2013 GTS and IPhone 5 connectivity for music

Rags

Rags

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228
Guys,

I cant figure out how to connect my IPhone 5 to the USB input in the glovebox and be able to listen to my music collection in the car.

The current Maserati connector in the car isnt the new Apple lightning type. I called them today and they don't do one with the lightning connector. So I removed the Maserati cable and used the Apple cable that came with the IPhone and connected it to the USB in of the Maserati. It doesn't work. I get nothing when select Aux input on the sound system and even the phone doesn't charge or react in anyway.

What am I doing wrong? All advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
fcz360

fcz360

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826
Hi Rags

Im not sure you can. I couldnt, my windows phone now connects to the system to make calls but wont pick up music. Instead i got a couple of 32mb stubby usb drives, added my music to these instead. Saves you unplugging your phone constantly as well.
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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Completely stupid question maybe... All my files are in Apple format which only plays from an Apple device. Is there any way to bulk convert them into Maser-friendly format including all the folders so the car understand artists, albums and so on? It would be so much easier to stick 'em all on a stick and plug it in and leave it there. Also, being able to control it without having to do it directly from the iPod would be a real bonus.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

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48,788
AdamN said:
Completely stupid question maybe... All my files are in Apple format which only plays from an Apple device. Is there any way to bulk convert them into Maser-friendly format including all the folders so the car understand artists, albums and so on? It would be so much easier to stick 'em all on a stick and plug it in and leave it there. Also, being able to control it without having to do it directly from the iPod would be a real bonus.
Click to expand...

There are a number of converters that can handle bulk conversion from AAC to MP3 (for example). I'd expect them to handle the meta tags as well. Probably the kind of thing you're going to need to google or persuade someone.

If you're a windows user, dbPoweramp is well regarded.

C
 
Rags

Rags

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fcz360 said:
Hi Rags

Im not sure you can. I couldnt, my windows phone now connects to the system to make calls but wont pick up music. Instead i got a couple of 32mb stubby usb drives, added my music to these instead. Saves you unplugging your phone constantly as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks but what is it there for then?? Annoying. I read somewhere that from 2010 model year onwards the USB ports offered a full interface (or one with decent functionality) with the ability to control the music from the Maz head unit. Totally confusing tbh.
 
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bigbob

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My car is mid 2011 build and I had to order an apple lead an an option as the standard lead will not connect. Going down the USB stick route might be the easiest option as mentioned above.

Personally I have just loaded a pile of CDs to the hard disk drive but I don't own an ipod or have music on my iphone. Luddite! I like things that play at 33 and a third at home.
 
fcz360

fcz360

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826
Mine is a 2009 and all i did was convert all my music to MP3 (cant remember how for itunes stuff) and stuck it in the slot in the glove box and it worked. When you press list it comes up with a list of albums and there you go.

I did try with the apple cable that came with the car, but it just listed every track in a big list with a number - useless.
 
Rags

Rags

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228
Guys it works with the IPhone 5!! Totally sorted it out. Charges the phone, plays music which sounds pretty decent actually, displays artist name & song name on the Maserati screen, can control which tracks and playlists you wanna select from the Maserati media unit buttons. Couldn't ask for more.

I called Maserati customer services this morning who told me the connector is for media players only and doesn't work with IPhones regardless of which generation they are. I then called my sales guy at Maranello Maserati who said it does and sent me a link to the adaptor I needed from Apple. Its the basic 30 pin to Lightning adaptor. I didn't think it would work but it does. Couldnt be happier. And the sound is crystal clear!! Not quite like my B&W 802D speakers and Linn amp but perfectly reasonable for a car.
 
Rags

Rags

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228
I also have IOS 7 installed on the phone so to confirm its also works with the latest IPhone software.
 
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bigbob

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I'm still on 6.1 as it took Maserati ages to stop Bluetooth disconnecting when anyone rang you up! Makes me a bit nervous about moving onto 7.0. Have you received a number of phone calls yet in the car and is it better with the iPhone wired in rather than with bluetooth? Thanks
 
Rags

Rags

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Big bob im sure it works fine as I would have noticed a problem by now. But lemme fully check and report back before you upgrade. I haven't made many calls since the upgrade to IOS7.
 
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bigbob

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Rags said:
Big bob im sure it works fine as I would have noticed a problem by now. But lemme fully check and report back before you upgrade. I haven't made many calls since the upgrade to IOS7.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot. It's the calls in rather than the calls out which were throwing the Bluetooth.
 
Rags

Rags

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228
Ok lemme check. Cant remember for sure whether i have received any calls in since upgrade. I certainly didnt try it today with the bluetooth or cable connection. But phone did connect to bluetooth fine.
 
Rags

Rags

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228
bigbob said:
Thanks a lot. It's the calls in rather than the calls out which were throwing the Bluetooth.
Click to expand...

Ok I gave it a good try today. Firstly the phone function doesn't work with the Maserati Ipod connector. To use the phone function you have to connect via bluetooth. And with IOS 7 the bluetooth connection seems to work fine. I made one outgoing call of about 5 minutes and received two incoming calls the longest of which was about 12 minutes. No dropped calls.

The media/music function works just fine with the iPod connector as described in my previous post. Bluetooth and the iPod connector work fine together as well with music being silenced automatically when calls are made.

Please note that mine is a 2013 model so I hope there wasn't some software update that Maz put in place recently to sort all of this out.
 
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bigbob

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Cheers. My car had the latest updates a couple of months ago so should be fine with 7.0. Fingers crossed!
 
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