Dumb Question--How Do I play my MP3s?

[SurfnBike]

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.

Does offline Spotify work for you in the Rivian? I'd like to find a way to test it, e.g. disable the cell network from inside the Rivian screens and then test out the offline Spotify mode. Rivian itself said on the screen that I needed cell service to use the feature. Maybe the problem is that I was using the Rivian spotify integration instead of the spotify app on my phone and then streaming it over BT from the app? So complicated, man's brain hurt, man go get beer.

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[emoore]

Does offline Spotify work for you in the Rivian? I'd like to find a way to test it, e.g. disable the cell network from inside the Rivian screens and then test out the offline Spotify mode. Rivian itself said on the screen that I needed cell service to use the feature. Maybe the problem is that I was using the Rivian spotify integration instead of the spotify app on my phone and then streaming it over BT from the app? So complicated, man's brain hurt, man go get beer.

No Rivian Spotify doesn't have offline mode. You have to download to your cell phone and then bluetooth over to the Rivian. Works just fine that way.

 

[NY_Rob]

Just curious.. how many hours of music does "offline Spotify" store on your phone?

 

[mkg3]

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....

You have two options.

Option 1 - most simple:
Take your USB stick and insert it directly onto your iPhone/iPad. If you have new iPhone 15 series or iPad Pro, then it already uses USB-C so it's a direct plug in (or get a USB-A to USB-C adapter). If not, just get an USB=A/C to Lightning adapter (e..g., https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Ad...ightning+to+usb+adapter&qid=1698873418&sr=8-5). Use "Files" app that came with your iPhone and just open your USB drive and all the MP3/AAC files will be there just like how you have arrange them. Just play it from USB.

Option 2 - Bit more involved but better:
Import your music into Apple Music app on your computer. It will sync with your iPhone over time. Once its synced, you just play your music in Apple Music app on your iPhone.

In both cases, you will need to connect your iPhone to Rivian via BT. Just touch the BT logo on the center screen and follow direction.

Good luck and it's really not as difficult as it sounds.

 

[Milermore]

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.

I've downloaded Spotify channels and audiobooks to my phone for off-grid listening before, including on a plane with phone in airplane mode. I haven't thought about how it's done relative to DMR, just that it's there.
I don't disagree that a plug-in (USB) option is a no-brainer option for vehicles these days, but I also just stream music 99% of the time now so to me it is a non-issue.
When I can't listen to music or books I'm content to sit in silence, or talk to my travelling companion if necessary. But that's just me.

 

[SurfnBike]

You have two options.

Option 1 - most simple:
Take your USB stick and insert it directly onto your iPhone/iPad. If you have new iPhone 15 series or iPad Pro, then it already uses USB-C so it's a direct plug in (or get a USB-A to USB-C adapter). If not, just get an USB=A/C to Lightning adapter (e..g., https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Ad...ightning+to+usb+adapter&qid=1698873418&sr=8-5). Use "Files" app that came with your iPhone and just open your USB drive and all the MP3/AAC files will be there just like how you have arrange them. Just play it from USB.

Option 2 - Bit more involved but better:
Import your music into Apple Music app on your computer. It will sync with your iPhone over time. Once its synced, you just play your music in Apple Music app on your iPhone.

In both cases, you will need to connect your iPhone to Rivian via BT. Just touch the BT logo on the center screen and follow direction.

Good luck and it's really not as difficult as it sounds.

Thank you for taking the time to teach me how to do this, I'll be doing it today. Hopefully this will hold me over until Rivian comes out with USB-C music compatibility.

 

[White Shadow]

My last five cars (or maybe more?) have all had either USB or SD card slots that easily allowed me to play thousands of my favorite songs in random order much like an awesome radio station without any talk or any commercials. To leave out this functionality on any new vehicle is a major miss.

 

[jwanderson88]

I copied my mp3's to my cell phone. I found a free mp3 app. I don't want to mess with a playlist, so I play one album through using a bluetooth connection. There is some limited integration with the car. I can skip songs and pause them. When you leave the car, it pauses the music. When I want to change albums I usually pull off so I don't run off the road. It works, but it's clunky. We need a music browser like almost every other car has. Considering all the people that want it, it should be a priority. Evidently not. Something else we need is satellite radio.

 

[Lisa & Bob]

"How do I play MP3s?"

"You can't"

End thread.

We have lots of road trip cassette tapes. Anyway we can resurrect them for 2023

 

[SSteveEV]

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."

But how many of those worked anywhere you drove... all but the latest

 

[postcromag]

True, but I still have my MP3s and can connect to the truck should I need or want it. Who knows what the future holds. Eventually, we may all have "eye"Phones and all we'll have to do is look at something to download it to our gray matter (the ultimate storage device), and we can play them to ourselves or broadcast them.

 

[TRW2TN]

I agree with those that want to use a non iPhone source or USB input. I have done this for years in a 2013 BMW X6. I have music on my iPhone and want to pair a different MP3 player that has audio MP3 books loaded. After trying 4 different MP3 players that support BT, none could be seen by our R1S. I resorted to an old iPhone SE and added books to it. The SE connected with ease. Messy to use and will not stay charged. It stays connected to power at all times. A simple BT device that would connect would be a much better solution (in my opinion). Don't understand why other BT devices will not connect. If anyone knows a BT MP3 player that does work, please advise. Thanks!

 

[TRW2TN]

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.

I tested multiple MP3 players that reportedly were BT5. None would connect. One could see the camp speaker.

 

[mkg3]

There are cassette tape players that connec

We have lots of road trip cassette tapes. Anyway we can resurrect them for 2023

There are cassette tape players that connects to BT.

https://www.amazon.com/cassette-player-bluetooth/s?k=cassette+player+bluetooth

 

[TRW2TN]

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.

Which iPad mini did you find that worked with BT?

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