Solved! How to connect a music filled USB stick to my car's iPod port

[mobo25275]

My Nissan Sentra has a CD player and an iPod port. I have no iPod but I do have dozens of USB thumb drives that we listen to in my wife's car. How can I listen to them in my Sentra?

 

[richiestang_78]

I dont think you can, the iPod docks are almost always meant for the ipod to play the music and the car to simply output it. You would need a USB in, and the car would have to have its own player to play the files.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

Check if your car's audio has bluetooth. If so, you should be able to set it up to play over that. If not, your easiest options are either a USB to FM transmitter or a USB to AUX ditto. A USB to FM transmitter is a device that plays back music and transit it over an FM frequency of your choice. You'll just have to find a frequency without an active radio channel playing. You can find plenty variations of them on Amazon. Look up their sound quality before you buy, as they do convert digital to analogue radio which means they can affect the sound quality quite a lot.

 

[mobo25275]

Check if your car's audio has bluetooth. If so, you should be able to set it up to play over that. If not, your easiest options are either a USB to FM transmitter or a USB to AUX ditto.

No Bluetooth in the 2012 Nissan. What are you referring to with the phrase USB to AUX ditto?

A USB to FM transmitter is a device that plays back music and transit it over an FM frequency of your choice. You'll just have to find a frequency without an active radio channel playing. You can find plenty variations of them on Amazon. Look up their sound quality before you buy, as they do convert digital to analogue radio which means they can affect the sound quality quite a lot.

I've heard quite a bit of negativity about these devices - wide variations in sound quality as well as FM interference as you drive from one area to another.

 

[Hoetan]

Are you sure your car does not have a USB input? If it does, you should be able to listen to your music through that.

 

[mobo25275]

Are you sure your car does not have a USB input? If it does, you should be able to listen to your music through that.

I'd be glad to show you a picture, but this forum has some cockamamie and most certainly non-user-friendly method for posting pictures (most places just let you navigate to the folder on your computer and click on it. But not here. No siree. I've got to first upload the picture to a website).
So I'll provide a link to see another 2012 Sentra head unit.
https/mg.olx.com.br/belo-horizonte-e-regiao/autos-e-pecas/pecas-e-acessorios/carros-vans-e-utilitarios/radio-cd-player-mp3-original-nissan-sentra-2012-473300452

 

[Hoetan]

Are you sure your car does not have a USB input? If it does, you should be able to listen to your music through that.

I'd be glad to show you a picture, but this forum has some cockamamie and most certainly non-user-friendly method for posting pictures (most places just let you navigate to the folder on your computer and click on it. But not here. No siree. I've got to first upload the picture to a website).
So I'll provide a link to see another 2012 Sentra head unit.
https/mg.olx.com.br/belo-horizonte-e-regiao/autos-e-pecas/pecas-e-acessorios/carros-vans-e-utilitarios/radio-cd-player-mp3-original-nissan-sentra-2012-473300452

Hm. You only have an AUX input. Could something like this work?
https/www.gearbest.com/chargers-cables/pp_656846.html?wid=1433363&currency=AUD&vip=4444613&gclid=CjwKCAjwo87YBRBgEiwAI1LkqdGPQF6NuCCc1B_HzlGTuMjs059ByivCaM479kxg-DOg2KX3zD7E0xoCmgYQAvD_BwE

 

[therealduckofdeath]

What I meant my a USB to AUX ditto is that some of those USB to FM transmitters also has an AUX out. Here are some examples at Amazon: https/amzn.to/2J56jl7
Going back to that you said you currently use an iPod in the other car and would like to do the same in this one, there are also similar-ish solutions with an iPod dock instead of a USB port, if you replace the USB part in the search with iPod dock.

 

[mobo25275]

What I meant my a USB to AUX ditto is that some of those USB to FM transmitters also has an AUX out. Here are some examples at Amazon: https/amzn.to/2J56jl7
Going back to that you said you currently use an iPod in the other car and would like to do the same in this one, there are also similar-ish solutions with an iPod dock instead of a USB port, if you replace the USB part in the search with iPod dock.

I've apparently explained it badly...I do not use (or even have) an iPod. I don't even want one. The other car has USB ports which we use to listen to music. That car has no iPod connector. Only USB sticks can be used in my wife's car. I would like that same USB functionality in my car.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

Oh, my bad. Anyways, the link I provided is for USB to AUX and FM connectors. Giving your car the same type of functionality as they integrate a remote and some of them even hands-free.

 

[mobo25275]

Hm. You only have an AUX input. Could something like this work?
https/www.gearbest.com/chargers-cables/pp_656846.html?wid=1433363&currency=AUD&vip=4444613&gclid=CjwKCAjwo87YBRBgEiwAI1LkqdGPQF6NuCCc1B_HzlGTuMjs059ByivCaM479kxg-DOg2KX3zD7E0xoCmgYQAvD_BwE

Somehow I don't think so. Every time I've checked into something like this, it seems to specify that it's not for music, only for data. I asked the site if it could be used for music but they haven't replied yet.

 

[Hoetan]

Somehow I don't think so. Every time I've checked into something like this, it seems to specify that it's not for music, only for data. I asked the site if it could be used for music but they haven't replied yet.

If there was any way you could get the music from your USB stick to your phone/iPod/whatever (possibly by putting the USB stick into a PC, moving all the music files onto the PC, plugging your phone/iPod into the PC with the USB charging cable and moving all the music files onto it)...
Buy an AUX Bluetooth receiver. Plugs straight into the AUX input of your car and the Bluetooth connects to your phone/iPod. Then you can play your music.

 

[SkyBill40]

There's probably a couple ways this could work though it's most likely the way you're going to get your tunes playable is via a BT to FM transmitter. I have a Jabra one I use for hands free when I'm making a call from my phone and I've used it to stream music to my head unit and it works pretty well. You will get some sound quality degradation but that's to be expected given how it's essentially being down converted.

The whole "iPod" thing shouldn't matter all that much. It's just an AUX input and if you can get yourself a cable to plug into the receiver (if it's just USB) and then to your phone, you should be good to go from there. I sincerely doubt it's truly Apple specific.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Connect this to the aux input
https/www.amazon.com/SallyBest%C2%AE-Digital-Amplifier-3-Electronic-Control/dp/B015OBJFMS/ref=br_lf_m_6tqsz646q5486yt_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=car

 

[mobo25275]

Got an answer on the device recommended by Hoetan:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding http/www.gearbest.com/m-goods-sn-216602901.htm

Your original question is "If I plug a USB drive loaded with music into the back end of this device and plug the front end into the AUX IN port on my car's head unit, will I be able to listen to that music?"
Here is the answer from Our Customer service Team:

Hello Scott,
We are sorry that it does not support this function."


Oh well.... I expected another shot to the groin.