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iPhone 4 Incompatible with Magellan Car Kit

Audio stops / dock disconnects every 15 seconds

I can confirm the same problem that bobbyz110 & pilotcfi describe. The iphone 4 worked fine for a while with the dock and then it started disconnecting every 15 seconds or so. The audio stopped, I assume b/c the phone detects that the audio source disconnected, the charging icon switches off and then back on, and the phone makes the noise that it does when it gets plugged in.

I believe I fixed it by turning the phone off and then back on.

I am just now beginning to use the dock routinely, but I have experienced this problem twice. I believe the problem develops if I put the phone in the dock and take it out a bunch in a short period of time.

I strongly believe that it has nothing to do with the phone not being firmly against the connector, although I do use an Ifrogz case. This is because a simple reboot fixed the problem and pushing it against the connector made absolutely no difference when it was exhibiting this problem. Also, after the reboot there are no connection problems with it (until this problem reoccurs), even if I gently slip it in. I hope maybe a firmware update for the phone will fix this and I am glad I found others with this problem.


On another note, I had no trouble pairing the bluetooth but I quickly discovered that it is unusable because I sound so muffled to callers. (phone is mounted about 2 feet from my head, on the right)
 
similar issues on my 3gs

I think the power connecting and disconnecting may be an issue with ios4. I am having the issue on my 3gs running the os. Kinda frustrating. If anyone figures out the issue, please let me know.
 
I had the same problem with it losing the connection to the car kit too. The car could be off just sitting there and the phone would cycle on and off every 10 seconds or so.

Since then I've followed Maggie's suggestion about turning the back block around so that it protrudes out further.

I trimmed the rubber around the connector with an X-Acto knife.

and put the Apple Bumper on my phone.

I have the top arm on the second from the highest setting.

Since making all of these changes I haven't had the problem once and it's been about a week now. I was out doing deliveries all weekend with my phone going in and out of the cradle countless times.

I hope this helps. Due to the lack of support from Magellan it's up to us to figure this out.
 
I have no clue how you got the bumper to work with your car kit. I cannot even get it to dock! The dockconnector is not long enough to reach with the bumper on. I am using the iFrogz lux now. Post pics of it working with your bumper i need to see it to believe it.
 
monkey28rb said:
I have no clue how you got the bumper to work with your car kit. I cannot even get it to dock! The dockconnector is not long enough to reach with the bumper on. I am using the iFrogz lux now. Post pics of it working with your bumper i need to see it to believe it.
Click to expand...

Trim the rubber around the cradle's connector. That will allow enough space for the phone and Bumper to fit into the connector. Until you do that it won't work.
 
monkey28rb said:
did you have a problem with your bluetooth connecting? I cannot get it to work!
Click to expand...

Oh yes I did!

It took me at least 20 minutes of plugging things in-and-out and turning thing on-and-off. I must of hit the right sequence of things because eventually it connected. Fortunately, once I got it to connect it hasn't been a problem re-connecting.
 
maggie-macrumor said:
We created a video to help clarify any questions regarding how to put your iPhone 4 on the Magellan's Premium Car Kit.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LKz-Ud_qag
Click to expand...

How about showing how the iPhone 4 fits (and works) into the cradle with a case on. Ahhh... that's right you can't because it doesn't fit unless you modify the cradle's connector.

Let's cut to the chase. Maggie, when is Magellan going to release a new car kit that fixes all the problems others have chronicled in countless online forums? And, when is the Magellan GPS app going to be updated with the much needed fixes including Multitasking support for iOS4?
 
bobbyz110 said:
Update: I just removed the rubber piece all thogether and it still won't seat no matter how tight it's in!
Click to expand...

Thanks for looking into the Bumper problem. What seems to be the problem once the rubber piece is removed? Does it seem like
1) the outer part of the bumper that only fits the newer cables,
2) the inner part that covers the metal around the port,
3) or both are in the way?

Just wondering if the combination of removing the rubber piece and some selective trimming of the Bumper will get the phone to seat properly.
 
what sequence did you use lol, i cant not get it to work no matter what i do?! My phone stays on searching for bluetooth but cannot find the magellan car kit no matter what

Kim Sux said:
Oh yes I did!

It took me at least 20 minutes of plugging things in-and-out and turning thing on-and-off. I must of hit the right sequence of things because eventually it connected. Fortunately, once I got it to connect it hasn't been a problem re-connecting.
Click to expand...
 
I Agree 100%

Apprentmix said:
I think the power connecting and disconnecting may be an issue with ios4. I am having the issue on my 3gs running the os. Kinda frustrating. If anyone figures out the issue, please let me know.
Click to expand...

I completely removed the rubber base from around the plug and put the iPhone 4 (with the Bumper on it) and nothing happened. The phone did not switch to charge mode and the iPhone's volume controls continued to work while running RoadMate 2010. Both of those indicate the the plug is not making contact.

I removed the phone, powered it and the kit off, put the phone back on the kit, plugged the kit's power supply in, then powered on the phone. Bingo! The iPhone 4 with the bumper on it worked... Until I removed it. The phone continued to show that it was charging until I killed RoadMate 2010.

I'll repeat the test with my iPhone 3G now that it has been upgraded to iOS 4 and I expect it will behave exactly like the iPhone 4.

So while I'm still not convinced that there's good contact with the plug when the Bumper is used, I'm convinced that Appple changed how connecting/disconnecting a power supply works, intentionally or otherwise.
 
Kim Sux said:
How about showing how the iPhone 4 fits (and works) into the cradle with a case on. Ahhh... that's right you can't because it doesn't fit unless you modify the cradle's connector.

Let's cut to the chase. Maggie, when is Magellan going to release a new car kit that fixes all the problems others have chronicled in countless online forums? And, when is the Magellan GPS app going to be updated with the much needed fixes including Multitasking support for iOS4?
Click to expand...

Hi Everyone,

We are currently in beta testing right now for the Magellan app. Of course the new update will feature multi-tasking and other new cool surprises. :D

- Maggie
 
iPhone 4-Compatible Rubber Grommet Available?

Hi Maggie,

The Premium Car Kit shipped with a rubber grommet that fits in the base, around the plug. That grommet is made to work with the iPhone 3/3Gs, but has to be removed in order to use an iPhone 4 with an Apple Bumper on it (and presumably just about any case).

I'm sure we don't have to tell Magellan how important it is for iPhone 4 owners to use a case or bumper because of the "Death Grip" design flaw of the iPhone 4.

So that leads to two questions:
1) Will Magellan be altering the rubber grommet to allow use of an iPhone 4 with a case/bumper installed?
2) If so, will the iPhone 4-grommet be available for ordering? If not, can we order another grommet so that we can trim it flush with the base and use it when using the Premium Car Kit with an iPhone 4?

This may seem like an odd request, but I would much prefer to be able to switch grommets when we switch between our iPhone 3G and 4. Going with no grommet - as I now have to with my iPhone 4 - also risks getting dirt, dust, etc. inside the base of kit, but I don't want to trim the only grommet I have.

Thanks!

CDew
 
CDew said:
Hi Maggie,

The Premium Car Kit shipped with a rubber grommet that fits in the base, around the plug. That grommet is made to work with the iPhone 3/3Gs, but has to be removed in order to use an iPhone 4 with an Apple Bumper on it (and presumably just about any case).

I'm sure we don't have to tell Magellan how important it is for iPhone 4 owners to use a case or bumper because of the "Death Grip" design flaw of the iPhone 4.

So that leads to two questions:
1) Will Magellan be altering the rubber grommet to allow use of an iPhone 4 with a case/bumper installed?
2) If so, will the iPhone 4-grommet be available for ordering? If not, can we order another grommet so that we can trim it flush with the base and use it when using the Premium Car Kit with an iPhone 4?

This may seem like an odd request, but I would much prefer to be able to switch grommets when we switch between our iPhone 3G and 4. Going with no grommet - as I now have to with my iPhone 4 - also risks getting dirt, dust, etc. inside the base of kit, but I don't want to trim the only grommet I have.

Thanks!

CDew
Click to expand...


I bought the car kit tonight to use with my iPhone 4 with a bumper. I ran into all the problems above. I had just packed the unit back up to return it but I then found this thread.

1. I flipped the back piece 180 degrees - works great!
2. I pried the rubber boot off of the base.
3. Plugged in iPhone 4 with the bumper and it synced right up. Power, BT, and GPS!

The trick is definitely in removing the rubber piece on the base. I will now be keeping the base and hope that Magellan sells a replacement boot that I can reinstall and have my iPhone 4 with Bumper work perfectly!

Thanks to everyone in this thread who worked this issue out. To the Magellan rep, Please add this as one more piece of feedback to truly make this work out of the box with the iPhone 4 and bumper.

Thanks
 
CDew said:
Hi Maggie,

The Premium Car Kit shipped with a rubber grommet that fits in the base, around the plug. That grommet is made to work with the iPhone 3/3Gs, but has to be removed in order to use an iPhone 4 with an Apple Bumper on it (and presumably just about any case).

I'm sure we don't have to tell Magellan how important it is for iPhone 4 owners to use a case or bumper because of the "Death Grip" design flaw of the iPhone 4.

So that leads to two questions:
1) Will Magellan be altering the rubber grommet to allow use of an iPhone 4 with a case/bumper installed?
2) If so, will the iPhone 4-grommet be available for ordering? If not, can we order another grommet so that we can trim it flush with the base and use it when using the Premium Car Kit with an iPhone 4?

This may seem like an odd request, but I would much prefer to be able to switch grommets when we switch between our iPhone 3G and 4. Going with no grommet - as I now have to with my iPhone 4 - also risks getting dirt, dust, etc. inside the base of kit, but I don't want to trim the only grommet I have.

Thanks!

CDew
Click to expand...

Maggie, please count me in on the request for a new grommet. I removed mine as well and it works great! However, I would like to get a replacement grommet that closes in the space around the connector but is flush with the unit so the bumper case can be used with an iPhone 4. I would be willing to pay a small sum for this.
 
Iphone 4 is compatable... with some use notes...

I tested two iphone 3gs' and 2 iphone 4's with 2 magellan car kits.

First 3gs paired and worked immeadiatly with an otter box commuter case. The second one failed with an otter box defender (to much plastic in the defender for the plug to fit). After removing the defender it kept beeping every 15 seconds or so (IOS4). Upon a power down and restart of the phone it worked well from then on.

I upgraded to the iphone 4, and I had the advantage of knowing that the phone needed to be rebooted when it failed.

The first Iphone4 needed to be rebooted to make it see the magellan the first time. It fit just fine with the ifrogs satin case. However, you do need to press the button on the magellan to release the tensioner and move it all the way out.

The second iphone 4 got the incompatable device error a few times and I found that if you connect the magellan to an outlet that follows the ignition, it seemed to work better. Additional use has proven that if you plug the phone in at anything other than perfectly straight and level, the iphone 4 has issues with the magellan.

The work around is to insert and remove the phone from the cradle without power to the cradle and if you get any errors, cold restart the phone.

I did not have to remove the rubber at the bottom the the mount so I am currious to hear why that is an issue on some but not mine?!?

A note on the purchase, Sears had the kit for $69.88, the shopsavvy aplication for iphone saved us almost half at Best Buy, since they price matched it at the register. I now love this application the most!
 
Ed MacRumors said:
I can confirm the same problem that bobbyz110 & pilotcfi describe. The iphone 4 worked fine for a while with the dock and then it started disconnecting every 15 seconds or so. The audio stopped, I assume b/c the phone detects that the audio source disconnected, the charging icon switches off and then back on, and the phone makes the noise that it does when it gets plugged in.

I believe I fixed it by turning the phone off and then back on.

I am just now beginning to use the dock routinely, but I have experienced this problem twice. I believe the problem develops if I put the phone in the dock and take it out a bunch in a short period of time.

I strongly believe that it has nothing to do with the phone not being firmly against the connector, although I do use an Ifrogz case. This is because a simple reboot fixed the problem and pushing it against the connector made absolutely no difference when it was exhibiting this problem. Also, after the reboot there are no connection problems with it (until this problem reoccurs), even if I gently slip it in. I hope maybe a firmware update for the phone will fix this and I am glad I found others with this problem.


On another note, I had no trouble pairing the bluetooth but I quickly discovered that it is unusable because I sound so muffled to callers. (phone is mounted about 2 feet from my head, on the right)
Click to expand...

I believe I've fixed the problem. I went out and bought a TomTom car kit to do some comparisons. I think it's 50% dock connector and 50% software related. Here is what I found...

After turning the spacer 180 degrees and removing the rubber grommet around the dock connecter the the Magellan car kit was definitely as tight as could be against my phone. It still exhibited the same behavior of disconnecting every 30 seconds. I then restored my phone through itunes and the problem went away completely. I tried another iphone and it had the same problem... I restored it with itunes and bam... it went away.

On the tomtom dock... it kinda does the same thing. It has to be seated extremely well. However... it needs to be slightly cocked to the left and sitting in crooked to make the proper connection. I've tried this on two iphones as well.

I tried my griffin desktop dock.. and found the same thing... the dock on the iphone... despite the griffin having a huge dock free of restrictions... needed to be a little crooked on both phones to properly seat.

So... for me... i think it comes down to a 50/50 hardware/software. After testing the tomtom kit... i decided to keep it.. i like it a lot better.. .and it was only $89.99. I gave the magellan to my girlfriend... we haven't had any issues in the past 2 weeks.
 
Regarding the Phone disconnecting and reconnecting every 30 seconds - Audio dropping out / phone disconnecting reconnecting.

I discovered my Car battery was getting low - once the car battery was replaced the car kit stopped dropping out.

(I was thinking my car kit was faulty, but tried it in another car and no drop outs.)

Which leads me to ask Magellan this....

WHY do we have to use your chunky 12v power car USB connector!!!!!!

I have a slimmer 12v usb power adapter that I want to use with the car kit, but the car kit wont turn on!
 
Ok found a few fixes for the iPhone 4 and the car kit.

1st the kit works fine with the iPhone 4 with an otterbox defender no modifications needed. It is tight, I cleared a bit of material off the bottom if the case to make it a bit easier about a 1/4 inch off the otterbox bottom.

2nd I had a problem with the audio pausing approx every 30 seconds. This was fixed by changing the auto lock to never then back to whatever it was set to before. It is an issue with the iPhone when music is paused in a dock and it goes to sleep. Had this happen in my home stero dock a few times.

The volume on the kits speaker is louder with the iPhone 4 than it was with my 3GS. Could be a possible change in the firmware from 4.1 to 4.2.1.

Hopefully someone finds this that encounters these problems as they were a bit frustrating until a friend helped me figure it out.

Also best lock I got with the 3GS was 10 meters. without mount was 40 meters this is why gps apps have problems with the 3GS unassisted.
Best lock with the iPhone 4 was 5 meters.

Pretty precise if you ask me
 
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