Technical 2012 -2016 models: Streaming music

[AB100]

Our Panda has u-connect, though we don't.

Those of you withe earlier models that use Bluetooth and suchlike - for example a Lounge or Easy Plus - can you stream music from your phone to the car stereo? If so, is this done by a dedicated phone app? Presumably the steering wheel controls don't work for skipping tracks.

Anyone under 30 roll your eyes now.

 

[oyumurtaci]

Our Panda has u-connect, though we don't.

Those of you withe earlier models that use Bluetooth and suchlike - for example a Lounge or Easy Plus - can you stream music from your phone to the car stereo? If so, is this done by a dedicated phone app? Presumably the steering wheel controls don't work for skipping tracks.

Anyone under 30 roll your eyes now.

There's no decent way to stream music wirelessly with the pre uconnect (blue and me) system. The best workaround are apps that convert the bluetooth audio output (media) into a mono stream that hijacks the handsfree connection and routs all audio to that stream. I tried a few of them out years ago but they were so bad I forgot their names and bought a good bluetooth fm transmitter.

 

[AB100]

There's no decent way to stream music wirelessly with the pre uconnect (blue and me) system. The best workaround are apps that convert the bluetooth audio output (media) into a mono stream that hijacks the handsfree connection and routs all audio to that stream. I tried a few of them out years ago but they were so bad I forgot their names and bought a good bluetooth fm transmitter.

Thanks for confirming. I suspected as much.

The alternative is presumably the USB stick, the 3.5m auxiliary for non-Apple consumers or can the phone be plugged into the USB and operate in that manner?

 

[oyumurtaci]

Thanks for confirming. I suspected as much.

The alternative is presumably the USB stick, the 3.5m auxiliary for non-Apple consumers or can the phone be plugged into the USB and operate in that manner?

None of my Android phones have successfully worked through the USB port, so I assume there is no implementation for them. Oddly, the old iPhome 4s of a friend works, and the steering wheel buttons even control spotify.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Our Panda has u-connect, though we don't....

Are you saying that your Panda does have u-connect? If so, you don't need an app to stream music to it, you just need to 'pair' the phone to the car as a Bluetooth device. Then, the radio 'sees' the phone as a source of sound, be that phone calls or music. My 2018 4x4 has u-connect. The Fiat app that is supposed to help here is useless. But I can play music without using the app - just pressing 'media' button on the radio and selecting 'BT audio', having paired it once to set it up.

If you are saying that you do not have u-connect, then (as I did on my 2013 4x4), you can plug the phone into the Blue&ME USB socket on the centre console and then it behaves as if it's a connected iPod or external CD player. My iPhone 5 worked fine with that, and I could see track lists on the dash display (where the fuel figures etc appear) and use the steering wheel 'menu' button and then the up/down buttons to select and play by album, artist, song or playlist.

Curiously, U-connect does not let me see these menu selections on the dash display in the newer car (the steering wheel 'menu' button can no longer select 'media player' to reach any of the lists, but does via the buttons on the radio. Both systems allow the steering wheel 'up/down' buttons to skip tracks though.

 

[AB100]

Are you saying that your Panda does have u-connect? If so, you don't need an app to stream music to it, you just need to 'pair' the phone to the car as a Bluetooth device. Then, the radio 'sees' the phone as a source of sound, be that phone calls or music. My 2018 4x4 has u-connect. The Fiat app that is supposed to help here is useless. But I can play music without using the app - just pressing 'media' button on the radio and selecting 'BT audio', having paired it once to set it up.

If you are saying that you do not have u-connect, then (as I did on my 2013 4x4), you can plug the phone into the Blue&ME USB socket on the centre console and then it behaves as if it's a connected iPod or external CD player. My iPhone 5 worked fine with that, and I could see track lists on the dash display (where the fuel figures etc appear) and use the steering wheel 'menu' button and then the up/down buttons to select and play by album, artist, song or playlist.

Curiously, U-connect does not let me see these menu selections on the dash display in the newer car (the steering wheel 'menu' button can no longer select 'media player' to reach any of the lists, but does via the buttons on the radio. Both systems allow the steering wheel 'up/down' buttons to skip tracks though.

Thanks. We DO have u-connect but don't use it.

The question was for someone else buying an earlier Panda, which sounds like it may or may not work depending on the device - though targeting a u-connect model seems the better option, if they want to stream.

 

[Motorcyclist Colin]

Our Panda has u-connect, though we don't.

Those of you withe earlier models that use Bluetooth and suchlike - for example a Lounge or Easy Plus - can you stream music from your phone to the car stereo? If so, is this done by a dedicated phone app? Presumably the steering wheel controls don't work for skipping tracks.

Anyone under 30 roll your eyes now.

Anyone over 80 has no clue as to what you are talking about

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Thanks. We DO have u-connect but don't use it.

The question was for someone else buying an earlier Panda, which sounds like it may or may not work depending on the device - though targeting a u-connect model seems the better option, if they want to stream.

Correct - to stream music (wirelessly via Bluetooth) need uConnect radio. In spite of the 'Blue' in Blue&Me, it could not connect over Bluetooth for anything other than phone calls. The older models needed a cabled connection via the USB port to listen to music/other sounds from the phone.