Hi
Does the telephone prep work ok? a lot of cars advertised do not "shout" about it in the ads. At the same time I have seen some cars advertised that have a parrot hands free kit installed. So what is the score?

Originally hands free phone systems in RRS were optional or only available on high spec versions and also were basically only compatible with Nokia phones (then the most popular make), they also needed a special cradle under the cubby box lid to make the non-blue tooth system work....... basically a “wired” handset controllable through the steering wheel controls. For the cars where this wasn’t standard fit it was a relatively expensive option and don’t forget also there were not fines for using a phone while driving back then. Once fines came in people wanted hands free and it became standard in about 2007/2008 on RRS when also more phones had B/T too. It was often cheaper to go for an aftermarket system than to retro-fit the LR system so many people (me included) had one of the Parrott systems fitted as they were really good and not hugely expensive and could read your phone’s contact list and do a few other things that the LR system couldn’t. Now most cars come with hands free wireless systems at least as an option but most are standard OEM fittings at the factory and are fully integrated with audio/ smartphone functions, streaming etc. JLR’s original system in any of their cars was a bit clunky and some people found they couldn’t see their contact or recent calls list etc, also there were changes to software and hardware between model years that rendered some phone useless on the in car system hence many people fitting aftermarket. I think people don’t shout so much about it now as cars at this price point are generally accepted as having some form of integrated phone capability. My experience of JLR systems since 2007 has been that they have worked well but a lot of people have commented that there are issues with the integration of latest generation phones on older cars and also connnectivity issues with the In Control Professional system that cause dropped calls - as far as I am aware that has been addressed by JLR with several software updates. Now folks expect WiFi hubs in their cars as well and there are plenty of reports of problems with some of the supporting hardware like SIM card readers.
I have a Parrott Asteroid handsfree and audio system in my Defender, it is very sophisticated, works first time every time, has built in noise cancelling (quite important in a Defender!) and it connects seamlessly with my iPhone 10 despite the audio system from Parrott not being the latest software version (it is 2013 software ). 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Thanks Tim. I was guessing it was something like that. I bought a brand new Mercedes CLC in 2008 and had to change my phone for it to work; So frustrating....