Using emoticons on your smartphone can cause serious problems with the speech synthesis features of the Ford Sync system. This self-help article reveals ways to correct these problems.
Since late 2012, there have been numerous issues with iPhone 5, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, as well as Samsung Galaxy, HTC Evo and other smartphones having connectivity issues with the Ford Sync system. The user forums for these smartphones and the Sync system have been filled with people with connectivity issues affecting the base model, MyFord and MyFord Touch Sync mysmiley systems. The problem was that something was seriously compromising Sync users’ accessibility to phone book contacts with voice commands. If you pressed the “Voice” icon on the steering wheel and said “Phone” and then “Call (your contact’s name)”, the synchronization system may respond “Call point on mobile”.
Some of the problems were due to smartphone users downloading and using any of the Emoji apps. The word emoji is Japanese for ideograms, you know, those little emoticons like smiley faces, “pouting” faces and so on.
The new Apple iOS also allows iPhone 5 users to access the Settings folder, general settings, the Keyboard tab and then the next menu to select “Keyboards”. Then you can tap “Add New Keyboard” and add an emoji keyboard. However, this is the kiss of death for your Sync system.
The problem is that the cute emoticons that look like a smiley face on your smartphone screen are actually long strings of programming language that make Syncs text-to-speech go crazy. When you are given a voice command to call a contact, the system will say “Call point on mobile” and then dial the first contact listed in your address book.
If this has happened, check EVERY phone contact and remove any emoticons. Also remove exclamation marks, periods, commas, dashes, etc. strangers you may have in your phone’s contact list. Be sure to check your device name too! Some overzealous users have renamed their phones with smiley faces in the device name. Verify that everything has been deleted again. Then go to the Bluetooth settings and unpair the phone.
If you have an iPhone, do a soft reset. This is done by holding down the “Home” button, the large button at the bottom center of the front screen, while also pressing the power button on the top edge of the phone on the right side. Press and hold these buttons until the Apple icon appears. Then release the buttons. Let the phone be idle for a few minutes. You can press the power button further and then slide the button on the screen to turn off the phone. Leave the phone off for a few minutes. Then press the power button and let the phone turn on again.