How-to Guide
How to Set Up Hands-Free Calling and Fit the Microphone
Quick answer
Open the Bluetooth app on the head unit, tap Search, pick your phone and press Connect, then confirm the pairing on both. The external microphone comes in the box and plugs into the 3.5mm socket on Harness A. Where you mount it decides how you sound, far more than any setting does.
What this gives you
Calls you can hold at highway speed in a 70 Series cab, which is a noisy place to talk. The microphone sits on its own lead so you can put it near your head, not down in the dash behind a fan.
Before you start
- The supplied external microphone, which you'll find in the box.
- Bluetooth switched on at the phone, and the phone off its lock screen.
- A decision about where the mic is going, made before you route the lead. Moving it later means pulling trim again.
- The A-pillar trim or the steering column shroud accessible, since those are the two spots you'd usually mount it.
Step by step
- Plug the microphone in properly
The mic lead ends in a 3.5mm jack and plugs into its own socket on Harness A. Push it fully home. If the jack sits half seated, the other person can barely hear you, and you'll read it as a faulty microphone.
- Mount it at about mouth height, pointing at the driver
You can mount it on the A-pillar or the steering column shroud, both work. Aim the pickup at the driver rather than at the roof, and keep it clear of anything that rattles.
- Route the lead away from heat and tight bends
Keep the lead off hot air ducts and out of any sharp ninety degree kinks. If you pinch the lead behind trim, you get a fault that turns up months later.
- Keep it out of the direct airflow from a vent
Air blowing across the capsule sounds like a gale to the person you're calling. If it sits in the path of a vent, move it slightly inboard. Don't pack it in foam to fix that, because sealing the capsule makes it worse.
- Pair the phone
Open the Bluetooth app on the head unit, then tap Search. Make sure Bluetooth is on at the phone. Pick your phone from the list and press Connect. Confirm the pairing on both the phone and the unit.
- Allow the microphone permission on the phone
When you make a call through CarPlay or Android Auto, the phone can throw a microphone permission prompt. Take the phone off the lock screen and allow it. If you tap Only this time, or dismiss it, a working setup goes silent on the next call.
- Test it on a real call, moving
Ring someone who'll tell you the truth, get up to speed, and ask how you sound with the fan on and off. A stationary test in a quiet driveway proves nothing about the cab at 100km/h.
If it does not work
- If they can't hear you at all, power the unit down, unplug and re-seat the mic jack, then power back up.
- If you sound distant or echoey, the mic is too far away or pointing the wrong way. Move it before you change any setting.
- If wind or fan noise dominates, move the mic slightly inboard, out of the airflow.
- If you get music but no sound at all on calls, that's a Bluetooth profile problem rather than the microphone. Delete the pairing on both sides and pair again.
Worth knowing
The microphone is wired and separate from the head unit, so check its plug and its position before you blame the unit itself.
Still need help?
Tell us your vehicle and what you're seeing on screen, and we can point you to the right step.