USB thumb drive

[Jawaburger]

My 128 GB tiny flash drive (Sticks out 1/4")is formatted to FAT32, I have never had playback issues and have never had overheating issues since February 2022 when I started using the USB input for music. It is my only source of music in the Bronco.

I use mostly FLAC files, but also have some mp3 files.

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[flip]

I think some of our guys are using this in EXFAT.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...ws.com/computer/drives/best-flash-drives&th=1

 

[E. J]

I don't know if this is it, but the next time it stops playing touch the USB drive and see how hot it is. I have one of those tiny little USB drives that barely stick out. Problem is they get super hot.

Initially I thought maybe it was the Ford USB port that was overheating. But I put a small extension cable in between and the heat stayed with the USB and not the plug.

And I have a name brand USB.

Because my thumb drive was getting hot this year and stopped being recognized, I added a six inch USB cable. This gets the heat away from the Ford USB component. Working so far.

 

[Billy Goat]

I don't know if this is it, but the next time it stops playing touch the USB drive and see how hot it is. I have one of those tiny little USB drives that barely stick out. Problem is they get super hot.

Initially I thought maybe it was the Ford USB port that was overheating. But I put a small extension cable in between and the heat stayed with the USB and not the plug.

And I have a name brand USB.

Ditto, my issue as well

 

[bravely]

Due to the lack of a CD player I have loaded lots of tunes onto USB thumb drives. When I plug it in the system recognizes it and will begin to play. After a few tunes or about 15 to 20 munutes, it just stops playing, usually mid song. I believe I have formatted them correctly, and everything seems to work until it doesn't. What could be the problem?

I had a similar issue. My solution was to split the music into several folders, rather than everything in the root directory. I have 26 folders with 370 songs in each. No issues since.

 

[gelect1]

I had a similar issue. My solution was to split the music into several folders, rather than everything in the root directory. I have 26 folders with 370 songs in each. No issues since.

This seemed to do the trick. I broke them down into more manageable folders and I think my problem is solved. It sure was a lot easier recording cassettes from vinyl! Thanks to all who chipped in.

 

[Bluedoggie]

Thanks for the replies. I've tried three different drives with the same result. They were three the same sold together in a blister pack. PNY 32 GB if that makes a difference. Also they start randomly and there is no table of contents or means to select what to play. When it does play it shows tha song and artist and disolays a graphic

Try a SanDisk
Sometimes the PNYs are not compatible. Also make sure it's NOT formatted ntfs.

 

[AZ_Liberty]

Thanks for the replies. I've tried three different drives with the same result. They were three the same sold together in a blister pack. PNY 32 GB if that makes a difference. Also they start randomly and there is no table of contents or means to select what to play. When it does play it shows tha song and artist and disolays a graphic

That's because you have all your songs in a single directory. If you put them in subfolders by album you can select an album with the browse "button". (touch screen button)

 

[Sparkherd]

Due to the lack of a CD player I have loaded lots of tunes onto USB thumb drives. When I plug it in the system recognizes it and will begin to play. After a few tunes or about 15 to 20 munutes, it just stops playing, usually mid song. I believe I have formatted them correctly, and everything seems to work until it doesn't. What could be the problem?

I've got a 32 Gb thumb dive, dunno the brand, which I had in my 2014 FieSTa which I sold to help pay for the Bronco.
it always worked fine in the FieSTa.
Ford Stync in the Bronco offtimes fails to recognize the usb drive, so I unplug/replug, and then it seems to work for awhile.

 

[da_jokker]

Well the directory file limit for fat32 is 65K after all

Dang you ppl have alot of songs. Speaking of which, have you noticed how stupid Ford handles random? OMG, worse design ever. Makes it impossible to browse to a song you want when Random is turned on.

 

[da_jokker]

Because my thumb drive was getting hot this year and stopped being recognized, I added a six inch USB cable. This gets the heat away from the Ford USB component. Working so far.

Yeah I was blown away. The metal part of the USB drive was so hot it would burn my fingers. Ironically, that little gap right between the bottom of the dash and the USB plug works perfect to shove that extension up in and kind of get it out of the way.

 

[RimrockPaul]

neither is my wife, but my free 90 day sirius trial ended and I need my 60's oldies fix! I downloaded from a windows 10 based pcand they play fine on that

I got a cool offer from sxm after my freebie subscription ran out. 5 bucks a month. No sports but all the music. Not bad deal.

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

No idea.

I put 1400+ songs on a thumb drive for a road trip from Phoenix to Northern California and it never missed a beat. Songs were in individual album directories, so I could select albums or just tell it "shuffle everything"

So, not terribly helpful, I know, but evidence that it does work.

Also, I had a mix of .wav and .mp3 files. Played both flawlessly.

I would like to do this but never have and don't know how. I have purchased the flash drives. Do I just plug these into my home PC, go to a music catalog page and download to the drive? Or do you need a specific format/program to do this? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Bronco Master]

GET A MAC!

 

[Scott R Nelson]

There is a related discussion here: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/mp3-files-on-usb-thumb-drive-some-are-missing.68299/

I have been using pnstaw 16 GB thumb drives that I got in a pack of 10. Occasionally it will "come loose" or something and no longer make good contact, but that is rare. It normally will play for hours without issue. I generally have it set to the randomize setting which works for me. I would like to use a 6" extension as somebody mentioned, but don't know where to get one. That way you leave the extension plugged in to the vehicle and swap things on the other end, which causes less wear.

The one big annoyance I have is that sometimes when I first start my Bronco, it can't seem to find the USB device, so switches to radio. Then I have to manually poke a few things to get it back where I want.

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