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Help Does USB-C work with a car port for music?

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I'm thinking of getting the HTC 10 or Google Pixel (please recommend) and am since this would be my first USB-C device, I'm wondering if I can plug in the phone to my car stereo's USB port and have it read the mp3 files or work like a music player like it would with the iPhone (or at least the way a microUSB to the car USB port would work with Android typically).
 
Why not go wirelessly thru Bluetooth?

Because Bluetooth doesn't sound very good and requires cranking up the volume.

Think it may depend on whatever it is car system you've got. Check with the manufacturer or dealership, see what it supports.

Thanks, I'll try.

You'll need an adapter such as:
http://www.belkin.com/uk/p/P-F2CU029/

They don't seem particularly cheap right now tho. If (which I doubt) your stereo supports Bluetooth, that would be the preferred method. ;)

Thanks. Best answer.
 
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Take this from someone who knows a bit on audio & wiring. @dhinged if you have to crank the volume then you may just need to set the stereo Gain Boost (there's usually a Boost setting for Aux, BT, & USB inputs) from #0 to #2 - 3.. Plus a good EQ (I use ViPER4Android) will also allow a pre gain boost in signal from device before it even hits the stereo's settings. Set both of those and ya may need to turn it down instead..

Wired connections in a car can be a problem in itself:
- more stuff to break and replace.
- when using wire for audio and another charging device at same time, you'll hear everything your motor and transmission does thru your speakers. Hearing a loud, electronic whine plus the pitch change when engine is shifting do little to help you enjoy your music..
- And the cracking of wire connections (ever heard friends plugging in electric guitars with the amp already on?)

This is why I had to get a BT capable stereo. Use your charge wire for charging and BT for audio to avoid those really annoying pitches and whines while driving.
 
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Take this from someone who knows a bit on audio & wiring. @dhinged if you have to crank the volume then you may just need to set the stereo Gain Boost (there's usually a Boost setting for Aux, BT, & USB inputs) from #0 to #2 - 3.. Plus a good EQ (I use ViPER4Android) will also allow a pre gain boost in signal from device before it even hits the stereo's settings. Set both of those and ya may need to turn it down instead..

I discovered in the settings how to boost the volume for the "Source" I'm using (Bluetooth or Aux for instance), but this is veering off my original question.

Wired connections in a car can be a problem in itself:
- more stuff to break and replace.
- when using wire for audio and another charging device at same time, you'll hear everything your motor and transmission does thru your speakers. Hearing a loud, electronic whine plus the pitch change when engine is shifting do little to help you enjoy your music..
- And the cracking of wire connections (ever heard friends plugging in electric guitars with the amp already on?)

I already know enough downsides of wired connections, which can include a tiny USB drive that only extends outward by less than a centimeter, and I still have to charge my phone using a wire, so another wire from the phone (like earbuds which I use when I'm not in my car) isn't an issue to me.

I've never had an issue of hearing the motor and transmission through my speakers, and rarely hear crack[l]ing of wired connections.

This is why I had to get a BT capable stereo. Use your charge wire for charging and BT for audio to avoid those really annoying pitches and whines while driving.

My stereo's already BT-capable, that's why I said it's lower quality (audio than wired); I haven't tried USB-C though, which is why I made this post. I've tried microUSB through another phone, and it just treated the phone like a storage drive, but I've heard that iPhones and iPods are treated like digital audio devices where the stereo can control the music player (with play/pause etc). My USB-C question has something to do with that ;)
 
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Hearing the motor is only when you are using 2 wires connected from device to that same car: 1 for charging (like cigarette/pwr port) and the other for audio out (headphones) to stereo. Otherwise motor noise isn't an issue.
I do have one of those super shallow flash drives too and yes, they Rock!
 
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but this is veering off my original question.

Let's veer back. ;)

Does USB-C work with a car port for music?

The answer is ... it depends. :rolleyes:

If you want to the AUX connection to play audio output from your phone with a standard USB-C cable, then it would be up to the Car manufacturer to have that built into the USB port in your console, otherwise you'd need an adapter to accept a standard 1/8" stereo patch cable (My car has RCA connections in the console :goofydroid:)*

That also means that the audio player is your phone and you need to control playback there.

If your head unit is the playback device, then the USB-C cable is only acting as a data cable and assuming all USB standards were followed by the phone manufacturer (don't ever assume anything, especially with some of the import devices floating around) then there is no reason why it wouldn't work just like a Bluetooth connection, and you probably charge the device at the same time, assuming your USB connector supplies power (which brings me back to the assumption thing ... not all do ... or at least enough to charge).

And then there are the non-standard cables that ship with some devices to provide "extra features" that might seem cool until you try to use the cable for something else. That's why we like standards. :D


*Are there any phones with both USB-C and headphone jacks?
 
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I was hoping someone here had actually tried and could tell me how it went and what they could do with it but I've yet to see that in this thread.

I'll be ignoring any replies that don't:

1. say they've tried
2. say how it went
3. say what they could do with it
 
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1. USB C isn't universal yet, so you're almost wasting your time asking other ppl.
2. Since it's important to ya, you should try it and let us know. Label the thread "answered" so that the one other person in 50,000 who might have a similar question doesn't have to ask again.. Already there.
3. USB's in a car stereo don't really charge, sometimes won't even put out enough current to activate the "charging" light (like 5% for a whole hr of charging), so expecting a USB C converter to do better or equivalent is s bit moot. Wait for electronics to catch up and you'll be able to have more realistic expectations about it. An adapter for an adapter for something else is asking for a headache
 
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I'm thinking of getting the HTC 10 or Google Pixel (please recommend) and am since this would be my first USB-C device, I'm wondering if I can plug in the phone to my car stereo's USB port and have it read the mp3 files or work like a music player like it would with the iPhone (or at least the way a microUSB to the car USB port would work with Android typically).
Pixel comes with a USB-C to USB cable in the box, at least the Pixel XL does. No need to buy a additional cable. I'm not sure about the HTC but my guess is that it is standard for all USB-C phone to ship with two cables until USB-C becomes more common place.
 
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I was hoping someone here had actually tried and could tell me how it went and what they could do with it but I've yet to see that in this thread.

I've got to agree with @bcrichster here. There are too many variables here for a definitive answer, the biggest is going to be the vehicle and its head unit including way the auto manufacturer has wired the USB port. Even if someone has an HTC10 or Pixel working tethered to a BMW's USB port is no guarantee it will work the same in a Honda or a Ford, or work at all for that matter. Then mix in the head unit options, versions and controls and it's a virtual crap shoot.

For instance, I have a LeEco S3 running Marshmallow and it has a USB-C cable with no audio jack. It works as a music player by serving the MP3 files to my Mitsubishi head unit running Fuze Hands-free software. It won't connect to my daughter-in-laws Ford Fusion using the same cable.

So I stick with my original assessment ... it depends.
 
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OK so nobody's actually tried;

As with the introduction of any new technological paradigm, there are going to be glitches with variables the manufacturers haven't considered or foreseen. I tried using what I've got at hand and to the best of my ability to provide you with, if not a definitive answer, a nudge in the direction to get your question answered.

I don't think anyone can answer your question until we know all the variables and, as I stated, the biggest variable is going to be your vehicle's head unit and USB connection.

I don't know why you're answering.

Just trying to help. :)
 
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*Are there any phones with both USB-C and headphone jacks?

In addition to those already mentioned, Sony's Xperia XZ, X & X Compact all have both.

[...]since this would be my first USB-C device, I'm wondering if I can plug in the phone to my car stereo's USB port and have it read the mp3 files or work like a music player like it would with the iPhone (or at least the way a microUSB to the car USB port would work with Android typically).

No reason why it wouldn't; if the device supports MTP (which all recent Android devices do) then the host USB interface doesn't matter.

Btw, that Verge link applies only to charging via USB-C outlets using out-of-spec cables. Connecting the device with the supplied cable (or an OEM approved replacement) is 100% safe.
 
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Chuck my tuppence in. I've recently upgraded to a Note 8 with Oreo and USB C. My car stereo no longer works over USB (my preferred connection). The phone gets stuck in a loop trying to charge/Data/Nothing. The stereo is a Kenwood kmm bt502dab. I've tried the phone in no less than 5 other car stereos. Often the device will charge, but on none of the stereos can I transmit audio as I could with my Note 4. I've enabled developer settings, and where possible tried to MTP/PTP/Audio Source, nothing works. On a minor interesting note, if you install the recommended Kenwood Music Play app, it will stream via USB. But only if that app is running. And that app is dreadful. For the sake of argument I've also used a colleagues S8 (USB C/Android Oreo) and get exactly the same results. I've swapped cables, tried cables with USB C adaptors, everything. I've spoke to Samsung who claim they've never heard of this problem, and suggested I take the phone in for the port to be checked. But the USB works fine for other applications, plugging into heapphones via usb provides audio. Plugging into Mac and PC, and managing the device/using Samsung Side Sync, all fine. I'm of the conclusion that there is something wrong with either Android Oreo, or USB C. And I can't find enough people attempting the connection to get any clear answer. Most seem to use Bluetooth to stream their audio. Massively frustrating. Would love to know if anyone has had success connecting via usb c to a car stereo on a Samsung device.
 
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Often the device will charge, but on none of the stereos can I transmit audio as I could with my Note 4. I've enabled developer settings, and where possible tried to MTP/PTP/Audio Source, nothing works. On a minor interesting note, if you install the recommended Kenwood Music Play app, it will stream via USB. But only if that app is running.

And here we are over a year later, asking that same questions about the same problems. :( The fact that you can stream music using the Kenwood app means that your head unit isn't Android aware, but does accept audio on non-standard (assuming there is a standard). One thing to look at is the type of connection that is made between the head unit and the phone, and what's actually controlling the playback.

With Nougat (Android 7) the default connection mode for USB was "charge only" which means that while a device may be recognized by the host, it will not make the file system available. When you plug the Note 8 into the USB port you should see a USB icon in the notification area. Pull down the menu and tap on it and make sure it says MTP mode (or file transfer, or whatever Samsung says to give you file access.) then try to see if your head unit will then recognize your media files.
 
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Thanks it's driving me up the wall. As i say, the connection mode just cycles through. You have to click it pretty quickly before it disconnects again. Once you see the connection type you see it automatically moving from charge only to MTP, to nothing, then repeats ad infinitum. Head unit just displays 'Android Error'. So frustrating as USB was my preferred method of streaming audio AND charging the phone on the Note 4. Of the other Head units tested, they range in age from about 2010 or so, to a brand new top of the line Range Rover from Nov 17. I was surprised that even that didn't work. Absolute nightmare.

You would assume there would be someway of forcing the connection state to work. If using the Kenwood app you pause the song, then load your preferred player, in my case Poweramp, the music will stream from Poweramp. But then if you use the head units playback functions, the Kenwood app will just start playing again. I've gone back to Bluetooth for now, but it's less than ideal.
 
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Are any of those devices compatible with Android Auto? I don't know for a fact, but wouldn't put it past Google for making non-AA connections problematic.

I have three connected devices in my car. My phone, of course, but I don't use that for music playback. For that I have an iPod nano connected via Bluetooth. In my USB port, I have a thumb drive with old podcasts of NPR's Car Talk (don't judge me ;) ) for some periodic humor. All of which I control through the head unit.
 
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