How to Connect Your Android Phone to iOS Dock Accessories Revisited

When I entered the Android arena I was frustrated by the number of iOS accessories I own that were suddenly incompatible with my preferred smartphone thanks to the proprietary Apple dock connector.

Fortunately I found a product that lets users connect an Android phone to the many cars and audio accessories which have Apple connectors. I tested the CableJive Dock Input Cable with a couple of my favorite audio iOS products like the iHome iP46 rechargeable speaker system for Apple iPods and iPhones and then recommended the adapter cable to you.

Unfortunately, I steered some of you wrong in my review of the CableJive Dock Input Cable. This adapter has a female Apple Dock connector on one end and a male 3.5mm stereo jack on the other. It worked great with the accessories I used to test the cable/adapter. However, this solution doesn’t work with some car sound systems.

Fortunately CableJive caught my error and in an email wrote:

You are correct that the Dock Input Cable allows for this with some docks, but there are some other docks (and even more car audio systems) that are incompatible with the Dock Input Cable. This is because the Dock Input Cable only provides the physical electrical connections, but doesn’t replicate any iPod or iPhone “communication,” so if a particular system or speaker dock demands for some level of iPod or iPhone communication to function (which many these days do), the Dock Input Cable will not work, as it does not replicate that.

I appreciate their honesty and their willingness to let me test another product that does work in the above situations because of more “intelligent” electronics. The CableJive dockBoss is almost the exact same product as the Dock Input Cable, at least on the outside. Inside right electronics allow most car systems or other more complicated audio devices with Apple dock connectors to properly receive the audio from a stereo jack on something like my HTC Thunderbolt without the dock interrupting it due to incompatibility.

If you took my original recommendation and it didn’t work with your car, I apologize for misinforming you. The CableJive Dock Input cable worked in my tests with all the devices with dock connectors that I have. If it did not work for yours, then I recommend CableJive’s updated solution the dockBoss which does work with a broader range of iOS dock enabled devices. The only system that CableJive knows is incompatible is from Volkswagen.

The dockBoss has a red indicator light that turns on when the adapter starts communicating with the more advanced dock connector audio accessory. If it flashes, the adapter is setting things up to work. If it shines with a solid red light, then it means the adapter is working and ready to translate the stereo output of your audio device to the proprietary protocols of Apple’s connector.

This adapter is a better option than the older Dock Input cable. It is only $10 more, but will reliably work with more devices. If it doesn’t work with yours, then take advantage of CableJive’s return policy which lasts 30 days from purchase.