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List of accessories that DO and DON'T work with iPhone 3G

mrat93

mrat93

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 30, 2006
2,353
3,421
So apparently many 3rd party accessories don't work with iPhone 3G at the moment. Post the name of your 3rd party accessories and whether they do or don't work in 4 ways: Syncing, charging audio playback via 30 pin connector, and an Incompatibility Message . I'll try to maintain a list.

Name-------------------------------------------Sync---------------------Charge---------------------Audio------Message
Alpine iDA-X001 iPod / media receiver--------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
Alpine x100--------------------------------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
Altec Lansing IM600-----------------------------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[Yes]--------[ ? ]
Apple FireWire Power Adapter for iPod--------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[N/A]--------[ ? ]
Apple iPod Radio Remote-----------------------[N/A]--------------------[N/A]------------------------[No]---------[Yes]
Apple Universal dock---------------------------[Yes]---------------------[Yes]------------------------[ ? ]---------[ ? ]
Belkin iPod dock--------------------------------[Yes]---------------------[Yes]------------------------[ ? ]---------[Yes]
Griffin PowerJolt (w/ retractable USB)--------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[N/A]--------[Yes]
Belkin Tunesync--------------------------------[Yes]---------------------[Yes]------------------------[No]---------[No]
Blitzsafe Car/iPod interface--------------------[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
Bose SoundDock--------------------------------[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
Brandmotion iPod adapter for Ford Vehicles--[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
Griffin iTrip Autopilot---------------------------[N/A]---------------------[Yes]-----------------------[Yes]---------[No]
Griffin PowerJolt (w/ retractable USB)--------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[N/A]--------[Yes]
Griffin TuneJuice Power------------------------[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[N/A]---------[Yes]
Harmond Drive+Play---------------------------[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
iHome iH14D table radio/dock-----------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
iHome iH4B Alarm Clock-----------------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
iHome iH6---------------------------------------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[No]----------[Yes]
iHome iH8---------------------------------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
iLuv i730 car kit (Bluetooth, FM, Charge)-----[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
JBL OnStage II----------------------------------[N/A]---------------------[No]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
Kenwood DDX812 Head Unit w/ iPod cable---[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
MacAlly FMcup----------------------------------[N/A]---------------------[Yes]-----------------------[Yes]----------[ ? ]
Monster iCarPlay Wireless 200 FM-------------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
Monster iCarPlay Wireless (Plus)--------------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
Onkyo iPod Dock--------------------------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[ ? ]
Pioneer FH-P8000BT car stereo----------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
Sony ICF-C1iP Dock with Clock----------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
USA SPEC Honda iPod Interface---------------[N/A]--------------------[No]-------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
XtremeMac | LUNA-----------------------------[N/A]--------------------[Yes]------------------------[Yes]---------[Yes]
 
Blitzsafe Car/iPod interface, Bose SoundDock & Altec Lansing IM600 play music but do not charge.
 
Pioneer FH-P8000BT car stereo charges and plays, with the usual warning about an incompatible accessory from the iPhone.

Apple Universal iPod dock syncs and charges, haven't tried any audio/video output.

Belkin iPod dock syncs and charges, again with the incompatible accessory warning.

Both docks listed are plugged into my MacBook via USB for syncing and charging.
 
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Apple FireWire Power Adapter for iPod - does not charge my iPhone 3G.

It came with the 10GB iPod (touch-wheel) and worked with my 8GB iPod touch.
 
alpine ida-x001 usb connection plays and charges the 3G

(the full-speed cable does not charge the 3G)
 
pw1500 said:
whaaaaaat? mine doesnt charge????? does yours really? =/
Click to expand...

Yes, mine charges. I did have a problem when I was using a Griffin iPod cable, I don't know if the cable went bad or just didn't work with my phone. I suspect it went bad, because it worked perfectly on the first part of my road trip, then failed for the trip back home. I switched to a spare Apple iPod cable that I had, and it now works perfectly.

USB extension cable from the back of the stereo, Apple iPod cable plugged into the extension cable, and then into the dock port of the iPhone.
 
I have the Alpine x100 and what I discovered today is that the audio from the apps flows through the USB with my iphone 3g.

So I can play Pandora radio through the head unit with just the USB connected! I just pause the Ipod playback and I still have access to the volume knob to adjust everything. I thought it was cool and I didn't know it was possible until I stumbled upon it.

Yes it charges too. BTW, the reason why some things do not charge the new iphone is that the new iphone doesn't allow charging via firewire and some older accessories were doing this instead of USB. Apple broke this capability in the new iphone

I read that somewhere, don't recall though.

UPDATE: Yes it does have that crazy message about incompatibility but I am so used to it now, it doesn't bother me. I just connect it up when I am in the garage and tell it No, and off I go.
 
I am sure getting tired of this message:
2685570818_a89138656c.jpg


Every accessory I have tried so far is incompatible and all of these worked with the iPod Touch.
Monster iCarPlay Wireless Plus Power: N Audio: Y
Griffin TuneJuice Power: N Audo: N/A
 
cualexander said:
I have the Alpine x100 and what I BTW, the reason why some things do not charge the new iphone is that the new iphone doesn't allow charging via firewire and some older accessories were doing this instead of USB. Apple broke this capability in the new iphone
Click to expand...
This has been broken for a while. I had several devices that wouldn't work with my iPod Touch and I replaced them all, now each of those doesn't work with my iPhone 3G.
 
Can someone explain why a simple car charger that works with the original iPhone won't work with the iPhone 3G? I found some on Monoprice, but it says it's not compatible with the iPhone 3G. The dock connector should be the same (I'm using a usb/dock cable from an old iPod Mini to connect my iPhone 3G and it works fine), so I can't figure out why it wouldn't work.
 
A few more to add to the list.

iHome iH14D table radio/dock
charges: yes :)
audio: yes
warning message about it not being compatible: yes

Sony ICF-C1iP Dock with Clock
charges: yes :)
audio: yes
warning message about it not being compatible: yes

JBL OnStage II:
charges: no :(
audio: yes
warning message about it not being compatible: yes

Brandmotion iPod adapter for Ford Vehicles
charges: no :(
audio: yes
warning message about it not being compatible: yes

REALLY tired of that warning message. :mad:
 
What a big oops! Guess I need to wait months before purchasing some iPhone 3G friendly speakers.
 
Dimwhit said:
Can someone explain why a simple car charger that works with the original iPhone won't work with the iPhone 3G? I found some on Monoprice, but it says it's not compatible with the iPhone 3G. The dock connector should be the same (I'm using a usb/dock cable from an old iPod Mini to connect my iPhone 3G and it works fine), so I can't figure out why it wouldn't work.
Click to expand...

As has been reported all over the web, Apple discontinued use of the firewire pins for charging to USB only starting w/the 3G iPhone. Apple warned vendors quite awhile ago that they should move to USB charging for Apple devices but most vendors ignored the warning. Firewire utilizes 12v and is easier than down converting to the 5v of USB and may push more power for faster charging (?) but requires more space in the iPhone to implement.

Vendors may make a an apdapter avail but unknown how much or how large it would be. Prob will be easier to buy a new charger or combo FM transmitter.
 
I emailed iHome today about their iP47BR device and here is what I got from them:

Code: 
Yes our iP47 is compatible with the new iPhone 3G.
Regards
Chee Ming

I emailed them back to ask if the message would appear since my current iPod alarm clock doesn't even charge or do audio for my new iPhone 3G.
 
snagitseven said:
As has been reported all over the web, Apple discontinued use of the firewire pins for charging to USB only starting w/the 3G iPhone. Apple warned vendors quite awhile ago that they should move to USB charging for Apple devices but most vendors ignored the warning. Firewire utilizes 12v and is easier than down converting to the 5v of USB and may push more power for faster charging (?) but requires more space in the iPhone to implement.

Vendors may make a an apdapter avail but unknown how much or how large it would be. Prob will be easier to buy a new charger or combo FM transmitter.
Click to expand...

Would that apple, though, with devices that don't even use firewire, like a car charger?
 
think this is the final straw, think the 3g is going back tomorrow. whats the point in me having a sound dock Bose i bought to use with my old iphone which now no longer charges it. It will just go flat all the time.

Another Apple Con!!! 3g is nice but i'm not replacing all my accessories.
 
Forgive my ignorance......with the accessories that do not work with the current iPhone 3G, can this be fixed with a software update? Or is this a hardware issue that cannot be fixed?
 
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