Need more USB Data ports

[Job314]

Love the Stinger, but I have one area for improvement. Has anyone else been annoyed with the requirement to plug in your phone's USB for android auto? This is especially annoying if you like to listen to music from a USB thumb drive.

Because the Stinger only has the 1 USB data port up front, you need to unplug the flash drive and plug in your phone cable to switch between them. I tried solving this problem with a small USB hub, but it seems that USB data port on the Stinger does not support hubs. I tried 2 hubs and the car couldn't recognize even a single device plugged in to the hub.

Has anyone gotten a USB hub to work in the Stinger? If so, which one?

In addition to it being annoying, I'm concerned about that 1 USB data port getting worn out on me. I want something better than a small USB host extender cable, so I'm starting to look into doing a homemade USB switch where I can plug a phone cable and a thumb drive and toggle between them as needed with a button. If anyone has any other solutions, please post.

 

[sensicalnonsense]

The requirement to plug your phone in for android auto is not limited only to the stinger, it's a requirement for every vehicle with android auto.

It's a requirement because android auto is merely a projection of your phone screen onto the infotainment. Your car isn't actually running android. Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth (capacity to transfer data) for android auto. I don't know why manufacture don't just contract with Google to build android into the infotainment without the need for a phone.

Though, I am annoyed stinger doesn't have USB ports in the center console.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

The requirement to plug your phone in for android auto is not limited only to the stinger, it's a requirement for every vehicle with android auto.

It's a requirement because android auto is merely a projection of your phone screen onto the infotainment. Your car isn't actually running android. Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth (capacity to transfer data) for android auto. I don't know why manufacture don't just contract with Google to build android into the infotainment without the need for a phone.

Though, I am annoyed stinger doesn't have USB ports in the center console.

Agreed, my wife's 2016 Sorento has an additional in the center console so not sure why Stinger didnt get the same??

 

[Job314]

Understand Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth, what about wifi? Seems like Kia is a big enough player to partner with Google on something like that. Maybe it's an issue where android auto over wifi would just drain the battery too fast. Though, that could be countered by wireless charging.

Anyway, I think my biggest gripe is the single data USB port and the fact that this single port does not support hubs.

 

[MerlintheMad]

"Hubs", do you mean "cigarette lighter" type plug ins? Because if not, that is what I have in the console box waiting to be used in the event of several passengers all wanting to hook up their Medía at the same time. The device has two USB ports in it. There is a hookup in the front and in the back. So if you had two of them going, along with the single USB port in front, and the single in the back, that would be six available USB port hookups.

 

[eflyguy]

He's talking about USB connection to the system, not just for power.

 

[MerlintheMad]

He's talking about USB connection to the system, not just for power.

So added USB power sources are power only? I hadn't even thought this through.

 

[Job314]

MerlintheMad is correct, I'm talking about USB data ports, not USB power/charging only ports. The latter won't transfer any data, they will just charge devices.

As far as I know, there's only a single USB data port in the Stinger and since it doesn't appear to support USB hubs, you can't add any additional ones.

 

[MerlintheMad]

So while I have a USB drive playing music, the car's data system(s) are unavailable to anything else. Is that right?

 

[Job314]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'data system(s)', but I can say that with respect to data over USB, that is correct. Putting a USB drive playing music into the Stinger USB dataport means you can access no other USB device. You can charge other devices, sure, but you can't read/write them.

If anybody knows otherwise, I'd like to hear how...

 

[BlaydeX15]

So, technically, any USB data port should be able to run a hub. If Kia implemented the proper standard for their USB data connections, you should be able to plug a dumb USB 2.0 hub into the data port and have anything connected work, albeit at lower peak wattage.

I'd need to track down a USB hub myself, but it should be easily tested. If you can go Device->Hub->Data port on the car, you could rewire the car so that it had another data port.

Of course, how the car handles the data ports is a different issue. It may not be designed to accept media input from any other port but port00.

It definitely disappointed me though. I have an external HDD with ~200gb of music on it that I'd like to mount permanently in the glove box as a media device, but I would need to run a cable, and it would disrupt my ability to use Android Auto. If we could split it, I would just hide a hub in the console and run a second USB cable into the glovebox, leaving the main port open.

Pretty easy to do, difficult to make it pretty though. Lol.

 

[eflyguy]

I dug out a tiny hub I have earlier, when I go out tomorrow I'll try it with the micro USB flash drive that I use for music.

Of course, I'm driving a Sorento - but if it works, I could always go visit one of my friendly dealers....

 

[Aikiman]

Hello, i'm interested by the answer for a Kia Rio, i buyed one usb data hub, but this is not working, did you find a working one ?

 

[eflyguy]

I did (in Sorento which also has only one USB port.)

My phone connected via cable to hub works fine (charges and comes up as iPod in media center), but USB thumb drive does not and comes up "unsupported USB device" - this is the same USB drive I leave plugged in for music.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

The requirement to plug your phone in for android auto is not limited only to the stinger, it's a requirement for every vehicle with android auto.

It's a requirement because android auto is merely a projection of your phone screen onto the infotainment. Your car isn't actually running android. Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth (capacity to transfer data) for android auto. I don't know why manufacture don't just contract with Google to build android into the infotainment without the need for a phone.

Though, I am annoyed stinger doesn't have USB ports in the center console.

Not really true today as Google phones can run Android Auto via bluetooth...

 

[fastestneon]

You kinda brought back an older thread my friend lol...
But unfortunately you are incorrect. Wireless android auto and wireless apple CarPlay work off the same technology in WiFi which is actually called a WiFi direct connection. They are not doing data transfer via Bluetooth, sorry.
This is newer tech obviously so I would guess you would see that enabled on future models like the 2020

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

You kinda brought back an older thread my friend lol...
But unfortunately you are incorrect. Wireless android auto and wireless apple CarPlay work off the same technology in WiFi which is actually called a WiFi direct connection. They are not doing data transfer via Bluetooth, sorry.
This is newer tech obviously so I would guess you would see that enabled on future models like the 2020

You are right.. Thanks for the backup!

 

[Unashamed_Nerd]

It occurs to me that if multiple USB devices is not possible, then what needs to be done it to make the most of a single USB device. To that end I just ordered a wireless USB/SD interface (RAVPower File Hub) that will allow my Android phone to access stored MP3 files for music while retaining navigation and other Android auto functionality. I will report back with my results.

 

[eflyguy]

It occurs to me that if multiple USB devices is not possible, then what needs to be done it to make the most of a single USB device. To that end I just ordered a wireless USB/SD interface (RAVPower File Hub) that will allow my Android phone to access stored MP3 files for music while retaining navigation and other Android auto functionality. I will report back with my results.

erm.. load the MP3 files onto the phone? Most Android devices have supported that for a while.

 

[7Andrei7]

Just to add to the conversation, I find it very odd that once you plug in your phone and start Carplay/Android Auto, the car BT is suddenly disabled and you can't connect a second phone (of the passenger, let's say) to use as a media source.