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iPhone 4 Dock to Lightning Conversion

ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
6,232
8,493
Toronto, ON
I'm starting on a project to convert my iPhone 4 dock into a Lightning dock.

In principal, there's no reason why this shouldn't work. I looked up iFixit's teardown and found that:

- It seems pretty straightforward to disassemble
- The 30 Pin dock connector opening will be more than wide enough to allow a Lightning connector to pass through

I may have to strip the Lightning connector but once the housing is off, it'll fit inside the dock and a glue gun will be all that's needed to keep it in place.

Of course the function of the dock will be merely for charging with the original cable protruding out the back instead of the 30 pin Dock connector. The audio jack will not work.

I'll post pictures when I'm done.
 
A

akonikui

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
197
22
Very interested! I'd love to see how this turns out, as this is exactly the kind of dock I'd want.
 
faiz23

faiz23

macrumors 6502
Oct 8, 2010
304
0
http://www.thelightningdock.com/products/iphone-5-dock

TLD-Anodized-Aluminum-iPhone-5_grande.jpg
 
Senseotech

Senseotech

macrumors 6502a
Nov 23, 2009
785
28
NC
ipedro said:
Of course I'm going to feel really dumb if Apple does indeed release an iPhone 5 dock this fall as mentioned in the iPhone 5 manual.
Click to expand...

The wording is a little funky, but its obvious that the dock mentions are about the 4S and lower. Anyway, back on topic, I'm subscribed since this sounds quite interesting. Good luck and be sure to document so the rest of us can get our hands dirty and try if it works!
 
ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
6,232
8,493
Toronto, ON
An update: I took apart the Lightning connector and found that the iPhone4 dock is too low profile to fit the connector in there without re-soldering the connections. I don't have the equipment to do that -- the connections are tiny. An L shaped plug would work or you have to re-solder the existing cable into a 90' L shape.

This may require more skill than simply discarding the insides of the iPhone4 dock, threading the Lightning cable through and holding it in place with a glue gun.
 
W

wpalomine

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2010
76
36
I too tried converting an iPhone and iPad docks, but could not fit the iphone5 dock connector. I ended up creating a Lego dock with back support.

For anyone creating a DIY dock, don't forget to compensate for a case. Raise the connector by the thickness of your case. This way the dock will work for both naked and cased iphone5.
 
B

bbydon

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2005
587
94
ATL
wpalomine said:
I too tried converting an iPhone and iPad docks, but could not fit the iphone5 dock connector. I ended up creating a Lego dock with back support.

For anyone creating a DIY dock, don't forget to compensate for a case. Raise the connector by the thickness of your case. This way the dock will work for both naked and cased iphone5.
Click to expand...

Mind posting a picture of the lego dock? Sounds Fun!
 
W

wpalomine

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2010
76
36
Pic of DIY dock, after failed apple dock conventions.
 

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mysterydate

mysterydate

macrumors 6502
Feb 24, 2010
309
518
Waseca, MN
wpalomine said:
Pic of DIY dock, after failed apple dock conventions.
Click to expand...

Love the Lego dock! Reminds me of the 20th Anniversary Mac.

Our case's new package is a charging stand/dock, and comes with every case, because it's the package. (iP5 too) I lurv it. :)
 

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jk4lebron23

jk4lebron23

macrumors 65816
Apr 6, 2010
1,123
180
Nashville,TN
tried the lego thing, not as nice as the other guys but it serves the purpose :eek:
 

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Last edited:
T

ToddJ

macrumors 6502a
May 23, 2008
564
24
ipedro said:
An update: I took apart the Lightning connector and found that the iPhone4 dock is too low profile to fit the connector in there without re-soldering the connections. I don't have the equipment to do that -- the connections are tiny. An L shaped plug would work or you have to re-solder the existing cable into a 90' L shape.

This may require more skill than simply discarding the insides of the iPhone4 dock, threading the Lightning cable through and holding it in place with a glue gun.
Click to expand...

have you tried again since then? i was looking to convert my iPad 30 pin dock to a lightning one (where i just thread the lightning cable through.)
 
ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
6,232
8,493
Toronto, ON
ToddJ said:
have you tried again since then? i was looking to convert my iPad 30 pin dock to a lightning one (where i just thread the lightning cable through.)
Click to expand...

Talk about blast from the past! Docks have since become widely available so I just purchase one with a new iPhone.

I'm a fan of the Twelve South HiRise Lightning Dock. I use one for my iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air.
 
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