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      04-28-2013, 05:34 AM   #111
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finally Success! 160 gb, idrive business, e91, 2008, 6FL, generic usb cable(belkin)

Hi Guys (n Girls),(but I think girls don't give a crap about this stuff)
What a great and complex thread! With finally a few answers...
I was worried I bought a lemon e91 with 6FL when I was having ipod issues with my 160gb classic. I have 112gb's of music so the interface had to work!
All my lower capacity ipods just work via usb (no y cable) no hassle. The big 160 gb was not so simple.
Tried different formats on the ipod and finally hit gold when I tried MS-DOS (FAT) and incremental additions to the ipod. In other words adding playlists a few at a time and testing with the bmw. If I loaded it up via itunes and just asked all music to be uploaded the idrive would never recognize the ipod.
So far playlists are not supported(even though I selected smart playlists as my upload criteria), while genres, artists, albums and songs are supported. My playlists are set up to capture all my music ie playlist 1 caprures all rock songs playlist 2 all house...
Hope this helps someone out there or feel free to ask...
Cheers for this thread helping piece together the puzzle.!
By the way I have no y-cable and no Bluetooth... It just(finally) works and sounds pretty damn good! Next up the Alpine upgrade...
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      04-28-2013, 10:53 AM   #112
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Originally Posted by pauloT View Post
Gents, just picked up my F20. I have the Y-cable and an IPhone 4S and... I keep getting device not supported? I have latest ios6 on my phone, is it this that might be the issue?
Try the apple white cable that comes with the phone.
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      06-18-2013, 02:25 AM   #113
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Hi All, I need your help with something...

I have ordered a 120d and have not opted for the media pack /sat nav, have only selected standard bluetooth / usb. Wanted to get the extended bluetooth (6NK) to be able to stream music (to the HK sound system!) with the standard iphone cable. My dealer says this is not possible even after trying it in a car that has the same options but with the 6NK option. I have told him that people on the forums have said it works with just 6NK and no media pack and he cannot understand how as it needs a combox which is only delivered with the media pack. Says it might be reports from people with non-UK bought cars. Is anyone able to shed some light on this?
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      09-04-2013, 09:22 AM   #114
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Apple/BMW Y adapter question

I got this cable free from my dealer when purchasing my 2014 X1. For some reason, when connected to my iPhone 4S, i cannot get the BMW apps to work correctly. Specifically, the Web Radio will not connect. Need help figuring out the solution to this.
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      09-05-2013, 07:53 AM   #115
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The Imfamous Y Cable & BMW Apps

Having a new 2014 BMW X1 and an iPhone 4S has taken a while to figure out how to use the BMW Apps and the phone together.

After screwing around for awhile, trying dealer suggestions (that did not work) I finally figured out that to use the BMW Apps and Web Radio you need to use the ORIGINAL Apple cord that came with your phone. Also, you MUST turn off the Bluetooth on your phone first, then connect it to the USB port in the Bimmer, Start the BMW Connect app on the telephone. Once the app is running, then go back on the phone and turn ON the BlueTooth.

This is the only way that I have been able to make this work in the '14 X1.

Hope this helps others.
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      09-11-2013, 04:09 AM   #116
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I know this will look like a paid message but I assure you it's not . I'm one of those who got F20 without extended bluetooth (6NK) and then found the Y-cable inconvenient. Tried different things: checked the price for combox retrofit from BimmerTech which was a bit over my budget. At some point I bought one of these Bluetooth to 30pin adaptors but the quality of sound wasn't good (especially on AAC losless tracks) and none of the integration features worked (wheel controls, track/album information). I almost gave up and switched to listening radio (free DAB this year was a nice present from BMW). Anyway, last week I decided to look around again and finally found a device that does it for me. It's called ViseeO tune2air and it works seamlessly with my setup (Pro Radio 663, Basic BT 6HN and HK upgrade 647). It's plugged to Y-cable and emulates your iDevice (connected via BT) so the track/album info + controls work as if that device was plugged in instead. Plus I believe it supports AAC over A2DP and has a decent DAC so the music quality is pretty close to the actual wired connection. I've got it two days ago, tested and since I'm so happy that I finally solved that nagging issue with BT audio setup I decided to share it on here.

Here's how this looks like:
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      09-11-2013, 04:36 AM   #117
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that sounds brilliant, where did you pick it up from?

it's a bit irrelevant for me as i don't actually keep a whole lot of music on my iPhone and usually listen to Spotify or rdio, but this is still great.

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      09-11-2013, 05:21 AM   #118
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Originally Posted by BGM View Post
that sounds brilliant, where did you pick it up from?
Got it off eBay, there are many sellers there selling it for the same price really so I just picked one looked good to me
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      09-11-2013, 05:47 PM   #119
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My 118i M-sport will be delivered on 20 sep, it had pro nav and extended bluetooth/connected drive.

If i just use the ipod usb cable am I still able to control and browse using idrive?
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      09-12-2013, 04:03 AM   #120
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Originally Posted by PandaNL View Post
My 118i M-sport will be delivered on 20 sep, it had pro nav and extended bluetooth/connected drive.


If i just use the ipod usb cable am I still able to control and browse using idrive?
afaik, yes
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      09-13-2013, 10:19 AM   #121
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kolais View Post
I know this will look like a paid message but I assure you it's not . I'm one of those who got F20 without extended bluetooth (6NK) and then found the Y-cable inconvenient. Tried different things: checked the price for combox retrofit from BimmerTech which was a bit over my budget. At some point I bought one of these Bluetooth to 30pin adaptors but the quality of sound wasn't good (especially on AAC losless tracks) and none of the integration features worked (wheel controls, track/album information). I almost gave up and switched to listening radio (free DAB this year was a nice present from BMW). Anyway, last week I decided to look around again and finally found a device that does it for me. It's called ViseeO tune2air and it works seamlessly with my setup (Pro Radio 663, Basic BT 6HN and HK upgrade 647). It's plugged to Y-cable and emulates your iDevice (connected via BT) so the track/album info + controls work as if that device was plugged in instead. Plus I believe it supports AAC over A2DP and has a decent DAC so the music quality is pretty close to the actual wired connection. I've got it two days ago, tested and since I'm so happy that I finally solved that nagging issue with BT audio setup I decided to share it on here.

Here's how this looks like:
Hi kolais,

Thanks for your tip, I am having difficulties with my configuration since I upgraded to iPhone 5.

I have the standard BT and radio professional with Y cable, so I have to have my iPhone plugged into the Y cable for music. The thing is there is no Lightning ycable (yet), and with the lightning adapter the music plays and shows on the screen but it does’nt charge..

After reading your input I bought the 'Auris Bluetooth 30 pins to dock emulator' (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-for-your-dock). I believe it is the same device as your ViseeO tune2air?

The problem is iDrive / Y-cable does not support this one, so it doesn’t show in the screen. It does support AUX of course but I do want the track/album info + controls!!

Do you have any advice? The Auris supports aptX coding, has Bluetooth 4.0 and should work..

Thanks!!
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      09-16-2013, 01:25 AM   #122
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Hi, I have a problem with this cable, hope someone could help me...
I connect mi ipod to the usb port with this cable, and I only hear sound on the right part of the car (I have HK speakers). I don´t know why... Someone knows what´s happening?? Thanks in advance.
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      09-17-2013, 10:56 AM   #123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mjlbakker View Post
Hi kolais,

Thanks for your tip, I am having difficulties with my configuration since I upgraded to iPhone 5.

I have the standard BT and radio professional with Y cable, so I have to have my iPhone plugged into the Y cable for music. The thing is there is no Lightning ycable (yet), and with the lightning adapter the music plays and shows on the screen but it does’nt charge..
Hi and sorry for a late reply.
I believe I have similar setup and I was able to connect iPhone 5 via Y-cable and 30-pin to Lightning adapter so I could control wired iPhone and see what's being played + have it charged from day 1. The main issue for me is that I'd have to put my phone into the compartment and oftentimes I'd just forget to take it back with me (inconvenient!) so I was looking for a wireless solution.

Quote:
After reading your input I bought the 'Auris Bluetooth 30 pins to dock emulator' (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-for-your-dock). I believe it is the same device as your ViseeO tune2air?
I'm not sure if they are the same. There are tons of 30-pin to Bluetooth adapters out there, I've tried one before getting ViseeO and it was not recognised by the head unit (plus the quality of sound was dreadful - I could hear sound distortion esp on AAC losless tracks and there was a noticeable background static noise heard pretty much at all times). I can only confirm ViseeO works and I'm quite happy with it at this stage.

Quote:
The problem is iDrive / Y-cable does not support this one, so it doesn’t show in the screen. It does support AUX of course but I do want the track/album info + controls!!
Well, as I said, I've tired the other adapter (this one to be precise) and it worked only as wireless AUX connector so there you go.

Quote:
Do you have any advice? The Auris supports aptX coding, has Bluetooth 4.0 and should work..
Well, strangely enough iPhone 5 reportedly doesn't support aptX and so AAC support is much more important if you want to get most from that setup. I heard good things about Auris so I'm sure it's a quality product but if you want a tighter integration with BMW iDrive then ViseeO is a way to go as they're designed specifically for that.

Last edited by kolais; 09-17-2013 at 11:06 AM..
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      09-20-2013, 06:00 AM   #124
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Although i drive E90 LCI, the problem is similar.

I have only Pro Head Unit & usb+aux, no idrive, no BT, etc.

Is there maybe any kind of a retroft to install to get the option to connect my iPhone/iPod only via USB?

Thanks!
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      09-25-2013, 09:35 AM   #125
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kolais View Post
I know this will look like a paid message but I assure you it's not . I'm one of those who got F20 without extended bluetooth (6NK) and then found the Y-cable inconvenient. Tried different things: checked the price for combox retrofit from BimmerTech which was a bit over my budget. At some point I bought one of these Bluetooth to 30pin adaptors but the quality of sound wasn't good (especially on AAC losless tracks) and none of the integration features worked (wheel controls, track/album information). I almost gave up and switched to listening radio (free DAB this year was a nice present from BMW). Anyway, last week I decided to look around again and finally found a device that does it for me. It's called ViseeO tune2air and it works seamlessly with my setup (Pro Radio 663, Basic BT 6HN and HK upgrade 647). It's plugged to Y-cable and emulates your iDevice (connected via BT) so the track/album info + controls work as if that device was plugged in instead. Plus I believe it supports AAC over A2DP and has a decent DAC so the music quality is pretty close to the actual wired connection. I've got it two days ago, tested and since I'm so happy that I finally solved that nagging issue with BT audio setup I decided to share it on here.

Here's how this looks like:
Hi Kolais,

Thanks for your experience with this cable. I was going to purchase one of the cheaper - more-common bluetooth audio receiver's to solve a similar problem. I have an iPhone 5, the BMW iPhone y-cable and was hoping one of these would work, since i have the standard bluetooth and radio in the car. I'm not too sure whether i want to spend almost £70 on one of the Visee0 cables, although i had stumbled across these during my research and the manufacturer does quote to work with BMW, Merc etc...

Does anyone else have ANY experience with bluetooth audio receviers and the F20? Purchase links would be handy, so we could try to conform some sort of list of what works?

I was looking at this one from amazon, i will wait for a few days to see if there is any response and if not i will order and report back.

Kolais, when you used your cheap-generic adapter, you said that the music quality was terrible, i believe this to be a common problem, even with a traditional iPod dock for some brands, so i would like to think that there are some out there that dont have this problem. I was wondering, how did the car recognise the cheap unit within the iDrive (as an iphone, or just aux), could you change the tracks from the stereo (most important for me with this solution - not too bothered about the steering wheel controls mind) and did any track names come across with it also?

I mainly stream music on my phone, and have little to no music tracks on the device. With the y-cable and an iPhone 4, its possible to change the tracks using the stereo, even when the music is being streamed down the lead (and the car isn't reading the music tracks directly through the iDrive).

Sorry for the long post, i was literally going to order one of these today until i stumbled across this post.

Thanks,

Ben
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      09-25-2013, 02:01 PM   #126
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenN
Quote:
Originally Posted by kolais View Post
I know this will look like a paid message but I assure you it's not . I'm one of those who got F20 without extended bluetooth (6NK) and then found the Y-cable inconvenient. Tried different things: checked the price for combox retrofit from BimmerTech which was a bit over my budget. At some point I bought one of these Bluetooth to 30pin adaptors but the quality of sound wasn't good (especially on AAC losless tracks) and none of the integration features worked (wheel controls, track/album information). I almost gave up and switched to listening radio (free DAB this year was a nice present from BMW). Anyway, last week I decided to look around again and finally found a device that does it for me. It's called ViseeO tune2air and it works seamlessly with my setup (Pro Radio 663, Basic BT 6HN and HK upgrade 647). It's plugged to Y-cable and emulates your iDevice (connected via BT) so the track/album info + controls work as if that device was plugged in instead. Plus I believe it supports AAC over A2DP and has a decent DAC so the music quality is pretty close to the actual wired connection. I've got it two days ago, tested and since I'm so happy that I finally solved that nagging issue with BT audio setup I decided to share it on here.

Here's how this looks like:
Hi Kolais,

Thanks for your experience with this cable. I was going to purchase one of the cheaper - more-common bluetooth audio receiver's to solve a similar problem. I have an iPhone 5, the BMW iPhone y-cable and was hoping one of these would work, since i have the standard bluetooth and radio in the car. I'm not too sure whether i want to spend almost 70 on one of the Visee0 cables, although i had stumbled across these during my research and the manufacturer does quote to work with BMW, Merc etc...

Does anyone else have ANY experience with bluetooth audio receviers and the F20? Purchase links would be handy, so we could try to conform some sort of list of what works?

I was looking at this one from amazon, i will wait for a few days to see if there is any response and if not i will order and report back.

Kolais, when you used your cheap-generic adapter, you said that the music quality was terrible, i believe this to be a common problem, even with a traditional iPod dock for some brands, so i would like to think that there are some out there that dont have this problem. I was wondering, how did the car recognise the cheap unit within the iDrive (as an iphone, or just aux), could you change the tracks from the stereo (most important for me with this solution - not too bothered about the steering wheel controls mind) and did any track names come across with it also?

I mainly stream music on my phone, and have little to no music tracks on the device. With the y-cable and an iPhone 4, its possible to change the tracks using the stereo, even when the music is being streamed down the lead (and the car isn't reading the music tracks directly through the iDrive).

Sorry for the long post, i was literally going to order one of these today until i stumbled across this post.

Thanks,

Ben
Ben,

Save the effort: buy an Tune2Air. Although it is not cheap (but as BMW driver we are kinda used to that) it is the only working solution for BT streaming with controls and idrive.

Tried cheaper options but they only play through AUX, which is rubbish.
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      09-27-2013, 01:21 AM   #127
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If my iPod Classic doesn't connect via the white apple lead I assume I need to buy one of these y cables?
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      09-27-2013, 02:26 AM   #128
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frs3052
If my iPod Classic doesn't connect via the white apple lead I assume I need to buy one of these y cables?
Yeah, it sounds like u have the standard Bluetooth like me?
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      09-27-2013, 02:39 AM   #129
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Yeah, it sounds like u have the standard Bluetooth like me?
Yeah I do. Best get one ordered as I can only find a 2gb USB lying around the house. That will tide me over though
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      09-27-2013, 10:01 AM   #130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frs3052 View Post
Yeah I do. Best get one ordered as I can only find a 2gb USB lying around the house. That will tide me over though
I got this one http://dx.com/p/eser-003-audio-cable...w-black-205727 from Deal Extreme. Works perfectly
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      09-27-2013, 11:03 AM   #131
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Thanks. I've just ordered one off Amazon that looks exactly the same as that. Fingers crossed it works
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      10-03-2013, 02:40 AM   #132
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenN View Post
Kolais, when you used your cheap-generic adapter, you said that the music quality was terrible, i believe this to be a common problem, even with a traditional iPod dock for some brands, so i would like to think that there are some out there that dont have this problem.
Actually, the problems were specific to the adapter, they didn't appear when my iPhone was connected directly to Y-cable. First, sometimes the static (white) noise noticeable appeared, especially when playing music whilst navigating: one would hear Tomtom instruction following a residual static that would disappear after the next instruction and so on. Another annoying issue is the tone distortion (this was appearing mostly on losless AAC tracks but I'm not sure if there is a correlation). It sounds like as if tape recorder plays with slightly variable speed and the pitch slightly "flows" up and down.

Quote:
I was wondering, how did the car recognise the cheap unit within the iDrive (as an iphone, or just aux), could you change the tracks from the stereo (most important for me with this solution - not too bothered about the steering wheel controls mind) and did any track names come across with it also?
It wasn't recognised at all, I was just using it as an AUX-connected device so controls didn't work and the track info wasn't available.
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