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Offical iPhone 4 Bumper, Older USB Cords, And You!

Statusnone88

Statusnone88

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 19, 2010
1,580
835
So I got my Apple Bumper today and I must say I'm quite pleased. Except with one tiny little thing: the slot in the bottom of the Bumper is fitted for what seems only newer USB cables.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal for some, but those of us who based their entire car stereo system around our iPhone might be a little upset. I'd rather not have to take my Bumper off every time I get in the car, it seems fragile as it is. My Pioneer full speed cable isn't off by much - I'm thinking of taking a razor and shaving off some of the plastic to make a fit. Just trying to gather some idea's of what others are doing/thinking of doing since the companies who make these decks and cables seem to be quite slow on making new products.

Any idea's guys? The feedback is very much appreciated.
 
I'm in the same boat.

It's VERY inconsiderate that Apple only left enough space for basically the USB cable that ships with the iPhone.

I take the case off everytime I get into my car, but it's annoying to do. The USB cable is kinda large, so I may have to just trim the bumper.
 
Dwalls90 said:
I'm in the same boat.

It's VERY inconsiderate that Apple only left enough space for basically the USB cable that ships with the iPhone.

I take the case off every time I get into my car, but it's annoying to do. The USB cable is kinda large, so I may have to just trim the bumper.
Click to expand...

You do take the bumper off? I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid but it feels like the thing is going to break every time I take it off. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it makes me cringe when I take the Bumper off.
 
Statusnone88 said:
You do take the bumper off? I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid but it feels like the thing is going to break every time I take it off. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it makes me cringe when I take the Bumper off.
Click to expand...

I agree. I hate taking the bumper off. It fits very well. Maybe too well. But I like the phone better with it than without.

Remember that ipods were a lot fatter when that old connector was made. It's not a problem with how the bumper was made, it's because the iPhone 4 is so thin. I just compared the old connector to the hole in the bumper and you would have to carve out the bumper shell all the way into the rubber. That would probably ruin the bumper. It would also require a lot of grinding on the old connector. It's probably time to retire the old cable.
 
Statusnone88 said:
You do take the bumper off? I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid but it feels like the thing is going to break every time I take it off. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it makes me cringe when I take the Bumper off.
Click to expand...

Trust me - I'm in the same boat. The case doesn't come off until I'm sitting in the driver's seat. Not taking any chance with this device shattering.
 
Givmeabrek said:
Ok that's nice. But would you dremel the bumper or the connector on the cable??
Click to expand...


The actual cable. My full speed cable is solid plastic surrounding the connector and it looks like it's pretty workable for shaving some off.

Cutting into the bumper's outer plastic looks like a bigger job then I want to get into.
 
Dwalls90 said:
Trust me - I'm in the same boat. The case doesn't come off until I'm sitting in the driver's seat. Not taking any chance with this device shattering.
Click to expand...


Oh, definitely that too. What I meant though is I feel like I'm going to scratch the phone with the actual bumper or break something in that aspect. Like I said, it doesn't seem like it's too happy when I'm STRETCHING it on my phone or off it for that matter.

About to go in the car and compare the 2 cords and see if it's even possible to start shaving some plastic.
 
Statusnone88 said:
So I got my Apple Bumper today and I must say I'm quite pleased. Except with one tiny little thing: the slot in the bottom of the Bumper is fitted for what seems only newer USB cables.
Click to expand...

Statusnone88 said:
You do take the bumper off? I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid but it feels like the thing is going to break every time I take it off. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it makes me cringe when I take the Bumper off.
Click to expand...

BOTH OF THESE!

I hate it that I can't use the old USB without taking off the bumper and everytime I take off the bumper I feel like I am stretching it out.

Apple is screwing us over
 
I found a fix. All you have to do is pop the plastic off the dock connecter. It's not pretty but it's worked for my connecter to my cars head unit and that's not even an official apple connecter. I also did this on a road trip in my friends car. My bumper is already loose cause I kept removing it for my car so I may try to shrink it.
 
It's not just the dock connector, it's also the headphone jack. I use that to connect to my car audio, and the plug was prevented from inserting because of the bumper.

They made the hole large enough for the connector, but not for the housing.
 
I cut out the bottom of the bumper to fit on my tunedirect from belkin. A little cutting with an exacto knife was all it took to fit.
 
Dwalls90 said:
I'm in the same boat.

It's VERY inconsiderate that Apple only left enough space for basically the USB cable that ships with the iPhone.

I take the case off everytime I get into my car, but it's annoying to do. The USB cable is kinda large, so I may have to just trim the bumper.
Click to expand...

+1
I have a 2008 Mercedes OEM iPod integration kit in my car and although everything works perfectly with the iP4, I just received my bumper today and the 30 pin USB connector in the glovebox isn't deep enough to fit in the bumper opening...:mad:
 
Statusnone88 said:
So I got my Apple Bumper today and I must say I'm quite pleased. Except with one tiny little thing: the slot in the bottom of the Bumper is fitted for what seems only newer USB cables.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal for some, but those of us who based their entire car stereo system around our iPhone might be a little upset. I'd rather not have to take my Bumper off every time I get in the car, it seems fragile as it is. My Pioneer full speed cable isn't off by much - I'm thinking of taking a razor and shaving off some of the plastic to make a fit. Just trying to gather some idea's of what others are doing/thinking of doing since the companies who make these decks and cables seem to be quite slow on making new products.

Any idea's guys? The feedback is very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
You should go buy the official iPhone 4 dock and plug your cable into the dock.
 
101at9 said:
I found a fix. All you have to do is pop the plastic off the dock connecter. It's not pretty but it's worked for my connecter to my cars head unit and that's not even an official apple connecter. I also did this on a road trip in my friends car. My bumper is already loose cause I kept removing it for my car so I may try to shrink it.
Click to expand...

Going with this as my fix. But I also noticed something else. It's not that some of the older cables are thicker (in my case anyway) but the bumper allows for a rounded-edge connector while most of mine are squared.
 
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