The Ultimate iPod Info Thread

Originally Posted by tyt215

When u guys say i pod AUX input doe s that mean that u ll be able to control ipod from I-Drive or only from Ipod.??? Have u guys heard about GATEWAY hardware it costs about 400$ is that worth it

The iPod interface is intended for use only with iPods, and does allow control of the iPod via iDrive. It is separate from the Auxiliary input, which is a 3.5mm jack input that can accept a signal from anything that can send an output via a 3.5mm jack (the standard mini-plug, like the headphones you plug into your iPod). But, the Aux input offers no control in iDrive apart from volume.

I suggest you read through this thread - there is much good information about the pros and cons of each approach, installation pricing, and other helpful info. You are in the right place.

i don't know if you got an answer to your question but i was told you can only put a 4g or 8g ipod in because it won't be able to read all the songs or playlists.

Originally Posted by Tomtastic

i don't know if you got an answer to your question but i was told you can only put a 4g or 8g ipod in because it won't be able to read all the songs or playlists.

It is true that the iDrive interface only reads some certain number of entries on an iPod list. But, that limitation is not related to the capacity of the iPod you plug into it in any way other than the larger iPods' ability to store too much music for iDrive to read. In other words, you can certainly use as large an iPod as Apple makes, but if you have a lot of music on it, iDrive won't present it all.

Of greater concern, in my opinion, is that Apple and BMW do not seem to be fully synchronized in maintaining compatibility. A few pages back in this thread, someone indicated that their brand new iPod or iPhone did not work in their slightly less new BMW iPod interface. I would really hate to spend the bucks to have the iPod interface put into my car, buy a new iPod 6 months later, and have that interface never work again for me.

Originally Posted by MSAMMY

Yep. it happened to me. All was fine with my 80GB iPod and then I went out and purchased an iPhone. Guess what, the BMW interface isn't compatible with the 3G iPhone. You can play tunes, but the interface won't charge the phone. So, my 80GB is back in the glove box for now, and my iPhone, well, is just a phone!

This is a bummer. Does anyone know if it will be fixed?

I have an '08 535i with the iPod cable. It played my wife's Nano great. But recently I bought an iPhone 3GS. I was excited to use it in my car, but when I plugged it in, I got the same message that MSammy got. Also, there is very limited control over the songs. I can't pause a song, rewind it or even stop it without changing to another song.

So after reading through this thread (at least the last year or so), it looks like I have the following options:

1) I can buy the tray adapter that charges your phone but doesn't allow you to play songs through the iPod/iPhone, at a cost of several hundred dollars, or
2) I can use my iPod cable and rely on bluetooth for my phone, but the cable will not charge my iPhone.

Am I looking at this right? It seems that I lose something with either option. Is there a work around or something I'm not aware of?

Originally Posted by sevendown

This is a bummer. Does anyone know if it will be fixed?

I have an '08 535i with the iPod cable. It played my wife's Nano great. But recently I bought an iPhone 3GS. I was excited to use it in my car, but when I plugged it in, I got the same message that MSammy got. Also, there is very limited control over the songs. I can't pause a song, rewind it or even stop it without changing to another song.

So after reading through this thread (at least the last year or so), it looks like I have the following options:

1) I can buy the tray adapter that charges your phone but doesn't allow you to play songs through the iPod/iPhone, at a cost of several hundred dollars, or
2) I can use my iPod cable and rely on bluetooth for my phone, but the cable will not charge my iPhone.

Am I looking at this right? It seems that I lose something with either option. Is there a work around or something I'm not aware of?

This is exactly what I was referring to in my post above. I highly doubt BMW will "fix" it, as it's not "broken" so much as an indication that the compatiblity between BMWs and iPods was based on both companies' technology at a snapshot point in time.

Your best option may be to purchase a mount or charger for the iPhone and use your Aux input for the sound into your stereo.

Originally Posted by WJGreer

This is exactly what I was referring to in my post above. I highly doubt BMW will "fix" it, as it's not "broken" so much as an indication that the compatiblity between BMWs and iPods was based on both companies' technology at a snapshot point in time.

Your best option may be to purchase a mount or charger for the iPhone and use your Aux input for the sound into your stereo.

Will -- I understand your response, but the "snapshot" that you refer to is being taken again now. In other words, BMW is making cars this year and the iPhone is being sold this year (a lot of them!), so you would think that BMW would, at least for this year or the next model year, want to make their cars compatible with this year's iPhone technology. And if they can do it for this model year, I would think it could be made backward compatible with a 2008 model.

Or maybe that makes too much sense.

Originally Posted by sevendown

So after reading through this thread (at least the last year or so), it looks like I have the following options:

1) I can buy the tray adapter that charges your phone but doesn't allow you to play songs through the iPod/iPhone, at a cost of several hundred dollars, or
2) I can use my iPod cable and rely on bluetooth for my phone, but the cable will not charge my iPhone.

Am I looking at this right? It seems that I lose something with either option. Is there a work around or something I'm not aware of?

Or use the iPod cable and buy the $25 adapter that will allow 3G and later phones to charge off cables designed for earlier phones?

One example of such an adapter: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Chargi...dp/B001HN6CVA/

Haven't tried it myself, as I pick up my 2010 535xi in Munich in a bit over 2 weeks, but...

Originally Posted by fordan

Or use the iPod cable and buy the $25 adapter that will allow 3G and later phones to charge off cables designed for earlier phones?

One example of such an adapter: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Chargi...dp/B001HN6CVA/

Haven't tried it myself, as I pick up my 2010 535xi in Munich in a bit over 2 weeks, but...

Great. Thanks so much.

But if Scosche can make one, you would think that BMW could as well. Is the 2010 car you are getting not compatible with the iPhone 3G?

Anyway, have a great time in Germany. I was there just a little over a year ago to get my car. It was fantastic. If you haven't done it before, you will love it. If you have, you already know. But if you've never been to the Welt, you will be amazed.

What are the chances of future BMWs (and other cars) being able to use Bluetooth to read iPods and other multimedia players. That would be the ultimate for me with an iPhone. It connects to the car through BT for both making calls and playing my music. I'd imagine the big issue would be audio quality since it isn't using the Aux input, but I wonder if Apple can improve audio quality through BT.

Originally Posted by sevendown

But if Scosche can make one, you would think that BMW could as well. Is the 2010 car you are getting not compatible with the iPhone 3G?

Anyway, have a great time in Germany. I was there just a little over a year ago to get my car. It was fantastic. If you haven't done it before, you will love it. If you have, you already know. But if you've never been to the Welt, you will be amazed.

Haven't done an ED yet; first BMW. Looking forward to the trip.

I certainly agree BMW should be able to create a cable. I'm hoping the 2010 comes with a compatible cable, but I plan to bring an adapter anyways just in case. I have a portably speaker set that needs it to charge my 3G in any case.

Arguably, it's Apple's fault. The dock connector has power pins for Firewire (12V) and for USB (5V). Early iPods were Firewire only. Later iPods and the original iPhone supported either Firewire or USB. With the 3G, Apple switched it such that only USB power was supported. As I recall, there was little or no notice about this, and accessory-makers were scrambling hard to get compatible products out. All the adapters do is take the power from the Firewire pin, drops it to 5V, and provides it on the USB pin.

Originally Posted by ks-man

What are the chances of future BMWs (and other cars) being able to use Bluetooth to read iPods and other multimedia players. That would be the ultimate for me with an iPhone. It connects to the car through BT for both making calls and playing my music. I'd imagine the big issue would be audio quality since it isn't using the Aux input, but I wonder if Apple can improve audio quality through BT.

One of the issues with Apple's iPhone 3.0 software is that while it supports the A2DP Bluetooth profile that allows audio streaming, it doesn't support the AVRCP profile beyond play, pause, and stop commands. What this means is that you don't get any of the music metadata like title, artist, etc or the ability to fast-forward, rewind and such while streaming via Bluetooth.

I'd expect this to change in the future with a new version of the software, but right now you still need use the handset for anything past basic controls.

I believe there are cars that support Bluetooth audio streaming. Not sure about BMW, though.

Originally Posted by fordan

Haven't done an ED yet; first BMW. Looking forward to the trip.

You will absolutely love your ED.

A suggestion (I wish I had done this): Spend as much time at the Welt as you can. It is a one-of-a-kind experience. I shortchanged myself and arrived exactly at the time of my appointment. Get there early, tour the place, get to the Premium Lounge early, eat their food and drink their drink, then take the instructional session before getting your car.

Unless you have to run off quickly, have the valet park your car (for free) as you drive out, then come back in and use your credits to shop and eat lunch, etc.

A lot of people rush to get their car on the road and get to their next destination. I can certainly understand the excitement to start driving the car. But you will have plenty of time for that. Enjoy everything you can about the ED experience, because a year from now you will still be loving your car, but it won't be in Germany and you probably won't repeat the experience soon (although I know some people do).

If you're interested, here are pictures from the Welt and my trip: http://vandgphotogalleries.smugmug.c.../Germany-Jul08

Originally Posted by fordan

Or use the iPod cable and buy the $25 adapter that will allow 3G and later phones to charge off cables designed for earlier phones?

One example of such an adapter: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Chargi...dp/B001HN6CVA/

Haven't tried it myself, as I pick up my 2010 535xi in Munich in a bit over 2 weeks, but...

Oh yeah, this is a great option that I'm now using. I paid $585+ for the iPod connector in the glove box, I can scroll through a limited amount of my music on my iPhone, and I have it connected via a cigarette power plug to my glove box - a nice mess of cables for sure! You are all right, Apple & BMW dropped the ball on this one, rushed a product to market, ripped us all off, and oh well, deal with non-supported backward incompatibility issues. I'm going back to my BMW Center to get a refund for sure. Vatkens, are you monitoring this thread or what? Weigh in on this PLEASE! Sorry everyone, I don't mean to sound so angry, but I miss my music collection since it's not worth plugging in all these connections to my iPhone to listen to music - I was duped out of over $500!

Originally Posted by MSAMMY

Oh yeah, this is a great option that I'm now using. I paid $585+ for the iPod connector in the glove box, I can scroll through a limited amount of my music on my iPhone, and I have it connected via a cigarette power plug to my glove box - a nice mess of cables for sure! You are all right, Apple & BMW dropped the ball on this one, rushed a product to market, ripped us all off, and oh well, deal with non-supported backward incompatibility issues. I'm going back to my BMW Center to get a refund for sure. Vatkens, are you monitoring this thread or what? Weigh in on this PLEASE! Sorry everyone, I don't mean to sound so angry, but I miss my music collection since it's not worth plugging in all these connections to my iPhone to listen to music - I was duped out of over $500!

Frankly, I am surprised that the automotive industry has begun offering iPod connectivity as widely as they have. It's no secret that Apple tends toward the proprietary with their hardware and does not collaborate much with other companies as it regards compatibility. It seems to be like these issues were bound to happen.

Personally, I am still a fan of the Aux input approach. Since my 545 did not have the iPod interface, I invested is a Spec Dock to make it look nice and provide a high-quality line level output. It's too bad that I can't use iDrive to select my music, but the sound quality is the same.

Originally Posted by WJGreer

Frankly, I am surprised that the automotive industry has begun offering iPod connectivity as widely as they have. It's no secret that Apple tends toward the proprietary with their hardware and does not collaborate much with other companies as it regards compatibility. It seems to be like these issues were bound to happen.

Personally, I am still a fan of the Aux input approach. Since my 545 did not have the iPod interface, I invested is a Spec Dock to make it look nice and provide a high-quality line level output. It's too bad that I can't use iDrive to select my music, but the sound quality is the same.

Could you go into detail about your installation with the spec dock? I would be looking to use the approach.

Thank you

Originally Posted by Vyce77

Could you go into detail about your installation with the spec dock? I would be looking to use the approach.

Thank you

Sure. Here is a thread where I discussed the upgrade project I've just finished in general. As regards the spec dock, I purchased the one that had an output for the auxiliary line. You can also get one with an output for the iPod interface. I had recently had the auxiliary input installed in my car, which is a 2005 and did not include it as OE, so I asked them to locate the line in the area of the ashtray.

The installation was a little harder than I expected. In order to get under the ashtray and behind the stereo, you have to take apart the entire dashboard from center to right, plus the console that contains the shifter and iDrive knob. The Spec Dock instructions are good, though. They are very clear that you should take the key out of the ignition and avoid turning the car on while you have stuff unplugged, which warning I did not heed, causing me to create a fault code that keeps my Bluetooth from working until I can get it cleared by the dealer!

For whatever reason, I had trouble finding a power line that worked. I expected to be able to splice right in to the cig lighter in the ashtray area, but I could not make it work - I'm sure I was doing something wrong, not sure what it was. I ended up running a power line over to the fuse box behind the glove box, which works fine.

The best thing about the Spec Dock, in my opinion, is that it's completely stealth - the ashtray lid door still functions and covers it up when not in use. Also, the line out signal seems to be of high quality and devoid of any electrical noise at all. The Spec Dock is not a cheap part, but it's well made.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Originally Posted by fordan

Haven't tried it myself, as I pick up my 2010 535xi in Munich in a bit over 2 weeks, but...

Be sure to ask your dealer for the iPod cable before you leave -- the car will not have a cable when you get it at the Welt.

I just did ED on a 535, and can tell you that my iPhone 3G appeared to charge from the cable. A little goofiness with the playlists, but I think that's due to a problem with my iTunes library. I'll not be able to retest for a few weeks yet....

Originally Posted by sevendown

You will absolutely love your ED.

A suggestion (I wish I had done this): Spend as much time at the Welt as you can. It is a one-of-a-kind experience. I shortchanged myself and arrived exactly at the time of my appointment. Get there early, tour the place, get to the Premium Lounge early, eat their food and drink their drink, then take the instructional session before getting your car.

Unless you have to run off quickly, have the valet park your car (for free) as you drive out, then come back in and use your credits to shop and eat lunch, etc.

A lot of people rush to get their car on the road and get to their next destination. I can certainly understand the excitement to start driving the car. But you will have plenty of time for that. Enjoy everything you can about the ED experience, because a year from now you will still be loving your car, but it won't be in Germany and you probably won't repeat the experience soon (although I know some people do).

I have to second the recommendation about spending the time at the Welt.... Also, the factory tour is supposed to be pretty neat (not available the week I was there), and the BMW museum is a car nut's dream!

Made for a late arrival at my next stop, but I don't regret any of the time spent there....

Originally Posted by SimiClyde

Be sure to ask your dealer for the iPod cable before you leave -- the car will not have a cable when you get it at the Welt.

I just did ED on a 535, and can tell you that my iPhone 3G appeared to charge from the cable. A little goofiness with the playlists, but I think that's due to a problem with my iTunes library. I'll not be able to retest for a few weeks yet....

Did already pick up the cable, and from what I can tell from plugging it into a simple powered USB port, it will charge a 3G, but the iPhone was popping up the "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone" warning. I assume this will be the same when I get it in the car?

And I do plan to spend some time at the Welt. Our (going with a couple friends) game plan is to do the delivery at 9am, and they rest of the day is allocated for the Welt/factory tour/museum/etc, with the expectation of finding a nice Biergarten in the evening.

Hey folks just wanted to add this to the ipod thread.

It has pictures of how to remove your cd changer and hook up the Ipod interface. Very nice pictures and labled.

This also helps people for DIY for the cars that are already prewired for the cd changer.

I spent months looking for this info and such so I thought that I should share it and make someones day a little easier. Enjoy

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60...l-2006-m5.html

Greetings,

As many of you, my iPod - which used to work fine with the iPod option - is now suffering from the reported "incompatibility" issue discussed in this thread. Rather than waiting for a fix from BMW/Apple, I had heard that a flash drive can be used instead. Has anyone done this successfully? What are the drawbacks, if any? How did you go about doing this? Would copying my directory tree structure in "My Music" onto the flash drive be sufficient? How about the playlists?

Your input is much appreciated. Thanks...

Originally Posted by liege168

Greetings,

As many of you, my iPod - which used to work fine with the iPod option - is now suffering from the reported "incompatibility" issue discussed in this thread. Rather than waiting for a fix from BMW/Apple, I had heard that a flash drive can be used instead. Has anyone done this successfully? What are the drawbacks, if any? How did you go about doing this? Would copying my directory tree structure in "My Music" onto the flash drive be sufficient? How about the playlists?

Your input is much appreciated. Thanks...

You may want to reach out directly to Bimmerfest member KZang. I've seen him post frequently about using flash media with the interface.

Not sure if this is the best place to post my question, but I didn't get many helpful responses when I posted it elsewhere on Bimmerfest, so here goes--

I've noticed an odd thing that happens with my factory-installed iPod interface, and any thoughts or solutions would be appreciated:

When I rip CDs with iTunes, there are times when I like to edit the track, album, or artist fields. When I subsequently play an edited album in my car, it initially displays the entire album track list correctly; however, if I shut the car off, then start it again later, the iPod interface only displays the single track that was playing last (rather than the whole album), and it's listed as a Playlist instead of an Album. The tracks will still progress correctly to the next one on the album; I just can't see the whole album list, which is annoying if I want to jump ahead a few tracks.

If I play an album that I haven't edited, then this problem doesn't occur. I'm not fiddling with any other parts of the file tag, only the text. This problem used to occur with almost every album (regardless of whether it was edited) until I got my iDrive software updated about a year ago; now, it only occurs with the edited albums.

Any of you wiz kids out there got any ideas?

Ok I have an '06 530xi.. It has the cd changer and sirius.. I have no problem loosing the cd changer, how and where do i buy the interface to hook up the i-pod so I can control via i-drive.....

For what it is worth, I just bought a 2010 535i today. It is on a boat and will be here in a few weeks. But while I was at the dealer BMW USA customer relations (CR) called me. I had submitted an email a week or so ago about my new iPod Touch not charging in my 2007 530. The CR guy said they are very much aware of the charging and compatibility problems and are working on a fix. He said it appears these issues will be solved in such a way that it would be considered an “updatable” feature. But I tried the iTouch in the 2010 528i on the showroom floor and it charged fine. But I did not put the iTouch through its paces in the navigation display. When I get my 535 I will test everything and post here what I find.

HELP!!!

I have a real problem with my iPod and the '10 535i xDrive iDrive system. I have tried both our iPod's a new 64gb iPod Touch and an old 32gb iPod "classic" ...

Both of them work in our '08 528i iDrive, but NEITHER work in the new car with the new iDrive ... no device is recognised ... although I did manage to get it once to display "reading..." with the older device.

Since both iPod's seem to work in the older iDrive I have to assume that there is a problem in the new car/iDrive ...

anyone got any suggestions?

thanks