USB MUSIC RESOLVED

[Pakurz]

In August 2020, I got my Model Y that had one USB in the center console. I copied CD's onto a USB flash drive that worked for a long time but after one update, it didn't. After dozens of efforts to get USB music to work, including one trip to Tesla service that got TeslaCam to work using a Tesla USB, but nothing on USB Music, I found the solution in Tesla's fine print. I had made nearly a dozen copies of my CD's on the USB's available today. When I would buy flash drives, I always sought the most advanced versions which were USB 3.0 and above.

When I reread Tesla's fine print, I did not imagine their casual mention of USB 2.0 was a maximum, not a minimum requirement for USB Music. I found a USB 2.0 among my collection, and copied 170 CD's to a root folder named "Music". Using a USB 2.0 splitter, I instantly got both music and DashCam. It did take a short while for the car to index the nearly 2,000 songs into albums, artists and genres.

 

[Goobers]

The thing about USB is that its supposed to be forward and backwards compatible. Meaning even if the car only supports USB 2, the drive should still be able to run as a USB 2 device, even if it supports USB 3 speeds. The maximum is always true, no matter if we're talking about the car or PCs... cause you can't do more than the slowest device.

So its more likely your drive is defective and just failed around that time.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Yes, beware of "cheap" USB drives.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

there is a tesla software bug which is preventing center usb ports from working reliably (other than recharging devices) in many model 3 and y vehicles which have intel mcu2. Many active threads about it. The bug seemed to appear around January 2024 for many people. But perhaps the bug is related to detecting usb 2. Glovebox usb-3 port works fine, not all cars have a glovebox usb.

 

[Pakurz]

In August 2020, I got my Model Y that had one USB in the center console. I copied CD's onto a USB flash drive that worked for a long time but after one update, it didn't. After dozens of efforts to get USB music to work, including one trip to Tesla service that got TeslaCam to work using a Tesla USB, but nothing on USB Music, I found the solution in Tesla's fine print. I had made nearly a dozen copies of my CD's on the USB's available today. When I would buy flash drives, I always sought the most advanced versions which were USB 3.0 and above.

When I reread Tesla's fine print, I did not imagine their casual mention of USB 2.0 was a maximum, not a minimum requirement for USB Music. I found a USB 2.0 among my collection, and copied 170 CD's to a root folder named "Music". Using a USB 2.0 splitter, I instantly got both music and DashCam. It did take a short while for the car to index the nearly 2,000 songs into albums, artists and genres.

Bummer. After a few weeks, even this failed. I am now getting an error code UI_a211 that USB is not working. TeslaCam alone using a Tesla micro also ceased to work. I'm starting to think Tesla has installed a faulty USB socket. Wonder what replacement of that involves.

 

[E90alex]

I have sentry on a cheap 2.5” SSD using a USB 3.0 to SATA cable through a USB 3.0 hub and it’s been working fine since new for about 2 years now.

My music was on a sandisk usb 3.0 flash drive and it worked for over a year then started giving errors like couldn’t mount file system. The drive still works fine on the computer with no issues. Used a new USB 3.0 flash drive and it works fine and instantly recognized.

 

[Twiglett]

Another call for using an SSD with usb adapter cable. Got one car with that setup working well for years.
Also have a Raspberry Pi Zero running TeslaUSB, it checks and fixes the virtual USB drives regularly. It also uploads the dash cam recordings to my home server and syncs music down to the car.

GitHub - marcone/teslausb: A smart USB drive for Tesla Dashcam - extended storage, auto archive, web viewer

A smart USB drive for Tesla Dashcam - extended storage, auto archive, web viewer - marcone/teslausb

github.com

 

[youngmcdonald]

That is a strange behavior. I use a 4TB exFAT USB 3.x SSD with folders on it for Music and Sentry and it is working fine. It does give me a notification to “re-insert USB for faster speed” but I think that’s benign. I have a 2024 Y but I remember that I used to have a USB 3.x flash drive in my 2019 3 and even that worked fine.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

Bummer. After a few weeks, even this failed. I am now getting an error code UI_a211 that USB is not working. TeslaCam alone using a Tesla micro also ceased to work. I'm starting to think Tesla has installed a faulty USB socket. Wonder what replacement of that involves.

Naw, you just are experiencing the same usb issues as most of us due to a software bug. Lots of threads about it. Basically in Intel mcu2 cars the center console usb ports are not detecting devices when car starts up. Glovebox seems unaffected but older cars lack glovebox usb.

One trick which seems to help is to use your app to wake up (unlock the doors via app, etc) car before you open the door

 

[Goobers]

That is a strange behavior. I use a 4TB exFAT USB 3.x SSD with folders on it for Music and Sentry and it is working fine. It does give me a notification to “re-insert USB for faster speed” but I think that’s benign. I have a 2024 Y but I remember that I used to have a USB 3.x flash drive in my 2019 3 and even that worked fine.

I get that notification when my USB cable starts to come loose.

I've since pinched the metal plug ends of the cable ever so slightly in the hopes that they hold on a bit tighter. It won't stop it from coming loose, but it should at least take longer to do so.