[dwswager]

Background: I have a 2024 X5 with Harmon Kardon option scheduled for production. I have been playing music in my cars from Samsung USB 3.0 thumb drives for 15 years. I don't buy Honda's because they can't pull it off (Read a drive in FAT sort order, does not recognize tags, can't play various MP3 encoding types). Most of the files are 320 bit Constant or Variable bit rate files with fully tagged and with Replay Gain values. While I use other types of sources, there are times when I do not have cellular connectivity, and this is the best option.

Questions:

1. From which USB port(s) can iDrive 8 play music files? Is it just the USB A port in the dash or from others?
2. Is there a particular director structure necessary? Most cars expect a "music" folder in the root directory. Those that support playlists also expect a "playlist" folder in the root directory.
3. Does BMW support Playlists? Is a particular format necessary?
4. What file types and bitrates are supported? Seems like I seen FLAC and MP3 is supported. Is WMA or MP4/MPA?

If there is a manual or FAQ somewhere that this is explained, a pointer would be most appreciated.

Thank You!

[Daedalus0101101]

I have a 21 X5 and I can play music from the USB A in the cupholder and the USB C in armrest.

I keep my files organized in a music folder, but I did a test with a file just in the root of the drive and it found and played it no issue.

I am not sure if iDrive 7 or 8 supports a playlist function.

I have used FLAC and it sees it just fine, but I also had other FLAC files in other folders and it did not see them. I converted everything to MP3 and havent seen any issues. I have not tried any other formats.


**Keep in mind I am on iDrive 7 so there are probably going to be differences and if anything I expect iDrive 8 to support more although I can't swear to that.

[TurtleBoy]

You can download the Navigation and Infotainment manual but unfortunately the online manual site is down right now. I have attached the one for iD7 which will give you some info.

https://www.bmwusa.com/owners-manuals.html

Your vehicle will have iD8.5 and not iD8 and from what we have seen only the front USB can be used for media in the LCI.

[formerE36M3/4/5]

Thanks for asking this question, I’m subscribing to this thread as I like having a usb thumb drive with my music. I’ll be driving the car home from the PCD and want to have my tunes available.

[dwswager]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

You can download the Navigation and Infotainment manual but unfortunately the online manual site is down right now. I have attached the one for iD7 which will give you some info.

https://www.bmwusa.com/owners-manuals.html

Your vehicle will have iD8.5 and not iD8 and from what we have seen only the front USB can be used for media in the LCI.

Based on that iDrive 7 manual, the following answers

1. Indeterminate
2. Indeterminate
3. Yes on playlist, but no info on directory structrure.
4. (Page 47) Playable formats
MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA.

[aussieintexas]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

You can download the Navigation and Infotainment manual but unfortunately the online manual site is down right now. I have attached the one for iD7 which will give you some info.

https://www.bmwusa.com/owners-manuals.html

Your vehicle will have iD8.5 and not iD8 and from what we have seen only the front USB can be used for media in the LCI.

I just created a usb stick with all my music files and it seems it definitely only plays from the front USB A - which is a little annoying because I wanted to hide it away in the storage compartment. Looks good though. Shows all the album artwork. I wish I could find a way to shuffle all songs on the stick though. Maybe I am missing something. Also the manual says it will download the files to the vehicle but does not do that on the LCI - unless again I am missing something

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by aussieintexas

Maybe I am missing something. Also the manual says it will download the files to the vehicle but does not do that on the LCI - unless again I am missing something

BMW removed the user accessible disk back a few years ago.

[aussieintexas]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

BMW removed the user accessible disk back a few years ago.

I figured theat. It why didn’t they update the manual…

[dwswager]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

BMW removed the user accessible disk back a few years ago.

I suspect it was a legal issue. My Wife's Honda had a SSD but it was useless because you could only rip audio CDs to it. You could not transfer digital files due to legal issues with copyright. STUPID.

[TurtleBoy]

Here is the manual for the LCI. I don't think it adds any more information.

[formerE36M3/4/5]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Here is the manual for the LCI. I don't think it adds any more information.

Thank you for this.

[Jeff J]

I use the front cup holder location for a usb stick. Music is in artist specific folders in the root directory. I have a range of file formats with most being FLAC, but some 320k MP3 as well. I think there might be some mo4 with video, but I’m not certain.

The biggest issue I had was keeping the file count down. My first attempt (on iDrive 8) kept glitching. I cut the number of files/tracks back to somewhere around 5000 and it’s been fine since. It wasn’t an issue with total data size - my first attempted fix was downscaling everything to compact/lossy mp3, and that had no impact. Deleting files was the only fix I found.

One thing of note - it will continuously loop within a given folder, which in my case is never more than one album. In my prior Audi, at the end of a folder it just continued on to the next one. I found that method more to my liking, but have learned to live with BMWs way.

[roamio]

This is what I use - PNY 512GB Elite-X Fit USB 3.1.
Once inserted it sticks out less than centimeter.

[IFlyX5]

If you want to create a playlist, create a file titled "<name_of_your_playlist>.m3u" where <name_of_your_playlist> is the name of your playlist. The contents of your .m3u file should follow this format:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:123,<song_name_1>
Music/<artist_subfolder>/<album_name>/<song_name_1>.mp3
#EXTINF:123,<song_name_2>
Music/<artist_subfolder>/<album_name>/<song_name_2>.mp3
.
.
.
.

where:
123 = song duration, in seconds
<song_name> = name of song (e.g.: My Way)
<artist_subfolder> = (e.g.: Frank Sinatra)

Note that #EXTM3U should be the first line of the .m3u file. Repeat the @EXTINF: line for as many songs as you want to put in the playlist.

You can create this playlist on a Mac using the Music app, then export it to a folder and copy it to the USB drive. Or use any text editor.

Here's the wiki for M3U file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U

If you want to name your USB drive (e.g.: MyMusic), create a folder named MyMusic and store all the songs in their appropriate subfolders.


Example
I create a folder named MyMusic and inside this folder, I have all the artists in their own subfolder. Within these artist subfolders, I create a separate folder for each album, and within each album subfolder are the songs themselves. The USB drive will show up as MyMusic when it is inserted in my X5.

Here is what my USB drive looks like:

MyMusic
|____ Frank Sinatra
|________ The Best of Frank Sinatra
|____________ My Way.mp3
|____ Bee Gees
|________ Their Greatest Hits
|____________ First of May.m4a
|____________ Holiday.m4a
|____________ Too Much Heaven.m4a
|________ In The Mood Of Love
|____________ Words.mp3
|____________ Closer Than Close.mp3
|____________ Emotion.mp3

If I want a playlist for the Bee Gees, the contents of the "Bee Gees.m3u" would look like this:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:196,Words - Bee Gees
Music/Bee Gees/In The Mood Of Love/Words.mp3
#EXTINF:170,First Of May - Bee Gees
Music/Bee Gees/Their Greatest Hits/First Of May.mp3

Make sure the playlist files (.m3u) reside on the root level of the USB drive (e.g.: same level as the main music folder itself).

[aussieintexas]

Manual still says can be saved in the vehicle 😒🙄

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by aussieintexas

Manual still says can be saved in the vehicle 😒🙄

They'll hopefully change the manual eventually. It has only been four years so we have to give them a little time.

[aussieintexas]

Originally Posted by turtleboy

they'll hopefully change the manual eventually. It has only been four years so we have to give them a little time.

😂😂😂🥴

[EWL5]

Hey dwswager! Good to see you migrate over from Mazdas247!

How's the new X5 and have you been satisfied by the audio? That HK system should be able to play multichannel FLAC (if you have any)!

[formerE36M3/4/5]

Does anyone know of an (iOS) App that can be used to transfer music from Apple Music to a USB memory stick? The music is mine, loaded from my CD's to my Music App on my Mac. Eons ago I used to be able to select individual tracks from iTunes and transfer them to the stick but iTunes is no more.

Any suggestions?

[jBwFellow]

Originally Posted by aussieintexas

Manual still says can be saved in the vehicle 😒🙄

It says "information for approx. 16000 ...."