RNS-E Bluetooth Streaming - Possible Solution

DeanTTaylor

DeanTTaylor

Registered User
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
25
Reaction score
8
Points
3
Location
Canberra, Australia
I have been looking for a factory way to get bluetooth streaming in my 2012 S3. After some research I found that Audi offered a bluetooth dongle for the AMI that would work with RNS-E. It would allow stereo streaming and you can use the steering wheel to change to the next / previous track. It wouldn't show track info or playlists on the RNS-E or the DIS.

So I contacted Audi to buy it (part number 4F0051510J) only to find it has been discontinued.

I did more research thinking I could buy a bluetooth - 30 pin dongle and plug it into the AMI. The more I looked into this I realised that this wasn't going to work. Most of the bluetooth - 30 pin adapters are for docks that use the line out feature, so it's almost the same as using the headphone jack in terms of smarts. Obviously the AMI wasn't going to like that as it enumerates playlists and track data from the iPod /iPhone.

So then the next thought was to buy a AIM AUX cable and a bluetooth A2DP receiver and connect that in the glove box. The only issue is wiring a switched power source to the glove box.

Then I stumbled across a forum where the guys were buying 30 pin to bluetooth adapters and modding the AIM iPod cable so the AIM would think it's a AUX cable. This way the AIM cable would power the bluetooth module, but think it's an AUX connection. So you can stream music but can't change tracks from the RNS-E or the steering wheel. This sounded good, however after more research I found this only works on the 3G MMI, every other version of MMI and RNS-E stops applying power to the iPod charging lines of the AIM cable when in AUX mode.

So at this point I thought I would just wire some power into the glove box when I stumbled on this.

ViseeO Tune2Air A2DP - WMA1000 | Advanced In Car Technologies

Apparently it fully impersonates an iPod. You plug it into the standard AIM iPod / iPhone cable, pair you iPhone to it, and it's as if your iPhone is plugged directly into the glovebox. (this includes the iPhone 5) The RNS-E displays all track playlists and track data and you can use the steering wheel controls.

So fingers crossed it works. I have one ordered, hopefully it will be here soon. I'll post up some pics and let everyone know how it goes when I get it.

Dean.
 
Yes the ami bt dongle has been discontinued for no reason whatsoever, I had some of those viseo units on order for testing, they say they will fully work as intended, so I await the testing aswell, looks good.
 
They are pretty cool and we have sold quite a few of them now, we are also shipping them all round the world. Just goes to show the power of forums :D

ViseeO have always put in a lot of work into their products and the Tune2Air is no exception. I know you can pick up similar dongles on eBay a lot cheaper but they are pure dog poo!

As you mentioned, it fully replicates the iPod listing with your AMI. It also works with vehicles that just have the normal iPod dock. It doesn't give you track info or listings but it does give you decent control of your music!

If you have factory bluetooth it doesn't get affected and the sound quality is pretty impressive too!

(PS - Thanks for popping up the link too)
 
Doest it work with other phones? Android?
Also, I've noticed that the sound quality from iPod, when connected to the car is poor compared to a CD or the radio. No bass, the high notes seem to be cut. The adapter is original.

Is this the case with this adapter?
 
At the moment it is designed to work with an iPod / iPhone due to the Apple file structure (Playlists / Artists / Albums etc)...

It will replicate whatever the AMI can do it terms of sound quality. I believe that music stored on an iDevice isn't as higher bit rate as what you can get using an SD card (I could be wrong here - I'm sure somebody could clarify this point)

I tried a Blackberry with this on an Audi A6 MMI2G with AMI and it didn't play ball. I've heard rumours that a Samsung worked when plugged into a Mercedes. I don't have any Samsung devices to try it though. Sorry.
 
Sounds like the music on you iDevice is encoded in a low bitrate. (either imported into iTunes at low quality or set to sync to your iDevice at low qualtiy)

In my experience music through the AIM (with the device plugged in) sounds awesome at 320kbps, however 128kbps sounds terrible (cut out lows and highs)

I can't yet speak for the Bluetooth adapter, but I imagine it would be the same.

As for SDCard quality vs iDevice, they are both capable of high / lossless bit rates so quality would depend on the bit rate of your file
 
I've just bought one - will it work (and show track names etc) in the audi a3 2007 sat nav?
 
It needs mk2 rns-e & ami to function.
 
So for the Mk1 it won't work at all? or just without names
 
Napbree said:
So for the Mk1 it won't work at all? or just without names
Click to expand...

It does work with the MK1 as I have tried it personally in a TT but like NHN said above, you need the MK2 & AMI to get it to display track names...

The Tune2Air will only give you exactly what you had before. The only difference is music is sent via Bluetooth.
 
Made a quick video of it in operation on my work A6 yesterday...



Note: Make sure you click the little Cog and set it to Full HD!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was researching into Bluetooth(laptop) to Hifi(Amp pre input) and came to the conclusion the sound quality was potentialy going to dissapoint due to the bandwidth issues against Wifi so opted for a wifi dongle instead. Ill be interested to see how you find the sound quality using BT.
 
Yes but its pointless adding ami to a mk1 just for the audio path with no interaction at all, its a £300+ minimum expense for something the auxin could provide or dension, hence my quote on not working with a mk1, as the whole point is to get the artist etc info on the head unit.
 
mephisto said:
I was researching into Bluetooth(laptop) to Hifi(Amp pre input) and came to the conclusion the sound quality was potentialy going to dissapoint due to the bandwidth issues against Wifi so opted for a wifi dongle instead. Ill be interested to see how you find the sound quality using BT.
Click to expand...

Sound quality so far has been pretty good!! Had no complaints from anybody who has bought one...
 
Hi guys,

Got a chance to do some digging this afternoon and found out 2 very cool things from some guys over in the US.

1. Some Audi A5 owners who have bought the Tune2Air managed to get other apps such as Spotify, TuneIn and Pandora to work over the Bluetooth streaming. I haven't tried this personally but this is good to hear!

2. Android support will be coming... You won't get track information or anything like that but you will get your music playing through your Audi system. Will allow you to skip forwards and backwards. ViseeO haven't said if it will be a separate device or just a firmware update. I expect the latter.

In regards to how it works as normal with just playing music from your iPod or iPhone, the Tune2Air will work exactly the same as if you connected your device to the AMI / iPod dock. The only difference is the Bluetooth streaming element. Please bear this in mind. If you just have the standard iPod dock more commonly seen on the older cars such as the A3, TT etc that just showed Track 1, Track 2 etc when playing the iPod, this is all it will show with the Tune2Air. If you have AMI like shown in e YouTube video then you will get full track / search support!

Hope that all helps.
 
Re spotify compatibility - I imagine it'd be a similar way to which I've heard the standard connection working where you can skip tracks as long as you've started playing the app on your phone but with no other track info.

If anyone needs a guinea pig iPhone with Pro let me know as I'd be happy to help, I'd cream myself if it could be made to offer full support.
 
DeanTTaylor said:
I'll be testing with spotify as soon as I get mine! I'll let you know how it goes
Click to expand...

so how did it go ? I really want to use Spotify/Napster apps with my MMI 3g and this looks like a possibility with this.

thanks,
Nick
 
Ok so the postman dropped it off yesterday! It works exactly as described, plugged it in, paired the phone and it was ready to go.

from an iPod perspective, It seems to take a little longer to grab the track data, but after the first time it's almost instant. Sound quality is very very close to the phone being plugged in. The steering wheel controls and RNS-E controls will move you through the tracks.

Spotify integration isn't as good, you can play music from the phone and it will keep playing through the list, however if you attempt to change the track from the RNS-E or the steering wheel it will flick back to the iPod. You can change the track from the lock screen or unlock it and change it from spotify itself with no drama. It also has problems with track data when streaming from spotify, sometimes it will display the track name, sometimes it will display EMPTY, although the DIS usually had the correct song shown. This is exactly how spotify behaved when plugged directly in to the AMI, so hopefully apple will one day allow IOS to have a different default audio app to solve the problem.

This was tested on a 2012 S3 with an iPhone 5

Hope this helps anyone looking to buy one

Dean.

Image

Image 1

Image 3

Image 2
 
  • Like
Reactions: a6_chris
DeanTTaylor said:
Ok so the postman dropped it off yesterday! It works exactly as described, plugged it in, paired the phone and it was ready to go.

from an iPod perspective, It seems to take a little longer to grab the track data, but after the first time it's almost instant. Sound quality is very very close to the phone being plugged in. The steering wheel controls and RNS-E controls will move you through the tracks.

Spotify integration isn't as good, you can play music from the phone and it will keep playing through the list, however if you attempt to change the track from the RNS-E or the steering wheel it will flick back to the iPod. You can change the track from the lock screen or unlock it and change it from spotify itself with no drama. It also has problems with track data when streaming from spotify, sometimes it will display the track name, sometimes it will display EMPTY, although the DIS usually had the correct song shown. This is exactly how spotify behaved when plugged directly in to the AMI, so hopefully apple will one day allow IOS to have a different default audio app to solve the problem.

This was tested on a 2012 S3 with an iPhone 5

Hope this helps anyone looking to buy one

Dean.

View attachment 12224

View attachment 12223

View attachment 12225

View attachment 12226
Click to expand...

Nice write up bud!! Good to see somebody else try out the Spotify!

Anybody who wants to get their hands on them, we have a new batch arriving Monday! They are very very popular at the moment. Shipping out quite a few each day.

Be careful of cheaper replicas out there that have started springing up on eBay / Amazon etc. Been happening a lot.

ViseeO Tune2Air A2DP - WMA1000 | Advanced In Car Technologies
 
Afternoon everybody!!

Just to let you know that I have been sent a firmware upgrade to allow for support via Samsung / Android devices!

Get in touch for more info!
 
Hi mate, i have a 2009 s3 with the audi navigation plus, ive got a iphone 5 so cant plug it into the glove box.

I have two questions!

1. If i plug a iphone into it will it come up like yours does on the video with recently played etc?
2. Does this kit work with iphone 5s?
 
audi upgrades
Any spotify news yet chaps? I'm getting sick of the weak sound quality through the AUX cable.
 
Josh williams said:
Hi mate, i have a 2009 s3 with the audi navigation plus, ive got a iphone 5 so cant plug it into the glove box.

I have two questions!

1. If i plug a iphone into it will it come up like yours does on the video with recently played etc?
2. Does this kit work with iphone 5s?
Click to expand...

Hey Josh, only just noticed your post on this. Your iPhone 5 should work fine with a dock to lightning adapter
Lightning to 30-pin Adapter - Apple Store (UK)

That's what I use and have no issues with using via the AMI in the glovebox. Don't be tempted with a cheapo non-apple adapter though or you will have problems. £20-£25 for an adapter is cheaper than the bluetooth streamer. Though if you don't want to have to plug in your phone to the glovebox then yes the Tune2Air will work fine with your phone too.
 
Regarding spotify, I have been using it in the car every day since my post about getting the Tune2Air

The audio quality is great, if you're happy to control the track from your phone then its a very workable solution.

It has the following issues as written above

Spotify integration isn't as good, you can play music from the phone and it will keep playing through the list, however if you attempt to change the track from the RNS-E or the steering wheel it will flick back to the iPod. You can change the track from the lock screen or unlock it and change it from spotify itself with no drama. It also has problems with track data when streaming from spotify, sometimes it will display the track name, sometimes it will display EMPTY, although the DIS usually had the correct song shown. This is exactly how spotify behaved when plugged directly in to the AMI, so hopefully apple will one day allow IOS to have a different default audio app to solve the problem.
 
audi upgrades
anyone gotten anywhere with a windows phone, i would look at ditching my cd changer for this if it will work with my windows phone and display the track names, if anyone local to the dundee area has it i would be more than happy to drive to them to test
 
Josh williams said:
Hi mate, i have a 2009 s3 with the audi navigation plus, ive got a iphone 5 so cant plug it into the glove box.


I have two questions!


1. If i plug a iphone into it will it come up like yours does on the video with recently played etc?
2. Does this kit work with iphone 5s?
Click to expand...


1. As long as you have the Audi RNSe MK2 and the AMI then it will work pretty similar to the A6 in the video.
2. When I tried this product out it worked fine with my iPhone 5.




thebluefox said:
Any spotify news yet chaps? I'm getting sick of the weak sound quality through the AUX cable.
Click to expand...


Few people in the states who bought them from us have said it works with apps like SPotify, Pandora, TuneIn etc as long as you control it from the iPhone. As soon as you touch any OEM controls such as skip or something like that then it reverts back to playing from the iPhone Music
 
DeanTTaylor said:
Regarding spotify, I have been using it in the car every day since my post about getting the Tune2Air

The audio quality is great, if you're happy to control the track from your phone then its a very workable solution.

It has the following issues as written above

Spotify integration isn't as good, you can play music from the phone and it will keep playing through the list, however if you attempt to change the track from the RNS-E or the steering wheel it will flick back to the iPod. You can change the track from the lock screen or unlock it and change it from spotify itself with no drama. It also has problems with track data when streaming from spotify, sometimes it will display the track name, sometimes it will display EMPTY, although the DIS usually had the correct song shown. This is exactly how spotify behaved when plugged directly in to the AMI, so hopefully apple will one day allow IOS to have a different default audio app to solve the problem.
Click to expand...

Ahh didn't see this post!

Well done Dean. You have it spot on!

Have also sent you a PM
 
PH1L said:
anyone gotten anywhere with a windows phone, i would look at ditching my cd changer for this if it will work with my windows phone and display the track names, if anyone local to the dundee area has it i would be more than happy to drive to them to test
Click to expand...

Hey mate!!

Not as of yet... They have just created a new firmware that will allow for Android support. I believe that Windows is the next chicken to tackle.

PS - Think I owe you an email too Phil! Will dig it out today and get back to you! Been pretty crazy last few weeks!
 
Thanks Dean and Tim, TBF I think I could roll with that as my current AUX cable has horrific sound quality. I've got a Bose system (while not the best in the world) should still be pretty decent and I'm not getting anywhere near enough out of it.

Time to think about spec'ing AMI then!
 
Cruiser89 said:
Hey mate!!

Not as of yet... They have just created a new firmware that will allow for Android support. I believe that Windows is the next chicken to tackle.

PS - Think I owe you an email too Phil! Will dig it out today and get back to you! Been pretty crazy last few weeks!
Click to expand...

thans for the reply, i understand youre busy i look forward to the other reply
 
thebluefox said:
Thanks Dean and Tim, TBF I think I could roll with that as my current AUX cable has horrific sound quality. I've got a Bose system (while not the best in the world) should still be pretty decent and I'm not getting anywhere near enough out of it.

Time to think about spec'ing AMI then!
Click to expand...

No problems bud!! Happy to help.

Let me know if you want to sort AMI for your S3 as I can help you out with that one too if you have the MK2 RNSe! :D
 
Does anyone know if th tune2air stays on after the key has been removed from the ignition?
I want one of these but dont know if I leave it in my glovebox if it will affect the cars battery?

anyone with one leave it connected permantly? any battery drain?
 
Welcome to the site.

Its been perfectly ok in my car :)
 
how is the android support then? do you get full ami integration with playlists and track names etc? if so im definitely interested
 
It does, but only as an audio path Craig, no track data yet, latest 3.17 firmware allowed android usage, but tbh, its crap without data integration as such, works well with I devices :)

Ah just checked, there's firmware 3.20 now, I will check what this does now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
RNS-E
Replies
2
Views
663
James Connor Dalrymple
J
T
Bluetooth streaming
Replies
3
Views
714
NHN
NHN
Alex.S3
RNS-E Mk2
Replies
1
Views
1K
Alex.S3
Alex.S3
H
RNS-E Coding
Replies
4
Views
801
NHN
NHN
D
RNS-E Bluetooth harness
Replies
1
Views
865
Sandra
Sandra
Top
Back