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Why can't my car recognise my iPhone when it's plugged in via USB?

Could you possibly tell me if there is a general issue/fix for my daughter's issue? Her new iPhone 11 will not connect with her 2016 Mini Cooper via a USB. The previous phone (iPhone XR) worked fine and I suspect the issue is with the phone as MINI has checked the USB port and have reported no issues. My 'ancient' iPhone 6 connects okay, as does an archived 5. It looks as if the more modern tech is the issue. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers as always.

Asked on 8 April 2021 by ktclm06

Answered by Georgia Petrie
Hmm, unusual issue but I've done a bit of research and hopefully one of these will fix it. Firstly, make sure the iPhone 11 is using the most up-to-date firmware. iOS can be a bit glitchy so they regularly update it. This can cause issues for people running previous versions of the operating system.

Secondly, if that doesn't work, I'd tell your daughter to download a song onto her iPhone 11. This fix advice comes courtesy of someone on an Apple forum and, essentially, you may need to have at least one song stored on your phone for your car to recognise your phone as an audio source. So go to iTunes and download a single song to your phone. Now connect your phone to your car using USB and let the car connect to the phone. All your other audio (YouTube, Spotify etc) should work fine.
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