USB to Bluetooth Adapter?
 

Hello-
I just traded my 07 base Cooper for a 11 JCW. The car has the HK and Bluetooth options and it all seems to be working. Have been trying to find out information on adapters to stream music via bluetooth but what I have found is several years old and the products aren't available anymore.

Is it possible to get a USB to Bluetooth adapter or some other adapter (that doesn't require being recharged) to stream music from my phone to the car? The car does have the USB and Aux port under the window switches in the little cubby. I do have a 30-pin Apple cable to USB/Aux cable but 30-pin is ancient and I'd like to avoid the cables if possible.

Thanks in advance

Since you already have the cable, the best unit if you want to maintain steering wheel controls and have it display track information from what I've found is going to be this guy.


I have the version that has the cable built in and while it does work most of the time, mine is not without its faults. Occasionally it'll drop the usb side of connection and it'll just be an aux connector, music still plays perfectly fine but you lose steering wheel controls and media information (which is the main reason this piece is so expensive). That being said I think I prefer it that way. I use a mix of Apple Music, Spotify, and streaming radio and such and the main issue is that when I start my car 75% of the time it plays what I left off on for a split second, then starts the very first song in my iTunes library. This is quickly solved by opening whatever app you were using previously and hitting play but annoying none the less.

Honestly I have my phone on a cd magnetic mount so my media information and controls are right there. For the cost of this adapter I think I'm just going to go back to a basic bluetooth to aux and not worry about the audio info since it'll be right there anyways. Plus the adapters are way cheaper, although you are going to want one without a built in mic so your calls will route over to the built in mini system which works great. If you are using a bluetooth adapter without a mic your phone will auto switch when you get a call, if the adapter has one it will maintain priority and you'll likely not get the same call quality.

This is the one I think I'm going to grab, and blackout the LED so there aren't bright blinking or solid bright blue lights.

Since I have a USB port can I get just a regular USB to Bluetooth adapter and use that? I'd prefer to not use the cable at all if possible?

Since the car's stereo won't be able to load drivers for a standard bluetooth adapter used for computers, the ones in the car use the USB for power and info (only the first one I linked) all the others just grab power from USB, and the aux port for audio. So both the USB and cable from the adapter plug into the car, the phones connection is wireless to the adapter.

That is disappointing, but thanks for the info!

For anyone that was considering the Firefly, I found out the built in USB port for the stereo does not supply enough power to run the adapter. I ended up needing to get a cigarette lighter to USB adapter.
Also the LED isn't too bright so I think I'll leave it as is.

Ended up just getting the 30-pin to lightning adapter for $23 at BestBuy and a lightning extension to run it up to my CravenSpeed mount. Appreciate the ideas!

Thanks for closing the loop.

Cab00se - Did you go forward with the Firefly? I checked it out on Amazon and noticed this:

"Note
Some car USB ports and chargers automatically shut off power when current draw falls below a certain threshold. Because the Firefly requires very little power, it may not work with these USB ports. Some Mini Cooper owners in particular have reported that their cars have this auto shut off feature."

Wondering if you experienced this problem?