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bishopazrael · May 4, 2009, 08:29 PM

So I'm cleaning my office today and I found some great stuff that I didn't know I had!

I found some old ipod gear and I have a question. I found a dock, and I sat my 3g iphone into it and found that it fit perfectly, if just a tad ... unsupported. Anyways when I plug it in, it recognizes the iphone, and itunes and iphoto pop right up. But on the screen of the iphone it says :

"This accessory is not made to work with the iPhone." but then after about 5 seconds the message disappears and it continues to charge.

Is it safe to use the dock or will it blow out my iphone? I mean... I'd love to use it so I could stand up my iphone next to my bed with my nixie clock running, but if its not good for my iphone I don't want to use it. I need to mention that I'm plugging it into the original plugs and cables, its just the dock that I found today.

Thanks guys,
Bishop

turtle777 · May 4, 2009, 08:34 PM

I've been using my old iPod docks for almost a year now, no problems.

I think it's safe to say it's safe.

-t

bishopazrael · May 4, 2009, 09:43 PM

do you get the same error messages?

QSilver · May 6, 2009, 01:42 PM

I use my 1st gen iPhone with a numbers of older accessories. Always get the alert message, almost always click the button to ignore the message (meaning don't go into Airplane mode). The exception is with an original Altec-Lansing inMotion speaker dock...unless the iPhone is put into Airplane mode, I get the GSM interference through the inMotion's speakers.

hab · May 6, 2009, 02:06 PM

This is just a guess ... At some point the specification on the iPod/dock changed from firewire to USB2. Perhaps the error is that you cannot sync using the old dock (probably built for Firewire) but I believe the charging circuit specification is still the same so you can use it to charge your new iPhone.

QSilver · May 7, 2009, 09:37 AM

hab is correct about the change from Firewire to USB. My understanding is that a Firewire dock will charge faster than a USB dock.

ghporter · May 7, 2009, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by QSilver

hab is correct about the change from Firewire to USB. My understanding is that a Firewire dock will charge faster than a USB dock.

Standard USB is limited to 5.0VDC at up to 1 amp, while Firewire can offer up to 30VDC at 1.5A. It is not the dock that is responsible for faster charging, but the interface that provides more power.

Spheric Harlot · May 7, 2009, 10:03 AM

Firewire will, in fact, not charge AT ALL if you've got a 3G iPhone, a 4th-gen iPod nano, or a 2nd-gen iPod touch.

If it's charging, the dock supports USB charging.

Simon · May 7, 2009, 10:22 AM

I use an old iPod dock too to charge my iPhone 3G. I get the warning every time. Sometimes I don't even bother acknowledging it. It works just fine. Charges and syncs as you'd expect. In fact, ever since I got my 3G I've been charging and syncing it that way at home.

bishopazrael · May 15, 2009, 02:49 AM

Well guys the answer seems to be that the dock and firewire combo should be just fine, which is great because I want to use my ipod as a stand up flip clock.

Thank you for all your valuable input, especially the firewire charging bit. Thanks lads, I'm a happy man!

Eriamjh · May 15, 2009, 07:15 AM

It seems that the iPhone is detecting the firewire connection somehow, but since you have it connected to USB, everything still works.

The iPhone must not use FW voltage to detect a potential FW connection.

Spheric Harlot · May 15, 2009, 05:14 PM

It's detecting the lack of a dedicated compatibility chip.