Hi I was wondering what my options are for a bluetooth for phone calls that doesn’t need to be charged. I don’t want to drop $$$ on a new radio that supports bluetooth. I’m not very disciplined when it comes to charging my bluetooth now since I only make like 1 call in the car a month or something. I was thinking maybe I could hardwire my current bluetooth to the accessory outlet or something like that. I’ve also heard of fm transmitters. Anybody care to enlighten? Thanks.
If you have an iPhone, get some Apple AirPods. Problem solved.
How does having AirPods solve the problem, pretty sure you need to remember to charge them.
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Don’t airpods need to be charged? The OP can’t remember to keep a bluetooth earpiece charged, so why would airpods be different.
Since we have no info on the type of car and what inputs might be available in the car, the best advice I can give is to head to Crutchfield.com to search for a solution.
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This is an old BMW and for one call a month why bother ?
You haven’t told us what kind of “bluetooth” you have now, so how could you expect us to answer that?
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But the issue remains of a possible Phone Use Driving violation… If a call came in would you still have to pick up the phone to accept the call and if you want to make an outgoing call, would you have to pick up the phone… the Airpods can handle the conversation but what about everything else?
My 2019 Toyota uses the Bluetooth and if I want to make a call, it’s a button on the steering wheel and the radios turns off, same with an incoming call…
No police officer would consider my conversation or use of the phone as a distraction. Well, as long as I do not get in an accident…
Also consider many states do not allow pods only pod. In Ohio, one earphone is OK, two is a violation. Kinda dumb considering a deaf person can drive as long as there is a rignt hand mirror.
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Ever heard of speaker phone??
I just hit the speaker button on my phone, no blue tooth battery’s or connection needed and it goes everywhere the phone goes, it’s crazy how that works… just saying…
EDIT: for those of you that seem to be confused, this is all while using a dash mounted, CD mounted, cassette tape mount, duct taped or whatever mounted phone holder, legally making it hands free… 
You still have to handle the phone to make or take a call and then you now have to secure the phone in a location that allows you to hear and speak…
Forty-eight states and DC all have laws prohibiting this while driving… Montana has no laws governing this and Missouri only restricts phone use by drivers under 21-years old.
As a side point, all my vehicles have Garmin GPS Units in them, but the one in my 2001 Dodge Ram Truck is enabled to allow me to make and receive hands-free phone calls… So here is a possibility for the OP to make and receive phone calls cheap Bluetooth phone call assistance…
Many thrift shops have had GPS Units donated to them since so many folks are now using their cellphones and their vehicle’s GPS units are linked to the driver’s cellphone and the stand alone units are not needed anymore…
The thrift shops in my area often sell them for about $5.00 and most now come with lifetime Free Maps and I upgraded two of my older unit this way… FYI, I use the Garmin units because I carry a TracFone and I do not have unlimited data and if I left the Mobile data turned on, it would quickly use up all my Free Data…
OP: Go buy a cheap, good quality Garmin GPS Unit. Other brands also offer this but I only have Garmin Units…
I have one of those I use in my truck. Plugs into a power port. Bought it primarily to stream music from my phone to the truck’s audio system, which does not support bluetooth natively. It works flawlessly and was something like $15 at Walmart…It also has two USB ports for charging stuff.
Yesh yeah yeah, save the speech, since 48 states has hands free laws, and we are talking about hands free talking, I figured it was a given (my mistake, I thought most everyone was smarter than me on here) that having something holding the phone (dash mount anyone) was normal in this case, that reaching up and hitting a button on your radio or HVAC head unit is no different then reaching up and hitting something even more on an eye level (that would be the phone in it’s dash mounted phone holder, so no confusion) is not against the law…
Sorry for NOT writing a 20 page essay on the subject of having a hands free speakerphone…My bad everyone…
BTW I use a CD mounted phone holder in one vehicle, just so there is no confusion…
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Jabra has some battery operated options .
How about hard-wiring my current bluetooth to the accessory outlet? It is a Jabra Cruiser 2. It has a micro USB connector I believe that would easily connect to a accessory outlet adapter with USB outlets. Anything objectionable about that? Garmin looks like a nice way to go except for the break-in factor… if it exists.
Not if you know what you’re doing. However, you also have to consider what your time is worth. All you have to do is plug this into a power port…
Is there any risk of power surge when turning the car on? I vaguely remember hearing about that somewhere.
Why do you have to hard-wire it? Why don’t you just plug it into the power socket the normal way and be done with it?
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You have been given several effective and efficient alternatives, but the simplest way seems so insurmountable to you… Why do you have to Rube Goldberg it…
But Good News, Rube has decided to come back and solve your car phone problem for you, Here is a partial shopping list… String, Scissors, Boxing Glove, Brackets, Milk Jug…
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@lion9car That’s what I was talking about. Hard-wire to an accessory socket adapter.
@LoudThunder Ditto … definitely not considering drilling a hole in the firewall or something to power the bluetooth. Soft-wire? Is there a misused term going on here?
Also still got the surge question. Any possibility of a surge when turning the car on? If so will the car cut power to the accessory socket to prevent frying anything hooked up to it? Thanks again.
That is what a fuse is for, to prevent surges, and if your electronics is so delicate; then are you wearing Anti-static gloves to prevent any static elctricity from your body “frying” your electronics?
Any case, I am now confused as what you actually want to do… Use your phone to play music? Or to have your car’s info system use the radio’s speaker in lieu of your phones speaker so you can have a Hand’s free phone call; or maybe for somethng altogether else entirely?
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