Bluetooth Options For 2008 Silverado

Brewboy · May 14, 2010

Thanks for doing that Ray.......It now proves my original point it can be technically done.....

RayGMC · May 14, 2010

Sounds like it is almost there.. I say almost as the On* rep was trying to push an update and it would not let her. Why? So you get email diagnostics and do they show the correct information? Not questioning you but I think for myself and the rest of the forum we are looking for a final answer to this saga so we can wrap up the procedure in one quick and easy posting for future use.

Ok, here's the link. YouTube

When I try to zoom on the phone it is showing the Bluetooth connecting to General Motors. I hope this video answers your question.

OK.... that's very interesting. Now why can't the rest of us be so lucky to get in touch with people who know what they're doing?!

Vehicle diagnostics is not working. I'll look into it and see if I can get it working.

RayGMC · May 14, 2010

FTW, I'm looking to buy another used Bluetooth VCIM for my wife's 07 Tahoe. If anyone knows where I can find one for a reasonable price please let me know.

loach402 · May 14, 2010

I've emailed Chris White for advice on this one. I'm afraid that if I take it to the dealer and they contact Onstar, they will overwrite Chris' programming which will result in a red Onstar light and still no functioning Onstar.

Basically the only things the dealer can do on their end are to try reprogramming the VCIM with their Tech2 (which Chris told me NOT to let them do) and running ONSA using the J2534/MDI... which Chris said wouldn't affect the programming he did.

So I really don't think there's much to worry about as long as you get them to let you watch the tech work and keep him from doing anything with the Tech2.

Yes, I understand the difference and that is where my concern lies. My concern is that Onstar is telling me they want the dealer to reprogram the VCIM because it has the "wrong software". They said nothing about ONSA or anything that sounded like the ONSA routine. If I take it to the dealer and they contact Onstar referencing my case #, I think they're going to go down the path of reprogramming the VCIM. I don't think the dealer's going to let me stand there and supervise the tech. That's not the way they operate. I'd like to hear some advice directly from Chris before I make my next move, if any.

C. Charles Hahn · May 14, 2010

Sounds like it is almost there.. I say almost as the On* rep was trying to push an update and it would not let her. Why? So you get email diagnostics and do they show the correct information? Not questioning you but I think for myself and the rest of the forum we are looking for a final answer to this saga so we can wrap up the procedure in one quick and easy posting for future use.

That's exactly what I'm after. I already have everything else about this swap compiled into a thread that's ready to post, but I'm not going to put it up until the final procedure has been determined regarding making OnStar work.

Yes, I understand the difference and that is where my concern lies. My concern is that Onstar is telling me they want the dealer to reprogram the VCIM because it has the "wrong software". They said nothing about ONSA or anything that sounded like the ONSA routine. If I take it to the dealer and they contact Onstar referencing my case #, I think they're going to go down the path of reprogramming the VCIM. I don't think the dealer's going to let me stand there and supervise the tech. That's not the way they operate. I'd like to hear some advice directly from Chris before I make my next move, if any.

Understandable; in talking to the techs at my dealer, however, they don't have the ability to do anything else programming-wise unless GM issues a VCI for them to use, and when they called GMTAC about it they were told that no VCIs exist in TIS2WEB or anywhere else that implicitly allow Gen8 hardware to be activated in pre-2009 vehicles.

Obviously there is a VCI out there that does work, GM just doesn't know which one it is as it's not recorded for this application in their records. In Ray's case, the used VCIM he bought already had the proper calibration loaded in it, so he got lucky.

It would be interesting to know if the SPS CAL ID can be read from his module, so we could have the dealers try flashing the same calibration into our units....

That's about the only logical conclusion I can come to, anyway.

Brewboy · May 14, 2010

Sounds like it is almost there.. I say almost as the On* rep was trying to push an update and it would not let her. Why? So you get email diagnostics and do they show the correct information? Not questioning you but I think for myself and the rest of the forum we are looking for a final answer to this saga so we can wrap up the procedure in one quick and easy posting for future use.

That's exactly what I'm after. I already have everything else about this swap compiled into a thread that's ready to post, but I'm not going to put it up until the final procedure has been determined regarding making OnStar work.

Yes, I understand the difference and that is where my concern lies. My concern is that Onstar is telling me they want the dealer to reprogram the VCIM because it has the "wrong software". They said nothing about ONSA or anything that sounded like the ONSA routine. If I take it to the dealer and they contact Onstar referencing my case #, I think they're going to go down the path of reprogramming the VCIM. I don't think the dealer's going to let me stand there and supervise the tech. That's not the way they operate. I'd like to hear some advice directly from Chris before I make my next move, if any.

Understandable; in talking to the techs at my dealer, however, they don't have the ability to do anything else programming-wise unless GM issues a VCI for them to use, and when they called GMTAC about it they were told that no VCIs exist in TIS2WEB or anywhere else that implicitly allow Gen8 hardware to be activated in pre-2009 vehicles.

Obviously there is a VCI out there that does work, GM just doesn't know which one it is as it's not recorded for this application in their records. In Ray's case, the used VCIM he bought already had the proper calibration loaded in it, so he got lucky.

It would be interesting to know if the SPS CAL ID can be read from his module, so we could have the dealers try flashing the same calibration into our units....

That's about the only logical conclusion I can come to, anyway.

I have no idea what the SPS CAL ID is (calibration Im guessing) but my dealer is very helpful and I can ask if he can reconnect the Tech2 and read the VCIM again. He did this for me when On* asked for the ESN on the new VCIM.

It was interesting as he looked at the door decal and punched in the vehicle VIN to the Tech2 it couldn't find the VCIM. As soon as he changed the Model Year to a 2008 Yukon with same VIN the Tech2 tool found it right away.

If Ray gets his we can compare.

loach402 · May 14, 2010

Well, I've about had it with Onstar. They can't even keep their story straight. I called them today from a landline to ask for clarification of the voice mail they left me Wednesday. The tech looked up my case # and told me it the error indicated a hardware compatiblity problem. The voice mail they left Wed. said it was a software problem.

So I called my dealer to see what they knew about Onstar activation. They couldn't be more clueless. They had never even heard of ONSA. So I'm guessing the chances of me getting Onstar fully functional are slim and none - and slim just left town. I suppose I could bring the instructions from earlier in this thread to them, but it seems like a big roll of the dice to let them tinker with this.

Edit: I've got an appointment with the dealer for next Tuesday. I'll give them the ONSA information and have them do it. It will either work or it won't, and that will be the end of my journey. Not going to spend any more time or money on it after that.

C. Charles Hahn · May 14, 2010

Well, I've about had it with Onstar. They can't even keep their story straight. I called them today from a landline to ask for clarification of the voice mail they left me Wednesday. The tech looked up my case # and told me it the error indicated a hardware compatiblity problem. The voice mail they left Wed. said it was a software problem.

So I called my dealer to see what they knew about Onstar activation. They couldn't be more clueless. They had never even heard of ONSA. So I'm guessing the chances of me getting Onstar fully functional are slim and none - and slim just left town. I suppose I could bring the instructions from earlier in this thread to them, but it seems like a big roll of the dice to let them tinker with this.

Edit: I've got an appointment with the dealer for next Tuesday. I'll give them the ONSA information and have them do it. It will either work or it won't, and that will be the end of my journey. Not going to spend any more time or money on it after that.

Unfortunate to hear that; are these guys the only GM dealership you have access to? Some are definitely better than others, I'm just lucky enough to have at least half a dozen different ones in my area to choose from, and the guys at the dealer I usually use are friends who are willing to do off the wall stuff and really know what they're doing.

Maybe a different dealer would give you a different answer?

I can understand them going back and forth between hardware problem and software problem, as I think the main issue is that the software THEY THINK has to be running in your vehicle isn't compatible with the hardware you have installed in it. If they realized that different software would work, and knew which specific software that needed to be, this would be a non-issue.

C. Charles Hahn · May 14, 2010

If Ray gets his we can compare.

That would definitely be helpful, I'm thinking!

And yeah, the SPS CAL ID is the term used in GM's TIS2WEB system for the software calibration (code version/serial number). I've also heard it referred to as a VCI number, or CVN number, or even just as 'part number'. Just depends who you talk to in what division of GM.

Crazy confusing, I tell ya

loach402 · May 14, 2010

Unfortunate to hear that; are these guys the only GM dealership you have access to? Some are definitely better than others, I'm just lucky enough to have at least half a dozen different ones in my area to choose from, and the guys at the dealer I usually use are friends who are willing to do off the wall stuff and really know what they're doing.

Maybe a different dealer would give you a different answer?

I can understand them going back and forth between hardware problem and software problem, as I think the main issue is that the software THEY THINK has to be running in your vehicle isn't compatible with the hardware you have installed in it. If they realized that different software would work, and knew which specific software that needed to be, this would be a non-issue.

There are only 2 GMC dealers in my area. There are plenty of Chevy dealers, but I have neither the time nor inclination to go on a fishing expedition of calling a bunch of them to figure out which one might be the smartest. It'll be one and done for me in terms of trips to dealers. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and they'll be able to get it working. I actually can't believe I've spent this much time on it already.

RayGMC · May 14, 2010

What do I need to look for when they have it hooked up?

C. Charles Hahn · May 14, 2010

What do I need to look for when they have it hooked up?

There should be something that shows the calibration or software version number. You might even be able to get that information from an OnStar advisor by pressing the blue button. You want the (CAL ID, CVN, VCI number, version number, or whatever they ultimately call it) that shows up in your module.

I'll try calling them up from my truck in a bit and see if they can tell me anything remotely.... if so it might not be too tough to get what we need lined up. Might even be able to talk to Chris White and see if one of his connections can tell him anything that would help us out.

Thanks in advance for the help!

loach402 · May 15, 2010

Last night things went from bad to worse and then back to better for my retrofit. Got in my wife's Acadia to pair my Blackberry to it (previously had only paired her phone). Voice recognition no longer worked for Onstar! So something they did with the software Wednesday apparently screwed things up even further. Normally on our Acadia with navigation, you press and hold the talking head (PTT) button for two seconds, then it beeps and you say a command. In that case if I wanted to pair a phone I would need to say "Onstar" and then "Bluetooth" once the Onstar menu was accessed. But it no longer recognized "Onstar" - it just said "not recognized". I tried it repeatedly in very quiet conditions so I know it wasn't working. Prior to Wednesday this was working just fine. I was so miffed I pressed the Onstar emergency button after we got home late from dinner and asked for tech support. This time I apparently got a smarter tech.

She read up on my case notes and said "I see you have had a failed activation and also a failed hands-free calling activation. Let me see if I can get that fixed for you". She put me on hold a long time - probably 20+ minutes. Finally came back and said the activation worked and asked me to test it after she called me back on my cell phone. Well, the test didn't exactly work - the blue button was still in demo mode. So she had me hang up and call back tech support again - saying she left instructions for the next tech to execute. So I called back, got a different tech who followed her instructions and then informed me that I had a "bad make/model year error" and the activation failed to complete and I would have to take it to the dealer. Same story, different day. I reluctantly said OK and ended the call.

I did some testing to see if anything changed. Pressed the blue button again and it was still in demo mode - saying "for a demonstration of Onstar or to talk to an Onstar representative, press the blue button again" - no change. If the activation had completed successfully, it should have just connected me to Onstar directly without the 2nd button press. So I pressed it again and it immediately dialed out and connected to the Onstar demo. Hmmm. Before it would take 5-8 minutes to connect to anything. Something was different. I figured out what it was next when I tested the Onstar voice recognition and hands-free calling.

I pressed the PTT button and said "Onstar" - now it worked again! I said "Bluetooth" and then "pair" and successfully paired my Blackberry. Then I went back to the main Onstar menu and said "my number" - this time it gave me a number with a local area code instead of the old 500 area code number! I then tested the Onstar hands-free calling and it worked (previously told me I had no minutes).

So I would say my Onstar functionality is about 90-95% now. I have a valid phone number assigned to my VCIM. Onstar hands-free calling works. Emergency button works. Bluetooth and Onstar voice recognition apparently work again. Onstar recognizes me when I call and knows what vehicle I'm in. The only thing that doesn't work properly is the blue button press, which seems to indicate that the final activation ultimately failed. I'll try it again a couple more times later this weekend just in case there's a delayed activation.

RayGMC · May 15, 2010

This is good news. Seems like I have the opposite situation of you. I have vehicle recognition and the correct account info but the update has not completed to allow vehicle diagnostics and hands OnStar hands free calling. So with perseverance we should be able to get this completely resolved.

C. Charles Hahn · May 15, 2010

Then I went back to the main Onstar menu and said "my number" - this time it gave me a number with a local area code instead of the old 500 area code number! I then tested the Onstar hands-free calling and it worked (previously told me I had no minutes).

So I would say my Onstar functionality is about 90-95% now. I have a valid phone number assigned to my VCIM. Onstar hands-free calling works. Emergency button works. Bluetooth and Onstar voice recognition apparently work again. Onstar recognizes me when I call and knows what vehicle I'm in. The only thing that doesn't work properly is the blue button press, which seems to indicate that the final activation ultimately failed. I'll try it again a couple more times later this weekend just in case there's a delayed activation.

Very interesting!

One thing to note though: you do NOT have to say "Onstar" before saying "Bluetooth" when using the PTT button. Just say "Bluetooth" when the vehicle prompts you with "READY" and you'll get to the menu for pairing/etc.

This is good news. Seems like I have the opposite situation of you. I have vehicle recognition and the correct account info but the update has not completed to allow vehicle diagnostics and hands OnStar hands free calling. So with perseverance we should be able to get this completely resolved.

OK.... before, I recall asking you specifically whether or not your Hands Free Calling was working, among other specific features/functions. Your answer gave me the impression that it WAS working.

Now you are saying that it is NOT working.

What gives, here?

Also, just to note: from what Chris White has said, the vehicle diagnostics will never work properly, as he was unable to get it working even for the Pontiac G8 (the platform for which his modifications to the software were originally developed).