2012 G37x Voice Recognition (Phone) = Terrible

[james t kirk]

I have a new 2012 G37x. (I used to have a 2005 G35x). I also have a 2009 Nissan Frontier for work.

The new G has the Navigation package.

I am totally NOT impressed with the Voice Recognition feature, mainly as it relates to the telephone. It takes 5 steps to call someone and you also need to read the damn screen as you do so.

1. Voice Recognition button

2. State "Phone"

3. State "Vehicle Phone Book"

4 State "Dial Joe Blow Mobile" (and this is where it completey falls apart)

If you have 2 numbers for Joe Blow (say mobile and home), it asks you which number you want to call and the screen (now you have to take your eyes off the road and read the damn screen??? Really??) displays:

1. Joe Blow and

2. Joe Blow

HOWEVER, the screen does not identify whether 1. is home or mobile, nor does it show the number. So how are you supposed to know?

If you state "mobile" it doesn't know what you're saying. If you state "home" it doesn't recognize that either.

Everything fails.

Now contrast this to my 2009 Frontier with the hands free option. I hit the button and simply state:

"Call Joe Blow Mobile" and it asks me to say "dial or correction". Say "Dial" and it dials. So the supposedly inferior system on the Frontier is totally superior (and it works)


Does anyone have any info on this problem or guidance. Am I doing something wrong? Is Nissan even aware of this problem?

It would be nice if they offered some new software to correct this.

I just want the same system as my 2009 Frontier. (They could still have all the other useless crap on there, but there should be an option as soon as you hit the voice recognition button to simply "call"

Oh, and trying to access the contact information on my Blackberry Bold totally fails every time.

I could go the handset route and state "Dial Joe Smith" and it displays 6 numbers, none of which are "Joe Smith" - not even close.


This is crap in my opinion if this is the way this thing is supposed to work.

[audtatious]

You may have to create phone entries for each number, thus have a "Joe Blow Home" and a "Joe Blow Mobile" in order to use voice recognition?

I don't really use voice at all since it's the wife's car that has the full system and not my coupe. I select the person I want on my phone and simply dial it while connected. Not the optimal way and I'm missing out using options the car does have but the Nav system offers much more than the coupe so I don't bother.

I'm sure others will pipe in at some point on the way they work it.

[kmckis1029]

try alternate command mode, and i think their is another option to reduce the voice prompts in the settings, should get it down to three steps...

settings-> others -> voice reconnition

from there you can train all the commands to your voice to make it more accurate also.

alternate command mode allows you to say what ever command you want when you first press the voice button, and you dont have to follow the menu driven options.

for example you can say "call home", then comfirm home, then say dail.

if you have the lastest software update, you will see an option for the "home, mobile, other, etc" number after you comfirm the person you want to call. So test to see if you have the call waiting feature, if you dont, you have old software. the dealer will update you for free. here is my post letting people know about the update call-waiting-update-for-the-2010-2011-g ... %20waiting

[james t kirk]

Thanks, I will give that a shot, including testing to see if I have call waiting.

One thing is for sure, the system as it is laid out has far too many steps to simply place a phone call.

[kmckis1029]

yeah hopefully using those options will make it less annoying... i think infiniti knew it was a alot, but wanted to make it so you dont have to remember commands. but for people who can remember commands they added the alternate command mode.

[Mudgen]

I have a 2011 non-nav sedan, and the phonebook interface is terrible. I just say, "Call 555-555-1212" rather than a name, because it works more reliably. And having a separate phone book in the car's memory is BS. I have a $15 SoundID 300 bluetooth earpiece that uses the phone's phone book and works much more reliably. In fact, if I'm making multiple calls from the car, I just use that.

[james t kirk]

The Alternate command mode doesn't really help.

I've also discovered that having the on board voice recognition system access my handset phone book is USELESS. It does not seem to understand at all what I'm saying.

If I say "Joe Blow", it will list a screen full of numbers, not one of which belongs to Joe Blow. I don't know if that's an infiniti problem, or a Blackberry problem (Blackberry Bold). Either way - it's useless.

I'm going to have to write Infiniti a letter about this.

It's easier for me (and less frustrating and less dangerous for that matter) to simply pull out my BB and dial the farking number I want using the contacts in the BB and let the system pick up the call. But that's not what I paid for dammit.

[kmckis1029]

have you done the voice training? i had your complaint until i did the voice training, now it rarely gets my commands wrong...

[james t kirk]

No, I have not done the voice training.

The problem as I see it is that it takes 5 damn steps to make a phone call. Not that it doesn't recognize my voice.

(Well, it doesn't recognize my voice when I try to use the handset voice control - but I would think that would be a Blackberry issue.)