From my research, I have learned that the problem seems to lie with
Verizon in that they have disabled many of the Bluetooth functions in
the V710 that are needed to communicate with your Lexus, especially in
early versions of the phone.
I have located several suggestions that may assist you.
There is a possibility of flashing a new firmware to the phone to
improve its capabilities. An authorized firmware update is apparently
available through Verizon that may enable some of the features you are
missing.
Various hacked firmware updates are also available from the Internet
that purport to enable the Bluetooth features that Verizon has
disabled. Use of an unauthorized firmware update is completely at
your own risk and may render your phone unusable.
Some people have purchased inexpensive Bluetooth phones that are known
to work with Lexus and have used them to transmit their phone books
into the Lexus system. They then use their existing phones.
One source claims your Lexus Sales Associate can assist you with
getting your V710 to function with your car, although some type of
workaround is apparently required to load your phone book.
Sources:
"After buying the new v710, many consumers quickly discovered they
were unable to perform several basic functions which other similarly
equipped phones, from other carriers, were capable of doing. Simple
functions, such as sending a phone book record to another phone or a
picture to a laptop computer, exist only in some locked area of the
v710 noone can access. This is because some critical Bluetooth
profiles have been deactivated on the handset; primarily OBEX (Object
Exchange) , OPP (Object Push Profile), and SPP (Serial Port Profile).
These services are responsible for transferring photos and phone
numbers or performing synchronization with a PC wirelessly. Lack of
these feature has also caused many vehicles with Bluetooth support
(such as the Prius, Acura TL, and BMW) to malfunction."
"The Motorola v710: Verizon's New Crippled Phone" by Jonathan A.
Zdziarski, Nuclear Elephant.com
http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/v710.html
"But Verizon disabled the phone's Bluetooth file-transfer function, so
you can't wirelessly transfer photos to your PC without using the
carrier's for-pay Pix Messaging service. Verizon also disabled the
built-in Bluetooth Serial Port function, so you have to buy a $39.99
USB cable to sync the phone with your PC. With the USB cable, we
synced our calendar and address book with Microsoft Outlook easily.
But even with the USB cable, you can't get photos off the phone or
transfer files between the phone and your PC. Verizon says that
crippling Bluetooth implementation is a "fraud prevention" tactic to
prevent strangers from sending unsolicited text messages to your
phone. Whatever."
"Motorola V710" PC Magazine http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1639784,00.asp
The following thread provides information about a possible authorized
Verizon firmware update and links to information about hacked firmware
versions:
"Difference between different v710 flashes?" Howardforums.com
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=528797
"It is not possible unless you hack the software in the e815 to allow
it. There are other threads on here that explain this. Search for
"Lexus" in the Verizon forum. Hacking is not for the faint hearted.
There are also listings on eBay selling the software to do this on a
CD, but you still need a cable to get into the phone's OS and the
skill to do it. Another option is to buy a cheap GSM bluetooth phone,
manually load your numbers into that phone and use it to upload to the
car. I did that with a Siemens S56. Worked fine because Siemens has
not crippled BT like Verizon did on the Motorola. Eventually I expect
the ebayers will offer to do the software "upgrade" for a fee if you
ship them the phone. There is clearly a market here among Lexus owners
who paid a lot for a car that won't work with any Verizon phone."
"lexus and bluetooth" by wingrant, Howardforums.com
http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/725425-1.html
The following thread discusses users' experience with the authorized
firmware update and with using a different phone with all Bluetooth
features enabled to transfer phonebook data:
"Bluetooth updated, lexus problem?" Howardforums.com
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=577318&highlight=lexus
"Yes...the Verison V710 OR THE 810 WILL WORK...ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT
HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER INFORMATION OVER...YOU NEED TO GET WITH
YOU SALES ASSOCIATE AND HAVE THEM HELP YOU WITH GETTING YOUR CONTACTS
TRANSFERED OVER..."
"REgarding your question!" by THEGREATONE, CNet (September 13, 2005)
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7817-0.html?forumID=74&threadID=40070&messageID=1417892
After reading this material, my suggestion would be to contact both
Lexus and Verizon to ensure that your phone has the latest authorized
firmware update and that you are aware of any workarounds Lexus has
made available. While a hacked firmware for the V710 may provide you
with full functionality, the high risk of ruining your phone strikes
me as being unattractive given how expensive that phone is. The
workaround with a cheap, Bluetooth-enabled phone seems much more
appealing. Alternatively, you could switch to another carrier that
offers a fully enabled Bluetooth phone.
A listing of Lexus-compatible phone/carrier combinations by zip code
is available here: LetsTalk.com
http://lexus.letstalk.com/brands/lexus/mlh_splash2.htm
Best of luck. Unfortunately, it appears that the Bluetooth
organization is doing a very poor job of ensuring that its logo is
only being employed when all Bluetooth features are enabled.
Sincerely,
Wonko
Search terms: Lexus Verizon Bluetooth |
