iPhone 3G snap-in adapter

[cpr]

With the phone in the cradle, will I still be able to use the headphone jack to plug the iPhone to the Aux input in the center storage console?

[brian5]

Originally Posted by cpr

With the phone in the cradle, will I still be able to use the headphone jack to plug the iPhone to the Aux input in the center storage console?

Interesting question but the answer is no. Look at these pictures. The snap-in adapter covers the whole top edge.

and


Now one could make a project of it and drill holes through the snap-in adapter to get to the headphone jack...

[adam12hicks]

Sorry to jump in here, but the biggest difference with the 3G is the charging pins. The old charging adapters used the firewire charging pin, where the 3G doesn't support charging with that pin. It uses the USB charging contact on the plug.

I have the OEM iPod adapter in my X5, Z4 M Roadster AND on the Alpine head unit in my 1991 318is e30 and NONE of them will charge the 3G now

Sux!

[carlgo]

How does the cradle do the antenna boost with iPhones? They have no antenna connection, so it couldn't work unless the car was fitted with a repeater. Unless there is some other technology.

It would seem a repeater would be a cool feature for an expensive vehicle.

[brian5]

Originally Posted by carlgo

How does the cradle do the antenna boost with iPhones? They have no antenna connection, so it couldn't work unless the car was fitted with a repeater. Unless there is some other technology.

It would seem a repeater would be a cool feature for an expensive vehicle.

It's not iPhone specific. Any phone in this adapter connects to the car’s external antenna for a stronger boosted signal.

Some people have said that they have not noticed any stronger signal on their phones. I definitely have on my Motorola RAZR V3 -- where I live in CT, AT&T does not have good service and I frequently see two more bars when I have the RAZR in the cradle.

[brian5]

Originally Posted by adam12hicks

Sorry to jump in here, but the biggest difference with the 3G is the charging pins. The old charging adapters used the firewire charging pin, where the 3G doesn't support charging with that pin. It uses the USB charging contact on the plug.

I have the OEM iPod adapter in my X5, Z4 M Roadster AND on the Alpine head unit in my 1991 318is e30 and NONE of them will charge the 3G now

Sux!

adam,

Trying to figure out what you're saying here. Are you talking about the snap-in adapter or the iPod adapter?

I would not expect a 3G snap-in adapter to have any problems. I don't how Firewire or USB would come into that.

The iPod adapter may be different. My 2008 X5 has iPod adapter (with USB) and the 3G charges just fine on that.

[adam12hicks]

Sorry what I was referring to is the docking connector on the bottom of the iPhone. Some of the tiny pins that connect are for USB based power (if you had the iPhone plugged into your PC with a USB plug) and some are for Firewire. I don't believe apple is supporting Firewire connections any longer, so that pin on the bottom of the iPhone's connector will not accept a power source any longer. The BMW iPod OEM kits and even my Alpine iPod cable (which worked great and powered my first gen iPhone) will no longer power the 3G. It sounds like BMW might have used the USB power pin for the cradle, so if so you're good to go. My 3G will play audio as usual through my three BMW's connectors but will not charge.

[brian5]

Originally Posted by adam12hicks

Sorry what I was referring to is the docking connector on the bottom of the iPhone. Some of the tiny pins that connect are for USB based power (if you had the iPhone plugged into your PC with a USB plug) and some are for Firewire. I don't believe apple is supporting Firewire connections any longer, so that pin on the bottom of the iPhone's connector will not accept a power source any longer. The BMW iPod OEM kits and even my Alpine iPod cable (which worked great and powered my first gen iPhone) will no longer power the 3G. It sounds like BMW might have used the USB power pin for the cradle, so if so you're good to go. My 3G will play audio as usual through my three BMW's connectors but will not charge.

Yes, on other Apple-oriented forums, I have read of a number of people who don't get charging on their 3G. I don't remember where I saw it now, but it seemed to be narrowing to those with 2008 BMWs that have the 3G charging capability; no older BMWs reported charging capability. That implies that it be related to the newer 6FL (iPod y-adapter) that BMW has supplied since around November 2007 time-frame. The newer Y-adapter cable has a part # of 61120440796. The part # that I actually see on the Y-adapter is "0 440 796"

[X5WannaBe]

Originally Posted by brian5

It's not iPhone specific. Any phone in this adapter connects to the car’s external antenna for a stronger boosted signal.

Some people have said that they have not noticed any stronger signal on their phones. I definitely have on my Motorola RAZR V3 -- where I live in CT, AT&T does not have good service and I frequently see two more bars when I have the RAZR in the cradle.

May I ask how you went about getting the V3 to hook up? I have the correct V3 snap-in adaptor for my '07 E70 but it seems an eject box is also required? Where did you get yours and how difficult was the installation? I ordered the adaptor right after buying the car, but the part has just sat on my shelf given the absence of an eject box and perceived difficulty of installation...

[brian5]

Originally Posted by X5WannaBe

May I ask how you went about getting the V3 to hook up? I have the correct V3 snap-in adaptor for my '07 E70 but it seems an eject box is also required? Where did you get yours and how difficult was the installation? I ordered the adaptor right after buying the car, but the part has just sat on my shelf given the absence of an eject box and perceived difficulty of installation...

Regard the V3 snap-in adapter installation in my '08 E70, some of that is documented in this thread . I exchanged a fair number of emails with srfishhooks (who was very helpful) to try to get the wire and connector under the center console without having to the whole console storage compartment, and more, apart.

Basically, I ended up with a satisfactory result in that it all works and looks good. Only issue is that if you lift up the eject box, you see the phone cable running from front to back inside the glove box. It was a LOT more difficult to do the install than I expected. Also, it's very expensive buying all these parts. I did buy the eject box, frame and snap-in adapter from Morristown BMW (on this forum) so I got a good discount but it still cost about $270.

Would I do it again? Probably not (especially now that my primary devices are my iPhone 3G and my work BlackBerry). Note that I have seen an improvement in signal strength in my area but there are people that not seen any improvement -- for them this looks like an expensive option just to be able to charge your phone...