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iPhone 5 earbuds/mic Bluetoothed to Garmin Zumo 550?

indygt

67-year-old Teenager
I'm trying to figure out how to use my new iPhone 5 and its mic-equipped earbuds paired with my Zumo 550. The Bluetooth pairing works fine and I can make and receive phone calls with the earbuds plugged into the iPhone, but I can't hear the other party and they can't hear me.
I assume the earphone plug on the Zumo doesn't accommodate a microphone input, which is why I have the earbuds plugged into the iPhone.
Also, there doesn't seem to be any way to play Zumo sound (directions, XM Sirius) through the iPhone via the Bluetooth connection.
What I want is the ability to hear all of my Zumo output, plus make and receive working phone conversations with my earbuds.
Has anyone solved this problem?
(What I'm trying to avoid here is adding a headset and speakers to my helmet. If I can sort this out, I want to buy a set of earplug speakers with iPhone mic attached, sold by Marilyn Navia at plugup.com)
 
I'd suggest saving yourself a lot of problems and headache and just go with a headset. You can get a SENA SMH10 with a baseplate that will allow you to plug in the earbuds of your choice. The stock iPhone 5 headphones are good as long as you don't have wind and helmet noise to contend with. For motorcycle use they are garbage.

Trying to get your Zumo to play though your iPhone isn't going to work they aren't programed like that. The ZUMO can work as a go between for you and the phone but you can't get ZUMO audio though your iPhone.

The Zumo 550 cradle has a dual plug on the left side. One is for headphones the other is for your Mic. There is a company that sells a connector with a mic but that requires you to be wired to your zumo mount when on the bike. I don't like that but everyone is different.

This is the site that has the combo cable/mic for the Zumo base mount. I had one and people couldn't understand me over 55 or so MPH.
http://www.edsets.com/?af=bailey

Now the other problem I forsee you running into is music. You can't get your iPhone to play music though your ZUMO to your headphones even if it's paired. The ZUMO'sn(550 anyway) bluetooth profile really won't allow this and even if it did it would be coming though in Mono sound and sound horrible. Essentially your phone will only be a phone and nothing else and you would have to load all of your music into the ZUMO that you would want to listen to.

Seriously just buy a SENA or SCALA (I prefer SENA) and save yourself time and hassle. It will do EVERYTHING you are wanting to do and more and people won't even know you are on a bike when you call them. I've talked to folks at well over 80 MPH and they had no idea I was on a motorcycle.
 
I'd suggest saving yourself a lot of problems and headache and just go with a headset. You can get a SENA SMH10 with a baseplate that will allow you to plug in the earbuds of your choice. The stock iPhone 5 headphones are good as long as you don't have wind and helmet noise to contend with. For motorcycle use they are garbage.

Trying to get your Zumo to play though your iPhone isn't going to work they aren't programed like that. The ZUMO can work as a go between for you and the phone but you can't get ZUMO audio though your iPhone.

The Zumo 550 cradle has a dual plug on the left side. One is for headphones the other is for your Mic. There is a company that sells a connector with a mic but that requires you to be wired to your zumo mount when on the bike. I don't like that but everyone is different.

This is the site that has the combo cable/mic for the Zumo base mount. I had one and people couldn't understand me over 55 or so MPH.
http://www.edsets.com/?af=bailey

Now the other problem I forsee you running into is music. You can't get your iPhone to play music though your ZUMO to your headphones even if it's paired. The ZUMO'sn(550 anyway) bluetooth profile really won't allow this and even if it did it would be coming though in Mono sound and sound horrible. Essentially your phone will only be a phone and nothing else and you would have to load all of your music into the ZUMO that you would want to listen to.

Seriously just buy a SENA or SCALA (I prefer SENA) and save yourself time and hassle. It will do EVERYTHING you are wanting to do and more and people won't even know you are on a bike when you call them. I've talked to folks at well over 80 MPH and they had no idea I was on a motorcycle.

Sounds like the best solution. I am, however, confused about the pairing arrangement. Can the Zumo 500 pair with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously? If not, what pairs with what?
Thanks in advance for helping me sort this out.
 
You can pair it to a bluetooth headset and a phone. But really if you have a decent bluetooth headset there's no reason to do that as with multipoint pairing you can pair the ZUMO and phone to the headset and gain increased functionality with the phone.

Any audio even music coming from the ZUMO 550 via the bluetooth will be in Mono by the way. It only does HFP (hands free profile) and does not have a AD2P profile for stereo sound.
 
I'd suggest saving yourself a lot of problems and headache and just go with a headset. You can get a SENA SMH10 with a baseplate that will allow you to plug in the earbuds of your choice. The stock iPhone 5 headphones are good as long as you don't have wind and helmet noise to contend with. For motorcycle use they are garbage.

Trying to get your Zumo to play though your iPhone isn't going to work they aren't programed like that. The ZUMO can work as a go between for you and the phone but you can't get ZUMO audio though your iPhone.

The Zumo 550 cradle has a dual plug on the left side. One is for headphones the other is for your Mic. There is a company that sells a connector with a mic but that requires you to be wired to your zumo mount when on the bike. I don't like that but everyone is different.

This is the site that has the combo cable/mic for the Zumo base mount. I had one and people couldn't understand me over 55 or so MPH.
http://www.edsets.com/?af=bailey

Now the other problem I forsee you running into is music. You can't get your iPhone to play music though your ZUMO to your headphones even if it's paired. The ZUMO'sn(550 anyway) bluetooth profile really won't allow this and even if it did it would be coming though in Mono sound and sound horrible. Essentially your phone will only be a phone and nothing else and you would have to load all of your music into the ZUMO that you would want to listen to.

Seriously just buy a SENA or SCALA (I prefer SENA) and save yourself time and hassle. It will do EVERYTHING you are wanting to do and more and people won't even know you are on a bike when you call them. I've talked to folks at well over 80 MPH and they had no idea I was on a motorcycle.

I downloaded the newest version of the SENA SMH10 user's manual and now have a handle on the pairing issue. But I'm unclear on a couple of other points:
  • How do I connect my own custom molded in-ear monitors, so as to have the benefit of earplugs and good stereo sound? I already have tinnitus, most likely from wind noise, and don't want to further damage my hearing.
  • Can the Zumo 550 output XM Sirius in stereo via Bluetooth, or do I have to upgrade to a later model of Zumo to have Bluetooth stereo?
 
The Zumo 550 doesn't do stereo bluetooth for audio. An easy way to look at things is that the Zumo has two bluetooth radios, one pairs to your phone, the other to a headset.
 
I downloaded the newest version of the SENA SMH10 user's manual and now have a handle on the pairing issue. But I'm unclear on a couple of other points:
  • How do I connect my own custom molded in-ear monitors, so as to have the benefit of earplugs and good stereo sound? I already have tinnitus, most likely from wind noise, and don't want to further damage my hearing.
  • Can the Zumo 550 output XM Sirius in stereo via Bluetooth, or do I have to upgrade to a later model of Zumo to have Bluetooth stereo?

yes you will need this baseplate

http://www.motorcyclemarket.com/192...oom-Mic.aspx?gclid=CKu0zoiX0LUCFQYGnQodLRMA2w

No the ZUMO 550 will not output Bluetooth stereo. It only has Hands Free Profile and you need AD2P profile to listen in stereo. The output on the 550's baseplate allows you to plug in and get stereo sound but kinda defeats the purpose of the headset.

My next suggestion would be to dump XM and just download Pandora to your phone. iPhone 5 tech is basically to the point you could get rid of your ZUMO and use your phone for everything including GPS. Though right now being able to load routes into some APPs is an issue and why I still use my 550 for GPS duties.
 
Once again, the MOA Forum has proven to be a great resource.
Thanks, guys, for walking me through all of this. This explains why a friend who uses a Zumo 550 with BT was stunned when I told him the Zumo outputs XM in stereo. I've been plugging my in-ear monitors directly into the Zumo.
I really appreciate the help and advice!
 
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