Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Today I unknowingly plugged my brand new iPhone 3GS in my original Bose SoundDock (purchased in May 2007) and received the warning described above about the two devices not being compatible. I was able to play music without a problem. Then I googled around to find out more information about the compatibility problem and landed here, discovering that I could easily have "bricked" my wonderful new companion.

This thread is now 2.5 years old, but there is still no clear consensus on which iPhones will sort of work with the SoundDock (or SoundDock Series II or portable). Instead, there are just conflicting reports based on individual user experiences, but no reports of attempts by the manufacturers to clarify the situation. On its website, Bose says it "works with iPhone", but doesn't seem to be aware that we now have the iPhones 3G and 3GS. My original SoundDock is discontinued, so Bose has even less incentive to work out a solution or provide information for an annoying legacy product.

Am I reading the situation clearly, or am I missing the solution to the problem that I'm seeking?

Thanks for any updates or additional input!

David
 
Sound Dock Fix

Good news?

I recently discovered that Bose will replace the port of your Sound Dock with a port that is compatible with the 3G/S for $99 plus your shipping cost.

When I called Bose, they also mentioned another option. Currently, they will allow you to trade-in your old Sound Dock and replace it with a Sound Dock Portable for $149 plus whatever it cost for you to send the old unit back to them. Don't know if you're interested, but I"m like you, and feel like I currently have a Bose system that I can't use, so what's another $150.

I guess if you wanted to, you could always sell the thing unopened and probably do pretty well.

Hope this helps,
 
ive been using mine with my bose sound dock for about 6 months now without one single problem..i have no idea what you all are talking about..I guess I am just lucky.

same here.... I've had my soundock for almost 2 years now, used the original iPhone as with the 3G and both have worked flawlessly with it. The only thing that bugs me a bit is the fact that the 3G does not charge with it as the original did, but oh well. at least I have amazing sounds :D
 
same here.... I've had my soundock for almost 2 years now, used the original iPhone as with the 3G and both have worked flawlessly with it. The only thing that bugs me a bit is the fact that the 3G does not charge with it as the original did, but oh well. at least I have amazing sounds :D

Same problem here :( I wonder if bose will give you a charging adapter
 
I sent an email to Bose today in regards to the compatibility issue. They emailed me back saying that the original sounddock is only partially compatible with the iPhone 3Gs (I didn't ask about the 3G), in that it will play music but won't charge. They said nothing about the phone malfunctioning in any other way.

They continued by saying that a service upgrade is available to make it completely compatible that it can be performed at their head office (which is in Newington for those living in Sydney, NSW) for $90.

Cheers.
 
Bose sound dock no longer working

I've been using my iPhone 3G with the Bose Sound Dock since I first got it back in July 08. I used to work for CompNow and we used to to demo the the Bose SD with the iPhone. Sure it said not compatible and you should put the phone into Airplane Mode. But aside from that. Everything worked great.

I eventually got myself one cos I fell in love with the one in the shop. It's been working great for the past year or so, but since the last iPhone update it will longer charge or play music from the iPhone. WTF?

Anyone else having this issue???
 
Bose Sound Dock use with iPhone

It is correct that you cannot use some iPhones on some Sound Docks. Specifically, the 1st generation iPhone worked well with the original Sound Dock; however, the 3G & 3GS models do not work with the original Sound Dock. (Note**I also used it with an iHome alarm clock and while the original worked fine, the two subsequent models did NOT).

It is most likely that those of you who are currently using them together successfully are using the updated Bose Sound Dock product. When Bose says that you can use it with ALL iPhones they are referring to the systems currently being sold, not the original model. :(

Hope that helps!
 
i use my 3gs on the sound dock II, no problem it charges and plays great,but im thinking of getting either the sound dock10 or the wave DAB with the ipod dock,anyone have either of these??...and do they play/charge ok??
 
iphone issues with Bose Soundock

Hi All,

I have had loads of problems with my iphone 3g and Bose Soundock now all three of my units don't work it seems like my soundock has given up completely. The Nano, Touch and new iphone all seem to have problems so now I have no music

any ideas anyone would be much appreciated
 
Thanks for letting us know that!
I was planning to get one those old stock as they are real cheap now!
 
I have an old Sound Dock & got one of these adapters. With the adapter it charges and plays my 3GS fine. I still get that annoying message but I just ignore and everything works fine. PassPORT adapter
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Just bought two of the Bose Sound Docks in December for my Mother and Fiancee. One is used for an older ipod 60gig, all works fine. Other is used on iphone 3g. Charged the phone until about two weeks ago, and now, nothing. Sound works, but no more charging. Any ideas?
 
2g Iphone Doesn't work with Bose Portable

anyone had problems with the new sound dock portable?

i bought my brand new black Bose system Series II (portable) a few months ago and used my 2g Iphone on it. It worked great for a good 3 months. It even charged it. Just recently I tried to use it and a window pops up asking if I wanted to change it to airplane mode because the iphone was not compatible with the Bose system. I called up bose and did some trouble shooting over the phone but the problem would not go away. My boyfriend has a 3G iphone and his can used just fine on the system. Neither Apple nor Bose has any idea why it is happening.

Bose suggested I ship the product back to them (at my expense) so they can troubleshoot it there. I haven't decided on it but after hearing these complaints I think I will return it. Maybe be ask for a refund since I had for less than a year.
 
i bought my brand new black Bose system Series II (portable) a few months ago and used my 2g Iphone on it. It worked great for a good 3 months. It even charged it. Just recently I tried to use it and a window pops up asking if I wanted to change it to airplane mode because the iphone was not compatible with the Bose system. I called up bose and did some trouble shooting over the phone but the problem would not go away. My boyfriend has a 3G iphone and his can used just fine on the system. Neither Apple nor Bose has any idea why it is happening.

Bose suggested I ship the product back to them (at my expense) so they can troubleshoot it there. I haven't decided on it but after hearing these complaints I think I will return it. Maybe be ask for a refund since I had for less than a year.

FWIW: My son bought the new(er) Sound Dock Portable for me last Xmas and it worked flawlessly with my 3G for a couple of months. Then, inexplicably, I too began getting the "...not compatible with iPhone...want to change to airplane mode..." error message. When I called Bose's technical support last March they asked me a couple of questions, then had me put the iPhone in the unit, turn it on, and "ignore" the warning...essentially they directed me to wait a few moments and eventually the warning disappeared and the unit began playing. That's what I did for the next 2-1/2 months we spent in Florida and it played and charged without problems. We're back home now, and I haven't tried to use it on my new iPhone 4. And, frankly, I'm now scared to death to do so. I guess all I can do is keep watching this thread.
 
umm, just take it back to the apple store and say it stopped working. Don't mention the sound dock. They'll give you a new one. No big deal.
 
Bose SoundDock fix!

I have a first generation Bose SoundDock, upgraded iPhone to the iPhone 3GS, and the Bose stopped charging the 3GS. Went on-line and found a product that corrects the FireWire charging to USB debacle, phone worked great. Now fast forward to 2012, the SoundDock is almost 7 years old. I now have to stuff items behind the iPhone and speaker grill of the dock to hear music play. Again, I went on-line and found a web site that sells replacement dock connector boards for the SoundDock (invebo.com). I purchased the Bluetooth charge upgrade for the 2005 model SoundDock that I have. Now the first generation SoundDock charges my iPhone 4, plays the music either by docking the iPhone or connecting through Bluetooth. The bluetooth charge upgrade part was around $75.00, for just a charge upgrade about $45.00. It arrives in about a week, ships from England, and it takes less than ten minutes to install. I am truly happy that I fixed my SoundDock and for way less than what Bose proposed I do. Send in my SoundDock with $180.00 and they will send me a new SD portable, no thanks!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.