IPhone BMW Dock

[///M3Power]

Anyone have this? whats the advantage of having this vs using the aux cable besides it charging the phone?

[rzm3]

i think you can play music (using idrive controls) and use phone functionality (via car bluetooth) at the same time.

[no1sportz]

Not sure what the advantage is. I use my iPhone 3G as my ipod in my 335 and it plays just fine with the ipod/USB cable from BMW. I can see the iPhone playlist on the Nav screen and can control the iPhone via the steering controls. I was previously told that this wouldn't work but I tried it out one day and alas...it did!

It also switches back and forth between ipod and bluetooth phone flawlessly. I love it!

[signes]

I believe it allows the iPhone to use the car antenna for improved reception.

[Speedtrap]

I just plug mine into the Aux port...

[Trust1421]

But does your iPhone charge like the ipod does? I heard it doesn't. Plays fine, but doesn't charge. Can you confirm that?

[Speedtrap]

Just located next to the Aux port is the charger as well. No hassle.

[no1sportz]

I can confirm that my iPhone 3G charges just as the iPod does. (it takes FOREVER to charge in the car though) It works as a phone, an ipod and charges properly all while being able to use the steering wheel controls and see the playlists through iDrive. It works flawlessly.

When I had my first generation iPhone I never tried it out because I trusted the dealer when they said it wouldn't work. However when I got my 3G I decided to try it anyway and it worked! Therefore I cannot speak for the first Gen iPhone.

[apw2607]

Originally Posted by Trust1421

But does your iPhone charge like the ipod does? I heard it doesn't. Plays fine, but doesn't charge. Can you confirm that?

I believe earlier ipod Y-cables supplied with 6FL would not allow the iphone to charge. The newer cable works fine.

I have the older iPhone and that works fine with the 6FL option.

I also have the cradle, and of course that works fine too.

Those folks that have the 3G iphone. Do you still get this echo on the audio that folks initially reported?

[ebohon]

+1 on the iPhone working as an iPod, with control in the steering wheel in playlists on the nav screen. I don't think I've experienced any echo. However, whenever I connet my 3g iPhone, I get a message indicating that it will not work as a phone while connected and if I still want to continue. But, I have been able to receive calls but it drops much more than when not connected. There is something happening and I've not been able to isolate exactly where or what it is but only that it is not 100%. My dealer told me that they are aware of some bug with v2.1 on the new iPhone and suggested I go back to the earlier versrion and they expect a software upgrade on the M3 soon.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by no1sportz

I can confirm that my iPhone 3G charges just as the iPod does. (it takes FOREVER to charge in the car though) It works as a phone, an ipod and charges properly all while being able to use the steering wheel controls and see the playlists through iDrive. It works flawlessly.

When I had my first generation iPhone I never tried it out because I trusted the dealer when they said it wouldn't work. However when I got my 3G I decided to try it anyway and it worked! Therefore I cannot speak for the first Gen iPhone.

Same here. I have the 6FL option and when I hook up the 3G it says something about not being compatible but if you actually leave it plugged in it does charge. The charge does seem slow though because if I use the 3G to play music, the charge level actually goes down so it's not charging fast enough to keep up with the power demands during MP3 play.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by HIS4

Same here. I have the 6FL option and when I hook up the 3G it says something about not being compatible but if you actually leave it plugged in it does charge. The charge does seem slow though because if I use the 3G to play music, the charge level actually goes down so it's not charging fast enough to keep up with the power demands during MP3 play.

HIS4, this is interesting. I have had my car for over a month but have not used the radio for more than 15 minutes - nevermind my iPhone/iPod connection - so I am trying to get up to speed on this now.

I wonder what it is about the connection that causes the iPhone to report that it is not compatible with the 6FL cable, and yet the cable still charges (albeit slow) and plays music fine? Does the phone somehow detect that it will only be charged at a slow rate by this particular accessory? And beyond that, what the heck could really be causing the slow charging? Why would it be able to charge the phone at all (have the ability to charge via the 5V USB charging pin) but not be able to do so very effectively? I've tried googling for hints on this but no one seems to have a clear answer of what, exactly, causes the incompatiblity message to occur.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

HIS4, this is interesting. I have had my car for over a month but have not used the radio for more than 15 minutes - nevermind my iPhone/iPod connection - so I am trying to get up to speed on this now.

I wonder what it is about the connection that causes the iPhone to report that it is not compatible with the 6FL cable, and yet the cable still charges (albeit slow) and plays music fine? Does the phone somehow detect that it will only be charged at a slow rate by this particular accessory? And beyond that, what the heck could really be causing the slow charging? Why would it be able to charge the phone at all (have the ability to charge via the 5V USB charging pin) but not be able to do so very effectively? I've tried googling for hints on this but no one seems to have a clear answer of what, exactly, causes the incompatiblity message to occur.

I suspect that it might have something to do with the fact that there is 5V present on the firewire pins. I get this same message if I try to dock my 3G on an old docking station from an old iPod that used the firewire cable to connect to the computer. As far as the charge rate, it could be just low current output which would also explain why the USB port in the car cannot support a USB hard drive.

[ebohon]

Guys... my CA told me that it was a software problem and MBW is working on a fix. Until then, his an internal e-mail tells him to tell his clients to NOT upgrade to the 2.1 version on their iPhone since this is what is causing the conflict in some fashion.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by HIS4

I suspect that it might have something to do with the fact that there is 5V present on the firewire pins. I get this same message if I try to dock my 3G on an old docking station from an old iPod that used the firewire cable to connect to the computer. As far as the charge rate, it could be just low current output which would also explain why the USB port in the car cannot support a USB hard drive.

Ok, but the thing is, as far as I know, the iPhone 3G does not have the firewire pins even connected to anything at all. So how would it know there was any voltage coming through them? Also, FWIW, firewire is supposed to be 12V, not 5V, so 5V on the firewire pins would be strange indeed.

Originally Posted by ebohon

Guys... my CA told me that it was a software problem and MBW is working on a fix. Until then, his an internal e-mail tells him to tell his clients to NOT upgrade to the 2.1 version on their iPhone since this is what is causing the conflict in some fashion.

As far as I am aware, the iPhone 3G has been displaying the message with the 6FL cable from the time it was released in July. Or, at least, I recall reading accounts of this around that time.