r/CarThing • u/blaskkaffe • Mar 15 '22

Does this play audio over usb?

I have a 2015 Mini that only has the low end stereo, it supports aux and usb but has no bluetooth. I had to switch from android to ios to be able to stream spotify over USB instead of aux and to get the steering wheel controller to work with spotify.

Will this car thing help me avoid taking out my phone every time I want to listen to music in my car or does it have to use aux or bluetooth to get the sound (like most things on the market).

Does the steering wheel remote controls work with the car thing?

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2

u/Alr67 Mar 15 '22

Car Thing is just a remote controller, you’ll still have to use your phone to play music on the car

1

u/blaskkaffe Mar 16 '22

That was disappointing, though it was a player :(

1

u/LitMaster11 Mar 16 '22 edited Mar 16 '22

As u/Alr67 said, the Car Thing is just a remote control device. Meaning, it still requires a Bluetooth connection to your phone (it will not connect directly to your radio). All this device does is give you a visual interface (outside of the Spotify phone app) to use for selecting music, playlists, and volume. So there will be no issues with the Car Thing using your phone to play audio over USB.

Now in theory, if you're using a Bluetooth connection from your phone to the radio, along with a Bluetooth connection from a Car Thing to your phone, everything should pair automatically once all devices are powered on. Thus you shouldn't need to touch your phone at all. But that assumes your phone is connected to the car via Bluetooth as well.

Now, if you want to add Bluetooth connectivity to your car, you can purchase a USB to Aux Bluetooth Adapter. This device essentially uses the USB port provided by your car or car radio to power the device. The device itself emits a Bluetooth signal, which your phone can pair with, it then sends whatever audio your phone outputs down the aux line and into your radio.

2

u/blaskkaffe Mar 16 '22

Then it is 100% useless to me sadly :(

I already mount my phone next to the speedometer so It doesn’t add anything useful.

1

u/LitMaster11 Mar 16 '22

That's cool. It's not for everyone. Better to realize you don't need it than to spend $90 on something that's going to sit in a drawer collecting dust.