[zerodb]

Could be a bad cable, could be a loose contact in the jack, or could be dust/lint in the jack.

Also, I just got a cable from ebay and it doesn't work right (charges and plays music but no control through the BMW stereo, have to use the ipod manually) - your experience may vary.

[Captain Oblivious]

Originally Posted by tag824

That's by design. Once you stop scrolling you should see the names again.

Right. But is this what people call the 'fast scroll?'

[arabbmw]

Originally Posted by zerodb

Could be a bad cable, could be a loose contact in the jack, or could be dust/lint in the jack.

Also, I just got a cable from ebay and it doesn't work right (charges and plays music but no control through the BMW stereo, have to use the ipod manually) - your experience may vary.

which cable did you buy?

Im gonna try an ebay alternative, just wanna make sure i try a different one.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Captain Oblivious

Right. But is this what people call the 'fast scroll?'

Yes, it is. It use to be extremely slow because it had to display all the names when scrolling. They then changed the interface to show the number instead of name to speed scrolling up until you stop and then the names show. IMO the 6FL is a very disappointing interface to the iPod.

[drivecar]

Originally Posted by hifidawg09

I am using the ycable with a Nano 4th gen ipod 6FL option.
Everything works great.I can control the player and use playlists etc and the battery charges. My only problem is that if I leave it plugged in with the car OFF the battery gets drained in a few hours. I have no idea why this is happening. I understand that the power to the y cable will cut out 20-30 min after the key is out and the car is locked. I have no idea why the darn thing will not go into standby mode after the power is cut. Something is preventing it from going to sleep. Is anyone else having this issue? Maybe its only on the 4th gen Nano. I have firmware 1.04 btw and the BMW has all the latest programming as well. Sucks to have to disconnect the Nano every time or else the battery is going to crap out very soon!

It is a design flaw. The same thing happens if you leave a plain USB flash stick plugged in. May cars' battery died overnight not because the USB stick was drawing enough power to drain the battery, but because the car didn't go to sleep and the car's other internal systems kept drawing power through the night.
I have a USB stick with a LED light that flashes when it's active and it doesn't stop flashing even after the car is turned off.
BMW needs to fix this flaw. It's a hassle to unplug USB every time you park and this isn't a problem on non-BMW vehicles with USB.
It shouldn't be that difficult to set the USB port to power off either instantly with the ignition or better yet after 10 or 15 minutes of the engine being off.

[m635csi]

Originally Posted by drivecar

It is a design flaw. The same thing happens if you leave a plain USB flash stick plugged in. May cars' battery died overnight not because the USB stick was drawing enough power to drain the battery, but because the car didn't go to sleep and the car's other internal systems kept drawing power through the night.
I have a USB stick with a LED light that flashes when it's active and it doesn't stop flashing even after the car is turned off.
BMW needs to fix this flaw. It's a hassle to unplug USB every time you park and this isn't a problem on non-BMW vehicles with USB.
It shouldn't be that difficult to set the USB port to power off either instantly with the ignition or better yet after 10 or 15 minutes of the engine being off.

any fix for this yet?

[Xsapper]

I have this option in my E90 and tend to leave my ipod connected to the car all the time. The problem is that the car will not pick up the Ipod first thing in the morning. I can try everything but nothing will show. Is my Ipod in deep sleep mode?
Has anyone got a similar issue?

[zerodb]

Originally Posted by Xsapper

I have this option in my E90 and tend to leave my ipod connected to the car all the time. The problem is that the car will not pick up the Ipod first thing in the morning. I can try everything but nothing will show. Is my Ipod in deep sleep mode?
Has anyone got a similar issue?

will your iPod turn on if it's NOT plugged into the car?

The battery on my 4g iPod video is pretty shot and it behaves this way, the battery is so dead it won't wake up until the car has charged it up for awhile.

[HazChem]

I only have issues with it if I haven't driven it after more than 3 days. When that happens, I have to wait about a minute before it begins playing. At that point, I have to set the playlist that I want to listen to.

[fernande-bmw]

I read the 50+ pages in this thread, but I haven't found a specific answer to my questions.

I am getting a 2010 335i sedan with the 6FL option (iPod/USB integration) without iDrive. So, I will just control the iPod with the radio buttons.

First, I am trying to find the list of compatible devices with this option, where compatible means the ability to sync _and_ charge the device. I am specifically interested in compatibility with the following iPod models:

• iPod video 5.5 gen
• iPod touch 3rd gen

Second, is there a place where I can get the manual for the 6FL option? I want to know about the level of control provided, e.g., playlists, search, shuffle, skip, play, etc.

Finally, I read recently that the audio from the provided Y cable is horrible even though it is coming from the iPod's line out. Can anyone confirm that? If that's the case, what's the value of this option and what alternative is there to get the best quality audio from the iPod?

Thanks!

[danniexi]

6fl has been frustrating me.

A few months back, my 6fl crapped out on me. I have the cable, it played fine on my car, and i had the songs on my idrive with no issues.

One day, my ipod was connected (charging), but nothing was loading to my idrive. A message shows up saying "loading data..." but nothing ever happens.

I took it to the dealer, the replaced the part, and told me that they connected another ipod and it was working fine. I got the car back yesterday and tried connecting my ipod again and it didn't work. The same issue happens again... "loading data..." message shows up and simply freezes there.

I tried both on my first gen ipod touch and iphone 3g.

[yromulus]

Just for info:

I have a UK 2009 E92 with the 6FL option.

Being a cheapskate I tried getting a cable off the internet and it didn't work - the IPhone 3GS never appeared on the iDrive. So I swallowed my pride and bought the official BMW lead (a bit of a rip-off IMHO). According to the parts man at the garage they've only ever had one type of cable and he told me up front it would NOT charge the 3GS. He was right. It plays fine but runs down if you do anything silly like listen to the IPhone and take calls on a drive longer than an hour or so...

So, I went back onto the internet and bought one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=270445089743

This now allows the IPhone to charge so I'm happy. Although heaven knows why some people get theirs charging without any help and some don't. Seems bizarre.

[CrunchTime]

I just took delivery of my 09 335i today and was given a Y-cable with part #61-12-0-440-796. But it does not charge my iphone 3GS. My wife's iphone 2G charges fine. I also have a Scoche Passport adapter which works for charing the 3GS on my last car, but does not work on the BMW. I spent an hour reading this thread. Could not find a definite answer. For some people with Y-cable of the same part #, their iphone 3G/3GS charge fine. Some people seem have be out of luck like me. Please help... Thanks!

[zivyn]

Originally Posted by drivecar

It is a design flaw. The same thing happens if you leave a plain USB flash stick plugged in. May cars' battery died overnight not because the USB stick was drawing enough power to drain the battery, but because the car didn't go to sleep and the car's other internal systems kept drawing power through the night.
I have a USB stick with a LED light that flashes when it's active and it doesn't stop flashing even after the car is turned off.
BMW needs to fix this flaw. It's a hassle to unplug USB every time you park and this isn't a problem on non-BMW vehicles with USB.
It shouldn't be that difficult to set the USB port to power off either instantly with the ignition or better yet after 10 or 15 minutes of the engine being off.

Sorry for the long quote, but figured context was important. Anyone found a fix for this yet? Software or otherwise, whatever works really.

I emailed BMW tech support via the website and after two days of back and forth over basic info they sent a blanket email that basically stated "all our technical info with with the dealer, please contact your local service department for technical questions." which was pretty disappointing. I was kinda hoping some simple firmware update could be put out, doesn't seem like an unreasonable request.

Didn't find anything (not that I expected to) when looking for a USB cable with power toggle on google.

I know the above poster said the plugged in flash drive killed his battery. Has anyone else had this happen? I feel like an iPod shouldn't draw enough to kill a battery over a day or two, but if it prevents other parts of the car from going to sleep who knows.

[listerone]

Originally Posted by drivecar

May cars' battery died overnight not because the USB stick was drawing enough power to drain the battery, but because the car didn't go to sleep and the car's other internal systems kept drawing power through the night.I have a USB stick with a LED light that flashes when it's active and it doesn't stop flashing even after the car is turned off.

What year and model do you drive? Thanks to this thread I've just discovered the "USB drive connected via 6FL" thing and was looking forward to having a 16MB chip permenently connected in the center armrest.

[Ron1n]

Just FYI. Picked up my car yesterday and hooked up my iPhone (3GS). I got the "This accessory was not designed for this phone" thing, clicked No (so that I didn't put the phone in Airplane mode), and it charges and plays through fine. Don't like the shortness of the cable, though..quite a pita if I need to see something on my phone, because I then need to open up my armrest and uncomfortably angle to see what's on the phone.

Originally Posted by arabbmw

hopefully someone can answer this for me, but sometimes my music will cut in and out or
sound half way on, or it will only play on the right side of the car when my ipod is
connected through the usb/aux of the 6fl system. Ill then have to pull and play with the cable till it goes back to normal.

Is the problem the car, the cable, or the ipod? (ive tried 2 different ipods and same thing)

Just wanted to ask before i go buy a new cable

It's the Aux cable...jiggle it around until full sound comes back...that's been my experience, anyway.

Originally Posted by listerone

What year and model do you drive? Thanks to this thread I've just discovered the "USB drive connected via 6FL" thing and was looking forward to having a 16MB chip permenently connected in the center armrest.

Problem with that is that now you've got no place to charge your phone (unless in the '09s, you still have an actual ashtray).

[mimiandi]

Guys,

Going through usb retrofit pdf, i see mention of 620, voice control, 640 phone prep, 644 mobile phone with bluetooth, and 609 navi but no mention of car with 639 which is complete phone setup (Telematics ; Cellular phone preparation; Wireless connection Bluetooth; Cellular phone Bluetooth; Online information system ).

I want to figure out what is it that i need to purchase .... usb retrofit cable and something more?

Would appreciate it if someone can shed some light... i have 2009 323i.

thx

[mimiandi]

It seems like despite i have BT + voice command (only for the phone) and Assist, I will still need to purchase ULF (universal hand free unit) to retrofit 6FL.

Recent TCU are coded to do BT + Voice Command and yes Assist... exactly what I have. For USB, you would need ULF. For those who wants to know where this ULF unit is .. it's under the TCU which is located in the trunk below the cover in e90.

Hope this clears any confusion for some people and saves time searching..

[LEDZEP]

While I'm searching... does anyone know if the Genius function can be used via 6FL? Would it show up as a playlist option?

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by stefano7171

You are a genius! thanks a lot, finally I will be able to listen to some artist whose name does not only start with an "A" or "B" (I have lost my patience everytime, before arriving to the "C"!!!!)
Ciao!

Stefano

I second that! That is a brilliant idea, I might try it!

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by ScottyGams

no genuis option in 6FL, i drive would need an update to support this feature. of course it is possible, if BMW did some programming.

right now shuffle is your only option for mixes in car

Hmmm.... darn. I still have a really old iPod that doesn't support Genius, but am thinking about buying a new 3G iPod Touch. Was hoping that maybe it would transfer as a playlist option. Although, I can easily see the challenges of having the dynamic Genius function work while listening to a specific song. *That* would definately require a new sub-menu option.

[RonRed89]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

While I'm searching... does anyone know if the Genius function can be used via 6FL? Would it show up as a playlist option?

It does not support genius or display any of the Genius Playlists from any of the newer iPods unfortunately.

Ron