Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

murdoc158

macrumors regular
Jan 8, 2007
217
1
West Bend, WI
This product by Belkin might solve your issue. It connects via AUX to your car and via Bluetooth to your iPhone. Also included is a usb cable to charge your iPhone should you need it.

Link: http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=525857

I've owned this for 4 months and it works perfectly. There is NO audio quality difference between bluetooth and AUX in. A quick double-tap of the button will advance to the next track in Music, Pandora, Slacker, etc. Hold the button for 2 seconds to activate Siri, press the button once to return to music. Press the button once to answer incoming calls, and once again to hang up and resume the music.

It is a bit pricey (currently $70 on Amazon), but I picked it up for $40 during on of Amazon daily deals discounts. For $40 it's a steal. At $70 it's still worth it as I use it daily and can keep my phone in my pocket 100% while I'm driving.
 

dsnows

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2010
28
2
Virginia
Motorola clip on works

I got mine for $40 at Walmart. Motorola bluetooth, clips on to visor. The call button activates Siri, and works well
 

wmagnum1

macrumors member
Mar 11, 2008
84
40
Belkin AirCast w/ bluetooth

I picked up the Belkin AirCast and chose it over the Griffin for two reasons:
  1. You can also charge the iPhone through the USB port
  2. A separate button to hit for music/Siri, etc instead of the button built in the cig lighter plugin

So far, no issues. The ONLY issue I have with it is Siri, which when activated jumps up to an annoying volume level. Phone calls and music are great and people can hear me just fine with phone calls. Volume with Siri activation is the only issue I'm having so far, but I'm pretty sure that is not a Belkin problem.
 

nilk

macrumors 6502a
Oct 18, 2007
691
236
So far, no issues. The ONLY issue I have with it is Siri, which when activated jumps up to an annoying volume level. Phone calls and music are great and people can hear me just fine with phone calls. Volume with Siri activation is the only issue I'm having so far, but I'm pretty sure that is not a Belkin problem.

You can adjust the volume of Siri, no? Bring up Siri, and then use the volume controls to adjust it.
 

motoleo

macrumors 6502a
Jan 27, 2012
904
1
I'd like to see this kind of voice control used in video games!

That's what I'd like to see. Contract Killer: Zombies, the woman was talking to me and that's when I thought of it.
 

abavetta

macrumors newbie
Jul 8, 2009
9
0
So....you can activate Siri via the button on the motorola device and use its microphone, but audio from the phone (siri, calls, music, and all) plays through your hard-wired connection between the phone and car (3.5mm, sync cable)?

If so, that's a winner right there.



After further examination, it looks like the parrot kits require tearing apart the dash and installing hardware behind the scenes. Deal breaker.....I already have the phone wired in, I just need a way to activate siri remotely....THATS IT.

Ieo is this the best option you found? Did you buy it and did it work? I have the same need you described for my 2011 Nissan Rogue with Bose stereo.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-T505-Bluetooth-Portable-Speakerphone/dp/B0030BZ7HM/ref=pd_cp_cps_3

The link supplied earlier for the Motorola device no long works.
 

abavetta

macrumors newbie
Jul 8, 2009
9
0
So....you can activate Siri via the button on the motorola device and use its microphone, but audio from the phone (siri, calls, music, and all) plays through your hard-wired connection between the phone and car (3.5mm, sync cable)?

If so, that's a winner right there.



After further examination, it looks like the parrot kits require tearing apart the dash and installing hardware behind the scenes. Deal breaker.....I already have the phone wired in, I just need a way to activate siri remotely....THATS IT.

Teo do you think this one will work?
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=525857
 

wmagnum1

macrumors member
Mar 11, 2008
84
40
You can adjust the volume of Siri, no? Bring up Siri, and then use the volume controls to adjust it.

I don't think you are able to control Siri's volume.If I'm missing how to do that. I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong.
 

ideal.dreams

macrumors 68020
Jul 19, 2010
2,374
1,073
I have an old Bluetooth speakerphone that back in the day let you use hands free calling...it has a button on it that activates voice dialing, or on the iPhone, Siri. They do indeed exist, it's just a matter of finding one.
 

nznative

macrumors newbie
Dec 22, 2011
14
0
Hands-free control for Siri

I use a cydia tweak called hands-free control. It uses a small amount of power to deep siri's ears open even when my phone goes to sleep... Works great!
 

Markyboy81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2011
514
0
Last week I bought Sony MEX-BT3900U CD/MP3 Car Radio for under 100 pounds. I would definitely recommend this to anybody. It's replacing an older Sony cd player and the sound quality is a lot better for some reason, with many options to customise the sound. Streaming via Bluetooth is really high quality to the iPhone 4s, I can't notice the difference compared to when it's plugged in to the USB.
This stereo also works with Siri, just press the big button and away you go! Fantastic value for money!
 

callbobloblaw

macrumors newbie
Apr 22, 2012
5
0
hands free control for siri- solution

... for me it would be enough if we could activate Siri by dialing a certain number (##7474**) from the car's bluetooth kit.
That way I could activate Siri by pressing the Steering Wheel button which fires up the VW voice recognition and then ask it to call "Siri" - (as a normal contact that I created before).

After the Siri activation number is called, you hear the Voice prompt and can start asking Siri to do whatever you need. The voice prompt should always wait for silence and then act when you are done asking. But it should return with additional prompts for further questions until you hang up and therefore tell Siri that the service is no longer needed.

What do you guys think? Would that be something to try and get from Apple through the Feature request system? Even it was IOS 6, it would be a great addition IMHO and not too difficult to implement either...

Daniel

P.S.: I have the iPod charger & stereo connection kit from VW in my glove box. Pressing the home button there is simply not feasible.

DMaiworm, I had the same thought as you, and after a lot of searching, I was finally able to come up with a solution that provides me with true "hands free" siri activation. This method allows you to program a phone contact with a bogus number (*#voice#*), that will activate siri after you disconnect from the number (you can dial and hang up immediately). Admittedly, this isn't the most elegant solution ever, but it's the best I could find until someone develops a better fix (please message me if you know of something that works better!). Note that in order for this to work, you must have a jailbroken iphone. Finally, credit for this solution goes to youtube username "xxIvanRaidexx", whose instructions I have copied and supplemented below to clarify steps that were confusing to me:


* first this assumes you have an iPhone 4S, but in theory this should work with Spire (not important unless you know what this is) on other hardware assuming you have a working proxy, but I haven't tried it.

* for this to work you need sqlite and other related commands already installed on the iphone, they may be installed by searching for "BigBoss Recommended Tools" package on Cydia note that in order to see this package, you must switch your Cydia user settings to "Developer" through the "settings" button on the "manage" tab of Cydia. .

* you will also need to go into Cydia and install the app TerminalActivator

* once these packages are installed, you will need to go into your iphones Settings app, and navigate to the settings for TerminalActivator. Next, push "Set Events." When prompted to give your event a "Noti Name", enter the name "to siri" (the instructions were not clear whether the name should be "to siri" or just "siri", so I made one event for each name and it worked, but I am not sure which is correct) and pick in the Activator list "Virtual Assistant"

* Next, you must copy the files listed below (download the files from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_kQYhWlP9NkM2JiMTUwMTgtNmY0YS00ZDBkLWFhNjEtOTQ5ODk5MWFjNmIy/edit) to their respective directories on the iphone, (via ssh, ifunbox, etc- for windows users, I recommend using WinSCP- you can find easy instructions on how to use this program here: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=3221)

/System/Library/LaunchDaemos/com.IdleWhile.VoiceCommandNumber.plist

/usr/bin/idlewhile/VoiceCheckScript.sh

usr / bin / idlewhile / VoiceCmdQuery

* set the permission to 755 for the following files

/usr/bin/idlewhile/VoiceCheckScript.sh

(this can be done in WinSCP by right clicking on the file, selecting "custom commands", then "customize", then clicking on the "transfer" tab and filling in the "set permissions" box)

* from sh/shell/putty (whatever you use- for windows users, I recommend putty-see the following guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_5252832_putty-access-control-iphone.html) login as root (with the same password you used for the WinSCP login) and enter this command:

cd /System/Library/LaunchDaemons

* then enter this command:

launchctl load -w com.IdleWhile.VoiceCommandNumber.plist

* now if you dial the number *#86423#* (*#voice#*) it will within 6 seconds start SIRI

* if you are knowledgeable you can change any of the above to suit your needs, a different location, a different number or interval, etc.

* I would like to thank Seung-ho Kim the developer of AppDialer who build the TerminalActivator app that allows cmdline to call Activator;
because without his very generous help, I could not have gotten this script working.

Hope that helps someone get hands free Siri- I love it.
 

cacophony555

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2010
48
0
If you're looking for a Bluetooth button that activates Siri, but leaves all your audio going through other channels - stop looking, it ain't gonna happen. Bluetooth pairing sets up a "Profile" that does not distinguish between control & audio, so if you pair a device up to control the phone - that device is where the audio is going to go (by default - once in a call you could switch it on the phone's screen, but that would defeat your purpose).

Not according to this at least:
http://www.satechi.net/index.php/new-products/satechi-bluetooth-remote-control

Q: I'd be buying this to control my music while my phone is in my pocket, streaming to another bluetooth device connected to my car stereo. Can I use both these bluetooth devices at the same time?

A: Yes, you will be able to use both devices at the same time. Our Bluetooth Remote only controls the keyboard profile, so rest of the bluetooth profiles are free to use.

This is the FAQ for this bluetooth remote:
http://www.satechi.net/index.php/satechi-bluetooth-remote-control
 

lunaoso

macrumors 65816
Sep 22, 2012
1,332
54
Boston, MA
I don't think you are able to control Siri's volume.If I'm missing how to do that. I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong.

You can. Open Siri, when the circle Siri button comes up, just use the normal volume up down buttons to change it.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0

bbergman

macrumors newbie
Jan 15, 2011
3
0
Satetchi device is the one!

After reviewing the entire thread, I've concluded the Satetchi Remote device is the best solution. The price is reasonable: $35 on Amazon (or direct from Satetchi), handles multiple features (although all I want is the remote Siri button) and doesn't interfere with my other Bluetooth profiles in use because it only pretends to be a keyboard. Very sweet and inventive!

The DriveWithSiri button is probably fine too, but at $79, it's more than I want to spend. The software solution (#voice#) would be okay if I had a jailbroken device, but I don't. And the other Bluetooth speaker options are fine, except that I don't want/need another speaker; I already have one in my car that plays through the in-car speakers, and I'm not looking to replace that.

Satetchi - well done!

Thanks,
bruce
 

EthanLMT

macrumors regular
Jan 22, 2015
176
59
If you press and hold the play button on any Bluetooth device it will activate Siri
 

bbergman

macrumors newbie
Jan 15, 2011
3
0
If you press and hold the play button on any Bluetooth device it will activate Siri

Clarification: any DEDICATED Bluetooth device. Most vehicle control systems with hands-free (i.e., Bluetooth) capabilities are NOT dedicated devices; they perform multiple functions, and the press-and-hold route will not work in those instances. Holding down their activation button will not activate Siri.

Only newer vehicles, where they use a separate command channel for Bluetooth, will do what you say. Check your vehicle's users manual for information about using such functionality and whether or not your vehicle supports it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.