Marianne Schultz

Since my iPhone 5 arrived, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the Lightning to 30-pin adapter that Apple announced on the same day it revealed the iPhone 5. My most pressing need for this adapter was for my car where my iPhone is essentially the center of my audio entertainment and navigation system. And I was worried that the new Lightning connector was going to blow it all to hell.

I have a fairly old-school (at this point) official factory iPod kit in my car that was originally meant to be used with plain old iPods. I was thrilled and surprised when it worked perfectly with the first-generation iPhone in 2007 and it has worked with every iPhone since then. I even kluged together a revised connection system to go with a dashboard holder a couple of years ago, which has been absolutely fantastic for my needs.

Apple had published little information about the Lightning to 30-pin adapter and it seemed very possible that it wouldn’t work with my existing system. But it was worth a try first before I scrapped my entire set-up and invested in a new kit that would be able to route all audio from the iPhone 5 through my car stereo system directly (my car has Bluetooth but lacks the A2DP profile for music, and I’d rather have a wired line out connection for music anyway).

My adapter arrived yesterday and after waiting several agonizing hours for my husband to get home (I’d forgotten he’d taken my car to work that day) I tested it out. And it works!

My set-up is a little bit more Frankensteinish with the addition of the adapter, particularly since it’s white and stands out so much against the black dashboard. But it works and frankly, I don’t give damn at the moment (though I will happily buy a black version if anyone makes one in the future).

Also, I can’t wait for an untethered jailbreak to come out so I can get rid of the “Accessory Connected” screen when connected to my car.

I did test the adapter with a few other accessories including an old Apple Hi-Fi speaker system and an iHome IP9 clock radio. It works with both but does not charge the iPhone 5 through the Hi-Fi.

The adapter fits flush with the bottom of the iPhone 5, so if you have a case that doesn’t have a wide opening on the bottom, it probably won’t work with it. It works with a flexible generic $5 silicone case I purchased through eBay but doesn’t work with a bumper case I bought through Amazon.

Thinking about getting the Lightning to 30-pin adapter? Feel free to ask any questions about it in the comments.