Using Phone as Mass Storage in Car Stereo - General Topics

Hi,
I have been using my phone as a mass storage device for my USB car stereo for a while. I have other applications on the internal storage (Diamond) which have mp3s.
Does anyone have any solutions for hiding non-music mp3s from the stereo (other than deleting!). I am getting fed up listening to ringtones etc...
Cheers
Aidan

buy a cheap usb flash disk

bukhariwaheed111 said:
buy a cheap usb flash disk
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While some might see this as a bit pointless post since it doesn't really solve the problem, I think it's good advice, not only will you be able to leave it plugged in and not have to worry about having your USB cable floating around, but it would only cost a few quid, give you more storage and solve the problem.

I suppose, if you didnt fancy buying a new usb stick, you could try setting any non music mp3 files to being hidden. I have no idea how a car stereo would react, and it may still pick them up, but its worth a try.
Your ppc will still find them, you just wont be able to see them in file explorer & im hoping that your stereo might ignore them or something.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will have a look at hiding the files.
I really like the ability to download podcasts on the move so wont be able to do that with a USB stick.
Cheers
Aidan

me too. im using my car stereo to play mp3s in my pda via usb.
but i put all songs in memory card to avoid stereo from playing phone's ringtones.
btw, car stereo with a usb input is an instant charger!

Related

nexus s and volvo c30 -> no audio via usb?

hi
i have a nexus s and a volvo c30 with the multimedia package which has a usb port. With my iphone, I could just plug in the iphone in the usb and i could navigate trough the music and listen to it on my iphone trough the car's stereo.
If i put in the nexus nothing happens, it keeps trying to read the disk.
if i put on usb storage mode, it says after a while that it can't read the disk.
is there any way i can make this work or is it just not possible?
I would check out the manual or Google it. I bet the Volvo stereo only supports FAT16 or FAT32 format (i.e. USB flash thumb drive). Just a guess. Hope it works out...
Also, does it support Bluetooth? If so, see if the stereo can accept audio over bluetooth. I've got a 5-6yr old Alpine head unit that can do it, so I'm betting there's a good chance yours can.
The manual says it indeed only supports usb2 and fat partitions...
Is there any way this can be done on the nexus?
I have bluetooth, but there is no mension about being able to play music over bluetooth, phone does work and addressbook syncs, so bluetooth works as it should
I'm honestly not sure about the formatting issue. I would assume that repartitioning the phone would be a tough job to do without messing something up.
As for Bluetooth, I don't really have any experience with audio-via-BT, but I would try atleast pairing it to the car to see if you can play around with it. Go to Settings > Wireless and Networks > Bluetooth Settings. Enable Bluetooth and turn Discoverable on. Then try using your car to pair with it, or vice versa. If you manage to get it connected, I don't really know what the next step would be, since I've never had a stereo that supported it without paying $200 for an adapter.
I would just play around with the bluetooth stuff and see if you can get it running. Since I'm not familiar with Volvo car stereo systems, I don't know if it really supports playback, or just phone calls. See if there's an input in the menu (ie CD, FM, AM, AUX, etc) called BT Audio, or something like that. 3rd party head units typically have this input if they support it, similar to the AUX input option. I'll see if I can find a generic guide for it in the meantime.
What year is your C30?
Good luck
So it looks like your car does NOT support the audio via Bluetooth protocol, known as A2DP. I found a great resource for your car that you should check out, called C30 World. From there I found a thread on this, where people say it doesn't support it, and that your best bet is to use the aux input jack in the center console. Unfortunately, it also looks like that jack is disabled if you have the Bluetooth package installed.
My advice is for you to post on the C30 World forums and ask for some help. I'm sure there's some very knowledgeable people over there that can help you.
thanks man
I think I will just put a usb splitter in there and use a thumb drive in the usb with my music and use the phone as a phone on bluetooth and still have the option to charge my phone
Try using the BT adapter that I use. Been using viseeousa 2000 plugged to my USB port. Flawlessly stream music wireless. Plug and play device and works with android for bluetooth streaming.

[Q] I can't play music through usb port on my pioneer dvd receiver head unit?

I just bought the new samsung infuse 4g. I have a pioneer dvd receiver with both a usb and aux input on front. When I connect the infuse to the pioneer with usb cable, the head unit says form read and does nothing. It will play music through the aux but I would like to have some control on the screen like I do with my iphone 4. Any help is greatly appriciated. This is my first android phone been iphone for since 3g, 3gs, 4.
most head units are formatted mainly for ipod.
i have the idrive system in my suv and i cant get it to come up like it does on iphone or ipod. just lets me play forward rewind skip the general functions.
but when i plug in my ipod. i get full track list albums and what not
It's certainly disappointing.
word. pisses me off at times, because i got buttons on being my steering wheel to control all of that but noooo.
350havok said:
I just bought the new samsung infuse 4g. I have a pioneer dvd receiver with both a usb and aux input on front. When I connect the infuse to the pioneer with usb cable, the head unit says form read and does nothing. It will play music through the aux but I would like to have some control on the screen like I do with my iphone 4. Any help is greatly appriciated. This is my first android phone been iphone for since 3g, 3gs, 4.
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the easy answer is that you need a dock. a dock can be simulated but im not going into that in this post. the home dock alonk with the deskhome app enables usb out. you can get a different app that will work but you still need to trigger dock mode. sorry there isnt an easier way that i know of. not untill there is some development on the platform.
When you plug in infuse into usb
Port it asks if u want to use it as disk drive kies or something else
I forgot what now.
This might be the problem as it should be usb disk drive
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ooh crap i think i read wrong. ok you need to mount the storage to the headunit. it "may" support usb audio, but it is likely trying to look for media on the device. that is the only way that it would potentially use the stearing wheel controls. if it were to use audio over usb it would still use the phones media player.
it might not have drivers that can support the infuse to be mounted as storage. but if it does you can mount it from the notification bar on the phone.
hmm, try getting a widget that mounts the SD card when you plug it in. ("plug it in and turn me on"- Afrojack ) anyways, yeah maybe if you can get the sd card to mount it will works as a USB disk drive.
So...is there no answer on this yet? I have a Kenwood head unit in my truck and it sits on reading as well. I've tried the mass storage option and media player. I've also plugged the phone into my laptop and synced it with WMP thinking that would create a folder structure that the head unit is looking for, but nothing. I've plugged in various Android devices and they have all worked (even the cheap Chinese ones). There has to be an easy answer to this.
jmfrost said:
So...is there no answer on this yet? I have a Kenwood head unit in my truck and it sits on reading as well. I've tried the mass storage option and media player. I've also plugged the phone into my laptop and synced it with WMP thinking that would create a folder structure that the head unit is looking for, but nothing. I've plugged in various Android devices and they have all worked (even the cheap Chinese ones). There has to be an easy answer to this.
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In my experience it has been.hit or miss device to device.
Did you try the app mentioned above
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00mred00 said:
In my experience it has been.hit or miss device to device.
Did you try the app mentioned above
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I haven't tried the app above because the way the post read to me was that I also needed the dock. Maybe I haven't tried enough devices, but every device I've plugged in has worked so far, even a plain flash drive, until I tried this unit. Which leads me to think if I can make a plain and simple flash drive work, then surely I can make this work in mass storage mode. I'm thinking it has to be something to do with file/folder structure. Again, it could possibly be the file system. Seems like I read somewhere the file system was formatted with something outside the norm. So I wonder if I format a microsd card as fat or fat32, then maybe that's the trick?!?!
I'm getting closer to a fix. Here's what I have working so far. If you create a folder on the microSD card called music and drop all your tunes in there, select mass storage mode when you connect to the USB port, then the stereo should start reading from that folder automatically. I didn't format the card that came with the Infuse so whatever file system they formatted it with seems to be fine. I also haven't tried this folder on the internal memory, but will try that as part of my testing. I listen to a lot of podcasts as well, so I need to figure out a way to organize so I can switch between music and podcasts easily and so far I've only been able to control it from the headunit. I also haven't been able to get things like GPS voice navigation to play through the head unit either...yet.
Keep us posted for sure!!!
I have an old 500gb drive i use for this so really no need to do it from the phone...
My jvc has bt so i just play stuff thats on my phone over that
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So far I've hit another brick wall. I'll figure out something, it's driving me nuts. I can't believe they would leave this functionality out, in particular for use a GPS navigation device.
I have tried BT connections in other cars, but my bionic ears notice a considerable drop in sound quality when doing that.
I have e-mailed Samsung to see what their official response is to this.
jmfrost said:
in particular for use a GPS navigation device.
I have tried BT connections in other cars, but my bionic ears notice a considerable drop in sound quality when doing that.
I have e-mailed Samsung to see what their official response is to this.
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lost me there on the GPS ...
I can tell a slight difference in sound quality but not enough that it has bothered me....I think I just dig not having cables running everywhere.
I may try and mess with mine tomorrow if I can find some time
What I was saying about the GPS is that it's nice to hear the turn-by-turn instructions over the stereo. If other people are talking, then sometimes you don't hear it if you're using the phones speaker.
FWIW, here is the response I got from Samsung. I just looked through my settings and most of this is already done. My gut feeling is...Samsung ain't gonna' do jack about this! Maybe I don't understand and manufacturers aren't using Android devices to compete with iPhone. But if you want to compete with iPhone, then I would think connecting to external devices as easily as iPhones do would be a key part of that competition. This is why Windows never lost out to Linux and ios became king. There are a few of us geeks willing to dabble, but most people just want it to work. I'm no phanboy, but I certainly have to give Apple credit on this one. Maybe this will improve with a GB or Ice Cream update.
Thank you for taking the time to inform us your inquiry concerning your Samsung product. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We appreciate hearing from our customers, as your comments are vital for us to continue improving our products, as well as our business.
By default the phone has a feature to make a mass storage option to the computer so it can browse file and transfer files between the phone and the computer as well. However, we don't have much information on 3rd
party devices for it will be a compatibility issue which is why it is not working on your USB device.
You may try to check the USB settings below for mass storage option:
> Tap Menu
> Tap Settings
> Tap Applications
> Tap USB settings
> Tap Mass storage even if already selected
> Tap Home key to return to the home screen
Make sure that under Development, all option should be unchecked:
> Select Menu
> Select settings
> Select Applications
> Development
> Uncheck all three options (USB debugging, Allow mock location, Stay Awake)
Connect the USB data cable to the phone and to the device’s USB port
On the phone screen, touched “Connect USB Storage”
If it’s still not working, you may try to look and download an application on the Android Market that works on your USB device. However, we don’t have much information on 3rd party software so before downloading the application check on the user’s comments for the assurance.
Should you have additional questions concerning a specific feature of your device, please contact us anytime, as we would be happy to provide additional information. You can contact our Customer Care Center by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.
If you're on Twitter or Facebook, you can also tweet or post questions for us.
www.facebook.com/samsungservice
www.twitter.com/samsungservice
Thank you for your continued interest in Samsung products.
Sincerely,
Technical Support
jmfrost said:
What I was saying about the GPS is that it's nice to hear the turn-by-turn instructions over the stereo. If other people are talking, then sometimes you don't hear it if you're using the phones speaker.
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I guess where I am lost is in that has nothing to do with hooking the device up via mass storage
That one is another great benefit to BT set up...GPS broadcasts to the head unit, all sounds do
When hooked up via mass storage the head unit will only be reading files....so that is what threw me off when you mentioned GPS
00mred00 said:
I guess where I am lost is in that has nothing to do with hooking the device up via mass storage
That one is another great benefit to BT set up...GPS broadcasts to the head unit, all sounds do
When hooked up via mass storage the head unit will only be reading files....so that is what threw me off when you mentioned GPS
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OK. So you got me on the BT thing. But I'm not going to rush out and spend $200+ for a decent HU that has BT. Maybe I can find an adapter.
The GPS thing was a side thought.
jmfrost said:
OK. So you got me on the BT thing. But I'm not going to rush out and spend $200+ for a decent HU that has BT. Maybe I can find an adapter.
The GPS thing was a side thought.
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It's awesome! Sorry, I have been addicted to BT for years now...I have two sets of stereo headphones, the JVC in the car, and have been looking for a home surround system with BT (not as important now that most blueray players are network/pandora ready). They prolly make an adapter specifically for your H/U
I had this same issue over last weekend, on the way to a music festival. My friends kenwood deck wouldn't play my infuse through the USB. As far as I can tell it's seriously just something that Samsung has left out. There were 3 other droids in the car that played perfectly through the USB. Very frustrating to say the least, especially on a phone of it's level.

Play SR on Kenwood car stereo via USB?

Hey all - tried to search for this but didn't find anything... I have a Kenwood car stereo that plays iphone via usb port, but I wasn't able to see how to get it to work by seeing the SR as a media device. On my captivate, you could choose 'media player' as a usb mode, but that wouldn't work either. Any ideas? I like the idea of playing music while being able to charge the phone at the same time. It does charge off of the deck via usb, but just can't get it to find the music on the SR.
That is such a coincidence, I just put in probably the same (or similar) Kenwood stereo into my car (KDC-248U). I was looking around on the website and under the KDC-252U they list an Android app "Kenwood Music Control" it's in the Market. I am going to give that a try later today.
*** EDIT
Apparently the app analyzes your music or something and then puts a file on your device to make it readable, worth looking into.
Also check here http://androidforums.com/android-media/167502-kewood-car-deck-problem-solving.html
Nice call! You have to have the music on the external SD though, in case anyone else has a problem getting it running Then choose 'auto output' in preferences. Also appears that the program stays active all the time... which I'm not crazy about, but it does work!
Ozark_8125 said:
Nice call! You have to have the music on the external SD though, in case anyone else has a problem getting it running Then choose 'auto output' in preferences. Also appears that the program stays active all the time... which I'm not crazy about, but it does work!
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That's great news! I gave it the ol college try but came up empty. Maybe you can help me out.
First what model stereo do you have and second, how do you store your media on your external SD , in a folder "music" or under a second level folder? Lastly, how did you get it to recognize did you plug it in and quickly choose USB storage or did you plug it in, choose USB storage and then cycle sources till you landed back on USB?
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So I've been playing around with it and now I can get it to play all the time. First plug USB into phone then into Head unit. When head switches to "Reading" change source to something else (Radio, Portable, etc.). Now enable USB storage and open Kenwood App, while doing this switch to "USB" on the source and it will play.
Now I am having lots of issues getting new music to read, I have tried manually analyzing to no such luck. What options do you have on? I noticed that at one time on reboot it re-did the scan.
It's not very elegant but it works. I wish I didn't have to use an app running all the time.
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I first scanned the music so it was all recognized by the app. Plug it in, and while the stereo is showing 'reading's then turn on the PC storage (and assuming you have auto output enabled). Then it worked. Clunky, but better than nothing for linger car trips. My stereo is the x695 excelon deck.
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I first scanned the music so it was all recognized by the app. Plug it in, and while the stereo is showing 'reading's then turn on the PC storage (and assuming you have auto output enabled). Then it worked. Clunky, but better than nothing for linger car trips. My stereo is the x695 excelon deck.
Kenwood Music Editor Light
After playing around a bit it seems really clunky and I don't like the idea of the app running all the time. However I did find a solution, the Kenwood Music Editor (Light Edition).
http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/music_editor_light/english/download.html
You are still limited to music on your external SD card but it does not require the Kenwood app to be running or present to work. It was meant to make music playable on any USB device so it can be used for flash cards as well if you are having issues reading them. You plug your device into a computer (Windows only) and then run a scan and you should be good to go.
After doing this it's the same situation to play for me, plug in and turn on USB storage (it takes long for my phone to get into USB storage so that is why I have to cycle the Sources after it's connected to get the stereo to play). It remembers track position and everything.
promiseofcake said:
After playing around a bit it seems really clunky and I don't like the idea of the app running all the time. However I did find a solution, the Kenwood Music Editor (Light Edition).
You are still limited to music on your external SD card but it does not require the Kenwood app to be running or present to work. It was meant to make music playable on any USB device so it can be used for flash cards as well if you are having issues reading them. You plug your device into a computer (Windows only) and then run a scan and you should be good to go.
After doing this it's the same situation to play for me, plug in and turn on USB storage (it takes long for my phone to get into USB storage so that is why I have to cycle the Sources after it's connected to get the stereo to play). It remembers track position and everything.
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newer car-stereos usualy suport any file when you put the phone in "storage-device"-mode.
im looking to get controll over the phone from my stereo, yther use the player in the phone or spotify. works great whit an iphone, but cant find any solution to get the same controll from my htc desire hd...
im guessing its not the stereo itself but the phones software thats the problem, not allowing audio out or controlls in from the microUSB
id love a solution to this though
Check out the other apps like kenwood music control for android:
http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/

[Q] Song data over BT?

I stream audio from my Infuse to my Kenwood DDX719 head unit in my car, and the thing that kills me is all it does is stream audio, not song info (id3 tag). Does anyone know if there's any way besides BT file transfer to get song data from my phone to the device?
I could just put my songs on a USB flash drive and plug that in, but for some reason it takes like 15 minutes to scan an 8GB SD card, can't imagine a 16GB USB drive...
song data
TheNetwork said:
I stream audio from my Infuse to my Kenwood DDX719 head unit in my car, and the thing that kills me is all it does is stream audio, not song info (id3 tag). Does anyone know if there's any way besides BT file transfer to get song data from my phone to the device?
I could just put my songs on a USB flash drive and plug that in, but for some reason it takes like 15 minutes to scan an 8GB SD card, can't imagine a 16GB USB drive...
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what rom are you on? I never got the data on my Kenwood unit until i went to JB rom. Any of them will work.
I gave up and bought a 16GB USB flash disk. I'm getting a GNII when it comes out in a few weeks anyway. But thanks for the input.

How do I play audio in my car through USB?

I know it works via an auxiliary cable but I'd like to get it working with USB. Is this possible?
it won't work. However if you have the cable from ibolt you can use the micro usb out on the phone. you cannot simply connect a usb cable for audio.
So there's no way to see the artist/track name of what i'm playing through my phone other than connecting via bluetooth.. awesome.
You can and you can't.
Kenwood and Pioneer car stereos (have tested on both) read flat file structures (NOT iTunes or WMP playlists, but the individual mp3 files and to a limit of 255 folders), but they will only read on your phone storage and ONLY if you have a Mass Storage option. They do not support MTP. This is a real pain in the butt. There was an application that let you swap storage and another app I saw someone make to allow you to mount storage so this could be done. I did this for a while until it became dumb and just ended up using Bluetooth.
sidn3y said:
So there's no way to see the artist/track name of what i'm playing through my phone other than connecting via bluetooth.. awesome.
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