Dumb Question--How Do I play my MP3s?

[NY_Rob]

For a vehicle built in 2023 to not have USB Audio is mind boggling. In my opinion they have done this purposely. Rivian must be getting kick-back's for every person that signs up for one of the on-board services.

Keep in mind that a large portion of the Rivian designers and engineers are in their 20's so MP3 playback via flash drive may be a foreign concept to them. My kids are both in their mid 20's and neither play music from a flash drive.. both listen via their phones over BT to their vehicle's sound system.

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[teartags]

Keep in mind that a large portion of the Rivian designers and engineers are in their 20's so MP3 playback via flash drive may be a foreign concept to them. My kids are both in their mid 20's and neither play music from a flash drive.. both listen via their phones over BT to their vehicle's sound system.

This is a VERY good point.
Go sign the petition!

 

[redantpile]

They supposedly pay attention to social media as well so when ever Rivian/RJ post something on X, I try to send a friendly reply with something like "Great software update..... you saved my marriage ... blah blah blah, please add USB Audio. We know you can do it!"

 

[Chrisy]

I think limiting access to USB media, etc (and Android Auto for that matter) are related to enhance (cyber) security? (same for Tesla)
But I might be wrong.

 

[powerplyer]

Agree, I am in the same boat. However, think about the age group for Rivian buyers.

I don't we are asking for much. This should be a simple SW update.

Also, I will check but my M3 had the capability to play MP3 via USB.

 

[bd5400]

The whole point of this thread is why hasn't Rivian put a media player in? I know nothing of SW development, but this feature has been around for more than a decade at this point and can't be terribly difficult to implement. They say it's "on the roadmap". So DO IT already. The original poster assumed the vehicle had this capability because EVERY new car has this capability these days. An $80k+ vehicle should have this capability. It's a little ridiculous.

This is no different than when auto manufacturers began to phase out CD players or cassette tapes in cars. The market has overwhelmingly moved toward streaming services, evidenced by the huge user bases of services like Spotify and Apple Music. A feature “being around for more than a decade” doesn’t automatically mean the feature must have staying power in all new vehicles.

Each time a format has changed people have cried out about their “collections”, but ultimately time marches on. The people who prefer to manually manage their MP3 libraries also seem to assume that their practice is the norm, but I imagine that hasn’t been the case for many years now, especially with USB drives versus using things like iPods and iTunes.

 

[mkg3]

I've had my Rivian since May and I have yet to set up my MP3 library I've been building for the last 15 years. I don't see a regular USB port anywhere. ...

...Am I missing something?

Just copy the MP3/AAC files onto your smartphone (iPhone/Android) and just use BT to stream the music.

 

[postcromag]

And it is Bluetooth 5, so my iPod (Bluetooth 4) wouldn't connect. I ended up getting an iPad mini and can now play my collection of sounds of nearly 40 years.

 

[vordo]

I too would like this to work, my current work around is to use Plexamp to my phone, full bandwidth, and it sounds reasonable.

but certainly not as good as a direct connection would.

 

[postcromag]

Come to think of it, my vehicle choices have spurred the way I listen to music for most of my life. When old options were no longer available and I was forced to switch to something new. I wasn't around when turntables could be found on the dash and brontosaurus rib holders. But started with 8 tracks for a short time, then had to switch to cassettes (mostly recordings of my vinyl), then had to switch to CDs when cassettes disappeared, then had to switch to MP3 when CD players were no longer an option. And now Spotify and the like. And I liked them all, however annoyed I was at the time of the "Oh great, now I have to find something else."

 

[mkg3]

... started with 8 tracks for a short time, then had to switch to cassettes (mostly recordings of my vinyl), then had to switch to CDs when cassettes disappeared, then had to switch to MP3 when CD players were no longer an option. And now Spotify and the like....

I've been on the same journey as you, starting with my first car having an 8-track player.

My only complaint now is the sound quality of the current streaming options, compared to WAV format of CDs.

... That said, road noise takes care much of the shortfalls of MP3/AAC by filling it by noise.

 

[teartags]

I have no problem "evolving" to streaming. I use Spotify quite a bit actually. The problem is those sources don't work without a "connection". If you live in CO and "adventure" in the mountains, you are quite frequently without a connection and then you're only left with a lousy sounding BT connection with and even lousier (and dangerously distracting) interface.
Other Spotify devices allow for downloading songs to get around the problem. Rivian does not even do this.

 

[SurfnBike]

Wow not being able to load your own music is ridiculous! Even on my 2014 Jeep I could stick a USB thumb drive into the head unit and it would literally download it to its internal memory, and there was a simple but efficient interface to navigate your library by artist, album, genre, playlist, et cetera. I bought that vehicle exactly 10 years ago. Oh well enough grumbling.

I think the infotainment system was designed by silicon valley guys who never go off grid. I just got back from a 5-day trip and 4 of those days I was completely off grid and drove 200 miles of dirt without any tunes whatsoever, which is why I started this thread. I even tried to download some music onto Spotify on my phone ahead of time, but of course the Spotify app complained that I wasn't connected to the internet to use the library/downloaded album feature.

So basically when I am adventuring my stereo doesn't work. And this is a $90K vehicle!

Stupid Question #2:
I don't even know how to play music from my phone over BT because I don't know how to load it onto my phone, or what app to use to play it. Never done it before. I've tried plugging my iPhone into my Windows 10 PC, which works, but the only folder I see is Apple iPhone->Internal Storage->DCIM which are photos in .HEIC format.

I agree that using a phone is a lousy option. The whole point of me going off grid is to turn my phone off and never look at it until I am back home.

Sorry for being a complete moron. I really wish Rivian would have made this easy. I agree they are trying to funnel people into the streaming services and probably are making bucks off if it.

 

[teartags]

Agreed.
FYI - there's a button in Spotify settings for "offline Mode". that should let you get to your downloaded songs.

 

[emoore]

Wow not being able to load your own music is ridiculous! Even on my 2014 Jeep I could stick a USB thumb drive into the head unit and it would literally download it to its internal memory, and there was a simple but efficient interface to navigate your library by artist, album, genre, playlist, et cetera. I bought that vehicle exactly 10 years ago.

I think the infotainment system was designed by silicon valley guys who never go off grid. I just got back from a 5-day trip and 4 of those days I was completely off grid and drove 200 miles without any tunes whatsoever. I even tried to download some music onto Spotify on my phone ahead of time, but of course the Spotify app complained that I wasn't connected to the internet to use the library/downloaded album feature.

So basically when I am adventuring my stereo doesn't work. And this is a $90K vehicle! Oh and I doubt the maps work either. My buddy has all the offroad trail maps in his Colorado and they work anywhere. I took my Tesla Model S on a 5,000 mile roadtrip to WY/MT/ID last summer and the maps didn't work half of the time. Good thing I brought the old paper maps.

I'm not a silicon valley guy and have never used a usb thumb drive in any car I have owned. That's what my phone is for. I'm not sure why your offline Spotify didn't work but it's been 100% flawless for me when I'm out of cell reception and on airplanes.

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