MINI Connected - What Works, What Doesn't?
 

I have MINI Connected on my 2011 Hatch, but it's been sitting idle since I prefer Android over iPhone.

I'm considering an iPhone when my contract is up, and have been looking at this forum to see what benefits that would provide MINI-wise. It's a confusing picture, to say the least.

Seems like some are getting the iPhone 5 to work with MC, others are having major issues. So I wonder if I can convince one of you to provide a status update that explains where things stand.

The MC picture really seems like a black-eye for MINI. No Android support was bad enough, but not dealing with changes to the platform that was supported is worse. Is it true that MINI still doesn't sell a cable that connects to the iPhone 5?

Thanks for the help.

i think there are software issues with iphone 5. MINI cannot get into the iphone 5's software from what I had a friend with an iphone5 tell me. Stick with android! they must come around and do an update. Android sales are like 4:1 iphone sales

they will never support android, that much is clear. when the guy in charge of developing this stuff is questioned about android and his response is go buy an iphone, that should tell you something.

mini really is lacking on the technology front. i mean come on, no support at all for anything other than iphone, and you can't even stream music over bluetooth? come on here. premium brand my ass, my ford fiesta could do more than my mini when it comes to technology.

I have to start off with the fact that I am an Android guy...cant stand the I phone. I dont know why they wont interface. It really ticks me off that the map feature with Mini Connected comes from Google Maps...that is an android product.

OK, I have an iPhone 5 so I'll tell you what I can.

At this time there isn't a cable provided by Mini (or BMW, who have the same issue with their iDrive system) for the iPhone 5. The most recent information I found for the estimated release date for that cable is sometime next month. However, the 30-pin to lightning adapter from Apple does work for most of the features. Use the adapter plug, not the long adapter cable (apparently there are charging issues with that?).

I have no problem playing and controlling music from my phone, or using it for Pandora or internet radio. The only issue I've seen so far is the ability to play video from the phone. Apparently that doesn't work, but that's not a big deal for me. I don't generally sit around in my car to watch videos. :) This may also affect some of the Mini Connected apps that display on the screen. I don't know for sure, since I haven't really tried all of the "Connected" stuff yet. The few things I did try seemed to work fine, though.

Yes, it'd be nice if they could have had the cable ready earlier so that I wouldn't have to buy it myself (the dealer gave me the current one that works with the previous phones), and I wouldn't have had to buy the $30 adapter from Apple. But overall I'm pretty happy with it.

Just a note. Bluetooth streaming has worked for me on the Android phones I've owned. Most don't transmit artist/title into, but at least one did.

Bluetooth streaming for audio works on my iPhone 4S.

I can say that I did get Bluetooth to stream music. that still leaves me out on transferrinf maps and addresses. I guess for now I will just have to input manually

I was using an iPhone 4S with connected for a few months before switching to the iPhone 5 yesterday.

I can confirm that with the $30 Apple adapter the system functions identical to my 4S with only one exception. As was previously mentioned, the video out function doesn't work. All other graphics associated with the Mini Connected Apps seem to work fine.

There seems to be a distinction between those who use the Apple adapter and third party products.

Another option is to get an iPod Touch and the Y-cable. All functions work except for calling (obviously) and Google Send to Car. To call, I hook up my phone via bluetooth.

How did you get music to stream over Bluetooth? I tried and failed, and my ma told me it's not possible.

There's an iPhone MINI Connected App you may want to download to your iPhone to see if that helps.
:thumbsup:

I've got Media Pack and Nav and BT music streaming is an option under one of the settings sub menus, possibly somewhere in the phone menu too.

If you have Mini Connected, with or without Nav, it is totally possible. The regular Bluetooth that comes standard, will only do phone calls.

There's a chart at MINIUSA that details what features work with different models of phone, but most smartphones are able to stream music. Again, only if you have Connected.


Sent from my Galaxy S4 using NAMotoring

I think (and I am by no means an expert) that it will depend on the bluetoothe version on the device being used. newer phones have ver 4.0 and a better bandwith. older phones with 1.0-3.0 may not have the ability to stream.

Select "Compatible Devices" from the dropdown menu on this page and you'll be guided through a couple of steps that will let you find out what your phone SHOULD be able to do.

http://www.miniusa.com/howto/?section=bluetooth

I have an Android device and Connected w/Nav. It is possible to connect two phones via BT, and have two more paired.
At one time I had my personal Android device connected and my company supplied flip phone connected at the same time. Calls from either phone would ring thru BT.
My theory is that one BT connection was intended to be used by an BT enabled music player such a I pod.
Just saying, I'm not an expert in the ways of Bluetooth.

am I understanding correctly that you are running navigation from your android with Connected? If I may ask, which phone do you have? I have an older Android...connects via bluetooth, but not the Nav.

I have full functionality of MiNi Connected with Navigation via my Android. The trick to it is to get an iPod Touch (I bought one of the older fourth generation 32 GB models). Here's how I did it:

1) Rooted my Android and installed WifiTether

2) Turned on the iPod Touch and connected to the Android Hotspot I just set up in WifiTether

3) Downloaded MiNi Connected app to the iPod Touch

Pretty simple actually. The iPod Touch is essentially a permanent part of the car. So when I enter the car (and my Android's WifiTether is running), everything automatically connects and works. The Android's Bluetooth also is seamless with this. I am amazed, for instance, that I can be listening to a web radio station (from the Web Radio MiNi Connected app) and if my Android rings through on Bluetooth, the iPod Touch knows to silence the web radio app during the call.

Another nice thing about the setup is that I don't have to think about connecting and disconnecting my smartphone physically with the Y-cable in the car as I would have to with an iPhone. The Android just sits in my shirt pocket the whole time. So in a way, I think the Android set-up is even better than the iPhone as far as MiNi Connected goes.

except for the fact that you have to have a wifi hotspot on your phone, which is rooted to allow for use of a function that you are not subscribed to, and you are illegally tethering your ipod touch to get this to work. not to mention that unless you're grandfathered in with unlimited data this could end up causing massive overage charges.

suggesting to an entire forum that the solution to the problem is to do something illegal is really not a smart idea.

Your assumption that my mobile plan does not include tether privileges is incorrect. I can tether with my plan per contract and I do not suggest doing anything illegal. But I also root and have found that WiFiTether - which requires root - is by far the best app for tethering. Rooting is not illegal but it can void your warranty, so I should mention that. And I barely use a gig of data per month - I've never had an overage on my data plan nor even come close. Being grandfathered is not necessary to get unlimited data, but data rates can be ramped down to lower speeds beyond specified amounts.

Ignoring the rest of your post as it's been answered but why would you think that using an iPod Touch over tethering would use any more data than using an iPhone directly connected? It's the same data, same apps, same network. You either have unlimited data or you don't, how you use the data is irrelevant.

Using an old iPod Touch over tethering is a great way to avoid issues with Apple's updates breaking Connected - keep the Touch at a fixed release of iOS, and just upgrade your actual phone. Plenty of cellphone carriers offer WiFi tethering as part of their plan (sometimes included, sometimes for an additional charge).

edit : I should add that in some cases carriers do limit the amount of tethered data allowed, separate from your regular data plan. Just another way they screw the customer.

If the default settings are to connect to the iPod upon entering the car, that's using data, even if you aren't streaming data at the moment. Wi-Fi hotspots are constantly sending data to maintain the connection, thus eating up data. If you do not have unlimited this can mean big charges. Manually enabling the hotspot will help stop this, but the op seems versed enough to know and use a tasker app to do these things automatically.

I think you are overstating a problem that doesn't really exist in any practical sense. My hot spot barely sends a tick of data when idle; in fact I have never seen the data counter move even after several minutes of no streaming (eg. during phone calls or when the radio is turned off). Not sure if you are talking hypotheticals, but real world - this is exactly what I experience using the set-up I have described.

And yes, I do use Tasker to not only start up my WiFiTether but also to start my Bluetooth.

Even if creating a connection required a large amount of data be passed between the phone and the iTouch, unless it's pulling data down from the network/internet, it wouldn't count against your limit any more than when, at home, streaming a movie from a local NAS counts against your home data cap.

The only real data heavy apps in Connected are the various internet radio stations, and those are going pull the same amount whether you're connecting directly or through another device.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using NAMotoring