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Lightning adapter not the same as Lightning adapter 0.2m cable

I have an iphone 5 with both an Lightning to 30-pin Adapter and a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter (0.2 m). They do NOT work the same way. I have a DICE in-car system that has a 30 pin connector cable for connecting an ipod or iphone. It has worked fine on all ipods and all iphones through the 4S. So, obviously had to wait for the lightning adapters came out when I got a 5. Ordered both the the 30-pin/Lightning adapter and the 30-pin/Lightning cable. Have both in hand now and tested each with my in-car 30-pin cable. The 30-pin/Lightning adapter works flawless. Audio and charging work perfectly with the iphone 5. Thankfully.


A different story with the 30-pin/Lightning cable. When using this cable, the iphone reports "accessory is not supported". Charging does work, but no audio out. Tried it in every conceivable configuration of car stereo/ipod/cable insertion orders you might imagine. Nada.


So, the 30-pin/Lightning adapter works perfectly and the cable version does not support audio and reports "accessory is not supported".


Something is different between these 2 adapters. I tried swapping between both adapters about 30-40 times trying to figure it out. Assumed it was user error for the first 10-15 times, but now I'm convinced there is something different between the small 30-pin/Lightning adapter and the 0.2m cable version of the "same".


I hope as more people get there's and test it, we'll figure this out. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. If you are still deciding or waiting, just be aware, that at least one person (me) is having these 2 adapters behave differently with the same exact accessory.

Posted on Oct 15, 2012 7:41 PM

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42 replies

Oct 16, 2012 12:59 PM in response to John Kilpatrick

The cable version is still thicker than the standard Lightning/USB cable, so I would check first. And, as demonstrated above, the cable variant lacks some of the functionality that the "brick" variant seems to have, so you're maybe screwed either way.


I'm "having this issue" because I have the exact same setup. When and if I get my hands on the cable adapter, it looks like I'm screwed because it won't fit with my case, AND won't work with my Dice car setup 😠

Oct 16, 2012 2:08 PM in response to jgmoore

My wife and I have DICE Silverlines in both of our cars, so we're looking at options as well. I'm surprised your iPhone 4s worked with it, I tried out the 4s last year when it came out but it wouldn't work with the Silverline.


May have to try out the 30 pin to Lightning adapter, but I'm hoping one of those cheap 30 pin bluetooth receivers from ebay will work and have decent enough sound quality.

Oct 16, 2012 3:06 PM in response to Lobstrosity

Mine is in a BMW. I believe I did have to update the firmware in the device at one point to address some issues, can't recall if that was related to the 4S or something else. But it did work well. I've been skeptical of the 30pin bluetooth stuff. Frankly I'm surprised there aren't more legit products that do just that - would seem to solve a lot of problems. The Dice stuff has always been a little flakey, but when it works it works great.


My wife has a Dice Universal FM-RDS unit tied into the FM antennae port on the headunit in her Mazda. That one definitely did not work with the 4S, but worked great with the 4. It's on my list to update the firmware on that one to see if that helps, but for some reason I tucked the Dice unit up under the dash and she hasn't screamed loud enough yet for me to remove the dash again.

Oct 16, 2012 3:45 PM in response to jgmoore

I have both the mini adapter and the short corded one (arrived yesterday). The mini adapter works in my Griffin charging dock (holds 4 devices). I also attached it to the Griffin autopilot in the car (this plugs into the cig lighter and has an audio output to an aux input) and it charges and passes audio through.


Today, I tried the adapter cable. It charges the iPhone 5 in the Griffin dock. I attached it to the Griffin autopilot in the car and, luckily, it charges the iPhone 5 and passes audio through. I have a Proclip iPhone 4 adjustable cradle in the car. I plan to remove the 30-pin connector and attach the lightning end of the short corded adapter so I can continue to use the cradle (I did this in my wife's car with the lightning USB cord because she only needs to power the phone).


Just lucky, I guess....

Oct 16, 2012 4:08 PM in response to zorinlynx

zorin-Yes, sure, I did think that it might be defective. I would say that usually when I think something is defective, it turns out I'm wrong (so I probably give the benefit of the doubt more than I should). Part of the reason for the post was to see if others were having issues. If many folks are, it's a little easier to explain to Apple. If I'm an isolated case and I have to prove it to the guy at the genius desk, it may be a little difficult unless they have a drive in bay. But if I *did* get a defective one, I'm probably not alone. And for folks who only bought the cable version and got a defective one, they may not think it's defective - they'll just think it doesn't work with their accessory. But yes, next step will be to chat with the (mostly) friendly folks at Apple and try a replacement.

Oct 18, 2012 11:12 AM in response to tedfromleawood

Yes, when using the small 30pin/lightning adapter, I still do get track/artist info on the stock head unit display. i'm using a Dice silverline duo connected to the CD changer port on the headunit. As I mention above, I get no audio or artist/track info using the 30pin/lightning cable (though it's quite possible, my cable adapter is just a dud).

Lightning adapter not the same as Lightning adapter 0.2m cable

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