BMW Motorrad Connected Reviews

I have a brand new 2022 R1250RT and while I love the bike, BMWMotorradConnected is dangerous.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro iOS 15.4.1 & Connected app version 4.1.0

The RT is running 012_008_040

Even IF you can get BMWMotorradConnected to connect to the bike, you can NOT count on it to stay connected. I changed my device to NEVER lock or time out. I gave BMWMotorradConnected EVERY permission that I could find (making it god like status on the phone). I followed all of the directions from BMW regarding the order of starting things up and making sure BMWMotorradConnected was the ONLY app running.

And yet at a critical (and I mean critical) time in my ride, BMWMotorradConnected just disconnected and I lost all navigation. This caused me to made a wrong turn into the worst downtown traffic with NO idea which way to go and NO opportunity to pull over. I ended up riding an extra 30 minutes in stop and go traffic before I could safely pull over and retrieve my phone. In the end, I NEVER got BMWMotorradConnected to reconnect to the bike and just paired the phone straight to the helmet to get audio prompts to get back home.

Now, I have a RAM mount for my phone and use my choice of navigation instead of even loading BMWMotorradConnected . Never thought I'd buy a brand new BMW motorcycle and still have to add a phone mount for the navigation.

I completely agree with other users, BMW makes a great bike, but figure out a way to avoid BMWMotorradConnected if you want to stay safe.

BMW has made such a mess of this connectivity between your phone and the TFT display. My ‘21 R1250RT has all the current updates and I’m running the most current version of the Connectivity app. System only partially works if you pair both your phone and your headset to the TFT which is logical. But it took weeks to figure out that you need to connect your headset to the TFT first then start the Connected App. Then all apps running on your phone need to be closed with the BMW app left running on top, so to speak. (Example: if playing music through your headset, make the BMW Connected app lay on top of the music app)
If a phone call comes in, the Connected app disconnects and navigation is lost. Only way to restore navigation is to stop, shut the bike off, close the Connected app and start over! I’ve ridden 4,000 miles with this f’d up system and question why BMW didn’t incorporate Apple’s Car play in this bike. It’s a complete
mess and detracts tremendously from an otherwise great motorcycle.

It used to work well. Not the most sophisticated GPS app in the market, but did work. Your upgrade to version 5.0 renders BMWMotorradConnected useless. 1. Most of the time it just doesn’t work. The TFT display on the motorcycle flashes 0 miles to destination and I have to stop and close BMWMotorradConnected , so I can at least see some driving information like speed, on the display 2. When it makes believe it is working, I don’t see a detailed map. It tells me to download tons of unrelated maps from all around the world and when I manually pick only the relevant one - I see no details, and the route “selected” doesn’t make any sense. Need to learn the route before I go on my bike. Like in the old physical map days 3. Can’t understand how your upgrade messed up w/ existing data as I had the map working before! Never before did I see an upgrade that totally destroys BMWMotorradConnected data. Before users click the upgrade button, there should be a level of trust established between the user and the developer, knowing at least, that this upgrade wouldn’t impact BMWMotorradConnected functionality. Well, this trust was severely impacted. 4. Don’t believe this upgrade could have passed the modest QA test. Doesn’t make sense it did. So sorry I upgraded. Thought you’d improve rather that destroy BMWMotorradConnected . Very disappointed.

New comments: iPhone allows setting location sharing while app is running. Why does BMWMotorradConnected need “always” location sharing? Please fix your software. I see two years of complaints about connectivity and app problems that aren’t getting fixed. BMW, do you even have software developers any more? Do they work on BMWMotorradConnected? If so, it doesn’t seem to be making BMWMotorradConnected better. Old comments: Buying the Navigator VI was the most expensive purchasing mistake I’ve ever made. Features that are touted as selling points just don’t work or only work less than 30% of the time. I’m looking at you Tracker App. The Connected app regularly loses connection with the motorcycle so you only get partial tracks of rides and it only works if you give “always” permissions for tracking. What a steaming pile this whole integration of technology has become. I would be totally embarrassed if I was a developer that worked on these products. Now BMW is partnering with Rever offering a three month premium trial. So, BMW is giving up, breaking their commitment to their customers, and making customers pay for it. Apple won’t publish the things I want to say about this betrayal by BMW but I can say that this is not the way to retain brand loyalty.

Years after rollout - yet another proprietary system from BMW is an abject failure. Your app/ WiFi based NAV is a complete joke. I hope you’re seeing the hundreds of people posting on social media about all the different products they bought to avoid using your unreliable garbage. You’ve literally created an entire industry whose sole focus and product line exists only to help people circumvent the BMW Motorrad TFT/ Wifi Navigation. It’s so unreliable and useless- most of us cannot even describe a pattern to the WiFi failures anymore. It’s clear you could not care less. After all-you sold the bike right? That’s all that matters. This has gone well past negligence. This thing has become a distraction- a danger to your owners who are so flustered with the unreliability that they are losing focus during operation. Keep it up BMW. This is going to bite you someday.

I own both the R1250RT and the R1250GS and in my opinion the overall Connectivity package and specifically the Navigation component, is a poorly designed package that is unreliable to the point of making it almost unusable save for a trip to the local supermarket. Even in this case you had better know where it is. The designers of the 2021 RT clearly do not own a modern smart phone as anything other than the smallest models do not fit the phone enclosure. Also the designers are not aware of how people use their phones given that the Connectivity App must be the dominant app and always open. If you try and access any other App the mapping function will stop working. Perhaps for some this is ok but the killer is the unfailing unreliability of the system. It is so unstable that you can not rely on it for touring or even the most simplest of routes. It’s when and not if the Connected App loses connection with the TFT the only remedy is to stop the bike, remove the phone from its prison, switch the ignition off and attempt to reconnect. If you are lucky it will reconnect but only until you lose the connection again, typically 15-20mins down the road. If the same shabby design and implementation standards were applied to any of the safety systems on the bike it is no exaggeration to say lives would be lost.

The application does not reliably connect to the bike. I have a 2018 GSA and the phone will connect when the bike is started. The little phone icon becomes visible on the TFT. It also shows in the Bluetooth settings in the bike that it is connected. However, when I start BMWMotorradConnected it usually states that it is disconnected. I usually have to disconnect the phone from the bike and reconnect it. Then close and reopen the application to get it to connect. I can usually get it to connect, but it is not a seamless process.

I often have the same problems with the Sena 30k not connecting to the bike. It is hit or miss. When the Sena is connected to the bike the mesh technology of the Sena usually cuts out and I am unable to communicate with my friends. I then need to disconnect the Sena from the bike to communicate again. Not sure if this is a Sena or a BMW problem.

When BMWMotorradConnected does work it is pretty cool that it looks like a GPS once you start to ride. Unfortunately it doesn’t have the functionality of a normal GPS such as Google or Apple Maps. It would be very nice if it was able to incorporate Google or Apple maps into this process.

Fyi, My phone is an iPhone X and both the phone and Sena are always kept current with software updates.

I despise wanting to use BMWMotorradConnected. It tracks great information on rides and has good functionality, yet it seems it breaks with updates, and the map download process is ABYSMAL. The last two updates I’ve had to delete and reinstall BMWMotorradConnected as it never gets past the initial app splash screen, rendering it useless. Great functionality, but mediocre implementation on the basics (like app resilience and especially map downloads) and support from the team is frustrating. Support on two occasions has sent me around to different support groups, including once they sent me to my Motorrad dealership which is nothing less than pure incompetence given that dealers have absolutely nothing to do with BMWMotorradConnected . I gurl I’m going to have to delete and reinstall BMWMotorradConnected again with this update as it’s not working. Then spend literally days downloading the map data. Fix your stuff, BMW.

The connected app records trips well with good information but there seems to be a communication issue with those of us who have the 6.5 inch screen. The connected screen doesn’t update as it should, is slow responding and many times stops responding. So my review doesn’t trash BMWMotorradConnected but I don’t know where the problem lies, is it BMWMotorradConnected to the screen or is the bike’s firmware the problem. I’d like to see this addressed by BMW and BMWMotorradConnected developers.
As an example I just rode to another city, which was inputed into BMWMotorradConnected , BMWMotorradConnected was good for 5 miles then didn’t update for the next 20 miles. During which I had changed over 3 different roads. The mapping is useless.

My rating would be higher if the developers didn’t break some functionality through updates every few months. Last time user login functionality was broken, now speed limit information is broken, we’ll see what’s next. When it is working, BMWMotorradConnected might be the best in the industry though. Stars also docked for transferring telemetry data via BLE to display in BMWMotorradConnected , but blocking any mechanism to export that data. It’d be a nice gesture for BMW Motorrad to facilitate export of that data, say, as a good faith gesture after breaking features.

Update: Speed limit info is fixed! But now map visualization on route recording is broken. Other things that are broken: oil level is never displayed in motorcycle information; TPMS values are different across the display on the TFT and BMWMotorradConnected (by >1psi, they never match under any circumstances); recorded routes are titled with lat/long coordinates rather than the destination address now; probably some other stuff I haven’t noticed yet since it’s impossible to keep track of what’s working and what’s broken with each update cycle.

On my first use, I put in an address about an hour away and connected to my SENA on the helmet. Everything great! Next trip was a 200 mile trip and I wanted to travel specific roads. Impossible to do on the phone within an hour and a half. Went to my computer for a big screen to set up route. Spent 3.5 hours trying to figure how to get a gpx conversion on the file so I could import it. I used google maps and I used my Mac maps. Gave up. Tried it again the next day after researching how to convert. 4 hours later, I was able to download a GPX file with the specific routes I wanted. Could not use my phone screen (it was in a cradle) when a had a route problem unless I pulled over and disconnected. What is needed is an easy way to build routes on the computer then import easily to the phone. Now I see why 2 of my friends who also have RTs have Garmins on their bikes.

I am trying not to repeat almost every other review, but it was refreshing to see I am not the only user experiencing frustration with BMWMotorradConnected .

I have already submitted an email to Connected Support, but no resolution.

I like the bike data and recording of rides, but beyond that BMWMotorradConnected is spotty at best. The disconnects are the biggest frustration, no reason or rhyme, just disconnects and then it’s time to pull over to get it going again. Sometimes the map just shuts down, but it still gives route guidance with arrows on the screen. I am trying to give BMW time to fix it, because I hate to have to add a real GPS on my 23 RT. Bike is flawless, app not at all. Please fix this or give the owners an alternate option that does work.

From trying to download maps to planning a route and moving past the current waypoint BMWMotorradConnected is inconvenient. There are little steps and tricks which must be learned that are not clear or intuitive. One of the most frustrating was driving in circles thinking I was missing a turn but no the way point was 10’ off the road. I figured out the clicks to get BMWMotorradConnected to drop the current way point, but the sensitivity for automatically advancing to the next waypoint needs to be adjustable.
Also: stop with the 30 day warning. Nobody is going to use BMWMotorradConnected unless they have a BMW bike. And finally: stop asking for always on / precise location. BMW does not need to constantly track my location.

Dear developers, you have all the main aspects of BMWMotorradConnected right, but why are the rides and telemetry data not synching between devices using the same account!!!! A huge missed opportunity. I have an iPhone and a Samsung that I swap between in different rides and it just frustrating not to have everything that is already recorder sync between the 2. Beside the missed opportunity of viewing the same data on a larger screen like the iPad. Seems easy enough to implement using any of the cloud solutions that we are already members of. A shared folder on onedrive, Dropbox…. Etc will make BMWMotorradConnected exponentially more useful and user friendly.

I bought a 2023 R 1250 GS in August 2023. I enjoyed using the BMW Connected app through my last ride of the year in November. The local speed limit displayed on the TFT, and 30 trips were recorded in detail.

In December I upgraded from iPhone 13 to iPhone 15, and connected the new phone to the bike. Since resuming riding in February, the speed limit is not displayed and trips are not recorded. After reinstalling the Connected app and doing the full setup, some bike data is now updated in BMWMotorradConnected , but still no speed limit or trip recording. The speed limit square on the TFT only shows three dashes.

I would like to restore full functionality.

I am enjoying BMWMotorradConnected and use it every time I go on my BMW F850GSA. It tracks all my routes, captures pictures and I can review the stats after each ride (speed, lean angle, acceleration etc). It would be great to see weekly/monthly/annual stats as well in terms of distance travelled, average speed, count number of curves etc. This is not available at this point.

Also, for real time directions I always switch to other apps on my phone (Waze,google maps) - the landscape mode of BMWMotorradConnected needs to be improved to show distance to next turn, current speed, speed cameras etc. I do like the fact that I can design the track with many points /cities to customize my trip (not possible on Waze or Googlemaps on iPhone)

BMWMotorradConnected gets all the hate and it is for good reasons. Although BMWMotorradConnected has improved a lot since 2021 there’s a long way to go. Some minor additions mentioned below will hugely improve the usability 1. Show the name of the street/road we are on in the map mode. This shows when the map mode is deactivated but DOESNT show when Map mode is active. 2. Option to change font size for Map Mode so that street names are easily readable. 3. One click option to start new or stop navigation while in map mode instead of going through 3 menus. The ones below are bigger development ideas. 4. Make it a community, not that difficult to build. Able to share location with friends via Connected app and show friends locations on the map mode. 5. This one is also difficult. But will be a great feature in the future. Option to crowd source data like Waze but with one click of wonder wheel while in map mode.

Establishing the map mode is slow. Once established any text or phone call causes BMWMotorradConnected to drop out of map mode. I have yet to find a setting that keeps the latter from happening. Part of my problem maybe that I don’t operate with cellular data because in my area it is unreliable and would lead to excessive charges, or if I were to go unlimited I would be constantly throttled due to the time outs. So,perhaps, with cellular data th map mode is less affected by other apps, but I can’t tell.
The BMW developers were quick to fix the login issue.

I have been enjoying the BMW connected ride with my F750GS for about a year now. The bike integration is fantastic, but there are a couple of bugs that need to be addressed:
- The real time speed limit is displayed in Km/h although I have set my preference to use Miles/h as the speed unit. A couple of releases back there was a different issue where the reported speed limit was one mile less than the actual limit! After fixing that issue, it is amazing to see a completely different issue affecting the same functionality!
- The percentage of fuel remaining occasionally gets “stuck” at a certain level and won’t reflect the true fuel remaining. Once the tank is topped again, it jumps back to 100% and continues to be accurate until it will get stuck at some random point and won’t go down anymore! In contrast, the estimated remaining mileage seems to work correctly and stay always in-sync with the bike.

Overall, BMWMotorradConnected is great and works quite well! Thank you!

BMWMotorradConnected is really cool. I’m not sure why the ratings are so low, but I think it might be because your need to open BMWMotorradConnected on your phone BEFORE you turn your bike on. Otherwise, it won’t link up to your bike.
The trips feature is really cool. It maps your entire ride/trip and you have the ability to have your pictures taken on that ride marked on the map of where it was taken. It has information like max speed, temperature and total distance. It tells you how far you are from the next gas station and tracks the ride even when your out of cell reception. The only thing I would like to was addressed in a future update would be to have the ability to change tire pressure from BAR to PSI on BMWMotorradConnected .
This is a must have for anyone with the TFT screen.