I'm really struggling to figure out how to use multiple BMWs in multiple countries. I have homes in the U.S. and Spain. On modern BMWs, a smartphone seems like a requirement. If I don't pair a smartphone with the connected app, I can't seem to create a driver profile. In fact in Spain my car reverts to Spanish every time I get in unless I connect my profile.
However to use the iPhone app, I can only down the version of "My BMW" that's available for the country in which my Apple ID is assigned. And that's not changeable quickly and without losing many apps and data. So since my Apple ID is a U.S. ID, I the U.S. My BMW app will not connect to my Spanish BMW and thus I cannot personalize my car at all. Each time I get into the car I need to reconnect my phone from scratch, switch languages, and set up any preferences. So far the only solution I've found is to use a completely new iPhone with a different Spanish Apple ID (and thus none of my data is on it). Relative to the price of a new BMW paying ~50 Euro a month for another phone isn't tragic, but highly inconvenient.
I'm certain I'm missing something here. I've owned many BMW's for over 25 years, and I've even worked in the auto industry and with many BMW engineers in Munich personally. They are simply the best in the business and absolutely brilliant. I can't fathom they would create a limitation where someone could not own two of their cars in different countries.
Can someone please help me out here?
BTW, this also makes renting a BMW in a different country a nightmare as I also discovered. Since you can't connect your smartphone if you don't live in that country, every time you start the car you need to set it up again (including switching languages if it's not your native language).
