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USB and Android Phone

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:24 am
by pxr5
Hi all,

First post. My son has just bought a 2010 Scirocco GT 170 TDi. In the armrest there is a socket; 2 leads - one for, I assume, Ipod and another USB. Connecting a USB drive works OK and he can control it from the display (RCD 510). Connecting his phone, an HTC one M8, doesn't work. It shows up, greyed out, on the diplay but he can't see any media on the phone. I tried my Sony Z3C and that was the same. I tried USB debugging mode, on both phones, in the developer settings of the phones with no joy. Is it possible to achieve control of music this way or is it better to use USB sticks?

On another related point, we tried an SD card on the dash, and it was a sod to get in (there was some foam across the gap), and whilst it worked, it wouldn't eject by pressing it in. Instead I had to pull it out with a pair of needlenose pliers and I'm loath to try again.

Many thanks.

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 12:45 pm
by shrink
not used an android in car for a while, but they should have a "mass storage" mode. so that when connected to a PC they just show up as a storage device.

You'll need to set it up this way for the car to have any hope.

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 1:18 pm
by mackie01
I have my iPod plugged in and just keep it in there, and I use the bluetooth to play music from my HTC one Mini, its easier than connecting/disconnecting and don't even have to take the phone out my pocket. I recommend getting bluetooth if you want to play music from a phone, it can be controlled from the car. An AUX cable would work, but then you have to use the phone to change songs.

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 4:04 pm
by Springs
i know on my android phone to get the mass storage to show up on a computer i have to unlock the phone once it's plugged in. Might be the same with the phone in the car.

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:23 pm
by pxr5
Thanks for the replies. I tried an old HTC Desire earlier and it worked fine straight away, so it must be something with the newer phones (Lollipop).

Springs, what do you mean by 'unlock the phone once its plugged in'? I think I've tried everything I can think of with both the HTC One M8 and Sony Z3C

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 8:23 pm
by C00PS
pxr5 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I tried an old HTC Desire earlier and it worked fine straight away, so it must be something with the newer phones (Lollipop).

Springs, what do you mean by 'unlock the phone once its plugged in'? I think I've tried everything I can think of with both the HTC One M8 and Sony Z3C
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and I have problems with the bluetooth for my RNS510. When I make a call the person can't hear me but i can hear them.

The bluetooth works fine if I want to listen to music through it. I've also had issues in my work van where the bluetooth disconnects for no reason at all.

I think you maybe right and it may have something to do with the latest Android software because before any updates on my phone it worked perfectly with no issues what so ever.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Re: USB and Android Phone

Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 4:11 pm
by pxr5
Right, I think I've figured this out. Thank you for all the replies.

For RCD 510 to recogise the media the phone has to be in USB Mass Storage (UMS) mode. Since Kitkat, this has been dropped and MTP, is used instead - which won't work with RCS 510 and why the old HTC Desire did. Oddly, my Sony Z3C has a legacy way of mounting an SD card (external memory only) in UMS mode and this did work, but was very flakey and the USB connection dropped in and out. The HTC One M8 does not allow UMS (there is an old UMS enabler apk - root only, but I've not tried this), only MTP, so it will not work.

Guess my son will have to resort to a plain old USB stick (or SD card if I can figure out why the cards are jamming in the slot).