I own a Sony Xperia smartphone. I also own a 2012 Chevy Tahoe truck.
Apparently, the phone can be “synced” (whatever that means) to my truck.
I have no idea how. The dealer was willing to do it when I bought my truck, but as I did not have a smartphone at the time, he could not. Now that I have a smartphone, I understand (perhaps wrongly), that if the phone is “synced” (whatever that means) to the truck, I can make voice calls using my smartphone using voice commands. The manual might as well be written in Klingon–it is not clear at all.
So, my questions are as follows:
Can I indeed make voice-only calls just by connecting my smartphone to the car?
Can you explain what I need to do, in an easy step-by-step procedure, that even an idiot can follow?
What the hell is “syncing” and why do I need to do it?
I guess I’m a Luddite, but I would appreciate any help you can give me.
The truck came with an owner’s manual. It told me about maintenance intervals, where things were on the dashboard, and how to release the spare tire. It did not tell me how to “sync” (whatever that means) a smartphone with the car itself. At least, not in a way I could understand.
My phone’s manual makes no reference to “syncing” (whatever that means) to a car.
As I said, I’m apparently a Luddite. Help me to understand my phone and my car, and how they can work together.
Your car’s radio likely has bluetooth capability. If your phone also has it, the two can talk to each other by setting up a bluetooth pairing.
This means that when your phone rings, a button press on the radio will answer the call which will play over your car’s loudspeakers. A microphone on the radio will pick up your speech and play your end of the conversation back to the caller.
You can also make calls the same way by either dialling a number on your phone or using the dialler on your radio (if it has one).
You can also use bluetooth to play music from your phone over your car’s radio.
You would typically turn on your radio, you then have a minute or two to establish the pairing. Turn on bluetooth on your phone and scan for nearby devices. Your car’s manual will tell you the name of the bluetooth device you are looking for and also a password you will have to key in to your phone to make the connection.
I am a novice with this technology. I have a feeling that Bluetooth allows communication between Device X and Device Y, but outside of seeing people with earphones, talking to themselves (which looks pretty stupid, IMHO), I have no knowledge.
Spoons, you might want to look for a separate manual that takes care of the entertainment system, it isn’t always in the main manual and sometimes additional functionality can be included on a little pamphlet that’s tucked into the binder somewhere.
If you type something like “2012 chevy tahoe sync instructions” - you get this page of results. Try those YouTube videos, plus instructions from Chevy are clickable on that page, too. Probably better instructions than you’ll get here.
“Pairing” just means the two devices are connected to each other for sharing information (using wireless network technology).
Blutooth is different from WiFi as it was designed for close-range communication between peripheral devices like mice, scanners and the like.
The host device advertises its presence with a name, much like a WiFi SSID amd it is the name of your car’s radio that your phone needs to look for.
It will be password protected to stop random interlopers dropping in (again much like a WiFi password) so you will need to consult your radio’s handbook to find out the pass code, typically a four digit PIN number.
It’s pretty straightforward to just turn on bluetooth on your phone and then hit the right host name then key in the code. It should remember the connection so you only have to do it the once.
Soe car radios only broadcast their availability to “pair” for a minute or two after turning the ignition on, so if the phone doesn’t seem to find anything switch off and try again.
This. We just had a hell of a time setting up the phone pairing in my husband’s car, despite having read car-specific forums and watched a video of the same radio being paired (method did not work.) Just take it in, they’ll do it for you in a few seconds. Ours was not password protected, btw.
Thirded. When my wife got her 2104 Dart the sales guy was showing her all the bells and whistles (and there are many). When he got to the phone thing he basically picked up her phone, facilitated some Vulcan mind-meld thing and now her phone and car shake hands when she gets into the car.
It’s really cool technology, and something I want absolutely no part of. As Luddites go, I hold fuel injection technology in great suspicion. Fully electronic LCD dash displays are right out.
No, you should do it. It’s much safer and I feel better knowing that I don’t have to take my hands or eyes away from what they’re supposed to be doing to make a call.
My husband is listed in my phone as “husband,” so if I ever have an accident or something the cops will find him easily in my contact list. When I’m driving and want to call him, I push a button on the wheel and say “Call husband.” And it does.
