[Joe-BMW33]

Anyone know? It usually the Band button. Same thing?

[G30 B58]

Looks like car to car communications but we know that ain't it.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by F32 N55

Looks like car to car communications but we know that ain't it.

Thanks. I did some research on the part number. It's for G30, G32 and F90. Looks like it's a UK part. I'm sure it does the same thing as band when pressed. I'm swapping out the climate control panel for the touch screen one.

Where ever this is used, I'm sure they don't have AM/FM.

Hopefully our overseas folks here will weight in. I'm curious.

[AP]

It may be traffic information which is broadcast on FM radio so if you enable , broadcast is interrupted to receive traffic news.

Haven't got the manual to had so that is my guess. Obviously manual will detail it
Never pressed it myself!

[LogicalApex]

Don’t quote me, but it is either the TV button or the “DAB” button I believe. DAB being their version of HD Radio.

It is a UK configuration.

[Joe-BMW33]

Thanks. So would you all think when pressed in a US car it would perform the same as Band?

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Thanks. So would you all think when pressed in a US car it would perform the same as Band?

That I'm not sure of.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

That I'm not sure of.

thanks, maybe I will get some new technology option from the button ;-).

Even if it does nothing, I won't complain, I don't think I have ever used the Band button. Looking forward to this though (touchscreen vs. Now):

[sjb993]

As AP thought above, in the UK that button does indeed enable traffic reports from FM radio stations to interrupt whichever music source is playing.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by sjb993

As AP thought above, in the UK that button does indeed enable traffic reports from FM radio stations to interrupt whichever music source is playing.

Thanks! Interesting. I am going to have to hit our Band button here and see what it does. I pay for traffic information via Sirius XM but I have not idea when to how it works. Maybe the Band button isn't what I think it is.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by sjb993

As AP thought above, in the UK that button does indeed enable traffic reports from FM radio stations to interrupt whichever music source is playing.

That’s interesting. Can you share more details to how this works in the UK?

You hit this button and “randomly” during the drive you’ll have your music interrupted to a traffic broadcast. Then it goes back to your music? How long do they last?

We have highways here where you are given a radio station to tune to if you want updates and you also have the weather stations, but that’s about it. iDrive does a good job of alerting to things as well via RTTI.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Thanks! Interesting. I am going to have to hit our Band button here and see what it does. I pay for traffic information via Sirius XM but I have not idea when to how it works. Maybe the Band button isn't what I think it is.

SiriusXM would provide updates to the traffic information shown in iDrive. My Mercedes used SiriusXM for this. It is alright, but it only updates 4x per hour. It was decent, but could be less helpful in rapidly changing situations like in Philly. BMW real-time RTTI has proven to be a lot better. Updates very quickly.

[sjb993]

My car has the MODE and TRAFFIC INFO buttons as in your first photo. In the UK the BAND button on any radio used to allow switching between radio wavebands (MEDIUM WAVE, LONG WAVE and FM). Nowadays radios usually only offer FM and DAB (DAB is the equivalent of your HD).

The radio display in my car shows all received stations in the display (i.e. FM and DAB) and so a BAND button is no longer needed.

Hope this helps.

BTW - You have shown photos with 3 different configurations - which is yours?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by sjb993

My car has the MODE and TRAFFIC INFO buttons as in your first photo. In the UK the BAND button on any radio used to allow switching between radio wavebands (MEDIUM WAVE, LONG WAVE and FM). Nowadays radios usually only offer FM and DAB (DAB is the equivalent of your HD).

The radio display in my car shows all received stations in the display (i.e. FM and DAB) and so a BAND button is no longer needed.

Hope this helps.

BTW - You have shown photos with 3 different configurations - which is yours?

Sorry, the first photo is the climate control panel I bought on ebay from Poland, part number 6993496-01. This has the strange to me button instead of Band. The next photo is a rip of the touchscreen taken from another post to show what the touchscreen will look like. This has the button labeled "Band" and is most likely part number 6993498-01. From this thread:

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1690315

[sjb993]

Ah! So the first one is European specification like mine.

The TRAFFIC INFORMATION button graphic is meant to depict a couple of cars and a radio antenna.

LogicalApex

Yes, if TRAFFIC INFO has been turned on using the button beneath the MODE BUTTON (i.e. with the cars/antenna graphic), the music source (FM RADIO, DAB RADIO, USB, iPhone, Spotify, etc.) will be interrupted by traffic updates for the area you are in. The reports usually last 2-3 minutes, but on the display a message appears immediately giving you the option to cancel the current message by pressing down on the iDrive controller. It also works if you are using Apple CarPlay (or presumably Android Auto) for music.

[en1gma]

Originally Posted by sjb993

As AP thought above, in the UK that button does indeed enable traffic reports from FM radio stations to interrupt whichever music source is playing.

Correct. For enabling traffic info. By toggling on/off, traffic bulletins would override the station you were listening to.

Not sure how it works with digital DAB transmissions, but on FM there are signals transmitted with Classic FM radio which (irrespective of which FM station you were listening to) trigger the radio head unit to switch to traffic bulletins.

IIRC, Classic FM was - back then - one of the few truly nationwide FM stations in the UK that transmitted on the same FM frequency, unlike BBC Radio 1 for example which on FM is on slightly different frequencies (97.9 and 98.5 and others).

Probably likewise on DAB, in that there will be a similar trigger signal on one of the national multiplexes (or MUXes) that the transmitter company Arqiva run.

[AP]

In addition , classic fm was chosen again for it having the best coverage in the U.K. for RDS-TMC
So this was digital info broadcast (if I recall correctly) every 15 mins traffic info for satnav. From experience this was covering the larger roads and included things like closed roads or warnings

If you don't renew your RTTI subscription after the first 3 years , this is what your satnav falls back to

I first experienced RTTI on my f10 using a 3G connection. My g30 has a 4G connection and I think I've read the latest beemers now have a 5G connection onboard now

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by en1gma

Not sure how it works with digital DAB transmissions, but on FM there are signals transmitted with Classic FM radio which (irrespective of which FM station you were listening to) trigger the radio head unit to switch to traffic bulletins.

Certainly works while using DAB.

We've had the TP button/system in BMW for years, I always have mine active on trips in my F11.

[Qsilver7]

Are radios universal now? It used to be that radios were coded for different regions. Are we sure that a radio from Europe will work here in the North America? Can the radio frequencies a radio unit receives be coded (now) and are no longer dedicated to specific channels?

You can see the regions and the frequencies they receive below:

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Are radios universal now? It used to be that radios were coded for different regions. Are we sure that a radio from Europe will work here in the North America? Can the radio frequencies the unit receives be coded (now) and are no longer dedicated to specific channels?

Pretty sure it's just a switch Q. Just a panel, not the radio. I am going to venture that when I press this button on my US car, it will do the same as the band button.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Pretty sure it's just a switch Q. Just a panel, not the radio. I am going to venture that when I press this button on my US car, it will do the same as the band button.

...I do hope that it is just a switch and regardless of what icon is on the switch it just allows for switching between the bands.

It will also be interesting to see how the next owners react to that switch if there's no documentation that explains the icon.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

...I do hope that it is just a switch and regardless of what icon is on the switch it just allows for switching between the bands.

It will also be interesting to see how the next owners react to that switch if there's no documentation that explains the icon.

I PM'd another member here who put this panel on his US car to see what the button did, but he has not answered. The thread was a year old. We will know soon enough.

Well if we are thinking about the next owner, I wonder what they will think about my LCI tail lights looking different than the manual too, lol!

I bet if I really wanted to research how, I could take the "Band" button skin off the old one and put it on the new one. I'll just relish that I have a special button with super powers;-).

In all seriousness, depending on who and how I sell the vehicle to, I will include the "old" panel. I honestly have never pressed my band button.