Blue tooth conversion

Briar Rabbit

Line Up and Wait
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Albion, Nebraska
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Display name:
Rob
One of my vehicles is a Chevy Tahoe that was produced one year before the ability to use cell phones through the radio. My local dealer tells me they can add this feature to it for $240. The dealership is about double for everything so I am wondering if there is a cheaper or better option. I am guessing it is just a pug in device?

Anyone have any advice?
 
One of my vehicles is a Chevy Tahoe that was produced one year before the ability to use cell phones through the radio. My local dealer tells me they can add this feature to it for $240. The dealership is about double for everything so I am wondering if there is a cheaper or better option. I am guessing it is just a pug in device?

Anyone have any advice?
Found some info with solutions if anyone else is interested:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how...our-old-car-stereo-with-fm-transmitter-2018-2

Basically you can buy a device that plugs into the cigarette lighter receptacle which receives blue tooth signals from your phone and then transmits them on an FM frequency. My understanding is that you select the frequency it uses to transmit to the radio and then you set one of the push buttons for station selection to this frequency. When you get a call you push the appropriate FM station button on your car radio, answer the call and the conversation goes through the car speakers. Some brands of these devices have a microphone built into the device that plugs into the cigarette lighter and some rely on the microphone in the cell phone. Some units also have a USB port to plug the phone into to keep the phone charged. I can't help but wonder how well the mic works? This also has the capability to stream music from your phone to your radio. Device is about $20.

There is also an option for a blue tooth receiver that plugs into the auxiliary port if your radio has one but not sure how this interfaces with the phone to answer phone call? All the You tube videos I found pertain to streaming music over your phone.
 
I'm sure the FM modulator version is fine, but having to push the radio preset every time you get a call would get annoying, in addition to having to give up a radio preset location just for that. Honestly, I'd probably just pay the dealership if it integrates easily into the factory radio and adds the microphone above the sun visor. I have a few vehicles that have the "phone" button but no bluetooth capability.

Another potential solution, if you care to, is to just upgrade the factory stereo. Almost all of the aftermarket stereos out there have phone/bluetooth built-in, and any audio shop can install it in a few hours. It'd probably be the same cost as the dealership, but you'd have a much better stereo than the factory unit, and probably some additional features. Hell, you could get a back-up camera installed with it if you want one of the ones with a touch screen for not too much money.
 
Yep -- plenty of aftermarket stereos with any combination of features you'd ever want. Bluetooth, XM, HD, touchscreen, nav, backup camera, take your pick. I put a Pioneer Avic-somethingorother in my old Sport Trak and added touchscreen nav and a backup camera. Installation was pretty painless, even routing the wires back to the backup cam.
 
Yep -- plenty of aftermarket stereos with any combination of features you'd ever want. Bluetooth, XM, HD, touchscreen, nav, backup camera, take your pick. I put a Pioneer Mavic in my old Sport Trak and added touchscreen nav and a backup camera. Installation was pretty painless, even routing the wires back to the backup cam.

Yup, the premade wiring harnesses make installation a snap for anyone with a bit of mechanical ability. You do all of the crimping/soldering before you even put the unit in the vehicle. Once the old radio is out, it's just plug-n-play for 95% of it. Running the cables for external amplifiers or microphone/backup cameras is more time consuming than the actual stereo swap.
 
How old is the stock audio system? What audio sources does it currently support?
 
How old is the stock audio system? What audio sources does it currently support?

I'm guessing he'd be in that '07-'10 sort of time frame when most manufacturers had the bluetooth as an option on some stereos, but it was a bit finicky at the time and costed several hundred for the option.
 
For about $30 you can get a bluetooth mic/speaker that clips to the visor and gives you hands free phone ability without touching any of the existing vehicle wiring. If I was going to spend $240 to add a bluetooth phone interface, I'd be looking at aftermarket radios.
 
If I was going to spend $240 to add a bluetooth phone interface, I'd be looking at aftermarket radios.
No doubt. The only things you know for sure about auto manufacturer electronics are they will be absurdly expensive, and they will suck.
 
For small $ you can go to Best Buy or your favorite similar store and get a bluetooth speaker that sits in the cupholder. I have one of these in my pickup which lacks any great automation. It's only used when my wife also needs to listen in. The rest of the time the phone goes direct to my hearing aids.
 
It is a 07.
Does it have a tape deck or a tape deck option? If a tape deck, you can get a cassette adapter.
5019323_sa.jpg;maxHeight=640;maxWidth=550


If it has an option for a tape deck that isn't installed, you might be able to install a converter if they make one for that unit.

If it has a CD player and you aren't using the CD player, you could possibly tap into that.
 
Does it have a tape deck or a tape deck option? If a tape deck, you can get a cassette adapter.
5019323_sa.jpg;maxHeight=640;maxWidth=550


If it has an option for a tape deck that isn't installed, you might be able to install a converter if they make one for that unit.

If it has a CD player and you aren't using the CD player, you could possibly tap into that.

Lol geez. While the tape adapter is a blast from the past, that only solves the audio, not the microphone, and would require you to swap to the tape deck every time an incoming call occurred. Besides, if he has an iPhone, he probably doesn’t have a headphone jack anyway!
 
Lol geez. While the tape adapter is a blast from the past, that only solves the audio, not the microphone, and would require you to swap to the tape deck every time an incoming call occurred. Besides, if he has an iPhone, he probably doesn’t have a headphone jack anyway!
Actually, it would be a cassette adapter feeding a Bluetooth audio adapter. Those types of adapters usually have a built-in mic.
Here's one such example:
http://www.antecmobileproducts.com/headphones/smartbean-white.html
 
Actually, it would be a cassette adapter feeding a Bluetooth audio adapter. Those types of adapters usually have a built-in mic.
Here's one such example:
http://www.antecmobileproducts.com/headphones/smartbean-white.html

I think I'd just go with an Bluetooth FM transmitter if that were the case. Eliminates the cassette adapter and a cord. Either way, I personally wouldn't bother with any of the non-head unit options. I'd get an aftermarket stereo or pay the dealership for the add-on module for the factory unit.
 
I think I'd just go with an Bluetooth FM transmitter if that were the case. Eliminates the cassette adapter and a cord. Either way, I personally wouldn't bother with any of the non-head unit options. I'd get an aftermarket stereo or pay the dealership for the add-on module for the factory unit.
In theory, yes. In practice, I've had bad luck with FM transmitters. Could just be my luck, though.
 
In theory, yes. In practice, I've had bad luck with FM transmitters. Could just be my luck, though.

Yeah, it just depends on how much frequency space you have in your local area. If you live in an area with a ton of radio stations spaced closely together, it can be tough to find enough space to transmit without getting stations bleeding through. They need an AM-band transmitter, lots of dead space in the AM-band these days!
 
Yeah, it just depends on how much frequency space you have in your local area. If you live in an area with a ton of radio stations spaced closely together, it can be tough to find enough space to transmit without getting stations bleeding through. They need an AM-band transmitter, lots of dead space in the AM-band these days!
It's also a problem if you go outside your local area or your local area has diverse terrain. That blank frequency you were using can switch to not being blank any more.
 
You don't have to mess with an FM transmitter if your radio has an aux input jack. My company car is an 09 Ridgeline which doesn't have any bluetooth capability. But it does have an 1/8" aux input on the dash. I put in one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJFGE0K/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works great for me. I haven't listened to terrestrial radio in 10 years. Everything I listen to comes from my phone (pandora, podcasts, audiobooks) so having to switch the radio off to take a phone call isn't an issue for me. I just leave the radio on the aux input and my phone connects up automatically. Because I use my phone for everything, whatever I'm listening to pauses automatically when I get a call. I tap the button on the adapter and take the call right through the radio. When the call hangs up, whatever I was listening to starts playing again. Cheap and easy.
 
You don't have to mess with an FM transmitter if your radio has an aux input jack. My company car is an 09 Ridgeline which doesn't have any bluetooth capability. But it does have an 1/8" aux input on the dash. I put in one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJFGE0K/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works great for me. I haven't listened to terrestrial radio in 10 years. Everything I listen to comes from my phone (pandora, podcasts, audiobooks) so having to switch the radio off to take a phone call isn't an issue for me. I just leave the radio on the aux input and my phone connects up automatically. Because I use my phone for everything, whatever I'm listening to pauses automatically when I get a call. I tap the button on the adapter and take the call right through the radio. When the call hangs up, whatever I was listening to starts playing again. Cheap and easy.

Ahh, good call on that. Hadn't seen one of those. I've had calls come through when my cell phone was plugged into the AUX jack while listening to music, but it would only pass the audio (cell microphone is deactivated when plugged into headset jack). So, I'd have to unplug to actually have a phone conversation. Not a bad solution there. He should have an AUX port (my '07 GMC does).
 
Ahh, good call on that. Hadn't seen one of those. I've had calls come through when my cell phone was plugged into the AUX jack while listening to music, but it would only pass the audio (cell microphone is deactivated when plugged into headset jack). So, I'd have to unplug to actually have a phone conversation. Not a bad solution there. He should have an AUX port (my '07 GMC does).
I think it does have an audio port. It does not have a cassette deck as was asked above in one of the posts. I have reviewed a few different brands that seem to offer similar devices, this one appears to have one of the best satisfaction reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NLTW6...&pd_rd_r=6cd93585-4026-11e9-acad-c779d924d9c8

Thanks for all of the tips!
 
I installed an add-on module to my 2003 Chevrolet Suburban with the Bose stereo; it integrates with the factory stereo, such that I am able to control the Bluetooth device pretty well with the controls on the factory stereo (for example, it displays what's playing on the stereo's display, I can skip songs with the buttons on the stereo, things like that). It also has a harness that can plug into my iPhone, and the iPhone will charge, and you can play content from the iPhone through the wired interface as well, again, controlling all of it with the controls on the factory stereo.

If I had the steering wheel controls on my factory stereo, those would work with it as well, but my lower-and suburban did not have that.

I like the whole setup best because it integrates the Bluetooth functionality with the music playing functionality. It plays nice with the factory stereo, up to and including the factory XM audio, which mutes when a call comes in.

It was all plug and play, and I was very satisfied; it is not a clunky thing like an FM modulator set up, which I preferred to avoid.

Here is a link for somebody selling this (I can't remember where I bought it), and it looks like they have a product for the 2007, as well; I don't know how any of the changes depending upon whether you have a navigation system or not.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i1924_chevy-bluetooth.html?from=829

https://isimple.com/catalog/professional-installed-kits/isgm655 <<--- Manufacturer's information

Maybe this: https://isimple.com/catalog/professional-installed-kits/gateway-kit-for-select-gm-isgm575
Plus: https://isimple.com/catalog/professional-installed-kits/ISBT21
 
I've had very good results with this bluetooth adapter. Others I've tried, not so good. No switching involved when a call comes in, if (as I do) you're already listening to music through the phone.

Yup, the premade wiring harnesses make installation a snap for anyone with a bit of mechanical ability. You do all of the crimping/soldering before you even put the unit in the vehicle. Once the old radio is out, it's just plug-n-play for 95% of it. Running the cables for external amplifiers or microphone/backup cameras is more time consuming than the actual stereo swap.

Not even that tough; you just buy the appropriate adapter harness for your brand stereo and your vehicle, everything plugs in and no crimping or soldering required. I've installed aftermarket Alpine stereos, in several cars, often you don't even need any tools. Usually around $100-150 for the stereo and around $10 for the wiring adapter.
 
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