temporary solution for iPhone 3G/6FL charging problem

solefald · 08-04-2008, 05:53 PM

Since Apple decided to quietly disable firewire (12V) charge pins and only leave us with USB (5V) charge pins, many people noticed that iPhone 3G will not charge with some accessories.

Many manufacturers used firewire pins for charging in cars, because they did not need to step down voltage from 12V to 5V. Anyway, there is a company that will be releasing a $40 converter that plugs into an existing accessory, but not until September.

I decided to see if I can just charge the iPhone 3G with a USB cable that came with it, and while i was able to charge, my E92 decided that it was an AUX device, but of course, i was not able to control it or play the music.
Having it charge with USB cable and play music via Audio out does not work either, because USB port takes priority over Audio port.

Next step was just to get a regular car charger and a simple audio cable with 1/8" jacks on each end. That worked great! I'm still not able to control the iPhone from the head unit, but at least i can charge it, play music and still make and receive calls via Bluetooth. One caveat over here, though. Your iPod charger has to be small enough for your arm rest lid to close. I found one from Griffin that works perfectly!

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerjoltse

Make sure you don't get one with the USB port on top where you would have to plug a cable into. They are too tall for the armrest

There is also a Belkin adapter that has audio out built in, but im not sure it will will fit into the armrest

AoshichanX · 08-04-2008, 06:09 PM

Thanks for sharing!

gmoney · 08-05-2008, 12:36 AM

So just to clarify... for those of us who ordered the iPod integrated adapter with the car for $500, and whose first gen iPhone was charging... this will no longer work with the 3G, thus I'm forced to buy an adapter?

solefald · 08-05-2008, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmoney

So just to clarify... for those of us who ordered the iPod integrated adapter with the car for $500, and whose first gen iPhone was charging... this will no longer work with the 3G, thus I'm forced to buy an adapter?

yes. I'm pretty sure BMW will release new 6FL cable too, but who knows then this will happen.

purplewidow · 08-17-2008, 01:44 PM

yeah i would have thought bmw and apple would have teamed up on this since bmw was the first with all the ipods and stuff.. by the time they came out with an iphone adapter for the original a few months later the iphone 3g comes out... now i would think this would be a simple fix for bmw and they would make bank on the item... if fabrication is so easy what is taking them so long... i bet apple is screwing with them.. they won't even admit an issue with there 3g reception.. stupid apple.. i used my htc tilt and have no issues with 3g with my iphone it's messed up and this is my second iphone 3g my first breaking due to a screen failure but first wasn't allowing me to call out.. then within a couple hours the screen died.... wtf is apple doing.. why won't they admit a problem and say "we are working on a fix" if all the other 3g phones are working fine then it's not att it's apple. steve jobs needs someone to pull a 32000 ft pole out of his ass. with all the $$$ and anticipation for this phone they should have had a fix already.. hell within a couple days the iphone 3g had a software update. i will say it does work flawlessly in the car.

don't get me wrong I LOVE the phone and all the Apps but the faster internet was what i was after... i shouldn't go from full bars on edge to 1 on 3g. it is supposed to switch seamlessly from edge to 3g without delay and there is a delay and it is longer than a few secs.. maybe 15-20 for full conversion... now i am on edge until they fix the 3g issue which they aren't even admitting they are doing. STEVE JOBS GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!!!

08-04-2008, 05:53 PM	#1
solefald Nigerian Prince 385 Rep 2,180 Posts Drives: '11 F25 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: San Diego, CA iTrader: (2) Garage List '11 BMW F25 [0.00]	temporary solution for iPhone 3G/6FL charging problem Since Apple decided to quietly disable firewire (12V) charge pins and only leave us with USB (5V) charge pins, many people noticed that iPhone 3G will not charge with some accessories. Many manufacturers used firewire pins for charging in cars, because they did not need to step down voltage from 12V to 5V. Anyway, there is a company that will be releasing a $40 converter that plugs into an existing accessory, but not until September. I decided to see if I can just charge the iPhone 3G with a USB cable that came with it, and while i was able to charge, my E92 decided that it was an AUX device, but of course, i was not able to control it or play the music. Having it charge with USB cable and play music via Audio out does not work either, because USB port takes priority over Audio port. Next step was just to get a regular car charger and a simple audio cable with 1/8" jacks on each end. That worked great! I'm still not able to control the iPhone from the head unit, but at least i can charge it, play music and still make and receive calls via Bluetooth. One caveat over here, though. Your iPod charger has to be small enough for your arm rest lid to close. I found one from Griffin that works perfectly! http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerjoltse Make sure you don't get one with the USB port on top where you would have to plug a cable into. They are too tall for the armrest There is also a Belkin adapter that has audio out built in, but im not sure it will will fit into the armrest __________________ http://soundcloud.com/djtchort
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08-04-2008, 06:09 PM	#2
AoshichanX Brigadier General 265 Rep 3,103 Posts Drives: Jet Black e90 335i Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Claremont, CA iTrader: (16) Garage List 2007 e90 335i [0.00]	Thanks for sharing!
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08-05-2008, 12:36 AM	#3
gmoney Second Lieutenant 32 Rep 240 Posts Drives: 335 Coupe Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	So just to clarify... for those of us who ordered the iPod integrated adapter with the car for $500, and whose first gen iPhone was charging... this will no longer work with the 3G, thus I'm forced to buy an adapter?
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08-17-2008, 01:44 PM	#5
purplewidow Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,928 Posts Drives: e92 335 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago iTrader: (2)	yeah i would have thought bmw and apple would have teamed up on this since bmw was the first with all the ipods and stuff.. by the time they came out with an iphone adapter for the original a few months later the iphone 3g comes out... now i would think this would be a simple fix for bmw and they would make bank on the item... if fabrication is so easy what is taking them so long... i bet apple is screwing with them.. they won't even admit an issue with there 3g reception.. stupid apple.. i used my htc tilt and have no issues with 3g with my iphone it's messed up and this is my second iphone 3g my first breaking due to a screen failure but first wasn't allowing me to call out.. then within a couple hours the screen died.... wtf is apple doing.. why won't they admit a problem and say "we are working on a fix" if all the other 3g phones are working fine then it's not att it's apple. steve jobs needs someone to pull a 32000 ft pole out of his ass. with all the $$$ and anticipation for this phone they should have had a fix already.. hell within a couple days the iphone 3g had a software update. i will say it does work flawlessly in the car. don't get me wrong I LOVE the phone and all the Apps but the faster internet was what i was after... i shouldn't go from full bars on edge to 1 on 3g. it is supposed to switch seamlessly from edge to 3g without delay and there is a delay and it is longer than a few secs.. maybe 15-20 for full conversion... now i am on edge until they fix the 3g issue which they aren't even admitting they are doing. STEVE JOBS GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!!!
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