Zumo 590 mit Interphon F5MC, GARMIN's Mitarbeit wird benötigt

From "J.H." (August 2014): "The F5MC does not seem to be compatible with the Garmin Zumo 660. The audio quality of both navigation instructions and music when heard through the F5MC via Bluetooth is so poor that it is unusable.

My dealer replaced the F5MC unit under warranty but the replacement unit was no better. I contacted Interphone in Italy via the support page on their website. They advised me by email that they know there is a problem using the F5MC with Garmin products, and they are working to find a solution but don't know when they will be able to release a fix.

I have returned the product to the dealer and have returned to using my old F4 which works perfectly with my Zumo 660."

Editor's Reply: We have received many comments over the years involving owner problems with Garmin products and intercoms of any brand. Don't know why this is but it seems that Garmin has some type of non-standard Bluetooth implementation that just seems to have problems with motorcycle intercoms.

From "H.S." (September 2014): "I just wanted to share the fact that unfortunately me too I had to return my F5MC duo kit to my dealer since it seems incompatible with my GPS BMW Navigator IV (= rebranded Garmin Zumo 660).

The Bluetooth connection between the GPS and the F5MC always gets disconnected after a while, leaving me without GPS voice instructions and sometimes even without intercom as well.

Interphone's support told me they were in touch with Garmin regarding some issues, but were unaware of specific issues with the Zumo 660. They send me back to my dealer as both units of the duo pack could be defective, which is to my opinion highly unlikely.

It is really a pity since otherwise the product is performing well, is very well built and is very user friendly. Should I get a confirmation about the GPS connection issue being fixed, I will not hesitate to buy the set again. I hope my feedback will be useful to others."

Editor's Note: After talking to some industry reps, here's a summary of what appears to be the problem. The Garmin connectivity problem is an issue with other intercom manufacturers also.

First, Interphone understands the connectivity issues and they are working on it. More than one Bluetooth intercom manufacturer has told me that connectivity with the zumo 660 has always been hard due to problems with the zumo 660 in managing different Bluetooth profiles.

Here's what happens: The zumo 660 (and BMW Navigator IV) is able to connect two devices, a mobile phone (HFP profile) and Bluetooth headset (HFP, A2DP profile).

But problems appear when the sat-nav has to switch from one to another profile (e.g., If you are listening to music (from the zumo 660) and receive a phone call and switch back to music or if you receive vocal messages from the navigator, the zumo 660 freezes up most of the time.

Apparently, when Garmin became aware of these problems, they tried to solve them but with difficulty and they acknowledged this.

With regards to Interphone, they told me that currently the best thing to do is make sure both the Garmin device and the intercom is updated with the latest firmware. Then they are trying to work directly with Garmin to collaborate on a solution which will also prevent issues with devices.