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[Merge] iPhone 3G and Prev. Gen. Accessories (chargers, car adapters, etc.)

That70sGAdawg

That70sGAdawg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 23, 2008
832
395
Athens, GA USA
ModNote: Please use this merged thread for discussion of iPhone 3G compatibility with previous-generation and iPod accessories such as car chargers, firewire chargers, docking stations, and iPod audio systems such as the Bose SoundDock, iHome, iLuv, etc. As many of you have previously noted, the original iPhone is incompatible with some audio dock devices; when plugged into these devices, it produces a warning message asking the user to operate the iPhone in airplane mode. As noted below, there are additional new incompatibilities between the iPhone 3G and many of these devices, including most devices that provide iPod power through the 12V firewire charging pin on the dock connector, which do not appear to be compatible with the iPhone 3G.

Thanks! :) --Mohan

Edward Baigs review says: "But I couldn't juice up the latest device using my Bose SoundDock or Belkin car kit. Apple says there will be adapters to permit charging with certain older accessories."
Does this mean that my Apple HiFi and my car adapter (USA Spec) won't work (charge) with the new 3G model?? Maybe more reason to hang onto the old one...
 
The connector is the same size, its just that the new iPhone has a slightly different bottom. That's what i think he means.
 
yeah - they won't be getting rid of the 30 pin connectors just yet considering they are used in every iPod except for the shuffle
 
He said that he "couldn't juice it up", not that they didn't work sound wise. There may be a difference in the power pins.
The improved handset speakers sound nice, but I live with the car connection direct into my JBL Synthsis head unit in my car.
 
I'd got with what nickspohn says - he's talking about not having a plastic adapter for the 3G iPhone presumably? I guess you'd have to get one from Bose or the peripheral maker.
 
I believe the review says that some of the docks such as the Bose use firewire to charge/power the dock but the iPhone 3G cannot be charged via firewire unlike the last gen iPhone.
 
That70sGAdawg said:
Edward Baigs review says: "But I couldn't juice up the latest device using my Bose SoundDock or Belkin car kit. Apple says there will be adapters to permit charging with certain older accessories."
Does this mean that my Apple HiFi and my car adapter (USA Spec) won't work (charge) with the new 3G model?? Maybe more reason to hang onto the old one...
Click to expand...

He probably means it doesn't fit in the dock hole correctly. They'll be selling universal dock adapters to deal with this on the Apple-made stuff at least. For my third-party dockable things, I think I used one that was made for the 60GB iPod w/Video.

There's no way Apple would change the technology inside the dock adapter without a REALLY good reason, and it would be a huge-arse story. It's just the deal with trying to fit a million pegs into the same hole.
 
After reading that review, the AT&T spokesman really irked me (just like most PR people do).

"We want people to leave the store with their phones up and running, and leave them with a buying experience similar to what they're used to with other phones."

That's a load of BS and he knows it. The whole deal is to stop unlocking (and therefore losing out on getting your subsidy back). Anybody with a brain knows this, so just tell us that instead of some "customer experience" crap. Has anybody here ever walked into a cell phone store and walked out feeling anything less than confused and/or angered?

Activating through iTunes was so much easier than anything before. No signing your name to 10 pieces of paper that you know you're not going to read yet bind your firstborn to the carrier. The iTunes layout was much plainer and did a better job letting us know what we were getting. If all cell phones were that simple...

</rant>
 
iphonematt said:
I believe the review says that some of the docks such as the Bose use firewire to charge/power the dock but the iPhone 3G cannot be charged via firewire unlike the last gen iPhone.
Click to expand...

Sounds like BS to me. While the iPhone needs the correct chip to decode (might not be the right word) the data coming from the computer for firewire or usb (or both as the older iPods had), the power should come through the cable the same way. I don't see any possible way an iPod/iPhone could not be charged via firewire, unless Apple decides to change the dock connector.

Edit: The more I think about this, the more I think that I could be wrong (is that possible :p). I say this, because while the iPhone still accepts the firewire charging ports, it would be possible that the device doesn't send power to those ports or the cable doesn't connect the ports at both ends. I'm going to do a little more research.
 
PoitNarf said:
Not a chance... the 30 pin dock connector has been standard on iPods for many many many years... actually been there since the 3rd gen iPod.
Click to expand...

Not true, I have some accesories that work with an iPod, but not with my generation 1 iPhone. A griffin sound car adapter for one. They had changed the pins, not number of pins, but function. The firewire/USB comment may be the cause, and I doubt my USA Spec car direct adapter (6 months old, and certified to use with iPhone version 1) can be updated easily. It cost $300 installed, but worth every penny on a long trip! It's a direct connection line out to the DSP head for 12 speakers.
I hope it's the darn plastic holding adapter cause I wanted the next generation when a 32 GB is available.
 
iPhone 3G Charging Issues -- Firewire, old Acccessories, etc. [Merged Thread]

Does anybody else have this problem? None of my old Iphone chargers work on the new 3G Iphone. Not the one i had connected to my old dock not any of my car chargers. If this was done on purpose that is a horrible thing for apple to do.
 
I agree...

This really pissed me off. Now I have to reinvest in all new chargers! Surely it wasn't necessary....
 
Bzump said:
Does anybody else have this problem? None of my old Iphone chargers work on the new 3G Iphone. Not the one i had connected to my old dock not any of my car chargers. If this was done on purpose that is a horrible thing for apple to do.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the new charger that came with your iphone? Sounds like you may have a defective phone. All iphones and ipods have used the same charger. Can't see any reason why Apple would change now.
 
Can anyone else confirm this? That sounds crazy.

There is no way I would upgrade if all my chargers, car interfaces, etc were junked.
 
I just grabbed an old cable and got syncing. I've just checked and it charges fine with my first iPhone's plug and my third party charger works fine too.
 
FSUSem1noles said:
All my old cables still work..

Even the car charger, I ended up buying a new car charger today as well, just incase..
Click to expand...

I know some of the old chargers don't work with the latest ipods. iPhone, iPod Touch, Nano and Classic. I had to get a new car charger for my Touch. Which i'm sure will work with the 3G iPhone. I highly recommend this charger. I LOVE it. It's by InCase. It's the 2 in one. Car charger and house. Very nicely made. I've been through many crappy chargers.
 
Sweetbike40 said:
I know some of the old chargers don't work with the latest ipods. iPhone, iPod Touch, Nano and Classic. I had to get a new car charger for my Touch. Which i'm sure will work with the 3G iPhone. I highly recommend this charger. I LOVE it. It's by InCase. It's the 2 in one. Car charger and house. Very nicely made. I've been through many crappy chargers.
Click to expand...

I'd like to hear if this is true. I have an in-dash ipod adapter that plays music and charges (i have ipod touch)... if this continues to work with iphone 3g that's 1 step closer towards getting the phone.

Edit: also, does the iphone 3g come with an adapter for the universal dock? (I'm referring to the plastic piece in the cradle that snaps into the universal dock.)
 
I can confirm that my cigarette lighter charger that charged my first gen iPhone without any issues whatsoever will NOT charge the 3G iPhone. I plugged it in and a warning came up saying "this device is not compatible with iPhone 3G".

Not amused, another £10 down the drain on a new car charger as I absolutely will need to be charging it when using GPS on long car journeys, GPS sucks the life out of a battery quicker than you can blink.
 
iPhone 3G Charging Issues -- Firewire, old Acccessories, etc. [Merged Thread]

I don't have my 3G phoen yet, but evidently the 3G iPhone won't charge from devices that use the Firewire pins for power. This could include any number of devices that power iPods. Things like speaker docks, Car charger, Wall chargers, and Car head unit cables.

This link to an ilounge iPhone comparison talks about the issue (along with many other things):

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ne...-vs-iphone-comparison-test-results-here/14715

Personally, I kept all of my older wall firewire chargers, and I suspect my car charger may be firewire also.

Nothing we can do about it now, but another interesting tidbit. Could be a real pain if your speaker dock or car interface won't charge. I read something about some adapter coming out later, but I don't know if this was for an Apple accessory or third party...

As an interesting observation, I have a firewire charger connected to a Belkin iPod 30 pin-to-USB adapter, and my USB iPhone dock plugged into the adapter. It charges my older iPhone fine, so I wonder how it will work for the 3G. Somehow the firewire power is getting adapted and rerouted to the appropriate USB pins.
 
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