Technical How do I play Apple Music (streaming) on my Fiat 500's Blue&Me System?

[ssray23]

Hi all,

Just purchased a 2012 Fiat 500 Lounge 0.9 TwinAir car yesterday from a used car dealer. I have an iPhone 12 with monthly Apple Music subscription. The car has Blue&Me and I can clearly see an USB port besides the driver's seat. Can I just purchase a Lightning to USB-A cable, plug my iPhone using it to output music to the car's speakers? Are there any additional steps needed?

FYI - I have successfully paired my iPhone 12 to the car's Blue&Me system using a 4 digit PIN - I can use it for calls etc. but I don't see an option on iPhone's Music app to select "Blue&Me" as a speaker (like I do at home all the time when I need to output sound to my Anker Sound core Mini Bluetooth Speakers).

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
S Ray

 

[vexorg]

I can try check later, but most cars will just play through the system if you select the aux input and hte lightning connector is in.
The other thing is that the phone needs to be unlocked "to use this accessory"

 

[AndyRKett]

Can I just purchase a Lightning to USB-A cable, plug my iPhone using it to output music to the car's speakers? Are there any additional steps needed?

In theory yes. you should be able to get a USB-A to lightning cable and plug it in for the streaming to work, and I had this working fine on my 2011 Punto with the same system.

You can't stream music via Bluetooth to Blue and Me system it has to be via a cable. this is just one of the limitations of the system.

However while this "should work" there are a lot of people who have trouble getting it to work seemingly without any reason, and if it doesn't work there is not a lot else you can do to fix it.

Failing that you may have to get a lightning to 3.5mm audio jack connector and then plug into the cars 3.5mm aux input, if your car has this option.

 

[ssray23]

Thanks for your quick responses - I'll try both the options i.e., USB/Lightning Cable and the Aux port. I also found a seemingly interesting option i.e., a Bluetooth Aux adaptor, on Amazon that can wirelessly stream music to the car stereo speakers.

 

[John202020]

There "is" a way to use the line in option on a Bosch radio but it's not straightforward if it were a Blaupunkt it's already there this would allow you to stream from any device via a cable, how that would affect the phone call operation I'm not sure re the mic

 

[ben]

Thanks for your quick responses - I'll try both the options i.e., USB/Lightning Cable and the Aux port. I also found a seemingly interesting option i.e., a Bluetooth Aux adaptor, on Amazon that can wirelessly stream music to the car stereo speakers.

I use one of these into the aux port on my dad's Peugeot, works very well

 

[AndyRKett]

Thanks for your quick responses - I'll try both the options i.e., USB/Lightning Cable and the Aux port. I also found a seemingly interesting option i.e., a Bluetooth Aux adaptor, on Amazon that can wirelessly stream music to the car stereo speakers.

I also used to use one of these our old 2012 Mini back when we had it.

Another option is to use something like an Alexa Auto which you can plug into the car via the Aux port and this handles the bluetooth streaming from the phone and gives you the additional voice control options such as "Alexa play music from Apple music" and the alexa auto Piggy backs off the Phone's data connection.

 

[bilo999]

This works well (ish) for music streaming in our Fiat 1.2s (2013)..... briefly tried it to make a call.... but think I need to do something else as I could not hear any sound via the speakers....think it was a phone problem and I was using an iPhone 15

Amazon product ASIN B081GGB53R

 

[ssray23]

Picked up this fantastic gadget from Amazon - it works flawlessly. The best part is, I can effortlessly stream music from my iPhone to the car stereo speakers in my Fiat 500!

https://amzn.eu/d/dGrKKGh

 

[jrkitching]

Picked up this fantastic gadget from Amazon - it works flawlessly. The best part is, I can effortlessly stream music from my iPhone to the car stereo speakers in my Fiat 500!

This should work on any car that has an aux socket to plug in this gadget.

Unfortunately this won't help those owners of 500's that don't have an AUX socket.

As Andy has said, Blue&Me doesn't support the A2DP protocol, so there's no way to stream audio via bluetooth directly like you do at home.

Without wanting to sound like your mother, just remember that in the UK, you can't use the phone handset to make any music selection or adjustment whilst driving, not even if the phone is in a cradle.

 

[ssray23]

This should work on any car that has an aux socket to plug in this gadget.

Unfortunately this won't help those owners of 500's that don't have an AUX socket.

As Andy has said, Blue&Me doesn't support the A2DP protocol, so there's no way to stream audio via bluetooth directly like you do at home.

Without wanting to sound like your mother, just remember that in the UK, you can't use the phone handset to make any music selection or adjustment whilst driving, not even if the phone is in a cradle.

My usual routine before hitting the road is to start a playlist on Apple Music (set to loop). If I ever need to pause the music, I simply ask Siri to do it for me. I prefer to keep my hands on the wheel and avoid fiddling with my phone – it's just safer that way!

 

[bilo999]

Picked up this fantastic gadget from Amazon - it works flawlessly. The best part is, I can effortlessly stream music from my iPhone to the car stereo speakers in my Fiat 500!

https://amzn.eu/d/dGrKKGh

I've tried one similar to that before.... but only downside is that you have charge it.... but yes it works as well as the option I presented...