Observations on the Entune system with a flash drive

You can format them FAT32. A FAT32 volume can be up to 16 terabytes. Depending on the usb stick, they may (usually) come formatted FAT32 out of the box. I think Windows will only format up to 32 gigs with the built in tools (I don't use windows), but 3rd party utilities will let you format larger volumes.

 

I've been going through my collection, removing things I don't listen to. I was up to 17,000+ at some point. Right now I'm just above 11,000, with about 2000 more in another folder I'm not sure about keeping.

When I first started using a USB stick with a car stereo, I had a program batch encode my flac files to mp3. For some reason, Entune doesn't like reading album art from them, using poorer quality album art from Gracenote instead. So I see a lot of albums with white (though usually straight) borders.

 

Yeah, what's up with that. It uses my album art sometimes; and, Gracenote art other times. Anyone know what makes it choose one over the other or how to force it to use the art in the folder?

 

Anyone played around with a 2020 8" head unit? I was happy to see that it supports navigating folders contrary to my wife's rav4 which won't sort by folder. I bought the Anker usb hub to connect both my 32 Gb flash drive and My phone (I want to leave the flash drive on there full time and not have to connect my phone unless I want to use the android auto). I tried the Anker and once you connect the phone Android Auto kicks in and you no longer see the flash drive in the sources. After a minute or two android auto stops working and you can't see either of them.

This is the exact hub I purchased:

Anker 4-Port USB 3.0 Ultra Slim Data Hub for Macbook, Mac Pro/mini, iMac, Surface Pro, XPS, Notebook PC, USB Flash Drives, Mobile HDD, and More

$15 Anker 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub, Ultra-Slim Data USB Hub with 2 ft Extended Cable [Charging Not Supported], for MacBook, Mac Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Surface Pro, XPS, PC, Flash Drive, Mobile HDD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XMD7KPU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_3VXiEb4CXVYQ1

 

Hey everyone. 1st post.

Can anyone tell me how to make my USB device (or GPS for that matter) useable by my passenger while I'm driving? I understand the purpose of locking certain functions while moving, but my passenger is capable of doing these things while I drive, and the truck knows when someone is sitting there. I want her to be able to pick what she wants to listen to or punch in the address of our destination without getting off the highway to stop.

Is there anything I can get or can do?

Very frustrating. (But believe me, I get the why)

 

Something like this should work. Probably the best plug and play option anyway. I think since it interrupts the speed signal to allow input, it might cause turn by turn navigation to stop working as well.
https://naviks.com/i-24075687-2016-2019-toyota-tacoma-motion-lockout-bypass-video-input.html

 

with a 2020 model.. has anyone tried using a splitter / usb hub so you can have apple car play running for maps and play music from usb?

 

I use a usb flash drive as the music source in my 2017 Limited. The drive has mp3's on it made from about 200 CD's, each complete CD is in a folder. I've recently added another folder (mix) with some random mp3's, many of which are Amazon downloads for which I don't own the entire CD. Although I can play songs in that folder by selecting them song-by-song by title, I'm trying to find a way to play all the songs in the folder without manual intervention. Any way to do this? Do I need to edit the ID3 tags for each file to somehow make the Entune think they are all from the same album and play through them all consecutively?

 

I have a bunch of random songs that don't belong to any particular album, usually maybe 1 or 2 from the same artist. I changed the ID3 album tag to 'Singles'. I just select that album and it'll play through them all. You could also use the Composers tag and name it 'Various' or whatever if you don't want to mess with the album names.

 

Thanks for the ideas! The way the USB flash drive functions on this Entune is light-years BEHIND the other OEM systems I've used (mostly Nissan and Honda). Hopefully I can get this to work as you suggested.

 

My only complaints with Entune is the 9999 file limit and that the date tags are ignored. What do you find better from the other OEM systems?

 

2011 Honda CRZ, 2014 Maxima, 2020 Armada... You can have a make a folder full of random artists/songs, and select that folder and it will play them all. Also (and this is a biggie), you can use the Tuning/Scroll knob on the face of the unit to step through folders without having to resort to any stupid voice commands or "Browse" options on the display screen. Much easier/safer to do while driving... similar to tuning a different radio station.

 

Ah. I haven't tried using voice commands with Entune. On my 4Runner, i believe I can use the scroll knob to go through Artists and Albums. I agree being able to have a folder view to play regardless of tags would be nice.

 

While music is playing (when not in the selection menu)? I could swear that when I first got my truck in Jan 2017 that I could just reach for that Tune/Scroll knob at any time and turn up or down to choose another album. I could go from Robin Trower to the Rolling Stones with a simple twist of the knob. But after some forced update a few months later that function went away. My memory could be faulty though . . .

 

Mine hasn't had any available updates. (I can still see album covers while driving) Maybe it depends on what's been selected previously? I remember discussing somewhere I could navigate differently on my 4Runner than the Tacoma version, but I think it had to do with the steering wheel controls.

 

Quick Question for you guys...
I have been using the USB with a thumb drive since I bought my Tacoma.
I recently passed the 9999 song limit and some of my music isn't' showing anymore.
Not sure how Entunes decides what music doesn't show but it doesn't seem to make any sense.

Anyways.. is my only option to run a splitter with 2 USBS?
If I start using a apple iPod via the USB does it have the same 9999 songs limits as well?

 

Data USB Port | Tacoma World

 

Hey again, guys.

So, I am at the point where my two 128 GB flash drives both have just under 9999 files. I want more on hand. So I am wondering if anyone has found a hack that allows Entune to see more than only 2 USB devices? Not a big deal, as my plan is to just keep two of my thumb drives plugged in, and if I want to hear something on the one that is not plugged in, I will just swap them out. So, not a big deal, but was just thinking maybe since it's been a while someone has figured out a hack to allow an additional USB device to be recognized.

 

Hey RDG, I saw your question here and I have an answer:

I use a small, three port USB splitter similar to this one but with only 3 ports:

Small USB Hub, JoyReken 4-Port USB 3.0 Splitter, Mini Portable Data USB Hub for MacBook, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, Surface Pro, XPS, PC, Flash Drive, Mobile HDD

https://www.amazon.com/JoyReken-Spl...&keywords=usb+splitter&qid=1610128327&sr=8-11

I keep two 128GB Sandisk thumb drives in it:

$14 SanDisk 128GB Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive - SDCZ430-128G-G46

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07855LJ99/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This gives me two recognizable USB drives in Entune, for a max of 9999(x2) files on each. Not counting folders, etc, this is nearly 20,000 mp3 files. It works REALLY well especially if you have a well organized, properly tagged collection like I do. That is the main key, having consistent, uniform ID3 tags on your files.

Prior to this method, I had a 160GB iPod classic. This worked pretty good and the only file limit you will have is with the iPod capacity. The main problem with this method today, is that the iPod Classic is pretty far past end of life, and getting files onto the iPod Classic without iTunes is kind of a chore. Furthermore, the iPod system is "slower" with Entune, and when you shuffle, Entune will show the first song incorrectly, which is annoying. You also need to continually power the iPod Classic with a USB port as well, and as these things are aging out you will still have power issues with an iPod when it's cold out. I now keep my iPod Classic for air travel, etc and stick to thumb drives in my 4Runner now. All that said, there are likely newer portable MP3 players that will work, but to date I have not found anything that is small, large capacity and purely designed for a large music collection.

It seems audiophiles with 1.5TBs of music are a small niche in the portable MP3 market, and no one cares about us. LOL But like many of you, the main thing about MP3s, is that I can call up ANYTHING from the last 30 of collecting music, and listen to it. From an old school guy like me, that is a pretty amazing to have all that on hand all the time. And with 2 hours a day commuting, this makes things much more tolerable.

HTH...

 

Tell me more please. I want to clearly know what you describe, to be able to get my tunes set up properly. I get the part about the Scamazon sourced USB.

Thank you.