2011 Edge Ltd + iPhone4 USB Audio "pops"

[FirstReflect]

Hello. I am new here. I received my 2011 Edge Limited in mid-October and I've been delving into the many, many options and capabilities of the new MyFord Touch and Sync 2.0 systems.

 

I have come across a problem and I am hoping that some other owners might know of a fix, or perhaps just confirm whether or not this issue is happening to anyone else.

 

I have an iPhone4 with the 4.1 firmware currently installed. After pairing my phone via BlueTooth, the MyFord Touch system recognizes my iPhone4 and displays its name under the BT Audio section in the Audio Menu. I do not use the BlueTooth audio, however. Instead, I plug my iPhone4 into the USB socket where it is also recognized.

 

I can browse my iPhone4's content. Everything shows up: all of my playlists, songs, podcasts, album lists, artist lists, etc.

 

Everything seems to work fine except for one critical problem: when I am playing any song or audio podcast or anything else from my iPhone4 via USB, I get periodic and random audio "pops". The sound is very similar to when a CD skips for a moment. The sound is very brief and it's just a very short "glitch" in the audio, but it is annoying none-the-less.

 

I found that the longer I had used the car with the iPhone, the more frequent the audio "pops" became. I did a full "Master Reset" of the MyFord Touch system and erased the BlueTooth pairing in both the car and in my iPhone4. I "started fresh" as it were. The audio was definitely improved after this, but there are still occassional "pops". And, based on my previous experience, I expect that, after some time, they will likely get more frequent once again.

 

The "pops" also seem to be worse (more frequent) if I start a song or playlist by using the voice commands rather than using the touch panel. I also seem to, once in a while, create a "pop" by using some other part of the system, such as using the steering wheel controls to change the temperature or using the touch panel to change something in the Navigation system. I can't say for sure whether the "pops" are created by these actions or whether it is just coincidence that I sometimes get a "pop" when I press a button to do something else.

 

So, if anyone else has this same problem, I would very much like to know about it! I can't seem to find any combination of settings (ie. Sound settings + Media player settings) that completely eliminates the "pops". Like I said, they seemed to get worse and more frequent over time and they were definitely much less frequent after a "Master Reset". It also seems as though they got worse every time I uploaded new music or podcasts or erased podcasts from my iPhone4. Any time I made a change to the content on my iPhone4, I would use the options menu to update the content library in the MyFord Touch system. I am thinking that, perhaps, after a while, the MyFord Touch system simply gets "confused" by the updated library. That might explain why it gets worse after time. But it would not explain why I still get some "pops" even after a full "Master Reset".

 

It could be that the rather under-powered processor that runs the MyFord Touch system simply isn't able to handle all of its processing duties smoothly. I suspect this to be the case due to those "coincidental" "pops" that happen when I press a button to do some other, unrelated command. And also why the "pops" seem worse when using voice commands.

 

Never-the-less, if other people are not having this problem, then it might just be a problem with my particular unit and I might be able to get it fixed!

 

Thank you all so much for any input and/or help that you can provide. And please, even if you have no idea about a fix or any settings that might help, please just let me know if you are also experiencing this problem, because if other people do not have this problem, that gives me hope that it's just my unit and I should be able to get it fixed in that case

 

Thank you,

 

Rob H.

[carfaninpa]

I use an ipod nano with the USB connection for music. I do get "skips" when listening. It is infrequent, maybe once or twice a week, but it does happen. When the music stops, I always look at the screen to see if maybe I am getting a phone call. It is irritating in that it should not happen.

[FirstReflect]

I use an ipod nano with the USB connection for music. I do get "skips" when listening. It is infrequent, maybe once or twice a week, but it does happen. When the music stops, I always look at the screen to see if maybe I am getting a phone call. It is irritating in that it should not happen.

 

Thanks, carfaninpa. I'm getting the "skips" much more frequently than that - like one or two times per song! And that was after the "Master Reset". Prior to the reset, it was "popping" every 10 seconds or so!

 

I'm thinking it might have something to do with the Sony DSP. Do you have a Limited or a Sport, carfaninpa? Or do you have an SE or SEL with the other audio system?

 

If anyone else is getting these "skips", please let me know whether you have the "upgraded" Sony system as well.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Rob H.

[wilsons66604]

I don't have the popping issue in mine. I use an old iPod with USB though. My iPhone uses BT (If it works)

Have you tried another USB cable?

 

I have noticed that the Touch system degrades as time goes on. Eventually I have to pull fuse 29 to reboot it.

[HalBran]

I'm having the same problem and I think i was able to narrow it down to the bitrate of some MP3. It happens almost each second on 320kbps song and never on 128kbps songs. I need to do othdr tests to confirm. As you sais this seems related to an u derpowered processor. You mentionned though that it also happens on podcasts which are generally low bitrate....

[FirstReflect]

@Wilsons

 

Interesting that you are not getting any "popping" with you older iPod. I did try both my iTech USB cable as well as the original white Apple cable that came with the iPhone4. There was no difference between the cables and both cables work perfectly with my computers or my pioneer receiver in my home theater, so I am pretty sure it is not a cable issue. Good idea to check though. I had the same thought

 

I have never pulled the fuse to reset the system yet. I see that quite a few people here are using that method to get the MyFord Touch system running again when it glitches out. Perhaps I'll give that a try and see if it helps.

 

@HalBran

 

I didn't think about bitrate. My music is almost all 256 Kbps AAC files, but I do still have the "popping" with podcasts and a lot of those are 128 Kbps or lower. Also, the popping definitely got more frequent as time went on, so I think it has more to do with the MyFord Touch system than the source.

 

I mentioned the Sony DSP system, but I believe that is probably not the culprit. I use the surround DSP on the radio and on Sirius and those do not have any of the same audio issues.

 

So, I think I will have to try a different USB player, perhaps a USB thumbdrive as well. I'll also have to try a CD, an MP3 CD, a DVD, an SD card and the AV input jacks. So far, I know my iPhone4 via USB has this issue, but I haven't tried any other sources, so it's too soon to say for sure. Please keep adding your experiences though. It would be great to find a fix or get enough of us to complain to Ford that they start working on one!

[jpelt]

I've noticed this same skipping with my iphone 3GS, v4.1 software.

 

I also have some of my library loaded on a USB stick and that does not appear to have the skipping issue.

[wilsons66604]

I'm trying to gather stats on Sync issues. Please log your situation here. I'm beginning to thing the biggest issue with Sync may be NON-BlackBerry phones.

Yes. Ford did say they "Partnered" with Apple. What does that mean though.

[carfaninpa]

I have a 2011 Lincoln MKX with the THX audio system.

 

Thanks, carfaninpa. I'm getting the "skips" much more frequently than that - like one or two times per song! And that was after the "Master Reset". Prior to the reset, it was "popping" every 10 seconds or so!

 

I'm thinking it might have something to do with the Sony DSP. Do you have a Limited or a Sport, carfaninpa? Or do you have an SE or SEL with the other audio system?

 

If anyone else is getting these "skips", please let me know whether you have the "upgraded" Sony system as well.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Rob H.

[blueskyvan]

Hi,

I have a 2011 Edge Limited with the Sony system. When I use my iPhone 3GS(iOS ver 4.1) thru the usb port I get the popping and skipping about every 30 seconds on everything I play. Bummer. My bluetooth audio plays sometimes and random other times it doesn't seem to stream thru properly even though Sync says that it sees my iPhone. Anybody have any idea when updates for the Touch system will be coming out?

 

Dan

[francois.nc]

This appears to be an issue with the iPhone on 4.1 and all cars not just Ford. Here is a link to an apple forum where this is discussed in detail. It should be fixed in 4.2 which is supposed to be released tomorrow.

apple forum

[wilsons66604]

This appears to be an issue with the iPhone on 4.1 and all cars not just Ford. Here is a link to an apple forum where this is discussed in detail. It should be fixed in 4.2 which is supposed to be released tomorrow.

apple forum

iOS 4.2 delayed until next week :-(

 

 

 

[FirstReflect]

UPDATE:

 

So I tried a bunch of different sources and this popping/skipping issue definitely seems to be happening only with my iPhone. I tried a USB thumbdrive, an SD card, an SD card in a USB adapter and a little Creative brand mp3 player and all of those played music without any popping!

 

Thanks to the folks above who noted the thread on the Apple forum. It definitely does seem like this is an iPhone specific problem. Clearly, my USB ports are working fine and other sources are working fine. So, hopefully Apple and/or Ford can come up with a fix for this issue!

 

I have hope now! And I know that my particular Ford Edge is not to blame :D

 

Thanks so much, everyone! This has been a great help and I hope we are all able to enjoy popping-free music from our iPhones via USB in the near future!

[revOevoM]

Thanks to the folks above who noted the thread on the Apple forum. It definitely does seem like this is an iPhone specific problem. Clearly, my USB ports are working fine and other sources are working fine. So, hopefully Apple and/or Ford can come up with a fix for this issue!

I might add that it's not all iOS 4.1. I play music - all kinds of bit rates, including Apple lossless - just fine with my iOS 4.1 iPod Touch.

[francois.nc]

I might add that it's not all iOS 4.1. I play music - all kinds of bit rates, including Apple lossless - just fine with my iOS 4.1 iPod Touch.

I am guessing it is a iPhone only thing, kind of like in the old days where devices wouldn't handle the iPhone that well before they became shielded. You would get the feedback and all, I bet the popping has something to do with that.

[revOevoM]

Here's the link for the latest SYNC phones tested.

 

Its listing for Apple phones and the one that I have that reads text messages.Note the columns SYNC Rating and Audio Streaming.

[Gcollins]

Here's the link for the latest SYNC phones tested.

 

Its listing for Apple phones and the one that I have that reads text messages.Note the columns SYNC Rating and Audio Streaming.

 

 

Note that the list is an old list and does not include 3Gs or the iPhone 4. The reason why audio streaming was not noted in the column is at the time Apple did not allow bluetooth streaming at that time, but now they do.

[Sparky]

Note that the list is an old list and does not include 3Gs or the iPhone 4. The reason why audio streaming was not noted in the column is at the time Apple did not allow bluetooth streaming at that time, but now they do.

This problem must be related to the Edge 2011. I have 09 and iPhone 4 (OS4.1) and the sound is clear as bell.

[revOevoM]

Note that the list is an old list and does not include 3Gs or the iPhone 4. The reason why audio streaming was not noted in the column is at the time Apple did not allow bluetooth streaming at that time, but now they do.

Oh. And that's working just fine, huh?

 

And the list does have an update date of 10.25.2010. That's 19 days ago. How old is "old" exactly?

[Gcollins]

Oh. And that's working just fine, huh?

 

And the list does have an update date of 10.25.2010. That's 19 days ago. How old is "old" exactly?

 

 

I never stated that the bluetooth audio streaming works fine. Bluetooth audio streaming was added to the iOS in 3.0 release back on June 17, 2009, before that you could not stream over Bluetooth. The iphone 3Gs was released on June 8, 2009. Since the list does not show the iphone 3Gs or iPhone 4, logic would state that they no longer test the iphone and thus they did not update the list to show when apple added bluetooth streaming.

 

I did see the revised list date of 19 days ago. They could have simply just added new phones and not retested old phones. The list does not state that all existing phones were retested for compatibility. With so many phones, phone OSes and updates, I would not expect the list to ever be up-to-date.

[FirstReflect]

This problem must be related to the Edge 2011. I have 09 and iPhone 4 (OS4.1) and the sound is clear as bell.

 

Yeah, the "popping/skipping" issue seems to only be a problem between the 2011 Edges and the iPhone with iOS 4.1. It appears to be that specific combination where something just isn't working quite right and we're getting these annoying "pops" in the audio. Clearly though, this is a specific issue and not just some overall problem with the 2011 Edge's sound system or MyFord Touch. That was my fear. That there was just an overall problem with the 2011 Edge's or MyFord Touch. But since the audio works fine with other sources and other phones and USB audio devices play just fine, it seems to be specific to the iPhone.

 

While that sucks for us iPhone users, it at least gives us hope that there might come a fix via a firmware update. It also means that we do have alternative means of getting our music libraries into our Edges without the audio "pops"! I do hope for a fix, since it would be more convenient for me to just use my iPhone4, but if I have to resort to keeping another USB player in my car, I'm ok with that. I just want my audio to work :P

[GatorCat]

Just chiming in here... I have iPhone 4 running 4.1 (32GB) and 2011 Edge Sport. I don't have any audio problems with USB connection, although I can't get streaming to work via BT audio.

 

However, I was playing with the video option through regular USB port (which only does audio portion of movie since the video needs to be hooked up separately). Anyway, the audio portion did have tons of drops and pops. Got me to thinking there may be some correlation to type of file (AAC 128/256, protected vs. unprotected, MP3, etc.).

 

Hoping that the 4.2 update helps. There's definitely issues with iPhone connectivity but I think it varies by model and receiver.

 

We'll see!

[revOevoM]

Well?

 

I've had iOS 4.2.1 on my iPod Touch for almost two hours now. Where is everyone who predicted that their iPhones would miraculously work perfectly with 4.2?

 

Plug 'em in!! We're waiting!

[wilsons66604]

Well?

 

I've had iOS 4.2.1 on my iPod Touch for almost two hours now. Where is everyone who predicted that their iPhones would miraculously work perfectly with 4.2?

 

Plug 'em in!! We're waiting!

I didn't predict things would work but I did hope for the best.

I've only had a brief test with my iPhone 4 on iOS4.2.1

It has BT streamed but it's still not perfect when it comes to connecting. I'll know more after a few tests.

I did notice the little output icon on the iPhone's volume slider has changed. I hope it works better.

 

(dealership tells me today that there is no Sync Update)

 

 

[FirstReflect]

Whelp, so far so good. I'll have to keep testing with the new iOS 4.2.1 for a while longer before I'm sure, but so far, the audio "pops" have disappeared. They might come back, who knows? But I haven't had them so far after the firmware update