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BMW Car Charger Not Working With New iPhone 3G S

Anyone else having problems with the new 3G S with the cars built in USB charger? I called BMW thinking that it may have been a defect with the charger, and I was told that the problem is with the new software. Anyone have any answers or experiencing the same problem? I have another iphone, a 3G, and that is not working either, ever since I have installed the new software, but was working perfectly before. What gives and does anyone know if a fix is coming?
Thanks

Dell, Windows XP

Posted on Jun 22, 2009 6:39 AM

28 replies

wvillers

Level 1

0 points

Jun 27, 2009 3:16 PM in response to renz13

Same here, with an 09 328i... The 3G with OS3.0 charged fine, the 3GS doesn't, and complains about it not being compatible, very frustrating!

RDO CA

Level 1

0 points

Jun 27, 2009 10:50 PM in response to wvillers

It is not just the cars but alot of speaker systems --I have 2 diff Bose docks and neither will charge the 3gs but the 1st gen phone will. Also have a Altec Lansing that will not charge but all will play. I have a 1st gen apple dock that I opened up with a dremel tool to fit the 3gs and it charges ok connected to a computer.

Jun 28, 2009 4:54 AM in response to RDO CA

I've started to get some consistency with charging. What has worked for me is to unplug the USB side of the Y adapter from the car, leaving the AUX side of the adapter plugged in, then plug the iPhone into the cable. Once it's plugged in, I can then plug the USB side of the adapter back into the car and it starts charging.

Here's my working theory - the iPhone 3.0 OS is confused by wanting to play music, read the drive to display in iDrive, and charge.

wegras

Level 6

15,311 points

Jun 28, 2009 9:31 AM in response to Bunky

Apple certainly did change the plug configuration on the Classic, iTouch and 3G
I have the bluetooth BMW cradle which BMW released in Feb 09 .That handles charging
and an enhanced external signal with factory integrated B/T on my 3G (not a s )
The previous cradle (iPhone original)was not compatible with the later 3G .
If the cord predates 2008 then unlikely to work.
does your 7 series take the B/T cradle if so the latest 3G version should work with
an iPhone 3Gs

wvillers

Level 1

0 points

Jun 28, 2009 10:09 AM in response to macmathteacher

Thanks for the tip, didn't think about trying that! Would be cool if it worked, I don't really want to spend any more after being charged an arm and a leg by BMW... Do you have to do this every time you plug the phone?

mbchugh

Level 1

0 points

Jun 29, 2009 7:27 AM in response to renz13

I'm actually having a problem with my Schosche auto power adapter. I bought it from Target to power my ipod and it worked great. The first day it worked great with my new iphone 3gs... but the next time I went to charge my iphone 3gs, it started beeping repeatedly (that same beep you hear when you charge it up via USB), so I finally unplugged it. The very next time I plugged it in, there was no indication of any charging whatsoever (no beep, no graphics / icons appeared). Does this sound like a problem with the power adapter or with the phone? I have not called either yet for tech support.

wvillers

Level 1

0 points

Jun 29, 2009 12:02 PM in response to wvillers

Darn, it didn't work... Maybe, just maybe, BMW is going to send replacement cables with different pinouts...

Jul 2, 2009 8:43 AM in response to renz13

Has anyone found a solution to this problem? Haven't seen anyone verify that the third party adapter consistently works.

wvillers

Level 1

0 points

Jul 2, 2009 2:36 PM in response to Quarterhorse

Quarterhorse wrote:
Has anyone found a solution to this problem? Haven't seen anyone verify that the third party adapter consistently works.

Here's the official answer from BMW:

+We are aware of the issue which was caused when Apple unexpectedly changed the hardware protocols for many of their devices. We have started development of a new interface cable with an inline 12- 5 volt converter that will allow the newer Apple designs to charge without issue. The new cables are currently undergoing approval at Apple.+

+As these devices were create well after the development of our interface it was impossible for us to anticipate this issue. We appreciate your patience as we wait for Apple to formally approve of our solution.+

So there is a solution in the works at BMW, I wonder if they're going to try to charge us for it...

MrAceXPS

Level 1

6 points

Jul 2, 2009 5:26 PM in response to West29

I fell victim to the technology issue in my 2008 535xi. The original iPhone worked fine, but the iPhone 3g would not work and of course the 3gs won't work.

I am not sure how much it will cost to get an upgraded dock connection, but I plan on looking into it.

In the interim, I bought a Belkin 3.5mm cable and plug my 3gs into the aux input in the center console. I use a USB charger to charge the phone at the same time. The sound is great and I get no interference. Of course, I can't use the iDrive to control the songs, need to use the iPhone.

renz13 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 15, 2009 7:26 AM in response to renz13

Hello all-
just some information on this topic. I have a brand new 2009 BMW 335xi, with the ipod interface with the newest idrive system, worked and charged perfectly. Worked perfectly with my iphone 3G, as soon as I installed the 3.0 software, the phone no longer charges. I have recently upgraded to the iphone 3GS, same exact thing, charging is not working, but playing!!! Great for a long trip, thanks Apple!!!!

I went to my local apple store, they told me they were not aware of the problem, tried to sell me a few adapters, none worked. They are dumbfounded, and not really tech savy. I went to see my dealer, the car is two months old, and wondered why this happened. The blame is all on Apple here, they changed the power requirements without informing anyone about it. The software on the BMW will need to be updated as newer build BMW's charge and play (iIhave seen it personally) the iphone 3GS perfectly. BMW has not yet released any sort of bulletin on this situation, but people are complaining and letting them know about it. My rep and service guy all seem to think it has to do with the cable which will need to be changed because of the power requirements the software has changed. Hopefully BMW comes out with this new cable soon, as I paid speficically for this feature and it does not work anymore the way it was intended.
Would be great if someone from Apple would at the very least acknowledge that there is a problem and not beat around the bush!!!!!!!!!!

eluderm3

Level 1

0 points

Jul 15, 2009 9:36 AM in response to renz13

This thread:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2073125&tstart=0

Contains additional information. I am able to get full charging and functionality (the same as I got with my 3G) with my 3GS on my late-08 M3 sedan.

Jul 28, 2009 8:20 PM in response to renz13

I have a new BMW 2009 328i. I purchased it in April and I had a blackberry car charger. It worked without a problem. I got the iPhone 3GS and am getting the same "device not supported" when plugging into the usb port in the bmw. However, using the "car charger" to charge the iphone, it won't charge either!! I brought two different ones and can't charge the iphone using the actual car charger. Has anyone else seen this???

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BMW Car Charger Not Working With New iPhone 3G S