Parrot MKi9200 Hands-Free Car Kit

I recently purchased one of these hands free kits to fit in my mk4 Ford Mondeo. I previously owned an older Parrot model fitted in my last car and this is a massive improvement. It was straight forward to fit (there is a tool on the Parrot site which advises you if adapter leads are required) - although in the Mondeo an ignition feed isn't available at the stereo so had to be sourced elsewhere, this was the most difficult part of the install and not the fault of Parrot. The hands free works well with clear sound and my voice is easily heard by the person on the other end of the call. When you scroll through the menus the available options are read out as well as shown on screen. The voice dialling is one of the best I have used and playing music via bluetooth also works well. I haven't bothered connecting the ipod connectors (USB, Apple interface and headphone jack) as I already have an accessory connector in my glovebox to connect MP3 players to my stereo so they are not really needed. That said, the USB socket is also used to update the firmware. I would recommend this product to anyone wanting a good quality installed hands free system.

A really great kit that adds Bluetooth music functionality found in newer cars to the older cars. It works perfectly in my Toyota Prius 2007 and the call quality and voice recognition is great. Interestingly it no longer has the dedicated Apple connector cable and instead only comes with a USB female cable and a 3.5mm AUX cable. Make sure that you buy a SOT cable for your vehicle as this is required for the installation as the cables that come with it are universal aftermarket adaptors and need another cable that to fit the adaptors unique to your car's system as each make/model of car is different. I highly recommend that people don't cheap out and pay the 50 pounds to have a certified Parrot installer install the kit so ensure that you don't have connection issues later on which I'm sure is why some people here have issues with the kit. When it's installed properly it's an amazing device that has perfect sound quality and zero connection issues. I wouldn't buy this from Amazon Warehouse Deals as I initially purchased it there only to find it was missing some of the parts so I had to sent it back and buy it new on Amazon.

Fantastic product that does exactly what I needed, fits an older car to create handsfree phone and MP3/iPhone music upgrade. Handsfree phone with Bluetooth connection is great, no need to put phone into a cradle every journey and risk leaving phone in the car! Making a call works well with simple controls and good voice recognition with no "training" required (just speak the contact name). MP3 audio quality from memory stick or iPhone is great. It saved me upgrading from Radio/Cassette to CD changer - don't discount this feature! Only four stars however as this unit is a replacement for my first MKi9100 which died after 26mths. Hoped it would work longer, not sure if I was "unlucky". Anyway, new kit, simple plug and play and I running again and very happy.

Was a bit worried when I bought this as I had read some poor reviews, (although who writes a review if something is good!!) However it is a superb product. Voice recognition is better than that built into my phone. Sound quality from USB is superb. Controls are intuitive (don't put on your steering wheel, put on dash as just gets in the way and very tricky to use in the dark otherwise.) Logical design and nice features. I have not used with an Ipod but why bother if you put an 8Gb USB on it and have all the same functionality and less valuables in the car!! Some tips: Don't waste time trying to put the mic above the windscreen, it works exceptionally well between the steering wheel and the speedomoter and takes 2 mins to fit the microphone and run the cable this way. Get the conversion kit if you radio does not have ISO connectors (most cars)you will struggle big time otherwise. Take time to understand the wiring diagram. Wire sound into your Auxiliary input not the ISO connectors as this gives you sound to all the speakers and use of the cars default volume control. Took me about 2 hours to fully install and test. (Extra 20mins to get the radio out of its slot though, get the right tools or ask your service garage to take it out slightly for you!!) Enjoy!

This is a great alternative if your car does not come already kitted with bluetooth or your radio does not have an aux jack. Once installed preferably with an approved installer, unless you can install it yourself, it works flawlessly (note you will need to purchase an additional SOT lead specifically for your model of car ) it bypasses the car radio so the radio doesn't need to be switched on, but the sound is routed through the car speakers. The kit comes with many useful features. You can pair up to two phones at a time and phonebook is downloaded on the kit for easy access it synchronises each time your phone connects to it and adds new contacts. Sound quality it brilliant whilst playing music, rich base sound, equaliser, base, volume etc can be adjusted to your liking using remote control, microphone works well during voice calls, though on occasion voice recognition doesn't appear to work well so you have to scroll through phone book to make a call which is a minor flaw which maybe over time may be rectified after it gets used to my pronunciation . Screen display is clear and easy to read, comes with aux cables so you can play music via ipod or any device that does not have bluetooth. The manufacturers have thought of everything as you can system update the kit via the usb cable supplied which negates the need to buy a newer kit in the future unless you really want to. Though the kit may appear expensive compared to the clip on or connect via cigarette lighter type bluetooth kits on the market it is worth every penny in the long run as it works really well and can be transferred to another car if you ever decide buy a new one. The only thing extra you will need in addition will be a new SOT to suit.

I bought one of these about 2 years ago and put it in a 2007 Ford Focus mk2. Got fed up with it (poor sound quality when played loud) so replaced it with a decent Pioneer head unit that had built-in Parrot bluetooth. Have since changed cars twice and ended up with one that has no Bluetooth in the factory head unit, so I've installed it again (2011 Vauxhall Corsa). The installation is very fiddly - should have taken about an hour, but took 4. I had to pull out the factory radio and the glove compartment to route all the wiring. Also had to buy an SOT-122 wiring harness from Halfords for 20 quid to complete the install. On most cars, installation should be 'plug-and-play', but Vauxhall don't route a 'switched live' to the Quadlock connector behind the radio so I had to splice one in from the ignition switch wiring harness - not a job for a beginner. I wired the 'Line Out' from the Parrot unit to the 'Line In' (Aux) socket in the Corsa because that gives better sound quality than using the Parrot's internal amplifier when listening to music. When the phone rings, the Parrot box switches over some internal relays and usurps the car's front speakers so you still get phone hands free even though you were using the 'Aux' setting on the factory radio. This trick needs setting up in the Parrot's menus (else it just uses its own amp all the time). Again this needed some soldering to put a 3.5mm stereo plug on the end of the bare 'Line Out' wires dangling from the Parrot box. Likes: Controls a 160GB iPod Classic perfectly well. Allows me to browse by Song, Artist, Album, Genre, Playlist. Can even skip alphabetically through the lists, which is a must with 10,000 songs on the iPod. The blue OLED display module has a gloss black finish which blends into the dashboard quite well. Dislikes: The multi-pin connector on the Parrot box is cheap rubbish. Even though it's got a locking tab on it, the connections are dodgy. I had to use a tiny screwdriver to crimp up all the socket pins and also tie the connector into the box with a cable tie round the outside. Else the front left speaker cut out every time I went over a bump. Can't 'queue up' a track while driving. Have to wait until the current one has ended (or you've got bored with it) and then start searching for the next track you want to listen to. On my old Pioneer aftermarket head unit, I could search for a new track and then leave the HU alone for any amount of time. Next press of the search button would bring up the last search result. Single press on the select knob would then play that track. Would be awesome if the Parrot would do this, but it forgets what you've browsed to after 30s. "Create a playlist!" I hear you say. Well, that can only be done at home, while connected to my computer - after yanking the iPod out of the car. Who's got time for that kerfuffle every night?] The battery-operated remote is a little temperamental. It must have a healthy CR2032 battery in it, else it becomes intermittently unresponsive. Even with a new battery, I sometimes have to click a button twice to get it to respond. Sound quality for streaming audio isn't perfect; even when using the Line Out / Aux in to the car's factory stereo. A decent after-market head unit will sound noticeably better. It's as though Parrot did an ace job of perfecting the hands-free solution, but the audio streaming took second place. Colleagues on a conference call complained that there's a buzzing noise from my end, even when I put it on mute. [Edit - I am quite sure this is due to alternator whine, caused by an earth loop. If I plug the 'aux' cable out, the whining stops]. The sticky pad / ball & socket mount for the OLED display module doesn't rotate forwards a full 90°. Limits your mounting options slightly. Consequently, I just have it sitting on top of the steering column. The clip to hang the dual microphones from the headlining is also cheap plastic rubbish. Now the mic won't stay in it, so had to discard it. Mic is now just wedged between the mirror and the headlining. [Edit - Summer 2015 - this has just started playing up recently after months of working OK. Now, whenever a notification sound plays on my phone (Galaxy S4 running Lollipop), the iPod playback is paused and the Parrot unit starts emitting white noise at FULL VOLUME until the iPod playback is paused and re-started. Has scared the crud out of me while driving, several times. Quite dangerous. Reported to Parrot but no suggested fix. Must be related to a recent Android upgrade. After 6 months of use in this car, the connector has started playing up again. Parrot box reboots itself multiple times while driving. Seems to happen more when going over bumps. Need to pull it all apart to investigate...] [Edit 2 - Jan 2017 - The MKi9100 is still working, but seems to get flakier with each new phone I try it with. Can still make/receive calls with my iPhone 6s+, but it often doesn't auto-pair when switched on and frequently loses the BT connection. Also likes to play choppy music for about 5 seconds whenever it's first used on a drive. Almost as if it's having trouble buffering the stream until the CPU catches up. Also, I've discovered why the unit kept rebooting while driving. The inline fuse holders in the Parrot wiring harness are utter garbage. They barely make connection with the fuse and after a while, the single point of contact at the ends of the fuses gets tarnished due to humidity in the parked car. Cleaned them all up with wire wool and sprayed with switch cleaner/lubricant. No rebooting problem since!]

I bought this device after lots of researching and after being told by a professional installer that it would not work with the OEM radio in a Mazda 2 (the one with LCD and volume button located inside a plastic circle below the CD slot). The car-compatibility wizard on the Parrot website, however, disagreed and advised me to to buy this adapter cable: INKA-902848-80-3A ISO SOT Mute Lead for Parrot... ...which fortunately worked (it seems that not all of the adapters advertised to be compatible with the Mazda 2 actually work). The MKi9200 is a somewhat basic BT kit but it works more or less flawlessly. The only gripe I have is that when using Bluetooth it takes the MKi9200 a few seconds to connect to, and synchronise with, my iPhone 4S. Also, pressing the play button on the remote does not cause the MKi9200 to start playing music even though the MKi9200 has synchronised with the phone. I have to jumpstart the Bluetooth connection by pressing the play button on the phone it self or go into the settings menu on the MKi9200 and select the 'connect' option. Only then will the play button on the little remote that comes with the MKi9200 start working as expected. The remote is a bit clunky but it is way more useful than I expected it to be. I glued mine to the steering wheel. Note that the iPhone is not listed in the device list in the MKi9200. I had to select the 'Force' option to get the MKi9200 to pair with my iPhone. Haven't tested the microphones yet. Edit: Have not found a workaround for having to 'jump start' music playing after synchronizing to get the play button on the remote working but the MKi9200 will transition smoothly into a song that is already playing on your iPhone when it boots up. Also tested the call feature. So far I have had none of the usual 'I can hardly hear you' complaints that one usually gets with hands free equipment, this feature works fine. As for Audio quality, dunno, considering the Bluetooth compression, an OEM radio and OEM speakers I'm quite happy with it. It does help to play around with the audio profiles in your phone but you may want to look elsewhere if you are an audiophile chasing concert quality.

I have one of these in my own car which I installed in myself. They are very easy to install, as long as you have some basic understanding of your cars electrical system then you can fit it yourself. The sound quality is so much better than some highend preinstalled systems I have experienced. For both cars I installed this into adaptors were needed as the connectors on this units wiring did not match the cars, and the wheel controls don't control this without yet another adaptor, so there is a little more expense than first thought with this. I use mine all the time, for playing back music from my phone via Bluetooth, sound won go as load this way but using it at normal levels you would never notice it was coming from a phone. updates happen frequently and deliver some good new functions, so far these updates have give me option of connecting two phones at the same time, voice call control (answering the phone), and one I have only partly experienced is text message read back (however I was changing track when I noticed it so I only got the first word of my text. Only real issue I found this time round is that I fitted this into a car with 5 speakers, and at the moment when a call comes in the middle front speaker wont mute. I'm sure this is a wiring issue but as yet I haven't tracked down the correct wiring changes that I need to make to fix it. one improvement I really want is for different connectors on the wired options, get a female USB port, a male headphone connector, and a 30 pin apple connector. I have a Nokia & a Blackberry which both have the very common mini USB, and using a cable into the USB port doesn't really work, and wont charge the phones. Think the USB port is more for the software upgrades than anything else. However would recommend any of the Parrot Car kits over most other systems out there.

Je cherchait un kit main libre pour équiper le véhicule de mon fils. J'ai donc choisi ce modèle qui donne pour l'instant entière satisfaction . L' installation qui nécessite tout de même de s'y connaitre un peu en électricité. Pour l'installation sur Alfa Roméo Mito équipée d'un GPS, il est nécessaire de commander un câble compatible à ce modèle, celui fourni dans la boite bien qu'il soit de qualité ne convient pas. Cependant toute la connectique standard est prévue et l'ensemble du matériel est de qualité. Une fois installé, le système est parfaitement reconnu et fonctionne parfaitement. La notice est un peu juste, une plus détaillée est disponible sur le site du fabriquant. J'ai aimé : la qualité de fabrication Je n'ai pas aimé : devoir acheter un câble spécifique pour mon véhicule l'équipement fourni La reconnaissance vocale Les fonctionnalités

Suchte ein Gerät, mit dem ich mein Handy mit meiner einfachen, aber gut klingenden Auto-Anlage (VW - RCD 210) koppeln kann, ohne das Handy aus der Tasche holen zu müssen. Navigation nutze ich vom Handy. Auch diese Signale sollten übermittelt werden. So dass ich eine kostengünstige Alternative zu den teuren Anlagen von VW habe und iPod, SD-Karte, externe Klangquelle über Mini - Klinke anschließen kann und noch einen USB - Anschluss für einen Stick oder zum laden meines Handies nutzen kann. Das alles gibt es in diesem Gerät! Den Einbau habe ich von einer Werkstatt vornehmen lassen, ist empfehlenswert, da man bei Unkenntnis über die Elektronik einen ireparablen Schaden an der Bordelektronik verursachen kann. Kosten nochmals :175 €. Habe ich über die von der Parrot.com Website angegebene Werkstatt durchführen lassen. Musste vorher noch ein Adapter - Modulstecker für die VW-Anlage bei Amazon bestellen, hat 11 € gekostet. Zur genauen Funktionsweise des Gerätes am besten das Video auf Parrot.com anschauen. Da wird alles super erklärt. Nutzung : Man stellt die Lautstärke, Vor - und Zurückspulen (Titel oder Sekunden), sowie die Menüführung über die kleine Steuereinheit ein. Das Lautstärke-Rad der VW - Anlage benutze ich nur noch, wenn ich Radio höre. Beim Zünden des Motors fährt das Gerät hoch, braucht ca. 10 Sekunden, bis es startklar ist. Man kann zwei Telefone koppeln. Bei jedem Start wird erstmal das Telefonbuch des Primär-handys aktualisiert. Leider. Würde es das nicht tun, ginge der Start up wohl schneller. Die Kontaktbilder und Albumcover werden angezeigt, so auch Titelname und Nummer. Die Anzeige der Bilder könnte auch etwas größer sein... Ich nutze das Gerät so : Musik höre ich über den angeschlossenen iPod oder über die 64 GB SD - Karte. Das Menü ist sehr gut zu navigieren, die Menüführung ist in beiden Fällen super und einfach. Geht auch ohne Probleme über Bluetooth vom Handy. Dort einfach einen Song auswählen, sofort wird auf Bluetooth umgestellt, egal, was vorher angeschaltet war. Man kann aber nicht durch Verzeichnisse auf dem Handy navigieren. Radio: Höre ich nach wie vor über die VW-Anlage. Geht auch nicht anders. Freisprechanlage: Funktioniert super, Ton ist klar und deutlich. Wenn ich eine Person anrufen möchte, drücke ich einfach auf das Anruf - Symbol auf der externen Steuereinheit und nenne die Person beim Namen. Das System erkennt personenunabhängig die Sprache sehr gut. Hatte ich so nicht erwartet. Meine Gesprächspartner verstehen mich immer sehr gut. Da gibt es keine Probleme. Einziges Manko: Gefühlt jedes 15 . Mal stellt die Anlage keine richtige Verbindung per Bluetooth mit meinem Handy her. Dann erkennt das System bei Anruf- Versuchen nicht die Namen richtig oder aber es erkennt die Namen, wählt aber nicht richtig. Da hilft nur, an der Ampel den Motor neu starten, um das Gerät erneut hochzufahren. Da ich nun aber über 120 GB an Musik im Auto habe, eine grundsätzlich super funktionierende Freisprechanlage habe, zudem ein USB Stecker, um mein Handy zu laden und meine alte, gut klingende Anlage behalten kann, kann ich über dieses bekannte Problem, welches hoffentlich im nächsten update behoben wird,hinwegsehen.

Great kit, simple to use. too bad it's discontinued.

Für meinen neuen i30cw wollte ich natürlich eine Freisprech; allerdings gibts die integrierte FS nur beim neuen i30 und da kommt der Kombi erst im Spätsommer/Herbst 2012. Von meinen Bekannten - allesamt Vertreter und den ganzen Tag auf Achse - wusste ich bereits über die Qualität von Parrot bescheid. die MKi9100 ist meiner Meinung nach ein perfekter Kompromiss - die 9000er hat gar kein Display, die 9200er hat ein großes Farbdisplay - beides Dinge die ich so nicht wollte. Das einfache, monochrome Display der MKi9100 ist sehr praktisch, kontraststark; das große Farbdisplay der 9200er war mir zu "oversized". Die Kopplung erfolgt kinderleicht. Bei meinem Handy mit einem Android-Customrom funktionierte allerdings der Telefonbuch-Sync nicht auf Anhieb - ich musste die Verbindung erst durch Abschalten des BT am Handy trennen und wieder aktivieren -> dann kommt von der Parrot die Telefonbuchanfrage die man bejahen muss. Ich führe das auf einen Bug in meiner Firmware des Handies zurück und nicht auf die Parrot, da dieses Problem bei meinen Bekannten nicht auftrat. Es können 2 Telefone gleichzeitigt gekoppelt sein, dabei ist es egal was für ein Betriebssystem diese nutzen -> bei mir 1x Android, 1x WindowsPhone7 parallel. Die Parrot spielt über BT auch alles an Tönen ab, was man wiedergeben möchte, vorausgesetzt, das Handy unterstützt die Medienwiedergabe über BT - die Technik heißt A2DP ... funktioniert wunderbar, Tonqualität 1a, ein Kollege von mir nutzt dieses Feature regelmäßíg mit seinem iPhone4. Apropos Firmware: Auch bei der Parrot kann man Firmwareupdates durchführen, hat mich aber bis jetzt noch nicht interessiert, da alles funktioniert. Etwas wichtiges bezüglich Einbau: Die Anleitung ist recht allgemein gehalten und war für mich zu wenig aufschlussreich, allerdings ist sowieso zu empfehlen Google zu befragen, da finden sich haufenweise Foren mit Einbauanleitungen für das jeweilige Fahrzeugmodell. Die Zeit für die Informationssuche abgerechnet, hat der Einbau knapp eine Stunde in Anspruch genommen, es geht auch schneller, aber ich wollte gewissenhaft dafür sorgen, dass ich keine Mängel an der Parrot vllt. durch Schlampigkeit selbst verursache. Der Klebestreifen des Doppelmikrofons ist von 3M und sehr gut, allerdings gab er bei mir den Geist auf als ich das Mikrofon am oberen Rand der Windschutzscheibe geklebt habe und die Sonne ihr Bestes gab -> nach Ersatz habe ich lange suchen müssen und wurde bei Conrad in der Modellbauabteilung fündig. Ich empfehle also, das Doppelmikrofon nicht auf der Windschutzscheibe unterzubringen, der Kleber erreicht seine volle Leistung erst nach 48-72 Stunden - solange sollte große Hitzeeinwirkung vermieden/minimiert werden. => dies ist aber kein Problem von Parrot und minderer Qualität, denn es gibt einfach keinen besseren - konsumententauglichen - Klebestreifen.

C'est la seconde fois que j'installe ce kit dans une voiture, il est tres simple à installer. La seule difficulté possible réside dans le passage des fils dans certaines voitures. Pour que les fils soient invisibles il faut demonter quelques parties du tableau de bord, mais en général cela se fait tres simplement. A l'usage, le kit est tres pratique, avec sa commande vocale, une seule pression sur le bouton vert permet de passer des appels telephoniques. De meme, lorsqu'on recoit un appel, il suffit de dire "accepter" pour decrocher, pas besoin d'appuyer sur plusieurs boutons. J'utilise ce kit avec un iphone 4S, et en combinant les fonctionnalité du kit et de SIRI, on a un outil fantastique. Il lit les SMS, et lorsque vous voulez en envoyer, il vous les lis avant de les envoyer pour confirmer la bonne redaction du message. Aucun besoin de regarder le téléphone pour verifier quoique ce soit, tout est controlé vocalement. Outre le fait de pouvoir lire la musique du téléphone en le branchant, on peut aussi le faire sans rien brancher en utilisant le bluetooth, dans mon cas c'est tres pratique lorsque je mets un dessin animé à mon fils sur l'ipad, aucun branchement a faire, le son est diffusé par la voiture. Bref, un bon outil de travail au quotidien, et également tres pratique pour les départs en vacances.