What order to pair devices

So, before today my newest bike was a 1994 R100GSPD. So, the newly acquired R1200 GS Adventure is a bit of a system shock.

I bought the Navigator VI and it is installed.

I have a Cardo PackTalk Bold on my helmet. It pairs perfectly with my iphone.

This question is the order of pairing. Should I pair the phone to the bike, then the bike to to the PackTalk? Phone to PackTalk then bike to PackTalk?

Any help appreciated.

Pretty much depends whether you want to control the phone and screen calls with the Nav VI or be able to use Siri (or whoever) to voice dial/control your phone. If the phone is paired to the Nav VI, you cannot access Siri via the PackTalk.

My iPhone is paired to my Nav VI so I can visually screen incoming calls. I put a ton of music on a micro SD card in the Nav VI and use the media player for tunes. The 2nd Bluetooth channel on my PackTalk Bold is paired with a Sena SM10 for when I want radar detector audio. The downside is that when connected to the SM10, the Nav VI media player drops off, but I can either stream tunes from my iPhone or an iPod also connected to the SM10.


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The Nav 6 should of come with instruction manual. unpair phone from headset, pair headset to nav 6 the prompt will say headset, then pair phone to nav 6 the prompt will say phone . you will then be able to use phone thru nav 6 to headset. if you are using the media player you can load mp3 music to micro sd card, install sd card into gps. if music does not appear on media player, hook gps to computer with supplied cable, look for gps, open file for music, open till you get to actual music song. then you should be able to close everything. not sure but I believe it sets a path the gps unit needs to open songs in media player. if you need help changing songs to mp3 repost you probably have needed program on your computer already. I just upgraded to the nav 6 and this is what I did and unit works very well

What year is your GSA, and does it have the TFT display? If so, you have another layer of complexity insofar as bluetooth pairing is concerned. That's because you can pair your phone, and headset, to the connectivity display, and also download and use the BMW Motorrad Connectivity app. If you don't have the TFT display, disregard the above. That said, even without the TFT, you'd still have a basic choice to make, and that is whether, or not, to use the Nav VI as the "hub" for phone calls and streaming music stored on your phone to your headset using the Media Player app on the Nav VI (you don't have to load MP3 files onto the Nav VI, or to an SD card, to listen to music). When I first got my Nav VI, I used it as the hub, so I paired my iPhone to the Nav, and I paired my Sena headset to the Nav VI. I found the performance rather inconsistent, especially with regard to playing music (from my phone) via the Media Player app on the Nav. There was also another reason that I changed, and that has to do with the operation of the Garmin Smart Link app. If you download this free app to your phone, and have the phone paired to the Nav, you can get traffic and weather services on your Nav VI, so long as you have cell service. However, if your headset is also paired to your Nav (and you're running the Smart link app) you will get frequent weather advisories popping up on your GPS screen, and also traffic alerts. That, by itself, isn't that bad, except that they are accompanied by an audible "ding" to alert you. The problem is that constant dinging cuts out any intercom conversation you may be having at the time. These weather alerts can last for hours, and occur about every ten minutes, or so. Because of that annoyance, I stopped using the Nav VI as the hub and I paired my devices this way: iPhone paired to the Nav VI, and iPhone paired to my Sena headset. You'' notice my headset is not paired to the Nav VI, so I don't get voice directions from the GPS, but I also don't get the alert chime for weather or traffic, though I can still see them on the Nav VI display. I also don't control music this way. With my phone paired to my headset, I can access Siri and use voice instructions to make phone calls, or play the music that's stored on my phone.

My Nav VI (in a ‘16 R1200GSA) is setup as the hub: iPhone <> Nav VI <> PackTalk Bold < SM10 (radar detector and iPod audio). When playing music from the Nav VI (micro SD card), I get the Garmin Smart Link traffic and weather alerts silently (no annoying beeps). If I power up the SM10 (for radar detector alerts), it shuts down the Nav VI media player and then any Smart Link alerts come through with the dreaded beeps. The PackTalk Bold controls the Nav VI media player with voice, so that works for me. I’m ditching the SM10 (and iPod) and switching to a Marc Parnes visual alert so I can avoid the beeps, but still get the weather & traffic info. I haven’t tried streaming music from my iPhone because I don’t want the additional battery drain.

Good luck. I’ve tried multiple ways of pairing. Could not get the media player to work with the iPhone as designed. Now my Sena and iPhone are paired and my phone is paired to my Navi IV just to show traffic.

So guys here is what I do. On my bike I can see both my iPhone and NAV GPS. My SENA heads is paired 1st to my iPhone and 2nd to my NAV. My iPhone is plugged into a power source on the bike. I also have a SENA remote controller on the handlebar. I can listen to music via controller and my iPhone (much easier then through NAV-Been there). I can see calls that come up right on my iPhone and can give a verbal command to answer them so I don't have touch any screen. Since the iPhone is powered I can call up Siri to call someone, read me last text and reply or anything else siri will typically do. The beauty of this is that it all can be done by voice command. With as safety conscious as BMW is I am amazed that there NAV GPS system is not voiced command able to any degree.

Only way media player will work correctly on NAV GPS is if SD card is formatted properly otherwise no go - don't ask me how I know

podman said:

Only way media player will work correctly on NAV GPS is if SD card is formatted properly otherwise no go - don't ask me how I know

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Can you elaborate?

My solution

What worked for me was to pair the Nav VI to the pack talk and the phone to the pack talk. The phone also pairs to the Nav Vi to provide traffic data via the Garmin app. The Valentine One’s Bluetooth accessory also pairs to the phone so i get V1 alerts in the pack talk.

I get music from the phone and can use Siri through the pack talk. Nothing pairs to the TFT.

Works for me.

Packtalk Bold through the TFT

I have the Packtalk Bold and a 2018 GSA with the TFT - my first BMW. The bike is designed to control everything through the TFT, so I have been trying multiple ways to make it work, unsuccessfully. It works great when it is just me, and when it stays connected (not always reliable), but when I join other riders my music volume drops too low to hear, even when there is no conversation for long periods. The Bold has 2 channels so I have tried pairing in different orders with the iPhone and the TFT, but still no success. Should I just forget about using the expensive TFT and pair straight to the Nav VI?
Also, what is up with the bluetooth cutting out if the phone is in your pocket - did BMW bury the receiver under the tank?