2013 535i and Iphone 5

Hi - I just bought a 2013 535i and have had a hard time with the bmw apps feature - was working ok with my iPhone 4 but just upgraded to 5 and have not had a lot of success getting the connected drive app to work - using the usb connection, often it wont recognize phone and the apps dont work. sometimes if i disconnect and restart phone, it will work for awhile but then quit.

also cant get music via bluetooth.

frustrated since i paid for the technology package and the local dealership isnt much help.

appreciate any advice or experience with similar problems.

the car is amazing, love it. only issue other than this i have had is once the door wouldn't close and had to drive holding door closed until a helpful concierge call gave me a quick fix to hold handle down and close the door. it has worked fine since but my last 2003 5 series had many electrical problems around 100k miles so i'm a bit wary...

You need to go under the external connections, and under your phone (make sure it is connected) it must be set to primary phone. Under that option is option fro BT audio, make sure it is checked on. I am going from memory so might vary a little.

I only connect via BT and while it is limited, as explained to me by the dealer, I can stream all music sources, make calls and use other features of the iPhone 5 via the car audio system. I tested the USB connection and the performance was unacceptable.

Anytime you use USB port it disconnects the BT function and you willhave to reconnect (BT) to use it again.

I also have the iPhone 5 and sometimes I have trouble getting the BMW Connected app to connect. When this happens, try to restart your phone by turning it off and back on again. Then, relaunch the BMW Connected app and it should connect to your car on the first try. Also, where are you trying to stream music from? If you want to stream music from your phone's iPod, you can use Blue Tooth. If you are trying to use Pandora, you need to have your phone connected via USB. However, when using Pandora you do NOT need to use the BMW Connected app. Simply plug your phone into the USB port, launch the Pandora app, and it will automatically know you are connected to a BMW. If it doesn't start playing immediately, use iDrive and navigate to the "ConnectedDrive" menu where you will see the Pandora icon - click on it to select. Again, you can do all this without worrying about the BMW Connected app.