iPhone issue: 'This accessory is not made to work with iPhone'

[penny]

When my 1 was first delivered, my advisor forgot to give me the iPod connection cables. I came back and got it but now wondering if he gave me some old leftover cables.

When I plug in the cable to the iPhone 3G I get the message in the image below. Is this normal?

Whether I hit no or yes, my iDrive never loads up my playlists. Anyone got any idea what's going on?

[stunn2night]

its basiccly saying it wont work with the car direct, does your car have bluetooth?

[penny]

Yeah, it has bluetooth. But I'm not trying to use the phone feature. I'm just wanting to use the iPod feature only. I turn bluetooth off on the iPhone.

[ptack]

A couple of possibilities.
1) There is an issue with the BMW cables not being compatible with some versions of the iphone. Reportedly, they will have a new cable available to correct this - in early 09.
2) You can thank Steve Jobs for the message. I get it frequently, but it nevers prevents playback and my playlists work fine. If you don't have the idrive you will have to play with the right sequence of buttons to bring up your playlists.

Does your iphone work at all?

[penny]

I have iDrive and it seems to recognize the device. It tries to load but seems like it'll never finish.

iPhone works fine and plays music. Different story when plugged in. Thanks for the info ptack.

[bluecarbon]

did you jailbreak your iphone??

[penny]

Hah, not yet.

[G5Ti]

Very simple - the message simply means that the device has not been tested to be fully compatible with iPhone/iPhone 3G. The message is given so that you are aware that there is a possibility the device may not behave as expected or that minor audio interference is possible.

That said, BMW's interface doesn't seem to present any problems whatsoever with iPhone connectivity, and there's no need to enable Airplane Mode.

ptack: you shouldn't get the message unless you're plugging the iPhone into dock connector-based devices that are not necessarily iPhone compatible. If you see the message frequently, you may need to use compressed air to blow out the headphone jack and dock connector (yes, both). Otherwise, make an appointment at your nearest Apple Store Genius Bar to have your phone checked out.

[penny]

I get this message every time. Running out to my car now. I have yet to connect the phone via bluetooth. Hope this does something.

[former]

I always received this message with the iPod integration and the iPhone. That's with a pretty new 3G iPhone and a 2009 car.

Most of the time, it worked, but sometimes the playlists would not load. To correct that, I had to reboot the iPhone. After that it was ok.

It still worked fine via bluetooth as well. After redelivery, I'm hopeful smartphone integration will be the ticket. They didn't give me the adapter for the iPhone on ED.

[G5Ti]

Yeah, you'll get the message every time you connect it to the device. That's unavoidable. But you shouldn't get it randomly or with devices that are iPhone-compatible (i.e., dock, speaker systems, car chargers, etc.).

Bluetooth on iPhone is merely as a hands-free device. It works brilliantly, but you will never, never, never get music-related audio through bluetooth with your iPhone.

[m7ammed]

The iPhone 3G has a different type of charging on the dock connection the the 1st gen iPhone, maybe thats why your having trouble?

[cpt97m3]

I get that message with my 3G iPhone in my Honda and E36 BMW. While the music plays fine, the message is letting you know the phone is not being charged. The iPhone 3G, and the new iPods, only charge through the USB 5V wire, where the first gen iPhone and older iPods will charge either through the 5V wire, or the 12V firewire wire. Most car systems just used the 12V wire in the car charger since Cars are 12V anyway. Some are offering new cables that have the 5V wire hooked up. My guess is BMW will offer that at some point.

[penny]

Hmmm. Thanks for all the info guys. My iPhone does charge correctly with the cable though.

After finally adding the phone to iDrive via bluetooth and plugging in iPhone to car, still can't load playlist. I rebooted iPhone but still not working. Now, I'm gonna remove all playlists and add a new one. Maybe my playlist was messed up to begin with.

[penny]

Alright, I just uninstalled all iPhone apps. Plugged into car and same result -- playlist never completely loads.

So, I rebooted the phone. This time I waited for about 20 seconds until I turn it back on. For some reason, it now works.

So, as Former said, rebooting iPhone seems to work. I will have to test this a few more times to say this is the official fix.

[marius]

i gave up on using the iphone in the car. Ended up buying an ipod instead. I tried two different cables and neither would charge consistently.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by G5Ti

Very simple - the message simply means that the device has not been tested to be fully compatible with iPhone/iPhone 3G. The message is given so that you are aware that there is a possibility the device may not behave as expected or that minor audio interference is possible.

That said, BMW's interface doesn't seem to present any problems whatsoever with iPhone connectivity, and there's no need to enable Airplane Mode.

ptack: you shouldn't get the message unless you're plugging the iPhone into dock connector-based devices that are not necessarily iPhone compatible. If you see the message frequently, you may need to use compressed air to blow out the headphone jack and dock connector (yes, both). Otherwise, make an appointment at your nearest Apple Store Genius Bar to have your phone checked out.

100% correct, the BMW cable does not have an authenticity chip. The message will go away on its own after +7 seconds.

[stunn2night]

i have 3g phone never had issue plays all my songs

[Ty Vil]

BMW is coming out with a new 6FL cable to rectify this issue. It was just announced on DCS last week.

[penny]

You think we'll get this upgrade for free or it'll cost us?

[bmwzone]

Originally Posted by marius

i gave up on using the iphone in the car. Ended up buying an ipod instead. I tried two different cables and neither would charge consistently.

I use the iPhone for bluetooth calls - otherwise I have to take it out of my pocket and plug it in ? HUH ? That's just stupid for a comfort access driver that has to do nothing but pull handle, press button and enjoy the car.

I never have to take anything out of my pockets to enter/drive/exit my vehicle. I rule.

Oh yeah, I leave an iPod nano plugged in for the music part so occassionally when I want to sync it with new music I'll go out to the 1er and sync. Seems much easier than plugging/unplugging an iPhone every time I get in my car!

Hey, do we get a new free USB cable though? BMW knows my address! :smile:

[penny]

^^ Totally agree with you. I hate constantly having to plug/unplug the iPhone. The only reason I even posted this issue is the fact that the car wasn't free so it better work the way it should. I listen to music on my thumbdrive.