General Blue&me, can it play music from a phone?

[vexorg]

I was trying to set up the blue&me to play music through a phone. I've got the phone paired and it can make/receive calls ok.
What we couldn't find is the option to select music from the phone, there is some "media" option" on the speedo scren, but didn't seem to do much.
The user interface it truly awful for bluetooth functions.

It works fine at playing over usb. Is it possible to play music over bluetooth for blue&me?

 

[IanWard]

apparently there is a USB dongle you can buy from fiat, but around £80 even on ebay etc. I just fitted a separate bluetooth my my daughters, but it knocks the Blue & Me out - thankfully came with separate mic for handsfree. I dont think unless you have a newer version there is anything super reliable - everything is a compromise... strangely with our aftermarket - i still need a USB plugged in with at least one mp3 on it for the bluetooth to work - strange, but it is what it is...

 

[mj2k]

Indeed, playing media from a phone isn't possible unless you plug it into the USB port; the bluetooth pairing is purely for phone calls. Presumably the Blue&Me design pre-dates the ability to play MP3s over bluetooth.

 

[jrkitching]

Is it possible to play music over bluetooth for blue&me?

In a word, no. Blue&Me lacks A2DP support, which would have enabled playing an audio stream from the 'phone over Blue&Me through the car's audio system. This was flagged as a major shortcoming in Blue&Me functionality even when the 500 launched.

Now that the laws regarding mobile phone use have been strengthened, this is perhaps no bad thing; using a phone to select music whilst driving will now get you six points and a fine (and disqualification for a first offence if you are a new driver).

The best way to listen to music using Blue&Me in a 500 is to put it onto a memory stick in .mp3 format and use the steering wheel buttons to control the playback. A little experimentation to find the best way to tag the tracks will help you get the most out of the limited functionality Blue&Me actually has in dealing with audio.

If you haven't already discovered it, check out foobar2000; it's an excellent freeware program for managing and transcoding music.

 

[mj2k]

I'm quite fond of the way you can control the MP3 playlist via a TomTom GoLive 1000 (assuming it's a Fiat one and hasn't had an update which has broken it) as a backup to the steering wheel controls; it allows you to select different directories if you've got multiple albums in different dirs, etc rather than having to click through them one by one.

Note - as long as the phone can allow access to the folders where the MP3s are stored that works just fine with it's charging cable plugged into the USB port too, since the car will recognize it as a USB stick.

 

[vexorg]

Ok, so the "media" option on the blue&me is just for memory sticks?

You'd think by 2015 they would have updated it, it's hardly a new features of phones.
I'm not sure it is a good thing, on my other (non-fiat) two cars I can play music from the phone while it's stil in my pocket, all through the steering wheel controls. How can that be any less safe that coosing a radio station?

But I'm old, and it's radio2 or radio4 typically for me.

 

[mj2k]

Ok, so the "media" option on the blue&me is just for memory sticks?

You'd think by 2015 they would have updated it, it's hardly a new features of phones.
I'm not sure it is a good thing, on my other (non-fiat) two cars I can play music from the phone while it's stil in my pocket, all through the steering wheel controls. How can that be any less safe that coosing a radio station?

But I'm old, and it's radio2 or radio4 typically for me.

I suspect the Blue & Me was just too old to have the A2DP support mentioned by @jrkitching, as far as I know the first hi fis with A2DP were in 2006; Blue & Me was also released in 2006, so nothing would have been using it at the time. It was replaced with something a bit more modern in 2016, when the double din radio / lcd panel plus uConnect came in with the facelift. So yes, the 'media' function is purely for something connected to the USB port (not a biggie though - I normally have my phone plugged in to charge there anyway, as I suspect most people do).

Which means you have 4 options if you do want to play something from the phone, in increasing cost / complexity:

1. Plug a normal USB phone cable into the USB socket, and make sure the phone's set to allow file viewing via USB
2. Fit a replacement radio with bluetooth. The Connects2 surround to allow this doesn't cost much and the car's loom has standard ISO plugs (note - you will need to add a switched power feed for a normal stereo), though you will lose the steering wheel controls, unless you pay for an expensive Connects2 (or similar) adaptor.
3. Find a stereo with a rear line input (there are a few around, plus older top-of-the-range models), create an adaptor from the larger 20 pin ISO plug to the line inputs (needs a couple of wires soldering), and then you can keep Blue & Me, but at the same time have a more modern bluetooth input. Note - the separate power feed would still be needed for this, and the volume control buttons on the wheel no longer work.
4. Fit the system from a later car, complete with touch screen. I've not done it (I went for option 3) but there are plenty of guides on here how to do it.

 

[poppylola22]

Hello,

My blue and me works when playing music through USB cable ‘media player’ but i cannot skip songs on spotify through my steering wheel. My steering wheel buttons all work but just not when i am playing through media player.

My message reader also doesnt work, even though i can make calls through my BnM.

I have a 2013 Fiat 500C. Any comments would be really useful, thanks in advance!!