At a glance
17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Control Display
Notes
>Follow care instructions when cleaning the
Control Display.
>Do not store items in the region in front of
the Control Display; doing so may damage
the Control Display.
Switching off
1.Press the OPTIONbutton.
2."Switch off control display"
Switching on
Press the controller to switch on.
Buttons on the controller
Operating principle
With the ignition at radio readiness or beyond,
refer to page57, the following message is dis-
played on the Control Display:
To hide the message:
Press the controller.
The main menu is displayed.
The message is automatically hidden after
approx. 10 seconds.
Opening the main menu
Press the button.
The main menu is displayed.
All iDrive functions can be called up via the main
menu.
SymbolFunction
MENU Open the main menu
RADIO Open the Radio menu
CD Open the CD/Multimedia menu
NAV Start navigation in map view
TEL Open the Telephone menu
BACK Show previous panel
OPTION Open the Options menu
iDrive
18
Selecting a menu item
The menu items shown in white can be
selected.
1.Turn the controller until the desired menu
item is highlighted.
2.Press the controller.
Menu items in the Owner's Manual
In the Owner's Manual, the menu items that
should be selected are depicted in quotation
marks, e.g. "Settings".
Changing between panels
After a menu item is selected, e.g. "Radio", a
new panel is displayed. Panels can overlap.
>Move the controller to the left.
The current panel is closed and the previ-
ous panel is displayed.
Pressing the BACK button reopens the pre-
vious panel. This does not close the current
panel.
>Move the controller to the right.
A new panel is opened and laid over it.
White arrows pointing to the left or right indi-
cate that additional panels can be opened.
View of an opened menu
When you open a menu, generally the panel last
selected in this menu is displayed. To display
the first panel of the menu:
>Move the controller to the left repeatedly
until the first panel is displayed.
>Press the menu's button twice on the con-
troller.
Open the Options menu
Press the button.
The "Options" menu is displayed.
Another possibility: move the controller to the
right repeatedly until the "Options" menu
appears.
Options menu
The "Options" menu is composed of different
areas:
>Screen settings, e.g. "Split screen".
The region remains unchanged.
>Control options for the selected main menu,
e.g. "Radio".
>Other control options for the selected
menu, e.g. "Store station".
At a glance
19Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Adjusting settings
1.Select a field.
2.Turn the controller until the desired setting
is displayed.
3.Press the controller to confirm the setting.
Activating/deactivating functions
Some menu items are preceded by a check box.
It indicates whether the function is activated or
deactivated. Selecting the menu item activates
or deactivates the function.
The function is activated.
The function is deactivated.
Example: setting the clock
1.Press the button.
The main menu is displayed.
2.Turn the controller until "Settings" is high-
lighted, and then press the controller.
3.If necessary, move the controller to the left
to display "Time/Date".4.Turn the controller until "Time/Date" is
highlighted, and then press the controller.
5.Turn the controller until "Time:" is high-
lighted, and then press the controller.
6.Turn the controller to set the hours and
press the controller.
7.Turn the controller to set the minutes and
press the controller.
Status information
Status box
The status box at the top right displays the fol-
lowing information:
>Time
>Current entertainment source
>Sound output ON/OFF
>Mobile phone network with strongest
reception
>Telephone status
>Traffic reports reception
Status box symbols
The symbols are divided into separate groups.
iDrive
20
Radio symbols
Telephone symbols
Entertainment symbols
OtherWith the Professional
navigation system:
Split screen
General information
Additional information, e.g. from the computer,
can be displayed on the right side of the split
screen.
This information remains visible on the split
screen even when you change to another menu.
Switching the split screen on and off
1.Press the button.
2."Split screen"
Selecting display
1.Press the button.
2."Split screen"
3.Move the controller until the split screen is
selected.
4.Press the controller or select "Split screen
content".
5.Select the desired menu item.
SymbolMeaning
Traffic bulletins
* switched on
HD radio
* switched on
Satellite radio
* switched on
SymbolMeaning
Incoming or outgoing call
*
Missed call*
Reception strength of mobile
phone network
*
symbol flashing: network search
No mobile phone network avail-
able
*
Bluetooth* switched on
Roaming
* active
Receiving text message
*, email*
Checking SIM card*
SIM card* blocked
SIM card
* missing
Entering PIN
*
SymbolMeaning
CD/DVD
* player
Music collection
*
Gracenote® database*
AUX-IN port
USB audio interface
*
Mobile phone audio interface*
SymbolMeaning
Voice instructions
* switched off
Query current vehicle position
*
At a glance
21Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Programmable memory keys
General information
iDrive functions can be stored on the program-
mable memory keys and called up directly, e.g.
radio stations, navigation destinations, phone
numbers and entry points into the menu.
The settings are stored for the remote control
currently in use.
Storing functions
1.Highlight the function via the iDrive.
2.Press the desired button ...
for longer than two seconds.
Executing a function
Press the ... button.
The function is executed immediately. This
means, for example, that the number is dialed
when a phone number is selected.
Displaying memory key assignments
Touch the button with a finger. Do not wear
gloves or use objects.
The key assignment is displayed at the top
edge of the screen.
>Displaying brief information: press the but-
ton.
>Displaying detailed information: press and
hold the button.
Entering letters and numbers
1.Turn the controller: select the letters or
numbers.
2.Select additional letters or numbers if
needed.
3."OK": confirm entry.
Switching between letters and
numbers
Depending on the menu, you can switch
between entering letters and numbers:
Switching between uppercase and
lowercase letters
Depending on the menu, you can switch
between entering uppercase letters and lower-
case letters:
SymbolFunction
Press the controller: delete
one letter or number
Press the controller for an
extended period: delete all
letters or numbers
Enter a blank space
SymbolFunction
Entering letters
Entering numbers
SymbolFunction
Move the controller toward
the front: to switch from
uppercase letters to lower-
case letters
Move the controller toward
the front: to switch from low-
ercase letters to uppercase
letters
iDrive
22
Entry comparison
Entry of names and addresses: the selection is
narrowed down every time a letter is entered
and letters may be added automatically.
The entries are continuously compared to the
data stored in the vehicle.
>During entry, only letters for which there are
data are offered.
>Destination search: town/city names can be
entered with the spelling used in any of the
languages available on the Control Display.
At a glance
23Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Voice activation system
The concept
>The voice activation system can be used to
control functions by spoken commands.
>Functions that can only used when the vehi-
cle is stopped cannot be operated using the
voice activation system.
>The system includes a special microphone
on the driver's side.
>In the Owner's Manual, {...} indicates com-
mands for the voice activation system.
>In the Owner's Manual, {{...}} indicates the
answers from the voice activation system.
Prerequisite
On the Control Display, set a language that is
also supported by the voice activation system
to permit identification of the commands to be
spoken.
Setting the language, refer to page81.
Saying commands
Activating voice activation system
1.Press the button on the steering wheel.
2.Wait for the acoustic signal.
3.Say the command.
This symbol on the Control Display and an
acoustic signal notify you that the voice activa-
tion system is activated.If no additional commands are possible, con-
tinue by operating the function via iDrive.
Finishing voice input
Press the button on the steering wheel
or
Possible commands
Most menu items on the Control Display can be
spoken as commands.
The available commands depend on which
menu is currently selected on the Control Dis-
play.
There are short commands for functions of the
main menu.
Some list entries, e.g. phone book entries
*, can
likewise be selected using the voice activation
system. Make sure to say list entries the same
way as they appear in the respective list.
Having the possible commands read
aloud
To have the available commands read aloud:
For example, if the "Settings" menu is dis-
played, the commands relating to settings are
read aloud.
Performing functions using short
commands
Functions from the main menu can be per-
formed directly by means of short commands,
regardless of which menu item is selected, e.g.
{Vehicle status}.
List of short command of the voice activation
system, refer to page247.
*
{Cancel}
{Voice commands}
Voice activation system
24
Help dialog for voice activation system
Accessing help:
Other commands
* for the help dialog:
>{Help with examples}: information about
the current control options and the most
important commands relating to them are
read aloud.
>{Help with voice activation}: information
about the principle operation of the voice
activation system is read aloud.
Example: playing back a CD
1.If necessary, switch on entertainment audio
output.
2.Press the button on the steering wheel.
4.Press the button on the steering wheel.
Setting the voice dialog
You can set whether the system uses the stan-
dard dialog or a short version.
In the short version of the voice dialog, the
responses from the system are given in abbre-
viated form.
On the Control Display:
1."Settings"
2."Language/Units"
3."Speech mode:"4.Select a setting.
Adjusting volume
Turn the volume knob during the spoken
instruction to select the desired volume.
>The volume remains the same, even if the
volume of other audio sources is changed.
>The volume is stored for the remote control
currently in use.
Notes on Emergency
Requests
Do not use the voice activation system to ini-
tiate an Emergency Request. In stressful situa-
tions, the voice and vocal pitch can change.
This can unnecessarily delay the establishment
of a telephone connection.
Instead, use the SOS button
*, refer to
page234, in the vicinity of the interior rearview
mirror.
Ambient conditions
>Say the commands, numbers and letters
smoothly and with normal volume, empha-
sis and speed.
>Always speak the commands in the lan-
guage of the voice activation system.
>When selecting a radio station, use the
standard pronunciation of the station name. {Help}
3.{C D and multimedia}
The system plays the last media played.
5.{C D track …} e.g. CD track 4.