There’s been some frustration on the street with Ford Sync users since the release of the iPhone 5. Fear not, just take a moment to review a few things before you get started…
First of all, if you had a previously paired phone in your vehicle and you have a new iPhone 5, then the first thing you need to do is “re-pair” your system. Go to the “Phone Menu” on the dashboard of your Ford vehicle.
With a Sync system with the blue LED readout on the center console, just press the “Phone” icon on your steering wheel. The words “Phone Menu” will appear and in a few seconds it will change to “Phone Redial”. then turn the right side tuning knob until you see the words “Timing Setting” and then press the OK button in the center of the tuning knob (or on the steering wheel). Go to Phone Menu and go to Bluetooth Devices and remove the old phone from your list of BT devices. Then select Add devices and press OK to start “Pair a phone”.
If you have a touchscreen navigation system, press the Phone hard button on the side of the touchscreen, then go to the Settings button, it will take you to the screen to add or remove Bluetooth devices. Select the button with the name of your old phone. Tap on it and then hit the button to the right that says “Delete phone”. You can then tap on the button that says “Add Device”. Press OK to start “Pair a phone”. A 6-digit PIN number will be displayed.
If you have a MyFord Touch system, press the top left corner to access the phone menu, then go to the bottom button on the left side of the screen to access Settings, then on the next screen select “Bluetooth” and then another screen will appear display the list of Bluetooth devices. Tap the button with your old phone’s name on it, and then tap Delete. Then tap the “Add Device” button. Press OK to start “Pair a phone”. A 6-digit PIN number will be displayed.
Go to your new iPhone 5, to the Settings folder and then select “General” Settings. Then make sure the Bluetooth switch is in the “On” position. Your iPhone will start to “search for devices”. In a moment, your phone will first see a “Hands Free” device, and then it will turn into “Pairing”. Press the Sync button on your phone and within a moment or two a second screen will appear. Look at your control panel to get the 6-digit PIN. Enter that into your iPhone and press the blue button on the screen that says “Pair”.
When your Sync system prompts you to enable 911 Assist, press OK. Press OK to set your phone as the primary phone. When the sync system prompts you to press OK to download the phonebook, press OK. This will take a few minutes, but once it’s done, you’ll be “paired” with the new iPhone.
No software updates are required for Ford Sync to work with iPhone 5 (or any iPhone).
Note that Apple uses MAP (Message Access Protocol) to enable Ford’s text-to-speech system. However, if you have an iPhone4S or iPhone 5, that’s fine! Just press the “Home” button on the iPhone screen for a couple of seconds. You will hear the voice of “Siri” in the vehicle’s sound system. Then just say “Read text messages” and she will read them to you. If you want, keep talking to “Siri”. Ask her to send a text and she’ll start asking you questions about what text and who you’d like to send it to. When you’re done talking to Siri, just press and hold the phone icon on the steering wheel for about 5 seconds and she’ll turn off.
iPhone with Siri actually seems to have “the best of both worlds” as it allows you to press the “voice” button on the steering wheel to make and review phone calls, start streaming music via Bluetooth, USB music, and say “Apps mobile”. If you have an AppLink-equipped Ford. If it doesn’t, press the voice button and say Bluetooth audio, then go to your phone and press “Pandora” or some other app to start streaming music through your dash.
Remember to do this advice once a week: Turn off your vehicle. Completely power off your iPhone for at least 30 seconds. Then start it again. This helps your phone reset to your carrier’s settings.
As for “updating” your Sync software to handle the new iPhone, don’t worry, it’s not necessary. The new iPhone 5 will work with existing Sync software without any issues. So enjoy the new iPhone 5 and the Ford Sync System.
