Just picked up an '06 525i. Base model, no NAV, no CD Changer. It has a standard Aux input in the armrest console, but nothing showns on the idrive when I plug in my iphone or ipod. A friend tells me I must bring to dealer to install software for Aux input to work. Trying to avoid Dealer visit, Any suggestions.
There's no software required but I'm not sure what you mean when you say nothing "showns" (shows up??) on the iDrive screen. After you set the iDrive to Aux in audio, do you hear anything if you start the ipod? If you hear music, it's working. Keep in mind that you are getting the music from an earphone output and there are adapters that will adjust the output to appropriate levels for the aux input.
I should also point out that the round aux jack is an analog connector This means that it's only for connecting sound input from your portable media player and playing music through your car's audio system. In order for song data to show up in i-drive, you have to use a digital connection, not an analog one. An example of a digital connection would be a USB connection. Your portable music player must also support outputting digital song data through the USB port for this to work, and it must be supported by I-Drive (I-Drive does not support ALL music players). Most of Apple's Ipods and Iphones are supported.
More clarifications needed. First, the OPs car couldn't possibly have a USB port. Second, the connection for song data AND music would be digital (for data) and analog (for music). The iPod's output is analog even through the dock connector.
Ipod and Iphone docking connector is a 20-pin digital connection You're wrong. Only two of those pins are used for charging, 5 volts. The rest are used to connect the Iphone and Ipod to a USB port so that information can be sync'd DIGITALLY back and forth on a Windows or Mac using Itunes. That's a digital connection, not analog. If it were analog, syncing would not be possible using that connector. The 30-pin docking connector is a digital connector. So is the Firewire port on older Ipods. Trust me. I was professionally trained by Apple on Ipods and Iphones from May 2009 until January 2010. I know what I am talking about. http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Apple_iPod_-_iPhone_dock
Are you saying that 3 and 4 are not line level audio out? Regardless of that, the BMW system does in fact split off analog and digital via the Y-cable (included with the 6FL iPod option) and the audio is indeed analog.
It's analog if it's connected to the headphone jack. Regardless of how the BMW system does it, Ipods and Iphones send analog audio through the headphone jack with ONE EXCEPTION: The newer (after Sept 2009) Ipod Nanos have no docking connector. This model looks like a small pack of chewing gum and is about the same size. Its one interface connector has a 1/4 inch standard headphone jack. To allow for charging and syncing, Apple provides an adapter cable that's a 1/4 inch male stereo plug on one end, and male USB on the other. The headphone jack and adapter cable is the only way the Ipod Nano can sync data or charge itself using the USB adapter. That's an isolated example though. All other third party Ipod and Iphone docks rely on this connector to send MP3 data through the docking connector and SOMETIMES music output, depending on the design. It depends on the particular model of the docking station as well as the model of the Ipod and Iphone (Iphone has headphone jack on the top, while some Ipod models have the headphone jack on the bottom).
If that's the case, how come all of my song information and album information shows up on my Alpine iDA-X300 head unit, using nothing but the included iPod cable (attaches to the dock connector)?
