MINI Connected vs CarPlay vs Alexa

SameGuy

SameGuy

Well-Known Member
In our cars, we use CarPlay for just about everything. In our home, however, Alexa rules our domain. Now with MINI connected, how does it all work together?

Am I to understand that if I have CarPlay active in the SE, I can’t use Alexa, nor can I use MINI navigation (ie on the HUD and center ring)? My iPhone understands the difference between “Alexa” and “hey Siri,” so I was hoping the MINI would as well.

Bonus question: is there a MINI Connected Alexa skill as there is a BMW Connected skill? As the interface has become so fluid I’ve allowed voice assistants to help me with more and more day-to-day tasks; it would be nice to be able to — for example — precondition the car by voice, rather than looking for and fumbling with my phone.
 
I can't comment on Alexa, but for CarPlay and Mini NAV:

You can be listening to CarPlay audio and still use Mini NAV and be on the Mini NAV screen. CarPlay will still play whatever app you have selected. A short press of the talk button on the steering wheel activates Mini listening to you, and a long press of it activates CarPlay listening to your commands.
 
GvilleGuy said:
I can't comment on Alexa, but for CarPlay and Mini NAV:

You can be listening to CarPlay audio and still use Mini NAV and be on the Mini NAV screen. CarPlay will still play whatever app you have selected. A short press of the talk button on the steering wheel activates Mini listening to you, and a long press of it activates CarPlay listening to your commands.
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Omigosh thanks! I was wracking my brain trying to figure it out, the owners manual doesn’t cover it and I haven’t delved into the Integrated Owner’s Manual.
 
SOLVED! The My BMW Alexa skill recognizes my “Cooper”!

I just whispered to the living room Echo Studio, “Alexa, ask BMW what’s my range,” and she replied I have 132 km range left on my “Cooper”!

Tomorrow I’ll be out and about in my sister’s Sportage and will ask Alexa on my phone to precondition the SE before we get back to my car. We’ll see, but I’m confident it’ll work.
 
SameGuy said:
SOLVED! The My BMW Alexa skill recognizes my “Cooper”!

I just whispered to the living room Echo Studio, “Alexa, ask BMW what’s my range,” and she replied I have 132 km range left on my “Cooper”!

Tomorrow I’ll be out and about in my sister’s Sportage and will ask Alexa on my phone to precondition the SE before we get back to my car. We’ll see, but I’m confident it’ll work.
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Very cool - I may try this out.
 
SameGuy said:
SOLVED! The My BMW Alexa skill recognizes my “Cooper”!

I just whispered to the living room Echo Studio, “Alexa, ask BMW what’s my range,” and she replied I have 132 km range left on my “Cooper”!

Tomorrow I’ll be out and about in my sister’s Sportage and will ask Alexa on my phone to precondition the SE before we get back to my car. We’ll see, but I’m confident it’ll work.
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Working like a charm! Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
SameGuy said:
Tomorrow I’ll be out and about in my sister’s Sportage and will ask Alexa on my phone to precondition the SE before we get back to my car. We’ll see, but I’m confident it’ll work.
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I opened the Alexa app on the road, 25 miles from home, and asked to precondition. When we pulled into the driveway and I popped the boot to load it with what I bought while we were out, it was a fridge!
 
GvilleGuy said:
I created a short video of this on my lunch break.
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I don’t use Alexa but this video was still useful just to hear the sound from outside the car. Mine sounds similar and it kind of worried me, but I guess it’s normal? What an awful rattle.
 
endquote said:
I don’t use Alexa but this video was still useful just to hear the sound from outside the car. Mine sounds similar and it kind of worried me, but I guess it’s normal? What an awful rattle.
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Yep - that is normal compressor sound, especially when it first starts up or in max mode. It gets a lot quieter once it has the cabin at the target temperature.
 
Has anybody had trouble activating climate control via the Alexa BMW skill since the backend server issue last week? Mine refuses to work, though it reports everything else properly (status, battery level, etc).
 
Ok, now it’s completely borked, and a cursory search online suggests that a lot of folks are complaining since a recent skill update. No matter how many ways I try to disable and then re-enable and launch the skill, Alexa always responds with, “Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later.”
 
I tried to precondition earlier today and I couldn't get it to work. The last time I tried was Sunday evening and it worked fine then. Maybe it's some larger issue with the BMW servers?
 
OK, it seems they fixed it. I had to go into the skill in the Alexa app and link my accounts, then launch it.

It also seems like it’s become a little pickier with syntax: I used to be able to say, “Ask BMW to warm up my car,” and the system would comply with the easy-going, “Alright, I’m beginning to ventilate your Cooper; this can take a while. See you soon.” Now she gets confused until I say, “Ask BMW to ventilate my Cooper.”
 
SameGuy said:
OK, it seems they fixed it. I had to go into the skill in the Alexa app and link my accounts, then launch it.

It also seems like it’s become a little pickier with syntax: I used to be able to say, “Ask BMW to warm up my car,” and the system would comply with the easy-going, “Alright, I’m beginning to ventilate your Cooper; this can take a while. See you soon.” Now she gets confused until I say, “Ask BMW to ventilate my Cooper.”
Click to expand...
Does Alexa have an English accent?
 
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