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Voice Control not working with aux cable connected in car

I connect my iPhone in the car via a stereo line out from the headphone jack.

When I try to use the new Voice Control, my iPhone seems to think there's a microphone connected, and doesn't pick up my speaking commands. Bummer since in the car is the best use case for voice commands.

Anyone else having this problem? Or solved it? Or am I just dense? 🙂

iPhone 3G S, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Jun 19, 2009 6:22 PM

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Posted on Jun 19, 2009 7:03 PM

the microphone and the speaker connection are one and the same so yes your phone is going to think that you have a microphone connected. Cause it cant tell the difference.
10 replies

Jun 19, 2009 11:02 PM in response to Kaiser Mitsu

Sounds like an ideal opportunity for Belkin or someone similar to make a car-suitable breakout cable for the 3GS headphone jack. Such a cable might plug into the phone, presenting separate jacks for audio out and microphone in. You might then use a small wired mic clipped to your visor for voice control purposes. Don't know if it will get made though.

Jun 23, 2009 4:41 AM in response to rvrabel

I've seen other reports where it worked even with something plugged into the headphone port, but I've never gotten it to work. I wish I knew what the trick was. In any case, I would think that TomTom's new car mount will work with Voice Control since it will have a microphone in it, so that might be a solution if you don't want to try one of those adapters.

Jul 6, 2009 10:01 AM in response to OmahaJim

I ran into the same issue... the first time i plugged in my phone it worked great with voice control and an aux input... second time i plugged it in.. it didnt work at all and the voice control screen came up on its own as soon as i plugged in the cable.

I finally realized what was differernt .. the first time i plugged it in.. I left the belkin headphone adapter that I used to have to use on my 2G iphone plugged in... it seems like it either has a mic built into it or is wired to not shut off the internal mic.

If i remove the adapter and plug the cable straight into the phone.. voice control cannot hear what im saying.

Jul 8, 2009 4:28 PM in response to km6b77

I connected my iPhone 3Gs to my Alpine head unit via the KCE-422i Full Speed Cable. Although I can can hear and control the audio via Voice Control & iPod. It would be very nice to hear the voice prompt and confirmation voice through the car speakers rather than the quite iPhone speakers. Otherwise, there is no other method to know, who I have called, what artist I have selected, or what is currently playing.

Does anybody know of a fix for this feature. I am hoping and assuming that this will be a simple software fix through iTunes via the next update.

Jul 9, 2009 12:30 PM in response to Fuzzbear

I have the same problem now, but nothing has changed on my end. When I first got the phone, I plugged it into the line-in on my car stereo and voice control worked great. In fact, I was so used to it after two weeks it became a for granted thing. NOW, I try to use it and it doesn't respond at all.... WHAT HAPPENED? I'm about ready to take this thing back if I can't find a resolution!

Jul 11, 2009 10:04 AM in response to Christopher995

I was having the same problem, but seem to have found a workaround without having to buy any special products. First off I think there is clearly a bug, so submit feedback to Apple to get them to fix it.

As for the solution, what I've found is that voice control launches and the mic is disabled when I plug the mic cable into the phone jack AND the other end of the mic cable is plugged into something that is POWERED (i.e. your car stereo, powered external computer speakers). I have a BMW with an AUX port in my armrest. I can either unplug the 3.5mm cable from the armrest before I plug the other end of the cable into the iPhone (kind of a pain), or I simply plug the mic into the iPhone BEFORE I power on the car. It's so sensitive in my car that even if I just put the key fob into the dash, the voice control will turn on when I plug the 3.5mm cable in. So far in two weeks I've only had this process fail once, and couldn't figure out why.

I've seen people post that the cable makes a difference, but I'm not convinced. I did buy a cable at BestBuy made by Dynex for $5. It was the non fancy one that's back in the home theater section, not the $20 one in the iPod section that has gold plated tips.

Just to be clear, if my car is powered on, it's a guarantee that voice dial activates and the mic is deactivated.

Voice Control not working with aux cable connected in car

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