Aux input into Model 3 (or: FM modulation questions)

[Mixdup]

I know that the Model 3 doesn't have an aux input, and that you can't pair a purely A2DP audio device, it must be a phone

I am getting a SiriusXM radio to put in the car and I am looking for the best way to get the audio from it into the Model 3

The XM radio has a built in FM modulator, but I'm not 100% sure I will be able to use it because it's part of the 12v power adapter, and I plan to power it from a USB connector. If the FM modulator is in the plug itself, I'll need to use an external FM modulator.

XM (and others) make "FM Direct" adapters that connect in-line between the radio and the FM antenna. Through Googling I've found threads where folks have found the FM tuner and the antenna connection is not standard, but, there is supposedly maybe an FM antenna amplifier that does have a standard connector on one end...does anyone know if this is truly the case and if so, where this is located?

Or, does anyone know of a bluetooth audio adapter that can be tricked into connecting to the Model 3 as an audio source?

Or, does anyone have experience with a wireless FM modulator that works well in the Model 3? I'm okay with one that has a transmitting antenna to put on the back window near the actual antenna, but all I can find are tiny ones that would be up front near the audio source but I don't think those would work well

Or, does anyone have any tips, tricks, or experience getting an aux audio source into the Model 3 and want to share?

 

[youngmcdonald]

No. Bluetooth from your mobile phone is currently your only option to transmit external audio to the car's audio signal receiver/amplifier system.

 

[Paul Wolff]

I did it, I'll post pic is a few days...

 

[Mixdup]

No. Bluetooth from your mobile phone is currently your only option to transmit external audio to the car's audio signal receiver/amplifier system.

This is simply not true, as an FM modulator of SOME kind will work. I'm just looking for the best solution

 

[Mixdup]

I did it, I'll post pic is a few days...

Did what? put an FM modulator in-line with the antenna? just curious as to exactly what you did

 

[hcdavis3]

I know that the Model 3 doesn't have an aux input, and that you can't pair a purely A2DP audio device, it must be a phone

I am getting a SiriusXM radio to put in the car and I am looking for the best way to get the audio from it into the Model 3

The XM radio has a built in FM modulator, but I'm not 100% sure I will be able to use it because it's part of the 12v power adapter, and I plan to power it from a USB connector. If the FM modulator is in the plug itself, I'll need to use an external FM modulator.

XM (and others) make "FM Direct" adapters that connect in-line between the radio and the FM antenna. Through Googling I've found threads where folks have found the FM tuner and the antenna connection is not standard, but, there is supposedly maybe an FM antenna amplifier that does have a standard connector on one end...does anyone know if this is truly the case and if so, where this is located?

Or, does anyone know of a bluetooth audio adapter that can be tricked into connecting to the Model 3 as an audio source?

Or, does anyone have experience with a wireless FM modulator that works well in the Model 3? I'm okay with one that has a transmitting antenna to put on the back window near the actual antenna, but all I can find are tiny ones that would be up front near the audio source but I don't think those would work well

Or, does anyone have any tips, tricks, or experience getting an aux audio source into the Model 3 and want to share?

When I purchased my car, I canceled the radio SiriusXM subscription on my trade in and got a streaming only subscription. I stream all my favorites from my iPhone and it works and sounds great . It buffers very rarely. I have a half hour drive to a meeting 3 times a week which takes me through some pretty isolated places. It has only dropped the signal once. I have Verizon cell service with unlimited data.

 

[eXntrc]

Just wanted to mention that you can get some REALLY good headphone to Bluetooth adapters. I'm quite fond of the ones below because they can be both Bluetooth transmitters and receivers. And if you use them in pairs they have really low latency between them.

For your scenario, just get one of these, put it in TX (transmit) mode, then pair it with your car as if it's a phone. From there you can plug in anything you want. This will sound FAR better than any FM transmitter, BTW.


TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter and Receiver, 2-in-1 Wireless 3.5mm Adapter (aptX Low Latency, 2 Devices Simultaneously, For TV/Home Sound System)

by Sunvalley Brands

Learn more:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EHSX28M

 

[eXntrc]

Wait, I missed this part in your first post:

you can't pair a purely A2DP audio device, it must be a phone

I'm curious, has this been tested? Why doesn't it work? This would be very strange. I know most cars want to access your contact list, but I've never even seen that request from the Model 3 and I've never hard a car refuse to work when I've denied that request.

I have one of these bluetooth modules linked above. Maybe later tonight I can go out and try it.

 

[ewoodrick]

A FM transmitter should work fine. I'm confused when you say that you will power the 12v off the USB though.

You may also look at some of the XM /Pandora announcements, as you may be able to get the content from your phone.

 

[Mixdup]

When I purchased my car, I canceled the radio SiriusXM subscription on my trade in and got a streaming only subscription. I stream all my favorites from my iPhone and it works and sounds great . It buffers very rarely. I have a half hour drive to a meeting 3 times a week which takes me through some pretty isolated places. It has only dropped the signal once. I have Verizon cell service with unlimited data.

Yeah, but with an iPhone with FaceID it's kind of frustrating to deal with getting it unlocked and opening the app and all of that. If I can get a radio installed cleanly with decent audio quality, then it will come on when I get in the car and go off automatically when I leave the car, I don't have to fiddle with the app, it'll just be a much better quality of life.

Wait, I missed this part in your first post:



I'm curious, has this been tested? Why doesn't it work? This would be very strange. I know most cars want to access your contact list, but I've never even seen that request from the Model 3 and I've never hard a car refuse to work when I've denied that request.

I have one of these bluetooth modules linked above. Maybe later tonight I can go out and try it.

I haven't tested it, but I've seen others online who say it will not work, that to pair with a Model 3 it must be a phone. There are so many different avenues to getting audio into your car that don't work that it's like Tesla is purposefully making it a pain in the neck

A FM transmitter should work fine. I'm confused when you say that you will power the 12v off the USB though.

The output from the SiriusXM PowerConnect 12v adapter is 5v, and a third party USB-to-SiriusXM Dock cable is available on Amazon

 

[eXntrc]

I haven't tested it, but I've seen others online who say it will not work, that to pair with a Model 3 it must be a phone. There are so many different avenues to getting audio into your car that don't work that it's like Tesla is purposefully making it a pain in the neck

So I just went out to the car and tested the Bluetooth module I linked above. I think this is actually a bug that Tesla could and should fix.

@Mixedup is correct that I couldn't pair the Bluetooth module in TX (transmit) mode. The car simply would not show the device even though it was in paring mode. What's interesting, though, is that the car will show the device in RX (receive) mode. It will even successfully pair with it!

Obviously this isn't right. The car is not going to transmit audio to the receiver. The car UI lights up shows the media interface. It even shows the phone / contact portions grayed out. But obviously it doesn't work in this mode because the module can't transmit.

So, I'm going to assert that this is a bug. Maybe they just got RX and TX swapped in their pairing code. I think this is something that could be submitted for a fix in a future update.

 

[Mixdup]

So I just went out to the car and tested the Bluetooth module I linked above. I think this is actually a bug that Tesla could and should fix.

@Mixedup is correct that I couldn't pair the Bluetooth module in TX (transmit) mode. The car simply would not show the device even though it was in paring mode. What's interesting, though, is that the car will show the device in RX (receive) mode. It will even successfully pair with it!

View attachment 400245

Obviously this isn't right. The car is not going to transmit audio to the receiver. The car UI lights up shows the media interface. It even shows the phone / contact portions grayed out. But obviously it doesn't work in this mode because the module can't transmit.

So, I'm going to assert that this is a bug. Maybe they just got RX and TX swapped in their pairing code. I think this is something that could be submitted for a fix in a future update.

Please submit a bug report to Tesla, I plan to do the same

 

[hcdavis3]

Yeah, but with an iPhone with FaceID it's kind of frustrating to deal with getting it unlocked and opening the app and all of that. If I can get a radio installed cleanly with decent audio quality, then it will come on when I get in the car and go off automatically when I leave the car, I don't have to fiddle with the app, it'll just be a much better quality of life.



I haven't tested it, but I've seen others online who say it will not work, that to pair with a Model 3 it must be a phone. There are so many different avenues to getting audio into your car that don't work that it's like Tesla is purposefully making it a pain in the neck



The output from the SiriusXM PowerConnect 12v adapter is 5v, and a third party USB-to-SiriusXM Dock cable is available on Amazon

M iPhone with Face ID shows play pause on the lock screen.

 

[Mixdup]

M iPhone with Face ID shows play pause on the lock screen.

which are controls that are also available on the Tesla touch screen. play pause does not help with changing stations or getting playback started in the first place if you weren't listening to anything before you got in the car

 

[hcdavis3]

which are controls that are also available on the Tesla touch screen. play pause does not help with changing stations or getting playback started in the first place if you weren't listening to anything before you got in the car

True. It’s not a perfect solution but works for me. I tend to stay on one station during my drive. Just trying to help.

 

[youngmcdonald]

This is simply not true, as an FM modulator of SOME kind will work. I'm just looking for the best solution

Did you find anything?

 

[eXntrc]

Please submit a bug report to Tesla, I plan to do the same

Well, to be honest, I'm not affected by this. I could submit a bug but, it would truly be more helpful if those that are impacted by it could submit it and track it.

With that in mind, how do most people submit bugs to Tesla? I know the little trick where you use the voice command "bug report" followed by whatever feedback you have, but there doesn't seem to be any way to track whether or not that feedback was ever received. What's the "official" process for submitting a trackable issue?

 

[sduck]

That particular taotronics bluetooth device you tried won't work. I know, I bought 2 of them, an older model and the newest. Neither worked. Then I decided to go on a quest, and bought a few more. And then a few more. I ended up with maybe 10 of them. I did find a few that worked, but it was such a workaround method to get them to work that I never bothered using them. Basically you need to pair the thing in receive mode, and then switch it to transmit once it's paired. Most of them won't stay connected when you switch modes. And you have to do this whole re-pairing song and dance every time you start the car. And sorry, i don't remember which ones in this pile of bluetooth transmitters it was that worked - don't make me repeat this test. Really, the best bluetooth solution is using your phone - it's not the greatest fidelity, but at least it stays paired through power cycles.

To submit user feedback, bug reports, etc: use the Ask A Question form in your user account on the tesla site.

 

[eXntrc]

To submit user feedback, bug reports, etc: use the Ask A Question form in your user account on the tesla site.

I just looked and I can't find anything about "Ask A Question" in my user account. If I click on the 'Manage' button to manage my vehicle there is a "Request Help" button. Is this what you're referring to?

 

[sduck]

Yes, I think they renamed it at some point.