iPhone "Bad USB Device"

[Peter123]

My son got a new 2016 Civic Coupe LX (note this model does not have ApplePlay). I believe that the base radio is called the Color Audio System (not a touchscreen). The Color Audio System can, however, connect to and play music from an iPhone; we have done that several times. When we plug in a iPhone either 5 or 6 it usually works initially but if you drive for a bit the USB connection will stop working. It seems like the longer you drive the greater the chance of the connection not working. The message displayed is "Bad USB Device" and then "Please check owners manual". I was naturally suspicious of the cable so I've tried a different cable (although still aftermarket) and it still fails. Wiggling the usb cable as it enters the car's usb port has no effect. Once it's dead there seems to be no way to bring it back (different phone, different cable, etc. does not work). Here's the kicker, if you turn the car off and then back on (same cable etc.) it then works perfectly again. Personally I think there's a software bug in the head unit. I've searched the forums and I haven't seen this exact problem. We took it to the dealership this morning and they couldn't reproduce the error. In addition they could not find any updates (firmware I assume) to install to rectify the problem. Any thoughts? I was really looking forward to him having good iPhone connectivity so this is kind of a big deal.

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[Ghostinnc]

My son got a new 2016 Civic Coupe LX (note this model does not have ApplePlay). I believe that the base radio is called the Color Audio System (not a touchscreen). The Color Audio System can, however, connect to and play music from an iPhone; we have done that several times. When we plug in a iPhone either 5 or 6 it usually works initially but if you drive for a bit the USB connection will stop working. It seems like the longer you drive the greater the chance of the connection not working. The message displayed is "Bad USB Device" and then "Please check owners manual". I was naturally suspicious of the cable so I've tried a different cable (although still aftermarket) and it still fails. Wiggling the usb cable as it enters the car's usb port has no effect. Once it's dead there seems to be no way to bring it back (different phone, different cable, etc. does not work). Here's the kicker, if you turn the car off and then back on (same cable etc.) it then works perfectly again. Personally I think there's a software bug in the head unit. I've searched the forums and I haven't seen this exact problem. We took it to the dealership this morning and they couldn't reproduce the error. In addition they could not find any updates (firmware I assume) to install to rectify the problem. Any thoughts? I was really looking forward to him having good iPhone connectivity so this is kind of a big deal.

First off Welcome, I'm not a software engineer so this strictly conjecture but I do read a lot of post related to connectivity issues with the HU's, be it the base 5 inch or the premium 7 Infotainment units many problems are with Apple products be it Iphones, Ipod's, and proprietary nature of there products (Apple folks don't hate, Just and observation) There are problems with Android devices also!
That said I think there's an inherent problem when trying to integrate different platforms in Honda's design parameters and Honda is trying to flash there way to success, anyway sorry for the rantJMHO and again welcome

 

[Ghostinnc]

First off Welcome, I'm not a software engineer so this strictly conjecture but I do read a lot of post related to connectivity issues with the HU's, be it the base 5 inch or the premium 7 Infotainment units many problems are with Apple products be it Iphones, Ipod's, and proprietary nature of there products (Apple folks don't hate, Just and observation) There are problems with Android devices also!
That said I think there's an inherent problem when trying to integrate different platforms in Honda's design parameters and Honda is trying to flash there way to success, anyway sorry for the rantJMHO and again welcome

Lol not sure why it's linked

 

[Peter123]

Lol not sure why it's linked

When you say flash your way to success I assume that you mean firmware updates for the HU? Does Honda have a history of doing things this way?

 

[Ghostinnc]

When you say flash your way to success I assume that you mean firmware updates for the HU? Does Honda have a history of doing things this way?

You are correct and yes

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