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Griffin iTrip not working with iPhone 4

B

bouldermac

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
94
1
Not using a bumper, I plug in the phone and it does nothing.

I have the iTrip Auto (2008)

Won't charge the phone, or transmit music...

Any suggestions??

It works/worked fine with my 3G's..??
 
I bought a new one over the weekend, it works but I do get a message saying its not compatible with this device. But I am returning it, I find it has way to much static while driving.


I had an old IRiver transmitter that just worked amazing (broke- someone stepped on it) So I am just buying a new one off amazon, it just plugs into the headset jack though no charge ability.
 
Ogrillion said:
I bought a new one over the weekend, it works but I do get a message saying its not compatible with this device. But I am returning it, I find it has way to much static while driving.


I had an old IRiver transmitter that just worked amazing (broke- someone stepped on it) So I am just buying a new one off amazon, it just plugs into the headset jack though no charge ability.
Click to expand...

So yours was this one?: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/itripauto

I was trying to find one for cheap and this one on ebay looks like it may be even older than the 2008. I'm guessing it won't work...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260547488595&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
 
jack66, so that fm transmitter was better than the itrip? Weird that pandora would be different than the ipod. Was it a data connection issue?
 
robotphood said:
jack66, so that fm transmitter was better than the itrip? Weird that pandora would be different than the ipod. Was it a data connection issue?
Click to expand...

I thought that it was on par to the iTrip. The only plus side to it was that it charged my iphone 4 but the iTrip didn't. It worked fine with the ipod on the iphone. I'm not sure about a data connection issue with pandora. Pandora worked fine when it wasn't plugged in, but when it was, I would get a few static bursts here and there.
 
I see. Guess I'll keep looking around. I'm using a cheapo ebay fm transmitter from my ipod but it doesn't charge my iphone 4. Sound quality isn't the greatest on it (occasional static) but since half my car speakers are shot I'm not too worried about the best quality for the time being. Just need something that will charge and not sound like garbage.
 
FWIW, mine works well: it’s a Griffin "iTrip AutoPilot with SmartScan." (3-in-1 Charger, FM transmitter, and playback controls.) Occasionally when I first plug in, it pops up a message about not being compatible—but when it happens I ignore it and everything works. My iPhone 3G did the same thing anyway.

It can even control Pandora!

Note that this is not a current Griffin model—the one I have is about 2 years old and I don’t see this exact model available anymore.

I do find it doesn’t charge very fast—but then the 4 has a bigger battery, and I’m now running Navigon GPS plus Pandora all the time, so that’s to be expected. At least it keeps the battery from draining while used this way.

As for static, these tips helped me get great sound:

1. Ignore the “SmartScan” recommended station(s). Find a good one on your own. The one I found is actually not 100% empty, it has a radio station that comes and goes. But for whatever reason, iTrip overpowers it without fail. Supposedly, stations in the middle of the scale are better separated than really high or low stations; the good one I found was in the high 90s (medium-sized American city.

2. If you’re in the US, put the iTrip into “european” mode (or whatever you’d call it); the method varies by model—sometimes holding a button or two for a time. This opens up additional stations (in-between stations, and little-used stations at the low end—which are often great except in my area someone’s using them!) But it also boosts the power! This is not documented anywhere that I can find, but the SAME station, once put into euro mode, drowns out noise much better. This may or may not still be true of newer models. (But my model DID come after the FCC required power to be reduced; which explains why this mode would be hidden.)

3. Lower or remove your car’s external antenna. iTrip doesn’t need it, and it feeds interference. And I can still get some local stations if I really care—or stream them over the Internet :)
 
Here’s my part number FWIW: 4046-TRPAUTOC.

By the way, I should really have called it “international mode”—and here are some ways that different models of iTrip can be put in that mode:

A) On the radio-box, in the menu with the Griffin logo, hold the middle button for a long time--maybe 10-15 seconds--until the logo shifts upward (or maybe turns upside down).

or, on some units:

B) Hold the Preset button for 10-15 seconds, and the US will start flashing. Then press the + or - button to change modes.

or

C) Hold the Select button for 20 seconds (some generations of iTrip have entirely different button names, I guess).

or this method I recently came across:

D) http://blog.heatery.com/2009/06/how-to-enable-international-mode.html

My iTrip had a problem and was sent back under warranty; the replacement looked identical (and had the same part #) but the international mode method had changed! At first I thought it no longer existed but then I found the new method. And they might have used other methods... so search around and try stuff! When I called Griffin, the rep didn’t know how to do it—only that the method has changed. (Apparently the FCC forbids Griffin from helping customers boost the power.)

Also: an iTrip bought in Europe (or elsewhere?) might be a different unit than one from the U.S., or might come pre-set to International Mode. Getting one of those units might be worthwhile, but I don’t know how to tell them apart.
 
Got my iTrip from the ebay seller I listed above. It doesn't have controls on the power adapter itself like nagromme's. Otherwise it seems to be the same. I've used it for 2 15-20 min car trips and it works great so far. I didn't use smartscan and just set it to the 107.9 from my previous fm transmitter and it sounds pretty clear (much better than my previous one) and it does charge my iPhone 4. Little static or noise unless I crank up the volume really high. There's a few quips (listed below) but overall I'm very happy with it. Especially for 16 bucks.

2 downsides:

1) This message pops up when I first plug it in: "This accessory is not optimized for this iPhone". Not sure if it means capability or charging rate?

2) Also I seem to lose volume control on the iPhone once I plug it in. I've only tested this on Pandora so I'm not sure it affects other music apps yet. The volume slider simply disappears and I cannot raise/lower volume via hardware buttons. Not a deal breaker since I just set it to max before I plug it in and control via my car volume.
 
robotphood said:
Got my iTrip from the ebay seller I listed above. It doesn't have controls on the power adapter itself like nagromme's. Otherwise it seems to be the same. I've used it for 2 15-20 min car trips and it works great so far. I didn't use smartscan and just set it to the 107.9 from my previous fm transmitter and it sounds pretty clear (much better than my previous one) and it does charge my iPhone 4. Little static or noise unless I crank up the volume really high. There's a few quips (listed below) but overall I'm very happy with it. Especially for 16 bucks.

2 downsides:

1) This message pops up when I first plug it in: "This accessory is not optimized for this iPhone". Not sure if it means capability or charging rate?

2) Also I seem to lose volume control on the iPhone once I plug it in. I've only tested this on Pandora so I'm not sure it affects other music apps yet. The volume slider simply disappears and I cannot raise/lower volume via hardware buttons. Not a deal breaker since I just set it to max before I plug it in and control via my car volume.
Click to expand...

Cool—glad it works. That message is pretty common with older devices. Ignore it. (It actually doesn’t happen very often with mine, but sometimed it does.)

Volume is working normally: the dock connector outputs a standard “line level” to other devices—and you use them, not the iPhone, to control the volume. (In this case, you car’s volume knob.) I’d like to be able to tweak the volume sent by the iPhone, but you can’t really do that. (The iTrip itself may have two volume settings though—play with the controls/options.)

FieldingMellish said:
This product does not support phone calls, so what's the point of using it with the iphone?
Click to expand...

Pandora, iPod, and Navigon guidance in my case :)
 
I like it! Great UI (iPhone like but light-on-dark so it doesn’t blind you) and the feature set is great. Voice works well, and it speaks the street names. I can pull up locations via Google search or my Contacts.

MyRegion goes on sale sometimes—I grabbed it for $15! Amazing price for a full nav system that covers the US east of the Mississippi. But usually the sales aren’t quite that big.
 
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