I want to connect my iphone to my car stereo that only has a 3.5mm aux input. I was going to get an aftermarket lightning to 3.5mm cable (the Apple one is too expensive), but was wondering if this would be safe to use? Since the lightning port is also used to charge the battery, I'm cautious about any possible damage or wear to the battery?
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Safe to use aftermarket lightning to 3.5mm cable?
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I know where to find them, my question is whether it's safe to use aftermarket cables with iPhone's lightning port.
Safe? Probably. Will it work? Iffy.
Plenty of stories out there where knock-offs get the "this accessory not supported" message. Or bad sound, or mic/volume control/etc does not work (I know, not needed in this use case). Or the adapter simply dies early.
So spare the headaches of possibly going through several $5 knock-offs and spend the $10 on the real one (Apple Store, Amazon, Target, Best Buy).
And: the Lightning to 3.5 is one-way, so charging does not enter into the picture, even with knock-offs. Only issue would be if the cheapo one has a spectacular death while plugged into the phone.
Plenty of stories out there where knock-offs get the "this accessory not supported" message. Or bad sound, or mic/volume control/etc does not work (I know, not needed in this use case). Or the adapter simply dies early.
So spare the headaches of possibly going through several $5 knock-offs and spend the $10 on the real one (Apple Store, Amazon, Target, Best Buy).
And: the Lightning to 3.5 is one-way, so charging does not enter into the picture, even with knock-offs. Only issue would be if the cheapo one has a spectacular death while plugged into the phone.
One can get a Apple OEM for $9.99 at most major retailers... That being said. I have never had an issue with aftermarket wires if I didn’t buy the cheapest junk I could find.
I believe the $9.99 OEM that you guys mention is the small adapter that Apple sells? I have one of those and have had mixed results using it in the car for my purpose. It's going iPhone->lightning to 3.5mm adapter cable->3.5mm cable into the car stereo. The sound isn't great, and sometimes it doesn't even work. I attribute this to possibly the 3.5mm cable I have, not the Apple adapter. So I wanted to grab the lightning to 3.5mm cable that bypasses the adapter, to see if it helps.
If you get the short apple adapter, and some NON adhesive bright colored shrink tubing. Install the 3.5 headphone plug into the apple adapter. shrink tube from the lightning portion of the apple adapter all the way over where the 3.5 plugs in. Gives you a large area to pull on the wire and gives a tremendous amount of strain relief. Also makes the end easy to find in the car if your cord is very long. Carefully remove the shrink tube if you ever want to disconnect the apple adapter from the 3.5 headphone cord.
There are some good 3.5mm patch cords available for very reasonable prices. Learning and triple checking the specs will net you great cords for low prices. There is a seller on ebay selling a custom made lightning to rca or 3.5mm, your pick. Very nice looking piece. Prices start at $69
. Also, check the eq setting in your phone settings. I have found setting it to “off” nets the best result for auto or home stereo sound. Whether through a lightning/3.5mm or through lightning usb/carplay. Another thing to try is having your phone at 3/4 volume. Having the phones tiny little amplifier screaming away at your car radio will provide plenty of distortion, that doesn’t need to be there if you turn the phone down and car radio up.
. Also, check the eq setting in your phone settings. I have found setting it to “off” nets the best result for auto or home stereo sound. Whether through a lightning/3.5mm or through lightning usb/carplay. Another thing to try is having your phone at 3/4 volume. Having the phones tiny little amplifier screaming away at your car radio will provide plenty of distortion, that doesn’t need to be there if you turn the phone down and car radio up.
Yup, flimsy overpriced cable sold by Apple for seems to stop working after a while. Oh how I miss the headphone jack...