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Using iPhone 4s with USB instead of Bluetooth

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Dusti Ramone, Aug 17, 2012.

  1. Dusti Ramone

    Dusti Ramone New Member

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    I recently purchased a 2012 Prius (base model, so no Entune) and my music will play from my iPhone 4s on the Bluetooth setting, but when I plug it into the USB port it recognizes it as an iPod but will not play the music. I can not figure out if there is a setting I can change to make it play when it is plugged in, or what reason it is not working. Using the Bluetooth REALLY drains my phone battery. Thanks in advance for any advice.
     
  2. etobia

    etobia Member

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    Why don't you just hook your phone up to the charger and plug it into the car!
     
    mgb4tim likes this.
  3. Dusti Ramone

    Dusti Ramone New Member

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    I realize I can do that, but when the iPhone is hooked up with the USB it recognizes it as an iPod so it displays the music information on the screen, which is nice. I know there must be a way to get it to play when it is hooked up with USB. Please help if you know how or have any suggestions.
     
  4. stackcheese

    stackcheese Junior Member

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    on your iphone theres a little letter looking box that shows which output the sound is going to, did you make sure it was the wired connection and not the bluetooth connection?
     
  5. etobia

    etobia Member

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    Question for the more experienced iPhone and iPod users......if the songs come up on the display screen like the stations show up on sat radio....don't you just touch the song? Can you scroll thru the music touching the screen or using the voice commands?

    Dusti.....sorry I interpreted your original question incorrectly.
     
  6. Dusti Ramone

    Dusti Ramone New Member

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    No, I haven't. I will try that. Thanks.
     
  7. Dusti Ramone

    Dusti Ramone New Member

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    I have tried that, no sound comes out.
     
  8. chinito77

    chinito77 Member

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    I have a 2012 and when I plug my iPhone via USB, both AUX and iPod are lit up in the Audio screen. Bluetooth will play music but my options are limited. USB lets me see album art work and pick songs from my playlists. To answer the OP, try to disable Blue Tooth/unpair your phone. Then try to plug it in via USB and see what happens.

    Now, I have a question as well. Is there anyway to keep the iPod music screen up? It seems to revert to either the Map, Apps, or Settings screen after 10 secs. I would like to keep my music (With album art) on screen while driving. How can I do this?
     
  9. stackcheese

    stackcheese Junior Member

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    do you click the audio button? the physical button on the head unit? if you click apps it will go back to the app menu/maps if you have gps enabled i think. To disable navigation/gps routing select the button next to dest? i believe on the navigation menu and select disable routing/navigation.
     
  10. Big Steve

    Big Steve ramblin wreck

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    Three are settings to correct/changs the screen reverting. Now where they? Try thr settings button, or map mode in nav.
     
  11. etobia

    etobia Member

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    If your GPS is still trying to take you to a destination it will continue to pop up (unless u choose screen off, but you don't want to do that because you won't see the audio choices either)

    My silly suggestion would be to set the gps to go home. drive home and wait for it to say "arrived at destination powering off" and then connect your unit.

    Big problem I see with this idea though is the nav unit should work seamlessly with all of these things. I had a huge problem with my nav unit and Toyota had to replace it ($4000 on them) :) So, my big word of caution is to be vigilant with seeking the dealer assistance and tell them the unit is supposed to work (my God it's a iphone........... new technology to new technology.) Anyway, make them figure it out. My issues started out with just crappy sat radio and by the time we swapped the unit out the gps buttons were changing the satellite radio stations and couldn't find its way home either!.

    So.........Make Toyota do the work and document everything.
     
  12. James Kinkade

    James Kinkade New Member

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    I was using my iPhone with the USB connection and it was working just fine until I upgraded my 2 year old iPhone 3G to IOS 5.11. Now when I connect it in the car it won't even show anything-nothing works. Do you know what version of IOS is on your iPhone? By the way, when it worked it simply started playing on of my playlists.
     
  13. chinito77

    chinito77 Member

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    I have two dislikes about the iPhone and Prius integration. One, my phone gets really hot when plugged in via USB. Two, my Prius sometimes does not recognize my iphone when I plug it in. I have to reboot the iPhone then plug it in for it to work again. I have better luck with the Bluetooth mode but unfortunately, the cover art does not show up on the screen other wise I would choose bluetooth instead. :(

    The same thing goes with Entune. If it cannot recognize my iPhone, I have to reboot the phone.
     
  14. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    As noted in other threads, I found that my iPhone got quite hot on USB when placed (logically) face up on any convenient flat surface in the car. But as most of the heat dissipation is from the phone's rear panel, placing it face down keeps it quite cool.
     
  15. stackcheese

    stackcheese Junior Member

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    the more you know! i normally keep it in the cup holder.

    but i did have my iphone shut down because of heat while driving with the windows down and flat in the sun.

    glad im not the only one seeing this..
     
  16. RaZa

    RaZa Member

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    if you want to use the bluetooth, but not drain your battery, just plug your phone into a usb charger adapter that is plugged into the 12v outlet instead of plugging it into the car's usb port.
     
  17. davidally

    davidally New Member

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    My iphone seems to hold the charge with blue tooth. What I do notice is the sound quality is good with blue tooth but, much better when I plug my iphone into the USB port.
     
  18. Dennisg

    Dennisg New Member

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    I have a 2010 III with navigation so not sure how this works with a 2012... But I start playing music through Bluetooth then I plug it into the USB port. The iPhone locks up the Music app saying an accessory is connected. I have a Bluetooth tab on my navigation screen and I just hit "Play" again, and it plays through bluetooth.

    It seems it just stops playing music when you connect it through the USB port. You just have to find a way to get it to start playing again. Not sure if this helps at all...