Is there something cheap I can buy to make a Pixel talk to a Honda Fit?
November 27, 2017 6:17 AM   Subscribe

Help me help my wife get her new Pixel phone to talk to her Honda Fit.

Though she's otherwise super-stoked for her new Pixel, one thing that's bumming my wife out is that, unlike with her old iPhone, she can't just plug her new phone in to the car stereo via a USB cable and stream Pandora or listen to podcasts. The car (a 2015 Honda Fit LX) just doesn't recognize the existence of the phone when it's plugged in. Instead, she's forced to use Bluetooth, which works fine some of the times and at other times is extremely finicky.

Is there a cheap-ish device or workaround that I could buy or install that would allow my wife to plug her phone in to the car stereo and have the car actually play stuff straight off of her phone instead of via Bluetooth? The Googling I've done so far isn't super hopeful, but it's also mostly just confusing. I am what might be described as a "big dumb idiot" so the simpler the better, although if you've got some ingenious 38-step hack that involves like soldering and special crystals you can only buy on Uzbek eBay I'm all ears.
posted by saladin to Technology (6 answers total)
 
Have you considered replacing the car's sound system? It is possible to DIY, but probably not too bad to just have someone else do it. You could get some really nice features.
posted by amtho at 6:34 AM on November 27, 2017


Have the dealer fix the Bluetooth.
posted by rhizome at 6:45 AM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: A headphone dongle and 1/8"->1/8" stereo cable will be your best bet, no muss no fuss.

Keep an eye on the SW updates, though, it looks like Google is working on the bluetooth issues and when that gets working stably it's a really nice option. (Control from dashboard, no fumbling with phone, starts playing when you get back in the car, and google knows where ya parked.)
posted by ftm at 7:03 AM on November 27, 2017


Might be worth noting here that despite all its bell and whistles (an HDMI port???) my 2017 Fit does not have a 1/8" aux input. I was pretty surprised to discover this.
posted by Ryon at 8:33 AM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Bluetooth being finicky is a bug and Google is working on the fix (no citations, but I know it's on their radar because I'm having the same issue). Make sure the phone is up to date, and check with the dealer about an update on the radio firmware as others have mentioned.

(The quick fix is to put it in and out of airplane mode on the phone, and that works 99/100 times)
posted by deezil at 9:05 AM on November 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I've noticed some car head units are more picky about their Bluetooth connections than others, and unfortunately they often never get updated. In the past, I've had better luck changing some "secret" Bluetooth options under the "Developer Options" section in Android settings.

Enable these options using the five steps on this page. Then look at the networking section of the page, and modify the "Bluetooth AVRCP Version" setting. Try a few of them! But there's a chance you'll just have to wait for an Android update to fix it.
posted by dobi at 11:42 AM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


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