[jphughan]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

The question NO ONE can answer me is: Will the Y cable work with the lighting adapter attached? Some guy in the X5 forum said yes, and others have said no.. Guy at the ATT store said his buddy has idrive and it works with the adapter.

I might just have to try it.

It absolutely should work with the Lightning adapter. The Lightning adapter handles converting the digital audio output from the iPhone into analog audio, and the Y-cable splits that off into the headphone jack. Meanwhile, the USB control signals would pass through the Y-cable and the Lightning adapter unaltered. I think the naysayers were the same people who initially thought that analog audio output would be impossible with the Lightning adapter because they read "iPod Out not supported" and thought that meant analog audio.

[jonpride]

By then the iPhone 6 will be out and render this useless

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by jonpride

By then the iPhone's 6 will be out and render this useless

Not necessarily. If the next iPhone has the same physical dimensions, it should be fine. Apple's already done that twice: the 3G/3GS and 4/4S twins.

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by jphughan

It absolutely should work with the Lightning adapter. The Lightning adapter handles converting the digital audio output from the iPhone into analog audio, and the Y-cable splits that off into the headphone jack. Meanwhile, the USB control signals would pass through the Y-cable and the Lightning adapter unaltered. I think the naysayers were the same people who initially thought that analog audio output would be impossible with the Lightning adapter because they read "iPod Out not supported" and thought that meant analog audio.

Perfect!! Forget the cradle then..

[X5MC_LI]

The worst part is that by the time this stupid adapter hits the market, apple will come out with a new iPhone again and we will be back to square one......

[GreekboyD]

Thankfully I need a change from Apple so will be looking at other options.

[rallybull]

Originally Posted by lawgone

Agreed. They take forever to get these adapters out and then have the nerve to charge $250 for them! It's a piece of plastic with a little metal connecter that they should charge no more than $50 for (and that's being generous.) $250 is just highway robbery.

well the cost of the raw materials might be little but they need to employ engineers to design, develop and test the stuff and pay their salaries. The workstations that they use, the real estate that they occupy, etc all cost money.

[Jason]

Let's keep this on topic and avoid the usual Apple vs. Android discussions.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by tojo_m

well the cost of the raw materials might be little but they need to employ engineers to design, develop and test the stuff and pay their salaries. The workstations that they use, the real estate that they occupy, etc all cost money.

Also tooling investment and payback timing is all calculated into the cost, they have about a year or two before its obsolete and they will have to have paid for the tooling. Not all cars come with the snap in feature so not every BMW or MINI can use the part. I'm in the auto industry and we do this sort of stuff all the time and you would be surprised by how expensive it is to develop market and sell the part that has to pay for itself in a years time.

The PS3 when released was 699 bucks and they were loosing money on every one sold so sometimes even at the high cost of the part the company takes a loss but their giving you the customer " convenience " or options as it were .......

Now cell phone covers for 30 bucks !!!!!! Now theirs something to bitch about !!!!!

[watrob]

Originally Posted by jonpride

By then the iPhone 6 will be out and render this useless

This will probably happen too!

I bet someone in China will make a cradle, the amount of stretched BMW 3 series driving around there it would be worthwhile, they could make the cradle in 30 days not 7 months.

I am keeping my 4S for the BMW with just a Data Account which is joined to my iPhone 5 account. The iPhone 5 connects via bluetooth for phone calls, SMS & emails. The 4S is in the cradle connected via USB which gives me Internet, Pandora & Apps, it now stays permanently in the X5. Which I think is better not having to take the phone out of the cradle and I can leave the Iphone 5 in my pocket.

I use to have a iPod for music but will use the 4S for that now, if I need to charge the iPhone 5 while in the car I will use the cigarette plug adapter for long trips if needed.

PS. Another thing, if I ever get carjacked, by leaving the 4S in the car I can trace it.

[-c-]

Yea they can make them in 30 days but you can tell .....

OEM's have AAR approvals and quality checks that takes time before release.... We get parts from china and it takes up to 3 months of going back and fourth with tooling fixes before we can start shipping ..... Theirs all types of bad craftsmanship we try and resolve like sink marks and die pull marks and grain and gloss..

It's easy to remark on these thing unless you deal with this day after day and realize the difficulty involved

[Erich2142]

Originally Posted by rjd598

Holy crap I had no idea it cost that much. Definitely not worth it

I know, here in Canada it cost $300 if you get it from the dealer, but i have no idea why people buy it since the cable that comes with the iPhone works! Just plug it in and there you go. You choose the song you want from the iDrive (if you are playing music) and recharges your phone at the same time, all you have to do is connect it through Bluetooth and you will get the calls too.

[Erich2142]

Originally Posted by ATX78703

for a fact, my 2011 e90 (produced 6/2010) and my 2011 E70 (produced 9/2010) do not work without the Y cable; the apple white cable produces "unrecognized device" error on the iDrive. this was with the iphone 4, 4s or the new 5.

My brother-in-law has a 2011 e92 (production 3/2011) which does work just fine with the USB cable alone and I was told this production change was not universal with bmw until oct-nov 2011. (true?)

Doubt it, I have the 09 E92 and the iPhone cable works fine. Maybe because Im in Canada........which doesn't make any sense!

[Erich2142]

Originally Posted by watrob

This will probably happen too!

I bet someone in China will make a cradle, the amount of stretched BMW 3 series driving around there it would be worthwhile, they could make the cradle in 30 days not 7 months.

I am keeping my 4S for the BMW with just a Data Account which is joined to my iPhone 5 account. The iPhone 5 connects via bluetooth for phone calls, SMS & emails. The 4S is in the cradle connected via USB which gives me Internet, Pandora & Apps, it now stays permanently in the X5. Which I think is better not having to take the phone out of the cradle and I can leave the Iphone 5 in my pocket.

I use to have a iPod for music but will use the 4S for that now, if I need to charge the iPhone 5 while in the car I will use the cigarette plug adapter for long trips if needed.

PS. Another thing, if I ever get carjacked, by leaving the 4S in the car I can trace it.

X5 has a GPS locator! So you dont need to log into your iCloud account to locate you iPhone which is in the car. Say that to the cop when your car gets stolen (hopefully it wont) but dont get pissed if he laughs.

[watrob]

Originally Posted by -c-

Yea they can make them in 30 days but you can tell .....

OEM's have AAR approvals and quality checks that takes time before release.... We get parts from china and it takes up to 3 months of going back and fourth with tooling fixes before we can start shipping ..... Theirs all types of bad craftsmanship we try and resolve like sink marks and die pull marks and grain and gloss..

It's easy to remark on these thing unless you deal with this day after day and realize the difficulty involved

I would be just happy if they could fix the email to iDrive problem with IOS 6 and release a Bluetooth update that says it supports IOS 6, the update from this week (UPD01005.bin) still only supports IOS 5.

[rjd598]

Originally Posted by Echoz

I know, here in Canada it cost $300 if you get it from the dealer, but i have no idea why people buy it since the cable that comes with the iPhone works! Just plug it in and there you go. You choose the song you want from the iDrive (if you are playing music) and recharges your phone at the same time, all you have to do is connect it through Bluetooth and you will get the calls too.

I've literally been doing this since 2009 with my 08 5 series and its been great. Can't see it getting any better

[watrob]

Originally Posted by rjd598

I've literally been doing this since 2009 with my 08 5 series and its been great. Can't see it getting any better

You cannot get video out unless its in a cradle and you also get the external antenna, which on our trips into the countryside is required?

[eisenb11]

BMW is making this way too complicated.

All they need to do is make a cradle with the right form factor, and license Apple's signal converter chip (which they have to do anyway) to do the lightning to USB conversion - just like with their $20 lightning to usb cable.

That's all it takes. Everything works except for "plugin" which uses the video out and is worthless anyway because it's such a terrible interface and we're all back in business without having to wait 7 months... because in 11 months the iPhone 5s or 6 or whatever will be out anyway.

If there are any quick moving businessmen out there, that's all you have to do. Make a plastic cradle that fits in the snap-in adapter, license the chip and you'll have every BMW owner out there buying your cradle for $50-$100 easy. (Note: give me a free one for showing you this idea).

[watrob]

Would not worry about the cradle, there other Apple problems coming?

[pyramid]

Apple always create this kind of inconvenient. And the best part is, without prior notice.

The 30pin connector has been used since the birth of iPod, but what most user didn't realise is that its pins assignment was rearranged. Anyone recall that your docking, etc not able to charge newer iPod/IPhone? This is due to the charging current now being supplied through different pin (namely the USB assigned pin) instead of the orignally FireWire assigned pin within that 30pins connector. I'm not talking the actual FireWire or USB port, but the assigned I/O within 30pins connector. This rearrangement my looks just a simple swap, but you need to entirely redesign your electrical layout to do it properly.

Then came when your iPhone shows a lovely message that your connected accessories is not compatible, radio use must be turn off? And when your accessories could not pass any video signal when u use your newer iPod?
Wtf happened? This is due to apple demanded more money by making a proprietory chip to clear both warning and passing video signal. Yes, vendors not only need to pay for license and buy connectors, but must also buy the new additional chip.

And now this 8pin connector... I believe this is huge, it may be a simple job if you only need to pass charging output, but for playing multimedia and full integration (such bmw Idrive in this case), that's another story. I won't be surprised your now compatible accessories will be rendered useless (again) in the near future. No, I'm not apple hater, I have all the iPhones till iPhone 4, countless iPods, IMac and Macbook, but clearly I'm not the apple fanboys either.

...just saying...

[BlueBimmer]

Originally Posted by lawgone

Agreed. They take forever to get these adapters out and then have the nerve to charge $250 for them! It's a piece of plastic with a little metal connecter that they should charge no more than $50 for (and that's being generous.) $250 is just highway robbery.

+1 - they are too expensive!!

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

If I don't have a snap in adapter now, can I add one?

Not unless your car has the bottom plate installed already.

Originally Posted by rjd598

Holy crap I had no idea it cost that much. Definitely not worth it

I have it on an 09 (no video or apps) and until I started streaming Pandora, I hated it, now I think the only problem with it is that its hidden, I tend to forget the phone in the car when I use it.

Originally Posted by DominionXX

What a bunch of cry babies you are!!! Are you really saying that you can't live without the adapter for 7 months...

There are bigger problems in this world than not having an iPhone Adapter for your car.

PUT THINGS IN PROSPECTIVE PEOPLE!!!
.

Yes there are - but this is an internet forum .... please put things in perspective.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by pyramid

The 30pin connector has been used since the birth of iPod, but what most user didn't realise is that its pins assignment was rearranged. Anyone recall that your docking, etc not able to charge newer iPod/IPhone? This is due to the charging current now being supplied through different pin (namely the USB assigned pin) instead of the orignally FireWire assigned pin within that 30pins connector. I'm not talking the actual FireWire or USB port, but the assigned I/O within 30pins connector. This rearrangement my looks just a simple swap, but you need to entirely redesign your electrical layout to do it properly.

It wasn't quite that simple. Apple didn't just say "Hey, charging will now occur on Pin Y rather than Pin X" to screw everyone over. The original 30-pin spec included a full set of FireWire pins AND a full set of USB pins built into the 30-pin spec, including the power pins for both, and all of the FireWire functionality was later removed to repurpose those pins for future uses (such as digital video out). Cloning the existing USB charging support over to the pin that used to supply FireWire current wouldn't have worked to maintain compatibility because a) that would have made for a redundant pin and thus reduced future expansion possibilities, and far more importantly b) FireWire supplies +12V current and USB is +5V.

The whole proprietary chip to get rid of the radio interference warning was indeed pretty lame though, but that warning was also removed in either iOS 4 or 5 regardless of whether the accessory in question had the authentication chip present.