[Jdavis37]

Question.. just took delivery on my CPO 08 335i ( very cool to get the phone call saying your BMW is in the drive way ). Anyhow, probably a dumb question but perhaps you will permit a new owner a mulligan! I paid to have the Sirius radio added as well as the iPOD/USB option. Sirius is working fine and the iPOD adapter is in the glove compartment ( I dont own an iPOD so no idea yet if it works ) but I was expecting to find the USB slot under the armrest. Alas, just the Aux port id there.

If anyon ehas added the iPOD/USB after the fact, am curious if they put the USB port somewhere else. I'm going to use a light and search under the glove compartment opening but thus far have not seen any signs. Thx!

[Dre01SS]

I don't have the iPod adapter, just run it off the AUX cable myself, but from reading other posts, your iPod stays in the glovebox, and you control everything through the head unit/steering wheel.

[freshwhite335]

u cant retrofit the usb adaptor. but there is an ipod adaptor, but thats not the same as the usb port in the console.

[E91-Norway]

I have a 335 09 with iDrive and ready for iPod/iPhone.
I connect my iPod in the armrest and controll it via the iDrive system.
Beside this I have a USB port in the glove compartment were I can connect storage for importing or exporting music to and from the hard disk.

If you dont have the iDrive system, there my be some different solutions......

[persian54]

Originally Posted by E91-Norway

I have a 335 09 with iDrive and ready for iPod/iPhone.
I connect my iPod in the armrest and controll it via the iDrive system.
Beside this I have a USB port in the glove compartment were I can connect storage for importing or exporting music to and from the hard disk.

If you dont have the iDrive system, there my be some different solutions......

do you have the iPhone 3GS?

For me, when i connect it, sometimes it charges and sometimes it says it says "charging not supported with this accessory"

my iPhone 3G and my gf's iPhone Edge charge just fine...

[E91-Norway]

Originally Posted by persian54

do you have the iPhone 3GS?

For me, when i connect it, sometimes it charges and sometimes it says it says "charging not supported with this accessory"

my iPhone 3G and my gf's iPhone Edge charge just fine...

I have iPhone 3G, but I have the same problem as you have with the GS ; (
But I dont get the same message, I know your message from my BOSE Speaker at home. I have found the charging unstable and will check it out with my BMW dealer.

[Jdavis37]

Thanks to all that replied. This may be a case where I should have asked more questions before proceeding with the upgrade. But, my 08 335i has the iDrive. I bought the car via the internet and negotiated having Sirius added and the iPod/USB adapter added. When the car arrived this morning I found the iPOD cable in the glove box but found no USB port.

Sounds like my doubts are being confirmed... that the USB port cannot be added after the factory. If I had known that!

I'll have to try the DVD slot to see if it reads audio tracks.. if so the issue may be moot and I just wasted some money on the iPOD interface ( was mostly wanting the USB interface as jumpdrives are very cheap ).

[Jdavis37]

Another add on question.. does the iPOD classic work with the iPOD ocntrol and does it charge? It appears the iPOD classic has the same connector for the bottom. With 120 Gb of storage it will easily hold all that I can squeeze into it, even at high bit rates. Thx

PS The owner's manual did not specify anything about the Classic

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by Jdavis37

Another add on question.. does the iPOD classic work with the iPOD ocntrol and does it charge? It appears the iPOD classic has the same connector for the bottom. With 120 Gb of storage it will easily hold all that I can squeeze into it, even at high bit rates. Thx

PS The owner's manual did not specify anything about the Classic

The answer is ,,probably``.

It definitely works with the new iPod option (although there were some glitches and BMW came out with a new cable to get it to work) .

The reason I don´t say ,,definitely`` is because the aforementioned problem (which took BMW a while to figure out and resulted in the mysterious disappearance of my iPod in Munich) proved that the Classic has some intrinsic differences compared to earlier generation iPods.

The iPod retrofit kit that you purchased is a design that came out in mid 2006 (my car was the first customer car to get this option and this was July 2006, I think it became available in Sept. 2006) and I´m not sure how much it has been updated since.

Worst case, you can probably find a prev. generation iPod very inexpensively on eBay and use that.

[Jdavis37]

Thanks.. is exactly why I wanted the USB port to avoid any interface issues. I know my spousal unit wants an iPOD so could be just buy a classic and see if it works. if not, she has her toy. Am hoping the bugs were worked out over time though it may be more practical to just buy a nano instead of the classic since they are listed. Course, if I can put mp3's on a dvd and get it to play that might make even more sense ( 4+ Gb of mp3's is plenty ). Had i known the uSB wa snot going to be added I would never have bought the add on but that's water under the bridge now. I was surprised that the factory supplied iPOD/USB kit is different from the dealer supplied but I really should have guessed it would be different. Thanks again for your reply!

Originally Posted by JSpira

The answer is ,,probably``.

It definitely works with the new iPod option (although there were some glitches and BMW came out with a new cable to get it to work) .

The reason I don´t say ,,definitely`` is because the aforementioned problem (which took BMW a while to figure out and resulted in the mysterious disappearance of my iPod in Munich) proved that the Classic has some intrinsic differences compared to earlier generation iPods.

The iPod retrofit kit that you purchased is a design that came out in mid 2006 (my car was the first customer car to get this option and this was July 2006, I think it became available in Sept. 2006) and I´m not sure how much it has been updated since.

Worst case, you can probably find a prev. generation iPod very inexpensively on eBay and use that.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by Jdavis37

Thanks.. is exactly why I wanted the USB port to avoid any interface issues. I know my spousal unit wants an iPOD so could be just buy a classic and see if it works. if not, she has her toy. Am hoping the bugs were worked out over time though it may be more practical to just buy a nano instead of the classic since they are listed. Course, if I can put mp3's on a dvd and get it to play that might make even more sense ( 4+ Gb of mp3's is plenty ). Had i known the uSB wa snot going to be added I would never have bought the add on but that's water under the bridge now. I was surprised that the factory supplied iPOD/USB kit is different from the dealer supplied but I really should have guessed it would be different. Thanks again for your reply!

For more details on what you got, see my article in the August 2006 issue of the Roundel magazine.

It´s a good system although the new iPod/USB option is far better in all areas except for how it manages podcasts.

I would definitely try to find an iPod to use with it.

BMW was the first car maker to offer iPod capability period and the first to offer it for MOST cars. You are the recipient, for better or worse, of the first generation design.

[amlebede]

The USB adapter retrofit is not out yet. The Ipod adapter retrofit is available; I got it installed and I find it to be pretty useful.

[enforcerman]

if you are having charging issues the solution is cablejive.com

Iphone 3g, 3gs and 2g itouches will charge w/ this on the end.

[Dwill335i]

Originally Posted by Jdavis37

Another add on question.. does the iPOD classic work with the iPOD ocntrol and does it charge? It appears the iPOD classic has the same connector for the bottom. With 120 Gb of storage it will easily hold all that I can squeeze into it, even at high bit rates. Thx

PS The owner's manual did not specify anything about the Classic

I'm using my old 4GB iPod Mini with no issues in the car. It charges and the controls work fine.

[Jdavis37]

Thanks again to all. Any 8 Gb or 16 Gb Nano experiences? I was targeting the Classic originally bu tin truth the flash driven products may be faster for access and tryuing to manage more than 8 or 16 Gb of music may be tough on thi sold brain. Still wish I had that USB slot.. flash memory is so cheap.. now I'll end up with a $175 16 Gb flash drive with an iPod case on it

[chaze]

Originally Posted by enforcerman

if you are having charging issues the solution is cablejive.com

Iphone 3g, 3gs and 2g itouches will charge w/ this on the end.

Which converter are you referring to on that website? My wife and I both have iphone 3G and intermittantly have issues with it charging. Sucks when driving for an hour or two listening to music then you find out your phone is dead. I find that it starts charging initially when plugged in, but if you press any button on the "Accessory" message that pops it will stop charging. Also if it is plugged in when I start the car it will not charge. 7/10 on the PITA scale.

[kennethpetro]

Originally Posted by chaze

Which converter are you referring to on that website

I also have the same question. I have the 3GS on a ’08 e92 w/ ipod integration. All I want to do is listen to music and have it charge when it’s plugged in using the OEM Y-Cable.

http://www.cablejive.com/charge-converter

Do i need the “Charge Converter for $27.95”

the “+Charge Converter for $33.95

or the “iPod & iPhone Car Charge Kit for $41.95”?


Again i just want the phone to charge and be able to listen to music.

[rc'Z]

New person question, my armrest has a plug, a USB and a power outlet. The I-pod plug that came with the car has the hook up to the iphone/ipod and the standard plug and USB plug on it. Do I only use the USB or do i plug them both in. My glove compartment also has a USB, not to mention a second power outlet under the left side of the gove compartment.

[HighVoltage]

Originally Posted by rc'Z

New person question, my armrest has a plug, a USB and a power outlet. The I-pod plug that came with the car has the hook up to the iphone/ipod and the standard plug and USB plug on it. Do I only use the USB or do i plug them both in. My glove compartment also has a USB, not to mention a second power outlet under the left side of the gove compartment.

Plug the ipod dock connector of the cable into your ipod/touch/iphone. Plug the other two ends of the cable into the USB and the audio (TRS 3.5mm) plugs in your armrest.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by rc'Z

Do I only use the USB or do i plug them both in. My glove compartment also has a USB, not to mention a second power outlet under the left side of the gove compartment.

Depends on whether you are using an iPod or a standard USB thumb drive. For the iPod, you need to use the Y cable.

[rc'Z]

Originally Posted by HighVoltage

Plug the ipod dock connector of the cable into your ipod/touch/iphone. Plug the other two ends of the cable into the USB and the audio (TRS 3.5mm) plugs in your armrest.

Originally Posted by JSpira

Depends on whether you are using an iPod or a standard USB thumb drive. For the iPod, you need to use the Y cable.

Thank you all very much. So much to learn on these i-drives, so little time, so old!

[zamboni]

I just got a Y cable for my iphone 3GS and I can't get the ipod menu display on idrive, what did I do wrong ? The audio plays fine.