Issues with USB Music

[papadon2000]

I have all of my music on a USB stick. I don't want to play from my phone or any online services. I like what I like.
I've found that I have to select Songs in Source in order to get the USB to play. But it's very inconsistent.
For example, tonight we got in the car, I played USB and drove 40 minutes to dinner.
Upon returning to the car two hours later, the music started playing as soon as I opened the door. Pleasant surprise.
I drove home and dropped my husband off and I drove to the convenience store. Five minutes later, when I got back to the car, the music had stopped and I had to select USB again.
On top of that, sometimes it takes a few seconds to remember that USB should be in the Recents list.
I don't know why it just can't ALWAYS keep playing. Battery level is high, and I'm not doing anything when I get out to make it stop.
I've no solution other than to keep selecting USB whenever it stops playing.
I also notice, especially first thing in the morning, that the music cuts out a few times for split seconds.
In fairness, I have the drive connected to a USB hub, because only having one USB data port is dumb.
Please feel free to add your own annoyances, as I'm sure I'm not alone with mine.

 

[DomDeWild]

I'm going to assume your driving a Model 3 RWD built after 11/2022. You're using a USB hub attached to the USB port in the glovebox?

If that's the case you have the same setup I have. I don't know of this is a solution for you, but I replaced the small module behind the 2 USB ports below the sliding door in the center console. Instead of just charging ports, they are now data ports too. Tparts sells a Data Transmission Module that comes with a data cable. You replace tour original Tesla module that has no data plug with this module. The module comes with the cable you need, which plugs in behind the glovebox and goes to the module. The whole install took less than an hour and the kit gives you a few small tools to help the install. I now play music from a USB stick and have never had the problems you are describing.

Some people have bought the module from eBay, some from Tesla. But some say Tesla can be testy about selling you the module. I bought the kit because it had everthing I needed. I also added a USB hub that they sell and everything works just fine.

 

[rwiegand]

Does this solve the problem of the car remembering that USB was playing and restarting consistently? Not sure why where you plug the stick in should make a difference. I don't use a hub, but rather a single stick in the glovebox with subdivisions for music and sentry recordings.

One hint I picked up here is that if you use a voice command like "play music from USB" or "Play a song from USB" it will pick up where it left off the last time you were in the car.

 

[ATPMSD]

Does this solve the problem of the car remembering that USB was playing and restarting consistently?

This is a very old bug that Tesla has not seen fit to fix. The only solution I have seen is to open the car door and wait a few seconds, close the car door wait a few seconds more, then open the door a second time. Seems to work, but not all of the time.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

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Does this solve the problem of the car remembering that USB was playing and restarting consistently? Not sure why where you plug the stick in should make a difference. I don't use a hub, but rather a single stick in the glovebox with subdivisions for music and sentry recordings.

One hint I picked up here is that if you use a voice command like "play music from USB" or "Play a song from USB" it will pick up where it left off the last time you were in the car.

I love playing uncompressed flac audio from usb, sounds great & no Bluetooth compression. I have the t-parts usb power/data module installed & an oem tesla module as backup. if not in usb app, “play a song from usb” will open usb app but not play music. You can use play/pause steering wheel button to start music. “Play music from usb” will start music if you are in usb app. I know makes no sense. I guess Elon stopped liking usb music . We’re lucky tesla has not ripped the code out.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

Ps I just got tesla vehicle update 2023.32.4 . My usb stick was not being detected until I rebooted the car’s computer. Weird.

 

[Kevy Baby]

This is a very old bug that Tesla has not seen fit to fix.

This I strongly agree with! The USB UX is horrific.

The only solution I have seen is to open the car door and wait a few seconds, close the car door wait a few seconds more, then open the door a second time. Seems to work, but not all of the time.

Wow, there's a highly inconvenient solution. There is a much simpler solution already referenced in this thread: voice commands. There are a few that work:

• Switch to USB (this is the one I use)
• Play USB
• Play a song from USB
• Play music from USB

(The last two per @ElectricAnt54's post above). You used to be able to just say "USB" but you had to do it slowly (a slight pause between letter), but some have reported this has stopped working.

The problem with these solutions is that while it starts playing the song where it left off, it DOESN'T bring you back to the folder you were in - you have to navigate back to it manually (I use folders extensively to organize my music).

Since the trigger for forgetting the playback point is the car going into deep sleep, one way around it is to leave Sentry on EVERYWHERE. Yeah, it a power drain, but it is a (lousy) solution.

Ps I just got tesla vehicle update 2023.32.4 . My usb stick was not being detected until I rebooted the car’s computer. Weird.

I have no empirical data to back this up, but I have found it good practice to perform a Touchscreen Restart after every update. I just got into the habit since there are so often little issues like this after an update. It's not required nor are there any recommendations from Tesla to do it; it's just something I (and others) do.

BTW: did you know you can do the Touchscreen Restart while you are driving? The Infotainment system is separate from the car's main computer. If you have FSD/AP engaged, it will keep it active, even continuing turns and such during the reboot. You can even use your turn signals (you just won't hear the computer generated clicking noise). You will have to drive for a couple of minutes without audio, but that's the worst of it.

 

[JackFrost]

My Model Y will sometimes play USB music and sometimes won't. I don't understand what is going on.

 

[Kevy Baby]

My Model Y will sometimes play USB music and sometimes won't. I don't understand what is going on.

If you want some help, you will need to provide more information.