iphone 8 compatibility issues with 2013 328i

[musclecar70sfan]

Hey guys,

I just bought a gorgeous 2013 328i with a manual transmission and 21k miles yesterday.

Unfortunately the iDrive system (WITHOUT nav) can only handle bluetooth phonecalls with my iphone 8 Plus.

Will not allow for bluetooth streaming (doesn't even give me the option in the settings to turn that on) or will not work over the USB connection as well.

Via USB, it will charge the phone and detect that it is there, but when I open it up under multimedia it is behaving as if I have absolutely no playlists or songs. Tells me that nothing is available for playback. If I try to play a song from my iphone, it'll play through only the phone's speakers, not the car. Naturally, I hit "allow" on my iphone's disclaimer when it asks for permission to share multimedia with the car when I plug it in.

Software versions:

Multimedia: ME-008.005.005
Telephone:TE-008.005.005

Build date: 09/2012
2013 BMW 328i

What can I do?

[khammack]

Not all cars come with bluetooth streaming. I think you can code it to work. Try doing a google search for "coding bluetooth streaming on BMW".

[musclecar70sfan]

I saw that Bimmertech offers a retrofit kit for my car however it is $899!!! I came across this on eeuroparts; appears to be a special adapter for streaming from a 30 pin iPhone connector; any idea if I can just use this with a 30 pin to lightening adapter?

https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/490...e-61120440812/

[CalCanuck]

I just bought a 2015 328i and found it a bit confusing. Phone calls work immediately on Bluetooth, but I had to change the settings in the Multimedia menu to have it stream music from the phone's Bluetooth. Have you tried that?

[musclecar70sfan]

I just bought a 2015 328i and found it a bit confusing. Phone calls work immediately on Bluetooth, but I had to change the settings in the Multimedia menu to have it stream music from the phone's Bluetooth. Have you tried that?

Yes, you looked at the bluetooth options under the telephone menu correct? It is supposed to offer "audio streaming" as an option I can check off however mine doesn't do that; upon further research it appears that my car doesn't come equipped with bluetooth streaming and that is a feature that would have to be programmed to the car.

I'm just wondering if there is a way to do it that is less expensive than the $899 option that Bimmertech offers.

[CalCanuck]

The Bluetooth options under the telephone menu let the phone connect to the car. You have achieved this since you are able to make a call.
On my car, the Multimedia setting (not Telephone) had a setting for 'input' or something, and selecting Bluetooth there allowed me to play music from the iPhone (Spotify, iTunes, etc.). I believe the other option for Multimedia setting was CD?