[MPR]

Sharing because I at first didn't think it was possible, and my CA also did not realize it was supported until I told him about it. This may be known/common knowledge, but I didn't know about it until I tried so I thought I'd share.

The USB port in front of the cup holders supports music folders/mp3 files. I loaded a tiny USB memory stick with my library and the USB stick then appears as an available option under media. You can play by artist, album, etc.

The USB stick doesn't always immediately get recognized, I've let it sit for 5+ minutes and it goes unrecognized. I found that removing it and reinserting it a few times makes it get discovered much more consistently/quickly. Once it's recognized the first time, you are good on future trips.

I'm still trying to get all my id3 tags cleaned up, I still have not figured out where the car is reading some of the values from.

Using this, which doesn't block cup holders
SanDisk Cruzer Fit USB 32GB Flash Drive (SDCZ33-032G-A11) https://a.co/d/0l8KzBj

[CarsAndGuitars]

Yes I did that too after seeing how poorly the Android Auto menuing and search works.

You can also set a preset ('22) or shortcut ('23) to it

[ZacMatic]

It plays FLAC as well. I've been re-ripping some of my CDs now that storage is so cheap.

Also, I've been using https://www.mp3tag.de/en for managing ID3 tags. It's a modern app that is still being updated.

[MPR]

Yeah, I use that too. I found that a few tracks have artists showing in the car that do not show in the filename or in any tags in mp3tag, I was starting to think maybe mp3tag may be missing some data points but could be wrong.

I'm trying to get everything buttoned up so I have no unknown artist album, every album lists once and with only the single artist, and all tracks show the correct artist/song

[Coconut]

I don't have my M240i yet but if you play an MP3 or FLAC file with album art embedded in it, does the artwork show up when you play it?

[CarsAndGuitars]

Yes

[GWIZ]

Is it correct to assume that the sound quality will be better using the USB connection instead of bluetooth?

Past generations of Bimmers had 3.5 audio inputs, which I always used to connect an Ipod. The sound quality was night/day compared to wireless.

I've tried USB to no avail, so will try this out now.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

Is it correct to assume that the sound quality will be better using the USB connection instead of bluetooth?

Past generations of Bimmers had 3.5 audio inputs, which I always used to connect an Ipod. The sound quality was night/day compared to wireless.

I've tried USB to no avail, so will try this out now.

CarPlay uses WiFi, not bluetooth, and will sound excellent. USB audio off a flash drive will also sound excellent. All of these are better than a 3.5mm jack which is a fairly bad way to play your music back quality wise.

Support for USB drives is not new, my E90 could play music back off a flash drive and that car didn't even have iDrive.

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

CarPlay uses WiFi, not bluetooth, and will sound excellent. USB audio off a flash drive will also sound excellent. All of these are better than a 3.5mm jack which is a fairly bad way to play your music back quality wise.

Support for USB drives is not new, my E90 could play music back off a flash drive and that car didn't even have iDrive.

I'm no audiophile, but this is the first I've heard mention of 3.5 as a fairly bad form of audio signal transmission quality-wise. It has, after all, been the standard connection for headphones and related devices for ages. Perhaps the older systems I experienced were Bluetooth-only for wireless transmission, which the wired aux clearly outperformed. Thanks for clarifying that it is a wifi signal in the newer cars. It thus surely provides a higher quality signal than Bluetooth, though I would think that it is still subject to interference and transmission variances to a much higher degree than any wired connection. I'm going to give the USB a shot and if it works I'll go about conducting a few unscientific comparison tests. In the end, the only judgment of quality that matters to each of us comes from our own respective ears.

[MPR]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

Is it correct to assume that the sound quality will be better using the USB connection instead of bluetooth?

Past generations of Bimmers had 3.5 audio inputs, which I always used to connect an Ipod. The sound quality was night/day compared to wireless.

I've tried USB to no avail, so will try this out now.

GWIZ, it's very clunky to get the car to recognize the drive. I now just keep pulling it out and reinserting the drive until it appears as a media option..

@all - has anyone found a trick to get the system to reindex everything? I corrected someid3 tags and it still shows the old values, pretty annoying. I read in another forum that you can reset all car data, but that's what I'm trying to avoid.

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by MPR

GWIZ, it's very clunky to get the car to recognize the drive. I now just keep pulling it out and reinserting the drive until it appears as a media option..

@all - has anyone found a trick to get the system to reindex everything? I corrected someid3 tags and it still shows the old values, pretty annoying. I read in another forum that you can reset all car data, but that's what I'm trying to avoid.

My music preferences are not extravagant. The HK in G42 guise works just well enough for me (though I would have paid the price had BMW optioned a higher-performing system), but I've yet to warm up to wireless audio in any form. I miss the plug-and-play simplicity of my iPod and a dash aux jack. The sound signature and quality were always to my liking. I've not been able to recreate that convenience through BMW's USB design. I am all ears for solutions and welcome this discussion.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

I'm no audiophile, but this is the first I've heard mention of 3.5 as a fairly bad form of audio signal transmission quality-wise. It has, after all, been the standard connection for headphones and related devices for ages. Perhaps the older systems I experienced were Bluetooth-only for wireless transmission, which the wired aux clearly outperformed. Thanks for clarifying that it is a wifi signal in the newer cars. It thus surely provides a higher quality signal than Bluetooth, though I would think that it is still subject to interference and transmission variances to a much higher degree than any wired connection. I'm going to give the USB a shot and if it works I'll go about conducting a few unscientific comparison tests. In the end, the only judgment of quality that matters to each of us comes from our own respective ears.

You mention some vague concerns of “interference” but that just isn’t how any of this works. It’s a digital signal so it either gets there or it doesn’t get there. Ironically the 3.5mm is the only one that can possibly experience interference, since digital -> analog conversion is done in the device itself.

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

You mention some vague concerns of “interference” but that just isn’t how any of this works. It’s a digital signal so it either gets there or it doesn’t get there. Ironically the 3.5mm is the only one that can possibly experience interference, since digital -> analog conversion is done in the device itself.

I'm not here to challenge your knowledge about this subject. I can only reference my own experience in that I have yet to encounter a wireless audio solution in the BMWs I've owned that matched the convenience, dependability, and consistent sound quality of the wired aux connection coming from music stored on my iPod or another handheld device, which are my preferred sources.

Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to match the simplicity and sound quality of this setup through USB connections in F30s, a G20, and G42. Your experience is clearly different than mine and you seem to know your way around electronics. Perhaps you can tell me how I might be able to connect my iPod, which has a 3.5 headphone out, to the G42 HK stereo via USB in. This may seem counterintuitive to you, but it is my objective, nonetheless. Thanks.

[MPR]

I don't think that's an option as the radio is looking for a file system, not an audio stream via the USB port

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

I'm not here to challenge your knowledge about this subject. I can only reference my own experience in that I have yet to encounter a wireless audio solution in the BMWs I've owned that matched the convenience, dependability, and consistent sound quality of the wired aux connection coming from music stored on my iPod or another handheld device, which are my preferred sources.

Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to match the simplicity and sound quality of this setup through USB connections in F30s, a G20, and G42. Your experience is clearly different than mine and you seem to know your way around electronics. Perhaps you can tell me how I might be able to connect my iPod, which has a 3.5 headphone out, to the G42 HK stereo via USB in. This may seem counterintuitive to you, but it is my objective, nonetheless. Thanks.

Not possible, not how any of this works.

Even Apple’s directions fifteen years ago would have told you not to do this and to plug the iPod directly into the car’s USB port with a 30-pin cable. An iPod’s headphone jack is intended for, well, headphones and does not supply a line-level output.

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

Not possible, not how any of this works.

Even Apple’s directions fifteen years ago would have told you not to do this and to plug the iPod directly into the car’s USB port with a 30-pin cable. An iPod’s headphone jack is intended for, well, headphones and does not supply a line-level output.

Again, maybe you haven't experienced what I have. Connect a 3.5 from iPod to BMW aux in and all controls -- volume, etc., were from the source (iPod) not the car. Maybe you've never tried that. Maybe we had different models and stereo systems. But what your saying is you don't see how such a connection could be made today using cables only without making modifications to/changing the head deck in the present G42 sound system. Okay.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

Again, maybe you haven't experienced what I have. Connect a 3.5 from iPod to BMW aux in and all controls -- volume, etc., were from the source (iPod) not the car. Maybe you've never tried that. Maybe we had different models and stereo systems. But what your saying is you don't see how such a connection could be made today using cables only without making modifications to/changing the head deck in the present G42 sound system. Okay.

What I’m saying is that the fact that the controls were from the source was bad. You’re amplifying the audio on a dinky iPod then re-amplifying it again in the car.

On those same older models you could plug the iPod in with a usb cable and it would both sound better and all the controls would transfer to the car. Better sound and safer.

And yeah I’m saying what you’re describing is both silly and not possible. They don’t even make iPods any more.

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

What I’m saying is that the fact that the controls were from the source was bad. You’re amplifying the audio on a dinky iPod then re-amplifying it again in the car.

On those same older models you could plug the iPod in with a usb cable and it would both sound better and all the controls would transfer to the car. Better sound and safer.

And yeah I’m saying what you’re describing is both silly and not possible. They don’t even make iPods any more.

I honestly am not sure what you're trying to say. You first describe this connection as possible but not optimal, then as silly and not possible. Firsthand experience has already answered that question for me. There was a time it was both possible and optimal for my purposes. But since there is no aux to work with nowadays, I guess I'll focus on finding a USB solution instead of wireless, something I've never gotten to work dependably. If you are trying to help, I appreciate your input, but I'm not sure we're on the same page with the direction of this conversation. I'm looking for wired solutions, you prefer wireless. I'll leave it at that.

[Coconut]

If your music is better quality than 320kbs MP3’s than playing it through USB thumb drive will be the best way to go about it since the stock system can decode lossless formats such as FLAC. Playing through Bluetooth, the system will most likely only support either AAC or SBC bluetooth protocols which only has the bandwidth of about 320kbs MP3 quality. To get close to CD quality, you’ll need to use either APT-X HD or LDAC Bluetooth protocol but very very few OEM system has this functionality. Playing through wireless CarPlay will most likely only support up to AAC bandwidth since that as the highest bandwidth Apple supports even if the bandwidth is higher for wifi. Using a wired 3.5mm jack might actually be the very best way quality wise IF you are using a very high end Digital Audio Player with a very good DAC AND the OEM system can pass through the analog signal directly to the amps, which I don’t think it can because that analog signal must then be converted back to digital so the OEM Headunits DSP can apply EQ, time delay, etc, then convert it back to analog so it can go to the amps.

I’d say keep things simple and stick with loading your music onto a USB. That’s what I plan to do with my FLAC files. I use a Samsung 32GB USB stick formatted to FAT32 and it works perfectly everytime, on the m240i’s I test drove. OEM systems are a bit picky about the USB drive size and file format from my experience.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by Coconut

If your music is better quality than 320kbs MP3’s than playing it through USB thumb drive will be the best way to go about it since the stock system can decode lossless formats such as FLAC. Playing through Bluetooth, the system will most likely only support either AAC or SBC bluetooth protocols which only has the bandwidth of about 320kbs MP3 quality. To get close to CD quality, you’ll need to use either APT-X HD or LDAC Bluetooth protocol but very very few OEM system has this functionality. Playing through wireless CarPlay will most likely only support up to AAC bandwidth since that as the highest bandwidth Apple supports even if the bandwidth is higher for wifi. Using a wired 3.5mm jack might actually be the very best way quality wise IF you are using a very high end Digital Audio Player with a very good DAC AND the OEM system can pass through the analog signal directly to the amps, which I don’t think it can because that analog signal must then be converted back to digital so the OEM Headunits DSP can apply EQ, time delay, etc, then convert it back to analog so it can go to the amps.

I’d say keep things simple and stick with loading your music onto a USB. That’s what I plan to do with my FLAC files. I use a Samsung 32GB USB stick formatted to FAT32 and it works perfectly everytime, on the m240i’s I test drove. OEM systems are a bit picky about the USB drive size and file format from my experience.

Bingo. All accurate information. Thy did not pass through the 3.5mm signal for the reasons you listed but also so they can mux the audio with other sources (like nav system directions, warning beeps), so you're going digital->analog->digital->analog which is not great. Moot point anyway since they took the jacks out of the cars 5ish years ago.

Bluetooth a2dp codec support is a mess; I haven't tried bluetooth in this car but it sounded kind of bad in my last one (idrive 6).

I personally use a large (256gb) exFAT-formatted SanDisk USB drive with a mix of AAC and FLAC files, but the AAC bitrate used by CarPlay is quite reasonable so 98% of people won't be able to tell the difference.

[ZacMatic]

I've been using one of these:
https://www.westerndigital.com/produ...CZ430-128G-A46

128 GB, formatted exFAT, and storing FLAC files that I've either ripped from my own CDs or purchased from online stores. No issues with the car recognizing the drive, though I did notice some weirdness with album art sometimes not being displayed which was ultimately resolved by embedding a different size image in the ID3 tags of the files.

Streaming FLAC from Tidal via Android Auto also works great.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by ZacMatic

I've been using one of these:
https://www.westerndigital.com/produ...CZ430-128G-A46

128 GB, formatted exFAT, and storing FLAC files that I've either ripped from my own CDs or purchased from online stores. No issues with the car recognizing the drive, though I did notice some weirdness with album art sometimes not being displayed which was ultimately resolved by embedding a different size image in the ID3 tags of the files.

Streaming FLAC from Tidal via Android Auto also works great.

I have the exact same one (just in 256GB) and it works great. It's tiny but unlike some of the other low-profile flash drives out there it's USB 3 so your music copies over from the computer quickly.