Music w/ 128GB Flash Drive - SOLUTION!!

[Turin]

The Samsung Fit flash drive worked fine with about 2000 songs, so I figured when I loaded the rest (8000 songs) it would read them.

There's a limit to the number of files and folders the UConnect software can read, though nobody has been able to figure out just what that limit is. I bought a large (128 GB) drive too thinking that I could just dump everything on it and be done with it. I ended up heavily pruning my collection and reorganizing my folder structure. Now my truck sees almost everything; my count of songs and its count are slightly different, but I'll be damned if I know which songs the truck doesn't see.

 

[Diamondback]

A note about the reset thing. There might be a better way. I remember running into this issue in the past on my 14. If you re-label your volume (drive) to a different name, the system recognizes it as a new volume and will re-index. I got into the habit of renaming my drives by date. If I updated my drive today, I'd name it 062019.

I thought about doing that but don't thing I ever tried .. good point though!!! I can try on mine this evening.

So the temp up temp down will just access the hidden menu, not actually perform the hard reset?

On mine (8.4 NAV), yes. I don't know how to do the 12" yet -- you may need to ask the dealer or someone on here who has one. I would try the above as I forgot

There's a limit to the number of files and folders the UConnect software can read, though nobody has been able to figure out just what that limit is. I bought a large (128 GB) drive too thinking that I could just dump everything on it and be done with it. I ended up heavily pruning my collection and reorganizing my folder structure. Now my truck sees almost everything; my count of songs and its count are slightly different, but I'll be damned if I know which songs the truck doesn't see.

I had over 3,000 songs on my 320G SSD and was able to see all of them .. so if there is a limit, it is above that -- BUT .. I only used that drive, too. I didn't swap between this one and that one, etc.
I do think there may have been a few songs I never heard on RANDOM now that you say that. I'd love for a uConnect guru to chime in.

 

[Turin]

I had over 3,000 songs on my 320G SSD and was able to see all of them [...]
I do think there may have been a few songs I never heard on RANDOM now that you say that.

I was going to ask how you knew that it could see everything. What I've done (and how I know my system doesn't see everything) is to count the number of music files on the drive after adding them and then compare that to what UConnect reports as the total number of songs once the truck has had time to index them.

Originally, my folder structure was <artist>/<album>/<track> - <title> but that seemed to put me over the folder limit quickly. I reorganized to a <artist>/<album> - <track> - <title> scheme (eliminating the "album" folders), bundled my collection of one hit wonders into a single folder, and deleted a bunch of stuff. At the moment, UConnect sees 2025 of 2039 songs spread across 139 folders.

 

[Diamondback]

I was going to ask how you knew that it could see everything. What I've done (and how I know my system doesn't see everything) is to count the number of music files on the drive after adding them and then compare that to what UConnect reports as the total number of songs once the truck has had time to index them.

Originally, my folder structure was <artist>/<album>/<track> - <title> but that seemed to put me over the folder limit quickly. I reorganized to a <artist>/<album> - <track> - <title> scheme (eliminating the "album" folders), bundled my collection of one hit wonders into a single folder, and deleted a bunch of stuff. At the moment, UConnect sees 2025 of 2039 songs spread across 139 folders.

I hit LIST and can scroll down .. I'm anxious to get my rig delivered to see what is different between my current 8.4NAV and the Laramie 8.4NAV

I renamed all my files manually - cuz I too couldn't get the default system to read the META data on the songs like it should. So my songs are ARTIST - SONGNAME .. I then only had one other folder (I think it was 5FDP or something) with their album inside that to test out. My headunit saw the main songs and the folder listing. But never showed the folder itself. These units use a LINUX-based software, so if you are familiar with that, it helps.

sample list:
TIESTO - This Song
QUEEN - That Song
BAND5 - Another Song
5FDP Folder / 5FDP - Hard to See

etc.

I kind of wish I had gone ahead with the 12" setup so I could better help you guys and see where the break is.

Some forums believe that you are limited to 1023 (of 1024 bytes) folders.
Appears that more recent uConnect systems CAN read NTFS now .. So I can play around with that -- I don't believe my 2016 can (but maybe it can after the latest update).

https://www.driveuconnect.com/content/dam/uconnect/system/2017/pdf/8.4-RA3.pdf

 

[ramButz]

A note about the reset thing. There might be a better way. I remember running into this issue in the past on my 14. If you re-label your volume (drive) to a different name, the system recognizes it as a new volume and will re-index. I got into the habit of renaming my drives by date. If I updated my drive today, I'd name it 062019.

hey guy i tried that and still nothing

 

[Diamondback]

yeah we confirmed this fails on 2016 as well ..

 

[StuartV]

I read in another thread that on the 12" you touch and hold the two buttons at the lower left of the screen. Or maybe it was the lower right. Anyway, that is supposed to open the dealer menu (or whatever that menu is called).

Question about using a flash drive: Does the Uconnect system recognize playlists of any kind? If so, how do you create the playlists that you want to put on the flash drive? And can you create playlists directly on the Uconnect?

Also, why bother with this instead of just having all the MP3s on your phone? Not enough room on your phone for all your music?

Lastly, have you found some flashdrive that works that doesn't stick way out where it would interfere with, for example, having a phone in the phone holder that is right there at the bottom of the center stack (e.g. a passenger's phone in the slot beside the driver's phone)?

I have the 12" (screen, that is LOL). My phone is a Note 8, with plenty of room for all my music. (Thank you Samsung for continuing to include a microSD slot!)

The 12" screen only supports screen mirroring from Android via a cable. I.e. if I want to use Android Auto and see my stuff on the 12" screen, I have to connect my phone with a cable. Which sucks. Plus, Android Auto will only use half the screen. I.e. only in Split Screen mode, using just one half of the screen.

Because of all that, I'm not using Android Auto. Using Google Maps for Nav is a bit easier than using the Uconnect Nav, but I'm adapting and the Uconnect Nav is not THAT bad. Especially with the ability to use Maps on my phone to find a destination then "share" it to the Unconnect app on my phone and send it from there to the truck's Nav. It's pretty slick, actually. It would definitely be nicer if I could just find my destinations in Uconnect Nav as easily as I can find them in Maps, but oh well...

So, with using Uconnect Nav, and my phone having all my music on it, I've been fine so far to just stream music from my phone instead of having it all on a flash drive. But, y'all have me wondering if I'm missing out on something now.

 

[troutspinner]

hey guy i tried that and still nothing

I can only offer my experience with my 2014 Ram with the 8.4a. The newer radios do recognize NTFS, maybe format to NTFS and try again?

 

[troutspinner]

Question about using a flash drive: Does the Uconnect system recognize playlists of any kind? If so, how do you create the playlists that you want to put on the flash drive? And can you create playlists directly on the Uconnect?

Playlists are a pain in the butt! The best way I have found is to use Windows Media Player to create a Playlist. Once the Playlist is created on the PC, you have to edit the playlist with Notepad and change the path to each song. So instead of C:\YourName\Music\Artist Name\Songname.mp3 it has to be ..Artist Name\Songname.mp3. It is not friendly at all and unless you are REALLY dedicated to make it happen, not worth the time.

Also, why bother with this instead of just having all the MP3s on your phone? Not enough room on your phone for all your music?

Not everyone is as forward versed as maybe you are. Some people here don't even know what an MP3 is. It's just tech vs how "we are use to".

Lastly, have you found some flashdrive that works that doesn't stick way out where it would interfere with, for example, having a phone in the phone holder that is right there at the bottom of the center stack (e.g. a passenger's phone in the slot beside the driver's phone)?

Look into the Sandisk Cruzer or Ultra Fit. Small as can be.

 

[rrbhokies]

Playlists are a pain in the butt! The best way I have found is to use Windows Media Player to create a Playlist. Once the Playlist is created on the PC, you have to edit the playlist with Notepad and change the path to each song. So instead of C:\YourName\Music\Artist Name\Songname.mp3 it has to be ..Artist Name\Songname.mp3. It is not friendly at all and unless you are REALLY dedicated to make it happen, not worth the time.

I have over 10,000 songs on my 128gb flash drive. I have every song in the root directory, meaning I don't have any file folders. I use mp3tag software on Windows to create my playlists. I then use notepad to edit the playlist files and update the folder names using search and replace. For example, if I have a folder on my hard drive that's say c:\80s Music\Artist-Song-Album.mp3 mp3tag will create a playlist and put c:\80s Music\ in front of each song in the playlist. Using search and replace in Notepad I do a search for c:\80s Music\ and replace it with blank. It then strips out the folder name for every song. Save each playlist and store it in the root directory along with the songs. My 12" Uconnect read the 128GB flash drive just fine and indexed all 8,000+ songs. It took a while to index, but when I just go and play a song from the flash drive, it says playing 1 or 8,000. And when I go to browse and select by Playlist, it reads all the playlist files I've created. Works perfectly.

 

[ant0064]

I read in another thread that on the 12" you touch and hold the two buttons at the lower left of the screen. Or maybe it was the lower right. Anyway, that is supposed to open the dealer menu (or whatever that menu is called).

Question about using a flash drive: Does the Uconnect system recognize playlists of any kind? If so, how do you create the playlists that you want to put on the flash drive? And can you create playlists directly on the Uconnect?

Also, why bother with this instead of just having all the MP3s on your phone? Not enough room on your phone for all your music?

Lastly, have you found some flashdrive that works that doesn't stick way out where it would interfere with, for example, having a phone in the phone holder that is right there at the bottom of the center stack (e.g. a passenger's phone in the slot beside the driver's phone)?

I have the 12" (screen, that is LOL). My phone is a Note 8, with plenty of room for all my music. (Thank you Samsung for continuing to include a microSD slot!)

The 12" screen only supports screen mirroring from Android via a cable. I.e. if I want to use Android Auto and see my stuff on the 12" screen, I have to connect my phone with a cable. Which sucks. Plus, Android Auto will only use half the screen. I.e. only in Split Screen mode, using just one half of the screen.

Because of all that, I'm not using Android Auto. Using Google Maps for Nav is a bit easier than using the Uconnect Nav, but I'm adapting and the Uconnect Nav is not THAT bad. Especially with the ability to use Maps on my phone to find a destination then "share" it to the Unconnect app on my phone and send it from there to the truck's Nav. It's pretty slick, actually. It would definitely be nicer if I could just find my destinations in Uconnect Nav as easily as I can find them in Maps, but oh well...

So, with using Uconnect Nav, and my phone having all my music on it, I've been fine so far to just stream music from my phone instead of having it all on a flash drive. But, y'all have me wondering if I'm missing out on something now.

The only reason I want to use a flash drive is to have an on-screen directory. Android Auto is terrible...every feature including music...especially music! The safety features make it impossible to navigate. I do have all my music on my phone, but I'm left to use bluetooth and my phone to browse, not my massive, "technologically advanced" screen. Annoying at best. But, anything to make things safer while actually making things less safe...smells like a gov'ment regulation.

 

[Diamondback]

Someone else asked me about the USB ..
here is the link : https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/siriusxm-guardian.12305/

Here are the images in the "already created thread"

This is what I used in my Durango R/T .. 8.4 NAV



That was from an external case which was broken. The cable and 'adapter' card no longer work - not even on my PC.

so .. I ordered this and get it the next day (today) - I was afraid it wouldn't work being a no-name brand.

Amazon.com: Neeyer SATA to USB Cable, USB 3.0 SATAIII Hard Drive Adapter Cable for 2.5 Inch SSD & HDD Support UASP, 8 Inch: Computers & Accessories

Buy Neeyer SATA to USB Cable, USB 3.0 SATAIII Hard Drive Adapter Cable for 2.5 Inch SSD & HDD Support UASP, 8 Inch: SATA Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

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Here is my temp install : (using one of the built-in cell holders)




as soon as I fired up the truck, about 20-30 seconds later: (for indexing, etc.)





Now, I'm not sure about you 12" folks or non-nav folks, but I got it to work just fine on my rig.

some songs have album pictures and others have proper ID'ing .. some have both .. I can take care of all that later.


EDIT: After locating USB3 in the rear (instead of the console), I can use that to hide the drive later. There is a small compartment above the rear USBs and the cable it long enough to reach.

 

[Klute]

So it just lists the songs in alpha order...(there is no directories, just songs?)

 

[cw_mi]

I've been able to get my 128usb to work , but I have found that for whatever reason Uconnect just doesn't see some of the folders. For instance, I had a folder on the usb for "red hot chili peppers" , Uconnect did not pick it up. I plugged the usb into my computer created a new folder , moved all the songs to it , deleted the older one , renamed the new on the same exact name and now Uconnect see's it. Had to do this several times. And not all of my music works through the voice commands...can't quite figure that out. Playlists would be great but I've read through the instructions found on a couple of threads here and ...well, just too much for me.

 

[Diamondback]

So it just lists the songs in alpha order...(there is no directories, just songs?)

For now, yes. No directories, just files .. I'll look into creating a new drive with folders and see if the system grabs them as well .. My Durango 8.4 did (tested with a folder called, "5 Finger DP")

I've been able to get my 128usb to work , but I have found that for whatever reason Uconnect just doesn't see some of the folders. For instance, I had a folder on the usb for "red hot chili peppers" , Uconnect did not pick it up. I plugged the usb into my computer created a new folder , moved all the songs to it , deleted the older one , renamed the new on the same exact name and now Uconnect see's it. Had to do this several times. And not all of my music works through the voice commands...can't quite figure that out. Playlists would be great but I've read through the instructions found on a couple of threads here and ...well, just too much for me.

I have never used the voice on either vehicle - I should do testing with that .. would save me time and dirtying up my touch screen LOL

Tim N

 

[cw_mi]

Just when I thought I had it figured out, I find I don't. This is getting frustrating, so much I might just go back to plugging an MP3 player back in. I added some music yesterday, and this morning I plug it in and nothing. Not a single song showed up.
I just don't get it, I didn't do anything different than normally do.

 

[ramButz]

Just when I thought I had it figured out, I find I don't. This is getting frustrating, so much I might just go back to plugging an MP3 player back in. I added some music yesterday, and this morning I plug it in and nothing. Not a single song showed up.
I just don't get it, I didn't do anything different than normally do.

i know the problem

 

[Diamondback]

yeah, the system has to refresh itself (which it either doesn't do, or I don't know the sequence to make it do it - other than maybe a soft reset or something).

I'm going to add some songs and then try with power off and again with power on to see if either one will force the system to read the additional songs. I know my Durango did but it was fussy and I don't remember which way worked.

 

[cw_mi]

Think I found my issue. When I download my music it comes in a winzip file. I will open that file with windows explorer and drag and drop to the usb stick. For some reason, those folders don't get picked up by Uconnect. If I create a new folder, and drop the mp3 files into it, Uconnect works with no problems.

 

[ramButz]

i called the dealer today to make an appointment for this usb problem we/i are having they said there are 2update that are missing for my truck,i will let your all know how this does