USB iPhone 7 Problem: Charging on/off constantly

Arthurrs · 10-25-2017, 05:42 PM

What's the charge level of your battery? If it's low, then you may have some erratic behaviour with the iPhone attempting to charge and run all the apps at the same time and maintain it's connection with the car. My suggestion is to try to dim the screen a bit in an attempt to reduce energy consumption. The USB port on the older cars (mine a 2014 model) only support 200 mA of current, which is the USB standard at the time. If my schedule in the coming weeks proves to be favourable, I have a small USB hub with a high current charging port that I'm going to try out in my car with the hopes of being able to supply what my iPhone 6S+ is looking for with current. Need to retrofit a 12 VDC outlet behind the armrest first...

jdr78569 · 10-25-2017, 06:11 PM

Does it to mine to. Not every time but it does. I usually unplug it and try it later, works then. But idk the problem. Have tried other cables as well

bimmer456 · 10-25-2017, 06:27 PM

I would use a cigarette lighter adapter instead of the USB port as it likely charges at a higher current if you get one that charges faster, unless you're playing music through the usb port from the phone.

harzack86 · 10-25-2017, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bimmer456

Bluetooth won't help with the charging issue. I also use bluetooth but don't need to get the car coded for that, I can see album art and advance to the next track or go back to the previous track. I use Amazon Music as it is included with Amazon Prime with no ads.

You're right about the charging issue: I use a usb connector plugged in the power outlet from the front ashtray, so the armrest USB plug is not used in my car. My F30 is from 2014 and didn't have the option for Bluetooth media streaming (only phone) so I had to code it to enable this feature.

DeeKay · 10-26-2017, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthurrs

What's the charge level of your battery? If it's low, then you may have some erratic behaviour with the iPhone attempting to charge and run all the apps at the same time and maintain it's connection with the car. My suggestion is to try to dim the screen a bit in an attempt to reduce energy consumption. The USB port on the older cars (mine a 2014 model) only support 200 mA of current, which is the USB standard at the time. If my schedule in the coming weeks proves to be favourable, I have a small USB hub with a high current charging port that I'm going to try out in my car with the hopes of being able to supply what my iPhone 6S+ is looking for with current. Need to retrofit a 12 VDC outlet behind the armrest first...

I do have a feeling it's the power - would be the most logical explanation

PabloK · 10-29-2017, 08:37 PM

hey guys,

I tried about 30 different cords... no luck

This may be silly but I simply restarted my iPhone and everything works now.

Worth a shot if you're still struggling.

zpepperc · 11-27-2017, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeeKay

I have recently bought a 2013 BMW F30 with pro nav and enhanced bluetooth with streaming music etc.

However I would like to use the armrest USB socket for music playback, to get album art etc. and have tried for a while now but no luck.

Every time I plug in my phone it keeps turning charging on/off constantly - like twice every second! Of course this also means no connection to the car at all.

I saw this thread http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...=737048&page=3 on Bimmerfest with people experiencing similar problems and have tried all their solutions but without luck. I only have original cables - have tried 3-4 Apple OEM cables AND the original BMW cable. No luck. I have also tried their solution of deleting the Bluetooth and turning it off on the phone - no luck

Now you could say that the USB port might be broken, but I managed both a multimedia update and a full map update from a USB stick without a single issue and twice for a very short time I managed to get the phone to connect and saw that precious album art and WANT MORE

Please if anyone has suggestions it would be appreciated

For some reason I think it could have something to do with the power output but might be wrong

I had this same issue, 2015 328i xDrive with tech package. I went to BMW about it twice, the first time they claimed they couldn't replicate the issue, and advised me to buy a genuine apple cable. So I did that, and the brand new cable was even WORSE than my initial cable.

Brought it back in again and they replaced the USB port, or so they say... They then told me it was my cables that were still bad and to buy yet another. Just ordered a new genuine apple cable to test in the new port, not sure what to do if this one doesn't work. Incredibly frustrating because bluetooth audio is less than USB. Have any of you who were experiencing this persistently found a permanent solution?

IAmATeaf · 11-27-2017, 02:37 PM

I’ve had this and also get this with my laptop and iTunes and for me it was the cable. Tried another and it works both in the car and in my laptop.

BMWorks78 · 02-22-2018, 09:30 AM

I recently purchased a 2014 328i and I am experiencing the same issue with the USB connection. I noticed that it goes away after 5-10 into the drive.

vooonoo · 02-22-2018, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWorks78

I recently purchased a 2014 328i and I am experiencing the same issue with the USB connection. I noticed that it goes away after 5-10 into the drive.

It's probably the cable

Jhnblckwood · 02-23-2018, 02:51 PM

I recently retrofitted nbt pro from entry and everything worked fine, USB cable worked fine. I then coded 6ns and the same cable that worked fine before coding suddenly started doing same thing charging on n off. Changed cables all worked fine. So crazy.

amulos · 03-25-2018, 04:12 PM

exactly the same issue here, iphone 8 plus, charges/disconnects randomly. rendering the bmw apps pretty much useless as it wont hold a connection. dealer looked at it and said that its a compatibility issue with the iphone 8, 8 plus and X. i tried an old 5s i had, ad it works flawlessly!

my idrive has software 003.003.001 (quite recent) apparently there have been a few cases raisied with bmw about this in the UK

dr adequate · 03-29-2018, 01:46 PM

I had the same problem with my '14 328. Dealer replaced the USB port under warranty, no problems since then although its only been a couple of weeks

HappyGuy_Holland · 03-31-2018, 09:23 AM

it most definitely is the (lack of) USB power generated in the armrest USB! The new iOS versions and batteries of the latest iPhones simply demand to much 'juice' for the BMW usb outlet. (it is max 0,5 mA if i'm correct)

New cables, new USB ports and whatever else external is not going to fix this! The only way to get this over with is a (hard-/ software) update from BMWp-AG to turn up the loading capacity of the USB.

Work arounds are:
1. use the BT streaming option (if available in your car)
2. Use a cigarette lighter plug to charge battery and a (mini jack) cable in the aux in (if your phone still supports that)
3. there are also lightning cables available now with an powerbank included. (have not tried that out)

4. a smart technician should be able to create a lightning cable with a 'filter' which limits the amount of power asked for .. (anyone?)

youngdoc1 · 04-12-2018, 12:55 PM

One more thing to take into account - look for lint/debris within the charging socket of the phone. I notice if there is a lot of it I get error messages ("accessory cannot be used with this phone") that go away completely after this is cleaned out with a tooth pick.

Good luck.

skierrob · 04-13-2018, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyGuy_Holland

it most definitely is the (lack of) USB power generated in the armrest USB! The new iOS versions and batteries of the latest iPhones simply demand to much 'juice' for the BMW usb outlet. (it is max 0,5 mA if i'm correct)

New cables, new USB ports and whatever else external is not going to fix this! The only way to get this over with is a (hard-/ software) update from BMWp-AG to turn up the loading capacity of the USB.

Work arounds are:
1. use the BT streaming option (if available in your car)
2. Use a cigarette lighter plug to charge battery and a (mini jack) cable in the aux in (if your phone still supports that)
3. there are also lightning cables available now with an powerbank included. (have not tried that out)

4. a smart technician should be able to create a lightning cable with a 'filter' which limits the amount of power asked for .. (anyone?)

BMW should have accounted for the need for more power in the future. I paid extra for "Enhanced USB" with my F30, and the fact it stopped working within 3 years of purchase sounds like something they should be responsible for fixing. Or I should get my money back for the package that no longer works as designed.

Duperstar · 04-13-2018, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngdoc1

One more thing to take into account - look for lint/debris within the charging socket of the phone. I notice if there is a lot of it I get error messages ("accessory cannot be used with this phone") that go away completely after this is cleaned out with a tooth pick.

Good luck.

Check this for sure. Was a problem for me twice and gave the same symptoms.

plind · 06-12-2018, 09:53 AM

Anyone got a solution from BMW? I've been having the exact same issue and it's driving me nuts. I've tried:
* multiple different cables (Apple original and third party ones)
* multiple different iPhones
* cleaning the lightning socket with a toothpick as well as alcohol
* a €200 car software update by the BMW dealer on June 11, 2018

Changing any of these usually makes everything work for 0.5 to 1 hour, but after that the disconnecting/reconnecting begins again. Here's a video I shot of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8cd1pl6o5u...20USB.mp4?dl=0

Given that I'm not the only one with the problem, you'd say BMW would have a solution for this. All clues seem to point at too little current. But since a USB adapted in the sigaret lighter works just fine, one would say that it shouldn't be to hard to also route more current to the USB arm rest connector. Has anyone gotten a fix like this?

IK6SPEED · 06-12-2018, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plind

Anyone got a solution from BMW? I've been having the exact same issue and it's driving me nuts. I've tried:
* multiple different cables (Apple original and third party ones)
* multiple different iPhones
* cleaning the lightning socket with a toothpick as well as alcohol
* a €200 car software update by the BMW dealer on June 11, 2018

Changing any of these usually makes everything work for 0.5 to 1 hour, but after that the disconnecting/reconnecting begins again. Here's a video I shot of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8cd1pl6o5u...20USB.mp4?dl=0

Given that I'm not the only one with the problem, you'd say BMW would have a solution for this. All clues seem to point at too little current. But since a USB adapted in the sigaret lighter works just fine, one would say that it shouldn't be to hard to also route more current to the USB arm rest connector. Has anyone gotten a fix like this?

The CIC and NBT units are not adjustable. Period.

Starting with the NBT EVO units (MY 2016 in USA) the output is adjustable.

BMW Solutions?

1) Retrofit a NBT EVO unit in your car with all that entails (including probable loss of connected drive) and code to higher settings.

2) Buy a 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 BMW

On the other hand, you can buy a smaller smartphone such as the iPhone SE and have no issue or use a cigarette lighter adapter.

If you wanted to be brave and hack up your car’s wiring, you could use the 12v to the center console rear vent, hard wire a higher power converter there, and cut wire to pin 1 in the center console, wiring that to higher power converter.

I would not recommend you do that though.

Bottom line. BMW is not responsible for changes in technology past the model year car you purchased.

delacroix · 06-13-2018, 07:24 AM

I have a 2015 328i Xdrive and iPhone 7 plus. I was having the same issue but ordered an Anker lighting cable and it solved my issue.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerLi...ightning+cable

On another note, you could give this a try:

https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Spl...N00BAKZNHQSDPD

Andyroid · 06-13-2018, 09:10 AM

Don't mean to hijack the thread but my issue is kind of related. Using an iphone 7 and am now on my 4th cable. I don't even get a connection, never mind an intermittent one. The USB menu item doesn't light up. Works perfectly with a USB stick. I've updated to the latest FW MX-003.005.004. It's the basic head unit which is to say no sat nav. The phone connects via bluetooth for calls only. Not sure whether to go get another set of cables from the list of examples on this thread or just put up with aux-in ...

Any help appreciated.

Ashhong · 06-29-2018, 12:18 PM

The weirdest thing about this issue is that it's intermittent. When it's happening, try pushing around the USB connection to the car. If I push it firmly towards the front of the car it usually stops. I'm not sure why the problem would stop if it was a power/current issue. Maybe most cables just don't make a strong enough connection?

10-25-2017, 05:42 PM	#23
Arthurrs Second Lieutenant 89 Rep 258 Posts Drives: 2017 430i xdrive Gran Coupe Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	What's the charge level of your battery? If it's low, then you may have some erratic behaviour with the iPhone attempting to charge and run all the apps at the same time and maintain it's connection with the car. My suggestion is to try to dim the screen a bit in an attempt to reduce energy consumption. The USB port on the older cars (mine a 2014 model) only support 200 mA of current, which is the USB standard at the time. If my schedule in the coming weeks proves to be favourable, I have a small USB hub with a high current charging port that I'm going to try out in my car with the hopes of being able to supply what my iPhone 6S+ is looking for with current. Need to retrofit a 12 VDC outlet behind the armrest first... __________________ 2017 430ix Gran Coupe
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10-25-2017, 06:11 PM	#24
jdr78569 Lieutenant 180 Rep 466 Posts Drives: F31 328d sport wag Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: GA iTrader: (0)	Does it to mine to. Not every time but it does. I usually unplug it and try it later, works then. But idk the problem. Have tried other cables as well
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10-25-2017, 06:27 PM	#25
bimmer456 Major General 2950 Rep 5,984 Posts Drives: 340i Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Pasadena, CA iTrader: (0)	I would use a cigarette lighter adapter instead of the USB port as it likely charges at a higher current if you get one that charges faster, unless you're playing music through the usb port from the phone.
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10-29-2017, 08:37 PM	#28
PabloK Lieutenant Colonel 597 Rep 1,805 Posts Drives: F30 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Orono iTrader: (1)	hey guys, I tried about 30 different cords... no luck This may be silly but I simply restarted my iPhone and everything works now. Worth a shot if you're still struggling. __________________ 2014 F30 335i / 2014 F31 328d / 2014 F22 m235i 2019 G05 5.0 / 2012 E70 X5 50i / 2007 X5 3.0is 2011 e93 M3 / 2009 E60 M5 / 2004 E46 M3 2017 Alpina B6 22 Ram Trx / 22 M5 CS
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11-27-2017, 02:37 PM	#30
IAmATeaf Captain 238 Rep 878 Posts Drives: 2015 F30 335i Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 BMW 335i [0.00]	I’ve had this and also get this with my laptop and iTunes and for me it was the cable. Tried another and it works both in the car and in my laptop.
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02-22-2018, 09:30 AM	#31
BMWorks78 Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Montreal iTrader: (0)	I recently purchased a 2014 328i and I am experiencing the same issue with the USB connection. I noticed that it goes away after 5-10 into the drive.
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02-23-2018, 02:51 PM	#33
Jhnblckwood Captain 130 Rep 765 Posts Drives: F30 2014 320i xdrive Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	I recently retrofitted nbt pro from entry and everything worked fine, USB cable worked fine. I then coded 6ns and the same cable that worked fine before coding suddenly started doing same thing charging on n off. Changed cables all worked fine. So crazy.
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03-25-2018, 04:12 PM	#34
amulos New Member 11 Rep 27 Posts Drives: F31 330d M Sport Touring Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Berkshire, U.K. iTrader: (0)	exactly the same issue here, iphone 8 plus, charges/disconnects randomly. rendering the bmw apps pretty much useless as it wont hold a connection. dealer looked at it and said that its a compatibility issue with the iphone 8, 8 plus and X. i tried an old 5s i had, ad it works flawlessly! my idrive has software 003.003.001 (quite recent) apparently there have been a few cases raisied with bmw about this in the UK
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03-29-2018, 01:46 PM	#35
dr adequate Private First Class 90 Rep 144 Posts Drives: 2023 M3 Competition xDrive Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Indianapolis iTrader: (0) Garage List 2023 BMW M3 Competi ... [9.00] 2014 328i xdrive [0.00]	I had the same problem with my '14 328. Dealer replaced the USB port under warranty, no problems since then although its only been a couple of weeks
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03-31-2018, 09:23 AM	#36
HappyGuy_Holland New Member 2 Rep 7 Posts Drives: G20 330 e F31 320i F30 320i Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: The Hague _ Holland iTrader: (0)	it most definitely is the (lack of) USB power generated in the armrest USB! The new iOS versions and batteries of the latest iPhones simply demand to much 'juice' for the BMW usb outlet. (it is max 0,5 mA if i'm correct) New cables, new USB ports and whatever else external is not going to fix this! The only way to get this over with is a (hard-/ software) update from BMWp-AG to turn up the loading capacity of the USB. Work arounds are: 1. use the BT streaming option (if available in your car) 2. Use a cigarette lighter plug to charge battery and a (mini jack) cable in the aux in (if your phone still supports that) 3. there are also lightning cables available now with an powerbank included. (have not tried that out) 4. a smart technician should be able to create a lightning cable with a 'filter' which limits the amount of power asked for .. (anyone?)
	Appreciate 1 DeeKay553.00 Quote

04-12-2018, 12:55 PM	#37
youngdoc1 Private First Class 34 Rep 150 Posts Drives: 2019 X4 M40i Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Toronto, Ontario iTrader: (0)	One more thing to take into account - look for lint/debris within the charging socket of the phone. I notice if there is a lot of it I get error messages ("accessory cannot be used with this phone") that go away completely after this is cleaned out with a tooth pick. Good luck.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-12-2018, 09:53 AM	#40
plind Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: BMW 320D Arctic Metallic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium iTrader: (0)	Anyone got a solution from BMW? I've been having the exact same issue and it's driving me nuts. I've tried: * multiple different cables (Apple original and third party ones) * multiple different iPhones * cleaning the lightning socket with a toothpick as well as alcohol * a €200 car software update by the BMW dealer on June 11, 2018 Changing any of these usually makes everything work for 0.5 to 1 hour, but after that the disconnecting/reconnecting begins again. Here's a video I shot of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8cd1pl6o5u...20USB.mp4?dl=0 Given that I'm not the only one with the problem, you'd say BMW would have a solution for this. All clues seem to point at too little current. But since a USB adapted in the sigaret lighter works just fine, one would say that it shouldn't be to hard to also route more current to the USB arm rest connector. Has anyone gotten a fix like this?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-13-2018, 07:24 AM	#42
delacroix New Member 2 Rep 7 Posts Drives: 2015 328i Xdrive M-Sport Join Date: May 2018 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	I have a 2015 328i Xdrive and iPhone 7 plus. I was having the same issue but ordered an Anker lighting cable and it solved my issue. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerLi...ightning+cable On another note, you could give this a try: https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Spl...N00BAKZNHQSDPD
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-13-2018, 09:10 AM	#43
Andyroid Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW 2 Series Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: East Lothian iTrader: (0)	On my 4th cable Don't mean to hijack the thread but my issue is kind of related. Using an iphone 7 and am now on my 4th cable. I don't even get a connection, never mind an intermittent one. The USB menu item doesn't light up. Works perfectly with a USB stick. I've updated to the latest FW MX-003.005.004. It's the basic head unit which is to say no sat nav. The phone connects via bluetooth for calls only. Not sure whether to go get another set of cables from the list of examples on this thread or just put up with aux-in ... Any help appreciated.
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06-29-2018, 12:18 PM	#44
Ashhong Private First Class 18 Rep 138 Posts Drives: 2014 335i Join Date: May 2010 Location: Anaheim, CA iTrader: (1)	The weirdest thing about this issue is that it's intermittent. When it's happening, try pushing around the USB connection to the car. If I push it firmly towards the front of the car it usually stops. I'm not sure why the problem would stop if it was a power/current issue. Maybe most cables just don't make a strong enough connection?
	Appreciate 0 Quote