This whole conversation seems silly as everyone involved knows full well that the MINI software was not designed to work with Andriod phones and no disrespect intended but I doubt anyone here is going to out smart the MINI software by simply playing with the available Android phone settings.

At the same time some of you seem to be very negative on what seem to be perfectly reasonable ideas for recovering some of available functionality that the cars software will allow. I for one just ordered a memory stick - for only $10 which will allow me to keep my entire music collection in the car with the added benefit that I won't have to go through the bother of plugging and unplugging my phone every time I get in to and out of the car - which I think is great. And I acknowledge that I will not have access to the song I bought 10 minutes ago and I will need to maintain two music databases but honestly that is not a lot of work.

Also, between AM/FM/SAT/CD and the Memory stick I somehow think I have reached the point of diminishing returns when it comes to in car entertainment instant gratification. It will be tough but somehow I will survive :-)

Now if this discussion were to be refocused as to why MINI only supports Apple or why it doesn't support Android and/or what can be done about it - this is an interesting and reasonable discussion as there are more Android phone in the market than Apple phones. Although there are a huge number of Android makes and models versus the iPhone which would undoubtably create engineering challenges for MINI if it were to work for all makes and models.

 

Maybe not just the Android settings. But I wouldn't put it past someone from figuring out a way to make it work. Folks have "cracked" all kinds of stuff related to the MINI software, whether through directly accessing it or working around it. Granted, anything related to or involving Apple is going to be a pita.

Perfectly reasonable to you. Frankly, they would probably be reasonable to me. But the point is that the OP was asking for a very specific set of criteria. While well-meaning, throwing out solutions that the OP is already aware of and has decided don't fit the way he wants to get things working is not helping.

Hehe - I think the discussion of how to hack the software is more likely to produce some actual results than figuring out why MINI is so enamored with them and then convincing them to change.

Personally, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out just out of curiosity. I don't even have the USB port in my MINI, so it won't benefit me (and I don't foresee a new MINI on the horizon). I just enjoying seeing all the things folks are able to figure out with these cars.

 

Although your statement that the software was not designed to work with "android" is totally correct, you are completely missing the point. It WAS designed to work with USB Mass Storage which is supported on many Android Phones as the removable Micro SD Card. The problem we are running into is NOT the MINI Software but how Android now implements USB Mass Storage over the more than one memory location in the phone. So hacking of the MINI Software is not really the point. It is how are we going to manipulate the new Android software and systems to work with the limitations of the MINI Software.

A jcausey said This has been discussed and IS NOT an acceptable solution for myself or the OP and not acceptable to many others so please stop trying to convince us other wise. Your acceptance of it is fine with me but again it is not acceptable to me.

Also YOU will think I am crazy when you read the next few paragraphs. And maybe I am but I am who I am and I will not change.

My current music collection "WILL NOT FIT" on any USB Stick manufactured to date. It currently takes up 641 Gig of space on my 1T hard drive. There are more than 75,000 songs there from all genre's, from as early as 1921 to the current day.

So in my case a USB stick is NOT going to work. Neither will my android phone but that I can live with.

Oh and by the way My whole music collection does reside in my car via two 500 Gig hard drives. See this thread here. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html

Others have asked Why did I add a computer to my car? My answer: Because I could.

So please dont ask or tell me I am crazy. I already admitted I am a bit crazy. And please for the sake of both of us and this discussion dont get into any safety related talk about it.

AM - have you every driven out to Gardner and Winchendon MA there are only a few and well one is a religious station and another is spanish only. I neither understand spanish nor do I want to listen to a religious station.

FM - Have you ever driven out to Gardner or Winchendon MA you can only get a few stations. 3 PBS - I like those and listen to them mostly on my way to work. WXLO - horribly talkative with crap i dont want to hear about all day long and well that it is.

SAT - I dont have SAT radio and I will not pay for the service. IMHO it is to expensive for the crap that is played on it.

CD - They take up way to much space. If I was to have my whole music collection on CD it would take up a room larger than my whole house (yes I live in a very small house).

AUX/USB input - If I want to listen to music I either listen to my own or use Pandora, Slacker, or iHeart Radio.

If you want to discuss that I am okay with that but please start a new thread on that and do not change the discussion at hand here.

Now i would greatly appreciate you and others to STOP telling me what the best way to use my stereo system in my car. I dont do that to others so please dont do it to me.

Now as for the the original mention of using a USB stick Okay but the OP had stated in the original post that that was not a viable option and as such no one here should even have brought it up much less the 6 times people tried to force it down our throats.

The OP even stated in 4 posts that it was not acceptable to use a USB stick.

So if we add up the total posts that do nothing for this discussion (including this one actually) we get more that 80% of the posts to date. This is ridiculous, and a waste of time for anyone reading it.

I would like to thank jcausey for his insightful and thoughtful last post.

Now to get this discussion back on track. After some testing of the Drive letters, as I suspected it does nothing for us but it did make them the same across all Windows based computers I plugged it into.

Today I will be calling Motorola directly and talking to tech support about this issue to see if there is anything we can do about it.

Lets PLEASE keep this discussion about the OP's request and not talk about USB Stick or Bluetooth Streaming options.

 

Schatzy62 you are a funny guy - you do realize I was actually poking fun at the severe tone you and a couple of others were and are using.

This is a blog (not a design review at Intel) and the advice that some people have offered was reasonable (particularly since no one has come up with a better work around) and given in a sincere fashion in the hopes of helping other MINI fans. So when some people responded with what I considered to be an unnecessarily deprecating tone I just couldn't resist poking a little :-)

BTW - I have driven through that part of MA many times (more than 100 actually) and the radio receptions is poor but so is the cell coverage so your cell phone might not be the panacea you think it is - but it may be the best option providing you can figure out how to make it integrate with your car - hows that working so far :-(

Ultimately the emotional thing wrapped up in this discussion that I don't understand is simply - if this (phone based entertainment) is in fact a major priority why not just switch to an iPhone. If your cell carrier doesn't carry the iPhone (like t-mobile) they can easily be hacked to run with any cell provider - or you could buy a new one that is factory unlocked directly from Apple. And I do fully appreciate that a lot of people don't like Apple for various personal reasons - but thats what makes a horse race. But ultimately you are just making choices - I hate Apple vs. I want Pandora - your choice. The point is there are choices - it sounds like you just want it your way or no way.

Cheers.

 

@jaldborgh - Please stop posting to this thread unless you have info that will help solve the problem requested. Please also respect that I want my car to work the way I want it to and I have asked and the OP has asked a question with specific parameters which do not include you or anyone else telling us to use a USB Stick or an iPhone.

So unless you have a solution to the exact problem and a possible outcome without a USB Stick or iPhone please refrain from posting to this thread.

 

Let me get this straight, the OP had a device that worked in the the seemingly seamless fashion that he desired. He gets rid of said device. New device doesn't function in the same manner as his original device. OP wishes to have the same seamless integration of old device on new device? Solution seems pretty simple. If something is working for you, why get rid of it, then become annoyed by the fact that it no longer works? The bottom line is that MINI decided that they will only offer full support to Apple devices. Why would one get rid of an Apple device that the car is designed to work with, and then wonder why things no longer work?

@schatzy- Try toning it down a bit with the arrogance, and e-thug tactics of telling people to answer your problems or get out of the thread. You didn't start the thread, Vladi did, and if he doesn't want the posts in here, he can ask(notice I didn't say command)people to keep things on his topic. If you want to have a thread where people are to come, and solve your problems, you should probably start your own thread, as you've directed others to do.

 

Bullie,

I agree 100%. Nuf said.