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Connecting your iPhone 5S

SonicAaron

Ready to race!
Location
Belfast
Hey everyone,

So my Golf GT (aka Highline) comes with USB, Bluetooth (and I think an MDI connection).

Which one do you use?

Bluetooth is a bit complicated I guess and the quality is poor.

USB I'd imagine being quite good. . .but if the USB connection is in the glovebox. . .then if you want to skip a song then do you have to pull over and open the glovebox lol

The MDI apparently is the best because you can use the steering wheel to skip songs etc? Is this true?

Is there a way to get the iPhone 5S albums and songs up on the touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard via any of these connections? That would be awesome! If not then i'll probably just spend the next month resizing all my iTunes artwork to 400x400pixels. . though i'm led to believe that you can't just drag songs from iTunes on Mac to the SD card as the Mac makes little files which confuses the folder structure. So i'm not sure what to do in that case. Does dragging a song from iTunes to the SD card carry all the meta data such as artist, artwork etc?

What method do you use for music? :)
 

testcard

Ready to race!
My set up is Composition Media System with a latest generation iPod touch connected through an MDI to Lightning connector (cable with the green collar). I can control songs, albums and playlists via the touchscreen, and also shuffle tracks. The MFSW allows volume control and next/previous track skip. Album artwork displays full size in the touch screen. My music is a mix of iTunes tracks, and music I've ripped from CD. For ripped music, I simply Googled the album artwork and downloaded the best quality artwork I could find. I've never had to resize any artwork for it to display correctly.
 

SonicAaron

Ready to race!
Location
Belfast
My set up is Composition Media System with a latest generation iPod touch connected through an MDI to Lightning connector (cable with the green collar). I can control songs, albums and playlists via the touchscreen, and also shuffle tracks. The MFSW allows volume control and next/previous track skip. Album artwork displays full size in the touch screen. My music is a mix of iTunes tracks, and music I've ripped from CD. For ripped music, I simply Googled the album artwork and downloaded the best quality artwork I could find. I've never had to resize any artwork for it to display correctly.

That sounds absolutely perfect! I won't even bother with the SD card then :)

(£40 for one! Is there a difference between white collar and green collar?) :)
 

testcard

Ready to race!
Does the GT have Composition Media - if so, you'll like it. I also have Dynaudio which I consider a worthwhile investment. Just make sure the dealer supplies the correct lead, and test it with your iPhone to make sure.
 

SonicAaron

Ready to race!
Location
Belfast
Does the GT have Composition Media - if so, you'll like it. I also have Dynaudio which I consider a worthwhile investment. Just make sure the dealer supplies the correct lead, and test it with your iPhone to make sure.

Yes the GT comes with Composition Media Navigation . . or something haha. Oh the car comes with the cable?!?! That's great news! :)
 

testcard

Ready to race!
Pretty sure the white collar is for Mk6 only. As I said, double check the cable is the correct one - most dealers seem confused about the colour coding. I have an iPhone 5 connected via Bluetooth for calls, with the touch always connected for music. The two seem quite happy together with no conflicts.
 
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SonicAaron

Ready to race!
Location
Belfast
Thanks a lot! I'll get him to demo MDI on my iPhone 5S when he's handing me the car over and giving me the wee demo! Try and catch him out heehee.
 

nexx

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Brazil
My set up is Composition Media System with a latest generation iPod touch connected through an MDI to Lightning connector (cable with the green collar). I can control songs, albums and playlists via the touchscreen, and also shuffle tracks. The MFSW allows volume control and next/previous track skip. Album artwork displays full size in the touch screen. My music is a mix of iTunes tracks, and music I've ripped from CD. For ripped music, I simply Googled the album artwork and downloaded the best quality artwork I could find. I've never had to resize any artwork for it to display correctly.

Does it charges the ipod? I mean through the MDI-lightning cable?
 

Hensonman

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Cheshire
MDI will charge the iPhone / iPod using either the lightning or 30 pin connector variant. What's more, it will keep charging even when the ignition is off, provided the infotainment system is switched on. There's no worry about battery drain as the infotainment will auto switch off after 30 mins.

I got both lightning (green collar) and 30 pin (black) MDI with mine. As my Apple case doesn't allow the lightning cable to fully engage with the iPhone 5s, (an Apple issue, not VW) I use the 30 pin MDI plus the 0.2m cabled Apple adaptor.
 

rapport25

Go Kart Champion
Location
Midlands
I was having a the same issue prior to getting mine. Currently running an android phone.

Due an upgrade next month, and tbh not sure i will bother getting a I phone as the replacement.I can do all mentioned above via bluetooth, the only issue is no artwork displayed.

Prior to getting the car I was adamant i wanted the artwork, but in reality do I really need it no. One question, I would like to know, is if I used Deezer via an I phone would it automatically take the artwork from Deezer?

Sound quality is great and have no complaints from me :)
 

GC854

Ready to race!
Location
Aberdeen
Aaron,
When I picked my car up last month it came with both cables. The salesman told me they were all coming through with two but I would ask your dealer to ensure your car arrives with the lightning cable just in case.

The Bluetooth connection is very simple and the sound quality is excellent. You can get it to recognise numerous devices. My son connects his iPod touch via Bluetooth whenever he jumps into the car and it's a doddle to switch between this and my phone or ipod.

I also have an SD card inserted at all times. No issues with artwork from this but I rarely use it. No matter what you connect it comes up in the screen.
 

Hensonman

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Cheshire
I agree with all about Bluetooth - very easy to use and set up. Regarding artwork, I don't see any from my SD card or IPhone, whether connected by Bluetooth or MDI. I've read many of the threads on the forum about this, but I haven't got the technical patience to attempt a fix. But the music plays well and all other functions are fine.
 

SonicAaron

Ready to race!
Location
Belfast
I agree with all about Bluetooth - very easy to use and set up. Regarding artwork, I don't see any from my SD card or IPhone, whether connected by Bluetooth or MDI. I've read many of the threads on the forum about this, but I haven't got the technical patience to attempt a fix. But the music plays well and all other functions are fine.

Perhaps it's because the artwork in your iTunes is greater than 500x500 and therefore although iPhone can handle that; the VW system can't?

Thanks for all the help everyone :)
 
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