ModestW12

Two questions:
1.) Does anyone know for certain US 2005+ under-armrest phone cradle preparations include antenna connection to the aerial cluster on top of the car? I thought I looked into this and confirmed when I had the 2007 W12 but now I'm not so sure.

2.) If anyone in the US has an Audi phone cradle, could you check to see what the connections on the back of the cradle look like?

If there is an aerial antenna connection through the cradles, I'd like to buy one to take advantage of it but from the photos on eBay and general internet searches it looks like there may be different types of connections or preparations for D3s.

I've searched the forums regarding the under-armrest phone preparation/antenna connection but no luck finding an definitive answer as to which is which. I even had an Audi iPhone 4 cradle back when I had the 2007 W12 but I don't remember what the connections on the back were like.


The connection for the cradle preparation in my 2008 W12:



IIRC, this what corresponding connection on the iPhone cradle looked like when I had it back in 2011:




Unlike the connection above, this is the connection that the catch-all USB cradles from UK sellers on eBay show:




Which looks to be the same connection that the iPhone 5/6 lightning cradles on there have:

MP4.2+6.0

Basically no AFAIK. I had both the iPhone 4 and 5S bases that snapped in. It has a connector for the phone, but I believe all it does is charge. If it did connect antenna wise, frankly I never sensed any real difference in signal. In NorCal now about the only place signal starts to flake that I have come across are I 80 at points up in the Sierra and some of the Sierra foothills to the south all the way down to Oakhurst.

It just bluetooths in to car as you may note from the graphics on it in the pics--doesn't use any of those connections you would think would be at base for that. It leaves phone in a very awkward/almost useless position buried under the twin armrests. Great recipe for leaving your phone behind too.

Net, my vote is/was not really worth it. 95 % of the time I spent on it was simply the detailing rags to clean the dust out. 4% of the remainder was probably as a charger when wife hogged the cig. lighter one. Yep, about a 1% value quotient, maybe.

ModestW12

100% in agreement from experience on the awkward/almost useless position under the armrests for the phone specific cradles.

However, the universal USB cradle, provided there actually is aerial/on-board antenna integration, could at times prove useful when coupled with the coiled USB-to-lightning or micro-usb cables Audi sells to complement. Even a generic retractable or plain cable for that matter would allow for standard phone placement (same as with cigarette lighter charger) and useful operation (music, nav, siri, etc).

This may not be the case in the bay area but with AT&T around here and on trips east, signal reception help would be welcome for voice and data throughput.

So with the universal USB cradle scenario, both of the questions are still worth looking into although the second (cradle connector compatibility) is contingent upon the first (aerial antenna connection) in order to make the cradle purchase worthwhile.





I wonder if a call to AoA for a definite answer to either question is worth a shot...

EDIT:
Just noticed what looks to be an antenna connector when looking at armrest cradle mount trays on eBay:



Link to eBay listing with full size photos

JulianHicks

Just to add my Euro perspective

We had three different phone ECUs in Europe; in date of introduction order they were identified in VCDS and the MMI 'Red screens' as follows:
a) Telefon EU - SIM card unit using mic and car speakers - Part 4E0 862 333x
b) Handyvorb2 - Bluetooth - Part 4E0 862 335x
c) BTA - Bluetooth - Part 4F1 862 335x

a) and c) used a roof aerial; b) used the phone's aerial.

But I think you guys in the US only had the Handyvorb2 so I suspect you don't have the aerial in the car.

Julian