Help Car AUX Input Issues

[davidmanvell]

Why should I let this small issue force me to pay more money?

It is a simple issue to be solved and paying $50 to fix it doesn't make sense. There has to be a permanent solution.

Ok if the issue is Impedance being too low then you can try one of a couple things to bump the impedance up.

They do make impedance adapters which basically add a resistor to each side of the wire. Most likely something small like a 2 Ohm 10 W resistor would do for each side. Since most of you all won't really want to go out and solder up a pair you can try a few tricks to see if this will work. One would be to use a smaller wire (Skinnier wire. Not talking about the shielding around the wire but the actual thickness of the wire itself. The skinnier the better). Normally you want a thick wire (Lowers resistance). Try finding a cheap 3.5 wire somewhere. Monster cables and such would do the opposite (They would lower the impedance). Just remember skinnier wire = higher resistance. longer wire also = higher resistance.

Another thing you could try is to get an adapter to convert one side of your 3.5mm cable to a 3mm then plug that into a second adapter to convert it back to 3.5mm. The converting it twice might add enough impedance to it to bump it up into a higher range so it is detected.

This is all based on the impedance being too low. If that's not the issue then none of this will help.

 

[davidmanvell]

Or buy a new car stereo. One that has full bluetooth as well

 

[Weenrock]

Ok if the issue is Impedance being too low then you can try one of a couple things to bump the impedance up.

They do make impedance adapters which basically add a resistor to each side of the wire. Most likely something small like a 2 Ohm 10 W resistor would do for each side. Since most of you all won't really want to go out and solder up a pair you can try a few tricks to see if this will work. One would be to use a smaller wire (Skinnier wire. Not talking about the shielding around the wire but the actual thickness of the wire itself. The skinnier the better). Normally you want a thick wire (Lowers resistance). Try finding a cheap 3.5 wire somewhere. Monster cables and such would do the opposite (They would lower the impedance). Just remember skinnier wire = higher resistance. longer wire also = higher resistance.

Another thing you could try is to get an adapter to convert one side of your 3.5mm cable to a 3mm then plug that into a second adapter to convert it back to 3.5mm. The converting it twice might add enough impedance to it to bump it up into a higher range so it is detected.

This is all based on the impedance being too low. If that's not the issue then none of this will help.

Thanks for the tip David.

I thought about this a lot. After talking with the advanced support person at Samsung, they had no idea what it could be. She mentioned that changin impedance might help... but only if it's because the resistance is too low. But then again, it could create more problems.

The cord I am using now is a cheap one from walmart ($5), thick shielding but most likely skinny wire. It is approximately 6ft long - so I am sure the impedance is pretty high already. I have tried a very short 3.5 too - no avail.

I honestly want to add a new stereo with bluetooth, but the principle of the problem still stands. Why should I have to spend a lot of money to fix such a small problem? It seems like such a small problem that I shouldn't be having a problem in the first place.

GAH!

 

[Weenrock]

Thanks for the tip David.

I thought about this a lot. After talking with the advanced support person at Samsung, they had no idea what it could be. She mentioned that changin impedance might help... but only if it's because the resistance is too low. But then again, it could create more problems.

The cord I am using now is a cheap one from walmart ($5), thick shielding but most likely skinny wire. It is approximately 6ft long - so I am sure the impedance is pretty high already. I have tried a very short 3.5 too - no avail.

I honestly want to add a new stereo with bluetooth, but the principle of the problem still stands. Why should I have to spend a lot of money to fix such a small problem? It seems like such a small problem that I shouldn't be having a problem in the first place.

GAH!

I think I solved the problem: it is an impedance problem. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG!

So here is what I did:

I took two 3.5mm cords and plugged one cord into the car, and the other cord that isn't plugged into anything, into the phone. Then, with the two free ends, I simply, pointed the two free ends at each other and parallel to each other - which looks like this:

(cord)===](tip)
(tip)[===(cord)

I think by doing this, it added more resistance. I was able to pause/play and skip songs without it disconnecting the virtual connection. However, I believe this flipped polarity because I reversed the tips, correct?

Am I wrong?

 

[davidmanvell]

If what you did is consistent then yes you are on to it. Really does sound like an impedance issue. That would add some impedance to it (And reverse the polarity which the phone and stereo may or may not care about).

Can't help you all though. Either buy some sort of adapter for a cable (Or find one with higher impedance, buy a new car stereo or a new phone. or wait for a software upgrade (May never happen). Or do without.

You could cut a cable in half and reverse the polarity and twist tie the ends back together just to see if polarity has something to do with it.

 

[duhrman]

I think I solved the problem: it is an impedance problem. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG!

So here is what I did:

I took two 3.5mm cords and plugged one cord into the car, and the other cord that isn't plugged into anything, into the phone. Then, with the two free ends, I simply, pointed the two free ends at each other and parallel to each other - which looks like this:

(cord)===](tip)
(tip)[===(cord)

I think by doing this, it added more resistance. I was able to pause/play and skip songs without it disconnecting the virtual connection. However, I believe this flipped polarity because I reversed the tips, correct?

Am I wrong?

So you can essentially duct tape the two tips together and maintain the virtual connection? If this works that's great, but I'd be concerned about the sustainability of this setup. How is the sound quality?

The main reason I went with the ibolt was that I got it for only $29.99 with an employee discount and I was looking for a good mount for using GPS anyways. Another perk is that it's really easy to drop my phone in, charge it and get sound out. I remember with my previous phone always having to fumble around for my aux in cord and also for a charger if I needed to use that, as well as a separate dash mount for GPS. I use the ibolt's dash-mount so that I can use the phone in car-dock mode and quickly get to various features of the phone while still having a good view of the road. My logic was that the alternative solutions would likely cost more(new stereo, "fixing" current stereo) or less optimal (finnicky or issues with sound quality) than I was willing to deal with.

As much as I love my 2009 9-3, sometimes I wish Saab wouldn't have to be so "different".

 

[mrbmg]

Was doing a search on my way home for
"problems connecting samsung galaxy s3 in car aux" in google
and it came to this post!

So freaking informative and gave into my thoughts.

I DRIVE A 2008 SAAB 9-3 LoL

Though I'm glad I found out others have this misfortune, it is glad to know I'm not the only one. I will try and see if I can work on something that is not so rigged, but it seems like we are out of luck. Anyhow, I will keep attention to this thread to see if us SAAB owners have any luck.

Thanks guys,
BillY

 

[erhall55]

Has anyone come up with a solution for this? I have a 2007 9-3 Sportcombi and the iBolt and can't get it to work.

 

[jtcstrat]

I am having the same isse. s3 and i drive a 2008 saab 9-3

is there any fix for this yet? its really a bummer because i use my phone for music in my car all the time..

thanks

jon

 

[powridn]

Has anyone come up with a solution for this? I have a 2007 9-3 Sportcombi and the iBolt and can't get it to work.

I too have a 2007 SAAB 9-5 Sportcombi and have had all of the same issues. I have tried many different AUX port cables to no avail. I have used lots of other devices with my AUX port and they all work fine (even the iPhone 5). I'm going to try the iBolt to see if that works. This is such an annoying problem!!!

 

[ldivinag]

Try inserting something in the middle of the chain like a mini amp

FIIO-Amplifier

Might be the fix for the impedence issue... plus you get a couple benefits.

$25 from an amazon 3rd party

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0091CWYQ6/ref=mp_s_a_1?pi=SL75&qid=1349373689&sr=8-1

 

[rell1925]

Hey guys, its not just SAAB! i just bought a 2007 BMW Z4 and am having the exact same issue. I do not want to buy another headunit because I love how the BMW stock radio looks and the dash kit would probably be hideuos and ridiculously expensive. I also am curious if this issue has anything to do with this auto-pause thing my s3 has going on. I LOVE MY S3 and my Z4, i just wish my audio would play without doing the MOST!

 

[saadi107]

Hi guys. I just checked this thread after quite a while and it seems that quite a few people have run into this issue. After reading the last post i did a quick search and found a bmw forum where someone was facing the exact issue.

Samsung Galaxy S3 not working in aux input - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

The response in that forum is a reiteration of whats been discussed here but it did give me an idea to try out an app called "SoundAbout." The app forces the phone to go into headset mode even if the phone isnt detecting the aux cable. I tried this on my phone and it did play through the cars speakers without me having to unplug the cable or anything, however the sound was kinda on the lower side. Here is the link to the app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.woodslink.android.wiredheadphoneroutingfix&hl=en

Also sometimes the songs would play in line, but on a couple of occasions i had to press play each time the song ended. NOT a perfect solution but it raised my hopes that maybe this can be solved through a software upgrade or something.

Let me know how this turns out for you guys and also if you manage to find a better app.

- Saad

 

[saadi107]

And I just realized that weenrock had already mentioned the headset routing method so apologies for the repost :s

 

[jtcstrat]

damn, i see some progress, i just wish there was a software upgrade or something, such an annoying issue, i will try the app mentioned. but for now im just using my old ipod :/

any other ideas or suggestions?

 

[saadi107]

Im actually trying to find a cable like this one :

Das Muster funktioniert: USB- und Aux-Kabel f

 

[MikaelPe]

We at iBOLT.co are working on getting the 9ft charging, aux-out cable set up as a separate item and it should be available in a couple of weeks. We'll keep this thread updated once it's available for purchase on Amazon or through authorized retailers.

 

[saadi107]

Oh that sounds nice. Hopefully there will be varying lengths as 9ft might be a bit too long. Anyway if the price point is not too exuberant you've got 1 guaranteed sale

 

[jtcstrat]

does this ibolt cable fix the issue? someone please explain

thanks

 

[saadi107]

Well the people who have tried using the ibolt dock have had success. The reason being that the cable routes the audio through the Usb port to the cars aux as it enables the dock mode on the phone. Since we were unable to play from the aux on the phone to the cars aux, a cable like this should help us out l.

I'm not a hundred percent on this but I think the jelly bean upgrade brings the audio via Usb feature to most phones and so we should be seeing more docks and cables that make use of this feature, similar to the ones available for iphones.

 

[partyd]

Same problem in a 2009 Suburban,helping a friend, for some reason the phone is detecting
the radio aux connection and turns off the Headphone icon or it needs to see the headphones impedance, adding an 8 ohm resistor in series solves the problem but the audio quality is not the same

This was my solution a Bluetooth that works with Android
Android bluetooth audio input interface adapter iSimple iSFM21 tranzit blu oem radio aux in fm stere

 

[powridn]

This worked for my 2007 SAAB 9-5!

Hi guys. I just checked this thread after quite a while and it seems that quite a few people have run into this issue. After reading the last post i did a quick search and found a bmw forum where someone was facing the exact issue.

Samsung Galaxy S3 not working in aux input - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

The response in that forum is a reiteration of whats been discussed here but it did give me an idea to try out an app called "**********." The app forces the phone to go into headset mode even if the phone isnt detecting the aux cable. I tried this on my phone and it did play through the cars speakers without me having to unplug the cable or anything, however the sound was kinda on the lower side. Here is the link to the app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.woodslink.android.wiredheadphoneroutingfix&hl=en

Also sometimes the songs would play in line, but on a couple of occasions i had to press play each time the song ended. NOT a perfect solution but it raised my hopes that maybe this can be solved through a software upgrade or something.

Let me know how this turns out for you guys and also if you manage to find a better app.

- Saad

 

[sagelwwa]

I can confirm this issue exists in the 2007 BMW Z4. I have not yet found an acceptable solution but just downloaded Sound About which is evidently the new version of headset routing. Will try it out and report results.

 

[ronsantacruz]

I too have a 2007 SAAB 9-5 Sportcombi and have had all of the same issues. I have tried many different AUX port cables to no avail. I have used lots of other devices with my AUX port and they all work fine (even the iPhone 5). I'm going to try the iBolt to see if that works. This is such an annoying problem!!!

I have a 2010 Saab 93 X w same problem. Will try ibolt.

 

[gkuhlen]

I have been following this thread for awhile. I just tried the auxiliary input on my 08 Chevy Cobalt with good results, however, when I tried it on my wife's 2013 Chevy Sonic, it doesn't work. I have the S3 with Verizon service.