BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Got the bike, paired my iPhone X got the WiFi icon (square with parallel lines) took a ride, lost the connection in about 10 minutes and have not been able to reconnect. I’ve tried deleting pairings, phone is set to stay unlocked but cannot get it to pair. The BT pairs and the bike recognizes that I have my phone connected in the connections section however I never get the WiFi icon to show up and cannot see any maps or get nav instructions. My question, when pairing the phone, in the WiFi section of the phone should there be a network labeled BMW or something similar (does the bike generate its own WiFi network?). The only network listed is mine and my neighbor’s.


I’ve read the manual, looked at numerous videos, but cannot get this to work. I have a query out to BMW. TIA

I use iPhones and have various "issues" as outlined in other threads, but I can usually get the wifi connection to work - when the connected app is running you should (eventually) see a message on the phone asking if you want to connect to "XXXXXXXXXXX" (I can't recall the long string offhand).  Sometimes I have to re-start the app if it doesn't connect.


As for "known networks will be joined automatically" (iPhone) - well I'm guessing that, once joined, the bike becomes a "known network" but this "automatic joining" appears to be a hit-or-miss affair.


I have a ticket in with BMW support (they eventually replied) detailing all of my "issues".....we shall see.

This is what I said in reply to BMW support:-


The phone I am using on the bike is an Apple iPhone SE (second generation), although I experience the same issues with an iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Both phones are on iOS 14.5.1

The software version of my TFT display is 011_007_035

The version of the connected app is 3.0.2 (30200)

The communication system is a Sena SC1A – but I have also tried a BMW Fit For All system with exactly the same problem.

Since my previous reports I have conducted more tests, and I have determined that the main problem appears to be with the Bluetooth connection(s) as outlined below:-

I pair the phone to the bike and the bike to the helmet – with no other Bluetooth pairings on either the phone or the helmet.

With the bike ignition on and the connected app running the phone will (eventually) connect to the bike.  Although the phone is supposed to “join known networks automatically” this doesn’t always appear to happen, sometimes I have to manually confirm the connection request – this is inconvenient if the phone is in the bike compartment and I am riding.

I then set a route on the bike to, say, a nearby POI and start voice guidance.  At this stage I receive the voice directions through the helmet.  If I now turn the bike off, simulating a stop for petrol for example, when I turn it back on again the phone and helmet will (eventually) re-establish connections as shown on the TFT.  HOWEVER – there are now NO voice directions.

I can get voice directions to start again by calling the bike phone from another phone – this somehow appears to “kickstart” the Bluetooth audio.  Or by turning Bluetooth off on the phone and back on again, waiting for all pairings to re-establish.

At this stage, if I have a route on the TFT as outlined above, it does not matter whether the connected app is running or not – with the simple “turn by turn” directions which rely on Bluetooth alone there are still no voice commands after turning the bike off and then on again.

Having regard to the fact that one will make several stops on a journey, these problems, combined with the inordinate length of time it takes for the phone to bike connection to re-establish after a stop, make the system effectively useless for navigation.

If I stop for petrol in an unfamiliar town I need to know exactly where to go on leaving the filling station – as would happen with my old Navigator VI – not wait for several minutes while the bike re-connects itself, or indeed have it fail to connect at all without manual intervention, and, even then, have no voice commands.

On my Samsung Galaxy S10 I can be attached to my home network and still display maps on the bike. 


On Android its seems to use Wi-Fi direct, there is nothing in my phone setup to see it attached to the bike on Wi-Fi only the connection on Bluetooth.

I've been doing some more faffing -

Deleted all pairings on the SC1A and then re-paired the TFT as "second mobile phone" - I don't know if this makes any difference to it being "mobile phone".  Reset all network settings on the iPhone, then re-paired it to the TFT and told it to join bike network. Brought up a route guidance to a nearby POI. Voice directions are given. So I turn off the bike for 20 seconds, then back on again - phone re-connects on bluetooth (still a bit slow for my liking) and then re-joins the wifi by itself! Furthermore, the voice directions are still working!  So is this some progress at last? When it stops raining I'll go for a ride and see if it works on the road....


It seems that iPhones can only be connected to one wifi network at a time, and there is no "wifi direct" feature.  I'm hopeful that re-setting the networks (this resets bluetooth and wifi) has untwisted whatever the knickers had done to themselves....

A few more attempts and now it works. I have no idea why. This seems a great idea that is poorly implemented. Hopefully will work throughout my upcoming trip. Despite some of its clunkiness it just seems so much easier if they would have just put in CarPlay and AA. I assume the route they went was cheaper, and sometimes you get what you pay for. If what they did was not cheaper then the decision was probably made by the same guy who thinks 3 shades of gray constitutes a diverse color pallet.

I too am a new owner of the 2021 R1250RT. The problems you are having are not imagined. I had the same problems and seemed to iron some of them out. First the display needs 2 communication connections from your smartphone, bluetooth and Wifi. Wifi is necessary to serve maps from phone to display. Kind of wonky. If the Wifi connection gets broken, you will see the Wifi symbol in display blinking. I am using an Iphone. The biggest complaint I have is that the "Connected" app has to be running front and center on Iphone. Any disturbances to the app running and the connection breaks. I have an inquiry into Motorrad as well. My inquiry is asking when they are coming with some fixes to the app and/or the display software. My connections has broken many times while riding either because of taking a phonecall or manipulating my Iphone music. Once WiFi connection is broken, I get the blinking icon on display. The only way to fix it is to stop and re-start the connected app. To answer your question directly, the bike display is generating a local Wifi connection point for your phone to attach itself to. Without that, you will not maps. With all this being said, the 2021 R1250RT is mechanically a superlative performance machine. I purchased on that fact alone. I am confident that Motorrad will iron out the technology issues.

BeemerMeUp wrote:

The biggest complaint I have is that the "Connected" app has to be running front and center on Iphone. Any disturbances to the app running and the connection breaks.

In your iPhone’s settings screen , scroll down to the Connected app and confirm that “background app refresh” is on for the app Having that on should help with the need to be Front and Center.

so I tried this and everything  seems to work for me...
I have a Samsung s10, but bought a I phone 12pro max for the RT. Downloaded the connected app and Spotify on the iPhone and connected to the bike, with my cardo headset.
took multiple rides, short and long, and everything seems to work seamlessly. No break in connection, recorded all journeys, maps load up every time and Spotify works beautifully now, full control with wonder wheel and album art appears.
the only control I don't have is volume, can pause and mute music, but cannot control volume off the bike.
But I use voice activation on the cardo for volume anyway, so that's not a big deal for me.
I use my Samsung s10 for my phone calls connected directly to my cardo unit.
I might at a later stage connect the iPhone for calls, but for now using the iPhone just for the RT and my photography, you tube etc.
I have not put a sim card in the iPhone, so the nav is working with no data....
hope this helps others out there.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Thanks so much, this is really interesting news. The fact that it works without a SIM makes me assume it will also work with an iPod, since an iPod is basically an iPhone with no cellular capability. I am still w aiting on delivery of my bike but I'm looking forward to trying that out.

On my 2021 RT I was initially using an older "BMW Motorrad Communications System" in my Schuberth helmet (2013 vintage) that I had previously used with my former 2013 RT which had a factory radio. I eventually got everything to work on the '21 except the thumbwheel volume control.  I recently replaced my helmet comm system with the newer "BMW Motorrad Fit-For-All Communication System" and everything (including volume) works as it should; however, My '21 does not have a radio (not available in the US) so I'm using a radio app on my iPhone.  I have to say that the Fit-for-All comm system works great!  The sound quality is also GREAT, especially compared to the radio sound quality that I got from my 2013 RT which was lousy.  I do not think that the BT transmission of music from the factory bike radio systems to the helmet comms is particularly good, so the radio app on the phone is a great/better  alternative, plus with a radio app its kinda like having satellite radio, but its free. And you can listen to stations worldwide while driving hundreds of miles without interruption..  I have had some issues with the connected app but they seem to be improving.  Sometimes I get interrupted (as others do) when the wireless connection occasionally seems to drop, or it gets interrupted by an incoming or outgoing phone call, but I'm getting better at dealing with those issues. BMW Support has told me that they are working on that with Apple and hope to have a fix soon.  As I said, I have noticed an improvement compared to several weeks ago.

Casbar wrote: Thanks for your efforts. My group of 3 have already booked an Indian for Friday night and a table at the Punch House for Saturday night.

Should this be in the Monmouth thread?

MikeS wrote:
Should this be in the Monmouth thread?

Yep  8)