. Note: Even the lowest setting of air does cause noise distortion.

After 2 months of trial and error and many fruitless conversations with Blue Link customer service, a few weeks back I took it into the dealer service dept, and they did ~2 hours of diagnostics. They checked all possibilities including software version, but it was all up to date. They were seemingly very thorough, also checking my phone to ensure the latest SW on the device.

Net net, they think replacing the microphone may help, and they ordered a new part. They said a loose wire or faulty mic could be to blame for both bad phone quality and Blue Link performance.

They guys there were super friendly, and really sympathetic. They said they see this occasionally on the 2013s, and often there's no other option but to replace the head unit, but this is their last resort.

They also implied there have occasions where they just can't make it work better, (which is what I believe triggered my recent buyers remorse phase, but I won't go there now...)

So, they're going to try replacing the mic first, see if that works, then move to head unit if not. Once the part comes in, I'll be getting a call and we'll go from there.

Now that I think about it, no one's called me back yet and its been 3 weeks. Guess I'll follow up tmrw. I wouldn't mind all the work and effort its taken to address this issue, except that the various people I've dealt with from Blue Link to HMA corp to now the service dept...no one calls back. I've had to chase every single follow up, and to me the complete lackmof follow up is what has turned this from dream car to wish I didn't car.

If Hyundai wants to retain high end customers, they ought to assign a VIP account manager to each new Genesis and Equus owner for the first year to make sure all the bugs are worked out properly. That's all it would take for me to hang in there and have faith. And for those without issues it would be little to no additional cost or effort for Hyundai. But for the few owners who are discovering the quality problems, having a high touch support system would allow them to retain customer loyalty, while also resolving and fine tuning their quality issues. Earth to HMA CEO: can you hear me?

 

[PMCErnie]

I am using an iPhone 4s. Terrible. Coming from a BMW (Where the biggest complaint was that the iDrive screen wasn't always displaying TEXTS and EMAILS fully) this is a HUGE issue and disappointment for me. Also, why are phone conversations routed through the center speaker only ? I often cannot hear the person I am speaking with and they can't hear me. So much for "superior" Asian electronics. Barely 2 weeks with the car and I dread making or receiving calls.

Sounds like you merely need to turn up the volume setting for the phone/Nav voice. Have you done that? This is a different control than the radio volume button. I have an iPhone 5 (Ver. 4 previously). No major problems except that once in a while the system redials the last number called. I have to sort out that problem.

 

[EXBMWGUY]

I am using an iPhone 4s. Terrible. Coming from a BMW (Where the biggest complaint was that the iDrive screen wasn't always displaying TEXTS and EMAILS fully) this is a HUGE issue and disappointment for me. Also, why are phone conversations routed through the center speaker only ? I often cannot hear the person I am speaking with and they can't hear me. So much for "superior" Asian electronics. Barely 2 weeks with the car and I dread making or receiving calls.

I have been using an iPhone 4S since day 1 of my 12 R-Spec and have never lost a B/T pairing or had a single complaint about call quality from inside the phone or from an outside caller. Something is wrong that should be checked out under warranty.

 

[DRS]

I am now getting what sounds like Bluetooth interference that distorts the voice quality on both ends. And causes losses in switching between phone and car audio.

This happened before and cleared when they did a DIS update.

It kinda stinks. IPhone Works perfect in Fusion, F350 with Sync, and other blue tooth with Honda van, and pre Sync Expedition.

Using iPhone 5