Placed on order for a '13 Roadster S with the bluetooth/USB adapter(which is now the standard) and center armrest. I want to be able to plug in my phone and have it charge/play via the center armrest. What do I need to do to be able to simply "plug and play"? As I understand it, with these options, when the car is delivered I won't be able to do this without purchasing another adapter. Is this correct? I had thought that the bluetooth option w/center armrest would allow me to plug in my phone but now I am not so sure. Clarification from those in the know is much appreciated!

 

Not sure if things have changed for the '13s but I picked up my '12 Coupe a couple weeks ago and here's my experience.
I have mini connected with nav, and the premium/tech packages. One of those included the armrest. Ridiculously, the armrest cannot charge as-is: you need the $250 (!!!!) snap in adapter that goes INTO the armrest for that to work.

BUT- the car comes with (at least mine did) the Y-cable that plugs in under the toggles... and you can plug your phone into that at it will charge and play. To be honest I'm not sure the snap-in adapter does much (anything?) the y-cable doesn't, aside tuck away in a secret compartment. (I think maybe one or two of the mini connected features only work through the armrest).

Hope that helps... I'm still working my way through all the features. Some things can't work together and when you turn bluetooth on USB turns off, etc etc.

But I finally have a system that's working- I leave my iPod plugged in to the y-cable all the time, dedicated just for music. and snap my phone in and out of the armrest, sometimes. (it still connects and works just fine for phone functions via BT, and even music, if it's not plugged in. Just doesn't charge, and doesn't hook into mini connected). The problem with the armrest is that you can't see/access the phone when it's in there. And we all know we shouldn't text and drive, but, sometimes it's nice to be able to see the phone. also, the phone seems to get REALLY hot in there. And, if you're plugged in, and running mini connected, you can't do anything else with the phone. I'd thought/hoped it could run in the background.

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helped!

 

Hi alexroet - thanks for the info. I didn't realize that it came with the y-cable. I wish the option specs weren't so ambiguous - if you're paying this much money you should know exactly what you're getting prior to it's arrival. I did want to be able to eliminate cable usage and I figured the bluetooth and center armrest would be the way to go. I agree that it's ridiculous to have to pay that much for the snap in adapter!

I hope that you're enjoying your new ride! I can't wait for mine to arrive, regardless of the phone snap-in issues! ;0)

 

Well mine had the cable in the glovebox, but I don't know if that's always the case. And I wanted to minimize cable use too, but this one actually isn't too bad- there's a little nook behind the shifter where the plugged-in ipod can just stay, and it's pretty unobtrusive and out of the way. I prefer the armrest for the phone- but I'm still having a hard time remembering to get the phone out to bring with me when I leave the car! Otherwise the cable can reach the cupholder.

 

In the USA they provide the cable as it is required for the iPhone/iPod to work. In all other countries as far as i know it is an extra cost item, or has been in the past.

As for the armrest, depending on what other options you have, NAV, MINI Connected etc. as to what the arm rest will do. Also some of the newer phone will never be able to be used with the armrest as they are actually to big to fit in the current arm rest.

Only an iPhone can do anything other than charge and play music from an arm rest and many of the other phone can not even play music from the arm rest.

 

had ordered the tech package with mine, and was planning on ordering the snap in adapter, decided against it. the armrest is incredibly small. (barely fits a small pack of mints)
If your like me and keep iPhone in a case, it will not fit even without adapter in arm rest.
The Y cable works fine and phone w/ case connecters fits neatly behind the cup holders.
Not sure about the 2013 but mine has a small netted area in passenger side which i have used to connect and hold iPad.

 

I have center armrest & bluetooth/ipod adaptor, no MiniConnected. I will be using an iPhone. It's a US spec car being purchased through a military car sales program, direct from MINI (no dealer involved). For all intents and purposes this is a US car, so hopefully it will have the cable. You state that it is required to for the bluetooth to work...does that mean that bluetooth won't work with a cable plugged in? That kind of defeats the whole wireless part of Bluetooth...

 

Y cable is needed for mini connected to work. It pairs w/o cable to use as hands free. W/o connected all you need is standard charging cable ( white apple wire)
Hope that helps

 

The cable is required only for MINI Connected, not for Bluetooth. The Dealer will supply the Y-cable if you purchase MINI Connected and have an iPhone or iPod.

The snap-in adapter is a BMW accessory that also fits in a slot on the the MINI armrest. It does everything the Y-cable does, but also provides an antenna booster.

Your iPhone will work just fine wirelessly with Bluetooth only. You can even stream audio from your music library and podcasts. But you can't switch back and forth from wired (Y-cable) and wireless (Bluetooth) without changing the connection configuration each time, as one mode disables the other.

 

Try looking here
http://minicooperinfo.com/myfiles/ow...SetupNoNav.pdf

 

This is only partially correct.

The Non MINI Connected systems also require the special cable if you want to use the steering wheel and dash controls to control the iPod/iPhone. The standard Apple Cable will only charge the iPod/iPhone in its standard configuration. There is a way to control the iPod/iPhone with the steering wheel controls with the standard Apple Cable but it requires changes to the iPod/iPhone configuration (setting it to USB Mass Storage)

As for my statement about the iPod/iPhone requiring the cable it is only for music or video (in the case of MINI Connected) all calls are via bluetooth and will not require a cable.