USB issues with mp3 devices

[allindsey1978]

I just bought a 2015 journey and every device I plug into the USB slot will not work with the radio. The only thing that has worked so far is an iPod that the technician at the dealer used to prove to me that it works. I have tried a few different Android phones, a couple of thumb drives with absolutely nothing on them except for mp3 files (which are not corrupted), and I have tried a few different mp3 players which do not get recognized by the audio system at all. I thought maybe the usb was only compatible with apple products but the uconnect people assured me that it should be compatible with virtually anything. One uconnect rep told me it should have worked with the thumb drive at the very least, another told me something was wrong with the radio and I should take it to a Dodge dealer to be serviced, another told me basically that any device has a 50/50 chance of working and if the device works, problem solved, and if it doesn't, then it must be the device or mp3 files is bad. Uconnect couldn't offer any help with fixing it except to tell me to take it to a Dodge dealer to have it fixed (even though several of them were unwilling to admit that the equipment could be broken), the dealer told me it worked and showed me by plugging in his personal iPod, however when I tried to plug in my devices while at the dealership to show that something is in fact wrong, they tried to tell me that it must just be compatible with only Apple products. Basically I'm getting shuffle back and forth between uconnect, who is telling me "Oh well. Sorry about your luck." and Dodge dealership who's telling me that since it works with Apple devices then there is no problem. Now I have had to make another appointment to take it to the dealer to have it looked at. This time I'm going to bring all my devices with me so I can show them how none of them work at all. Anyone else having similar issues?

[dhh3]

Uconnect only supports Apple up to iOS 7.1. Ask the tech what version he has on his iPod. I searched ebay until I finally found an iPod touch with iOS 7. Downloaded my iTunes Library from my HP PC, and the iPod only gives me a list of songs with no art and no control function by the radio. WTF! After many hours spent on the phone with both Uconnect and Apple, I got no where. I gave up on all of their BS. BTW, Uconnect no longer works with Gracenote.

If you have a PC, and use iTunes, this is what you need to do to be able to play your music and use the radio control functions. Buy a SanDisc flash card the size of your iTunes library. Then you will need to copy your iTunes library to your music folder on your PC. There are specific steps to do this. I found them using Google. Once your iTunes library is in your Music Folder, copy this folder onto to your flash card. Open up the iTunes folder on your flash card. There will be a list of folders. Open each one. One of the folders will just be code. Delete it from the disc.

You can now use your flash card to play all of your music. Any song purchased from iTunes, the art will not display. I copied all of my CDs to my iTunes library on my PC. If no art displayed, I found art that would work for the album on iTunes. These arts will not display either. Any art downloaded from Apple, including purchased albums, will not display because the art is proprietary and belongs to Apple. All of my iTunes art shows up on my iPod but not my flash card. All of the art from my CDs display, except the ones I had to get from iTunes, on the flash card.

Insert the flash card into the slot and you will have complete control of your music through the radio. As I mentioned, Uconnect no longer works with Gracenote; so, turning Gracenote on or off via the Radio will have no effect.

I would say that this probably took me three or four months to try and figure out. When Uconnect finally supports iOS 8, I'll try my iPod again. Meanwhile, I bought a waterproof speaker that hooks to my iPod via Bluetooth and use it in the hot tub!

MP3 discs do play in my CD drive, but the idea here is not to have to bring all of your CDs with you, only to be played one at a time. Chrysler, IMHO, made a HUGE mistake when they removed the 30 gig hard drives from these radios.

Edited May 10, 2015 by dhh3

[allindsey1978]

I figured that apple products would work just fine. The trouble is that uconnect has repeatedly told me that non-apple products are supposed to work too. If it is in fact only apple compatible, they should say that, but they insist that isn't true. In fact the uconnect tech told me to use a flash drive with mp3 files on it. I don't know much about itunes, but aren't they NOT mp3? If so, then surely the tech wouldn't have said to use mp3. They could just save me alot of hassle and tell me that only apple will work. But since they say otherwise, I'm going to keep pushing the issue with them.

[dhh3]

When I first bought my DJ last summer, I traded in my iPhone 5s 32 for an iPhone 5s 64, and loaded most of my music on it. Thats when my troubles began. What a waste of money! I now have a iPhone 6 32; NO MUSIC!

Not using Android anymore, I can't comment on it. My Dealer could not help me at all, either. People here on the forum have given me grief over the art. But, my thinking is, if the radio is supposed to display art, well it better damn well do it. I traded a 2011 Nitro in on my DJ. It had a MyGig RBZ with a 30 gig hard drive. Just load the music and go. What the hell was Chrysler thinking when they came out with this crap? They could have used the MyGig base with the 8.4 screen. I'd love to meet the idiot that came up with this brilliant idea.

[bfurth]

What file format is your flash drive using? NTFS (Windows), HFS+ (Mac), or FAT32 (compatible with both)? Given that you started with Android phones (mine doesn't work for USB audio either) and then went to iOS devices leads me to believe that you are using NTFS.

To check (from Windows), open Computer, right click the flash drive, and click properties. If it's NTFS, you'll need to reformat it to FAT32. I have a flash drive under the FAT32 format that works perfectly.

NTFS will ONLY be read by Windows operating systems (XP or later). HFS+ will only be read by Mac OS X (any version). FAT32 is compatible with almost everything.

[bramfrank]

My WIndows phone plays music just fine with the most recent DJ radio, but apparently not with the 2011-2012.5 models, my understanding being that there is a protocol called MTP that is supported in the newer radios that is not in the older. Whether your phone supports it or not I obviously can't say, but mine appears to.

As to the comment about Gracenotes 'no longer working with uConnect' - that doesn't mean Gracenotes has stopped functioning and that your album art won't appear, but rather that Gracenote is not being integrated into the latest 'A' series uConnect products, the ones that support apps. Not deadly, but it really would have been nice if FCA had provided a mechanism to update the database like they do for the mapping in the RB5 radios, albeit at a stupidly inflated price. Note that Gracenotes and album art and all that other good stuff are only supported on the 8.2 radios and not on the 4.3 models

I personally don't miss the artwork that does not appear on some of my music, mind you.

I may dump my music onto a microSD card in an SD adapter and stick it in the dash slot, but when I tested it I found that the radio and navigation were less responsive when playing music that way, possibly because the processor was doing extra work that was previously offloaded to the player. Note that music has to be in a directory called 'music'.

Edited May 10, 2015 by bramfrank

[allindsey1978]

Hey bfurth, thanks a million! I reformatted to fat32 and now it works perfectly. Cruising and jammin' to Aerosmith via a thumb drive as we speak. Thanks again!

[dhh3]

I never put any music on my Android phones. I didn't have to. I just loaded all of my CDs onto the MyGig HD. I had no issues, none whatsoever, doing this way. I am 98% with the flash card.

Edited May 11, 2015 by dhh3

[BrianS]

I have used a thumb drive in my '15, as well as connecting via Bluetooth to my Android (Samsung S3) and both work fine. I have not tried the SD card yet, but soon.