Level 1

1 points

Blue Mikey: anyone use one. Problem on iPhone4

Hi,

I just got the new iPhone4 and my Blue Mikey doesn't work any more (it worked just fine on my 8GB 3G phone). A message pops up saying '*accessory not supported by iPhone*' with a dismiss button, but you can't press the 'dismiss' button because the message disappears and then re-appears over and over again until you remove the Mikey. The blue power light never comes on.

Hope there is a fix for this because I use the Mikey at every band practice with the FiRe recorder.

iPhone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Jun 24, 2010 8:41 AM

30 replies

Landrix

Level 1

29 points

Jul 13, 2010 4:19 PM in response to walterw

Ahhh. Thanks for pointing that out! Everybody, I was WRONG. I don't mind saying it.

Today led me on a mission to get all data together, and sure enough, it was a bad Mikey. I'm afraid further investigation may reveal that a friend got mine very wet, so I'm just going to stop looking into it. 😉

But know this: original platform hardwares for Mikey continues to work, and iPhone 4 & iPad do not. (as long as your mikey is good, lol)

Landrix

Level 1

29 points

Jul 13, 2010 4:27 PM in response to Mike Meyer

Good call, and I think people are mistaken when they see 4G and think iPhone when that is obviously not meant.

For those who don't know, iPods are referred to by generation and iPhones are known by model numbers.

iPhone 3G was the SECOND iPhone, and is known as 3G because it uses a 3G network. 3GS was the third phone, and now we have iPhone 4.

I really do believe however that Blue listed iPhone as compatible hardware at some point but they don't anymore.

Oh well, I'd like to see a solution for iPhone 4, and I think taking away developer access to the internal A/D converters is a step backwards, not forward. Just be sure that if a product like this is developed for the newer platform it will be more expensive to create since audio conversion must be done outboard.

casssax Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 15, 2010 9:04 AM in response to Landrix

I posted on Blue's facebook wall yesterday asking if they had any news and someone from blue responded with a link.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbudurl.com%2FSecondMikey&h=65337

It says:
Compatibility
This second generation Mikey is compatible with iPod 5G; iPod Classic, iPod Nano 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, iPod touch 1G, 2G, 3G and *iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS*.

*iPhone 4 & iPad?*
Apple’s iPad and iPhone 4 employ a new 30-pin connector protocol which replaces the analog audio input (utilized by Mikey) with a digital USB interface, making them incompatible with the Blue Mikey. Blue Microphones is committed to developing leading-edge audio accessories for the latest technology platforms and will continue to create products that integrate updated technologies with the highest quality audio capture.

*iPhone 4 users, stay tuned!* Everyone else, look for a 2nd gen Mikey near you at the end of August!

Condenser mics need phantom power but dynamic mics do not. Couldn't they come out with a dynamic version for the new phones if power is the only issue.

I think having a battery is one solution, but that takes up space that might make the mikey too bulky. Plus what would be worse than having the battery die in the middle of a recording. having to plug it in to an external source would be a horrible idea. This is supposed to be portable.

I still have my 3G and I'm holding on to it until there is a solution. I'm not planing to upgrade to OS4, don't want to take any chances and I've heard that the 3G's don't work very well with the new software.

Jul 19, 2010 3:44 PM in response to casssax

It seems this is easy to misunderstand. To my knowledge, Blue Mikey V1 and V2 work with all models of iPod and iPhone they were designed for (as for iOS 4.x, I don't know). They do not, and that is the point of this thread, work with iPhone 4.

If Apple has removed analogue audio in from the 30-pin connector in newer products, this is a hardware change and no software update will fix it.

I've been eyeing an Blue Mikey V2 some time, and am glad I saw this thread.

Blue can of course choose to release a V3 of Mikey with digital audio output. They do excellent USB mics, so they certainly have the know-how. If they do, I'd hope they put a "compatibility switch" on it, so you can choose wether to output analogue or digital signals. That way, it could work on both old and new hardware. No comfort for people who bought a V1 or V2 hoping to use it on a iPhone 4, but...

Message was edited by: Jan Renell who was wrong about some things

Jul 19, 2010 3:57 PM in response to casssax

Oh, the part on Blue's blog about iPhone 4 and iPad has been reduced to "Awaiting a statement from Apple." What's up?

Message was edited by: Jan Renell

Jul 30, 2010 5:49 AM in response to casssax

Bummer. I bought a Blue Mikey original version a month ago and it worked great with my 3GS... no good on my beautiful new iPhone4. Grrr.

evnmove

Level 1

8 points

Dec 15, 2010 6:08 AM in response to Verdi Baritus

I'm dissapointed the blue Mikey doens't work on the iPhone 4. It's a real shame that Blue took a long time to deliver it. However would it be possible for Apple to update their OS to permit it's usage?

I hope I can use it, it works on my Dad's 3Gs

Landrix

Level 1

29 points

Jan 6, 2011 12:47 AM in response to evnmove

evnmove wrote:
I'm dissapointed the blue Mikey doens't work on the iPhone 4. It's a real shame that Blue took a long time to deliver it. However would it be possible for Apple to update their OS to permit it's usage?

I hope I can use it, it works on my Dad's 3Gs

I'm afraid not. I was originally posting about software update being the problem but I WAS WRONG.

It seems that with the ipad and iPhone 4, the 30-pin dock connector has changed. Where there was once analog audio being transferred, and utilized by the Mikey, that specification of the connector has changed.

Software is impossible to fix the hardware change.

To build a compatible Mikey IS POSSIBLE, but likely much more expensive. To make this happen would just require the microphone to have a built-in analog-to-digital (AD/DA) converter. If a nice converter chip is used, the sound could be EVEN BETTER! However this adds costly components to be required, and the product would likely have a higher cost as a result.

I'd still like to see one built, as have the Mikey on hand, and knowing my iPhone is ALWAYS with me, made for a fantastic solution for field recording and even using it in tandem with a camcorder got brilliant results.

This is making me hold on to my old iPhone 3G much longer than I anticipated or wanted--and makes me trot about with TWO extra devices (old iPhone & Mikey) to have the capability.

Go blue!

bbonkk

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2011 9:07 AM in response to casssax

Ok, lets try this solution. Use Mikey 2 with at 30 pin female adapter to 3.5mm male plug and use the analog plug on the top of the phone....

Landrix

Level 1

29 points

Apr 8, 2011 7:59 AM in response to bbonkk

bbonkk wrote:
Ok, lets try this solution. Use Mikey 2 with at 30 pin female adapter to 3.5mm male plug and use the analog plug on the top of the phone....

Not going to work. The Mikey requires power to operate, and is not just a simple microphone. That's part of what makes the Mikey so special.

Mikey is a condenser mic, which by design all condenser mics require electricity to bias the surface. Plus, Mikey contains electronics to enhance the sound.

Additionally, the Mikey is a stereo microphone. The iPhone headphone jack input is monaural only.

griz67

Level 1

8 points

Jul 6, 2011 9:36 PM in response to casssax

I, too, am very disappointed that Apple made the interface change on iPhone 4 that effectively breaks compatibility with Mikey.

I am also very disappointed that Apple spends so much time on making sure iPhone 4 and later have fantastic displays and cameras...and completely ignore the fact that recorded audio is *terrible* without something like Mikey.

I'm keeping my iPhone 3GS as long as I possibly can. I just picked up a refurb 3GS yesterday (32GB)...hopefully it will last until a proper solution is found. Otherwise, I go with a Flip and the Mikey for Flip, or something like the Zoom recorder. However, there is nothing like the stealthiness of Mikey+iPhone for club recordings.

I only wish I could swing the Mikey 180 degrees and use it while recording video with the phone. It would be even better if the stereo axis was horizontal when the phone was in landscape/horizontal mode. What a killer combination that would be for baby videos!

trozombo

Level 1

0 points

Oct 11, 2011 4:33 AM in response to casssax

Since the first messasge was posted rougly a year ago, my mickey is not even working in my 3gs..... dunno if is uncompatibily with the new iOS, when I connect I get the message " this device is not compatible with iPhone" extremely annoying since this tool was very important in life as professional musician!!!!😠annyone else with this problem???

lunte02

Level 1

0 points

Nov 11, 2011 3:22 AM in response to casssax

Did you switch to airplane-mode trozombo? My mikey runs perfect on my 3G and the latest iOS4 for 3G. For me I stick to my "old" iPhone and use it now for recordings only while I use my new iPhone 4S for everyday-stuff.

May 17, 2012 2:58 AM in response to casssax

Why not just get one of these?

http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/AR-4i.shtml

123james

Level 1

0 points

Jul 20, 2012 6:27 AM in response to lunte02

I have an iPhone G3 with iOS4 on it. lunte02 said on Nov 11, 2011 that his Blue Mikey (which version?) works on it using airport mode. lunte02 it it still working well for you?

How many versions of the Blue Mikey are out there? A new one is in the works, but I think there were 2 versions already. How do you specify a Blue Mikey version number?

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Blue Mikey: anyone use one. Problem on iPhone4