iPhone 5 Won't Work In Your Car? We May Have the Solution
There I was last Friday, a happy new iPhone 5 owner about to drive home in a 2013 Chevy Spark with the latest multimedia system on the market.
I plug the new Lightning connector into the iPhone 5 and the USB into the car's port.
The Spark's 7-inch screen says "Loading" with a ring of circles spinning around and then ... nothing.
The smartphone reads, "This accessory not supported." The accessory is a $16,000 car.
I'm a bit devastated and drive home listening to talk radio.
Over the weekend, I tried out the iPhone 5 in my wife's car, a 2010 Subaru Outback and then my in-laws' 2012 Acura TSX, and it isn't working in either of them.
I may have discovered a huge flaw in the new iPhone's system, I think to myself. This story will break the blog's traffic records.
I get to the office on Monday morning after a weekend of testing the iPhone's maps, camera, applications — you name it — and shoot off a bunch of emails to automakers about their cars not working with the latest device now owned by 5 million potential car shoppers.
They scramble to find the cause of the problem.
GM is shocked since it's been working with an iPhone 5 beta for the new Spark, and Apple had the car at its Cupertino, Calif., campus for testing purposes, too.
When I heard that I thought maybe this is just my iPhone. I turn to Google.
Google doesn't find any issues like mine. Twitter, nope. Facebook, nada.
Soooo, it's just me.
I head out to shoot a video of said Spark with both my iPhone 5 and my iPhone 4, which I'll need as a prop to show off the multimedia system. Then I decide to turn the new phone off.
In my 72 hours of ownership, I hadn't actually done that. I'd been handed the iPhone with it already turned on and had just been charging it ever since.
I turn it back on and spend the next few hours shooting said video. At the end of the shoot, I decide to try out the iPhone 5 in a 2013 GMC Terrain. The iPhone 5 works perfectly and syncs in just seconds. I'd kind of forgotten the off-and-on trick and get back into the Spark. It's working there now, too!
And in our Outback and a Dodge or two I drove this morning.
So, my dreams of tech web domination are shot, but at least I now know how to answer anyone who's having trouble getting their new iPhone 5 to work in their car.
Just turn it off.
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What I find most disconcerting, is you used an entire blog to tell folks to turn your device off and on. Wow, you really don't have much of a life, do you?
Yes, your iPhone 5 (and any smartphone) is basically a little computer. And what is the first thing tech support advises you to do with ANY issue? Restart.
Doug v = idiot.
Dave - Don't your in-laws have an RDX not a TSX?
Doug V. He has a job. I found this story entertaining. He wants to make people smile. Get the point and quit being a douchebag.
Dave. Nice story. Sometimes when a device (be it any computer) acts up we tend to think up all kinds of complicated solutions but often forget the most simple one of just turning off and on the device to reset it.
Best advice ever... just turn the darn thing off... then LEAVE IT OFF in the car. With some of these touchscreen 'infotainment' centers in the consoles, isn't that enough of a distraction?
The Iphone 4 works intermittently in my VW Jetta and I am on my 2nd Iphone, issues with both.
Michael,
You have a great memory. Yes, my mother in law has a new RDX, my father in law a TSX.
Great advice my wife will be getting one of those new phones and this will save me alot of headaches.
Thanks!
Meh. The iPhone ceased to be important 2 generations ago.
Thank you. :) I was having this issue on my Equinox. Solved.
Hi, I'm a Aircraft Mechanic and sometimes it is the only solution to fix a "No-Go glitch" on the aircraft. (on the ground parked at the gate). I just had the same the problem with my phone.
Great article. I will have to give it a try. My 2010 Volvo XC60 has a USB port. I had plugged my phone into it previously and it worked well to charge. Today was the first day that I tried to play Spotify through my radio and it gave me the same quote "This accessory is not supported."
Having the same issues with my 2011 Sienna. Getting an "Error 5" code which happened occasionally with my 3GS, too. Here's hoping the OFF/ON trick is the fix!
You're an idiot! It is call rebooting after changes to any computer.
Thanks for the tip :)
I'm sorry you have such a bunch of rude people reading and commenting on your blog :(
Thanks for giving valuable information because i am thinking about buying iPhone 5 in my car. I think is only supporting in some particular cars.
Yeah this guy is a middle aged guy who is a douche who loves his little toys.
I think it did take you a litte bit of extra time to just say reboot. However wtf with all the haters pn a car blog!!!! People are you really that angry that this guy had the answer to what was wrong with your system. So you were to stupid to think of power cycling your phone first. So. What!!! Instead of spending the time biting the hand that is feeding you, how about just saying thank you.
I can see now why America starts so many wars, Americans 🍔....
The USA needs more good people like the few in this post and less aggressive ones like the others in this post..
Signed:
A bloke that knows a lot about nothing that matters..
where can i buy a mileage correction tool i need to fix the miles on my car
haha thats awesome, sometimes the most minor things help out the most