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      07-17-2019, 11:20 AM   #23
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I am sure everyone is aware that you can play directly from USB slot that's next to cup holders. You choose your capacity for flash drive and are not limited to internal drive. Only drawback is the USB stick being there - wish they had that slot in the storage underneath the armrest so that its out of sight.
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      07-17-2019, 09:16 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kschac View Post
The X5 has an internal hard disk for music storage and playback. Anyone know how large (in GB) it is? The manual doesn't say. Thanks.
Its a 32GB drive with 20GB of available multimedia storage.

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      07-17-2019, 09:31 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zanvos View Post
I am sure everyone is aware that you can play directly from USB slot that's next to cup holders. You choose your capacity for flash drive and are not limited to internal drive. Only drawback is the USB stick being there - wish they had that slot in the storage underneath the armrest so that its out of sight.
Bam! Your wishes have been answered — there IS a slot underneath the armrest :-). It is USB C, so need one of those flash drives or an adapter (short tail cable is best). It recognizes music as well as the cupholder slot.

And for the cupholder slot, this USB drive works great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGTG2A0/
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      07-17-2019, 10:05 PM   #26
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Great info - thanks!
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      07-17-2019, 10:09 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by Paladin1 View Post
Great info - thanks!
I am just recapping in summary what has been previously figured out and highlighted by others on the forum and I found very helpful then. It seems like it was only 2 months ago ... oh, it was |-)
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      07-17-2019, 10:13 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LexxM3 View Post
I am just recapping in summary what has been previously figured out and highlighted by others on the forum and I found very helpful then. It seems like it was only 2 months ago ... oh, it was |-)
Was trying to figure out what to do with that orphan USB A in the front center console. I will miss some things about the Q7 - the two SD slots and CD player in the glovebox, f'rinstance....
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      07-31-2019, 05:39 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by LexxM3 View Post
Bam! Your wishes have been answered — there IS a slot underneath the armrest :-). It is USB C, so need one of those flash drives or an adapter (short tail cable is best). It recognizes music as well as the cupholder slot.

And for the cupholder slot, this USB drive works great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGTG2A0/
Awesome! I have an adapter for my MacBook and I tried playing from center console. It works. Totally assumed its just for charging. Unfortunately back seat type C's are only for charging. Just curious, what is the slot next USB C charging ports (that is shut) in back of front seats?
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      07-31-2019, 06:09 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zanvos View Post
Awesome! I have an adapter for my MacBook and I tried playing from center console. It works. Totally assumed its just for charging. Unfortunately back seat type C's are only for charging. Just curious, what is the slot next USB C charging ports (that is shut) in back of front seats?
It’s for attaching accessories. I think one is for tablets and there are some others too maybe?
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      08-01-2019, 10:22 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zanvos View Post
Just curious, what is the slot next USB C charging ports (that is shut) in back of front seats?
It's the Travel and Comfort system for attaching accessories:
https://www.shopbmwusa.com/Search/TRAVEL-AND-COMFORT

There is a coat hanger, a hook, a folding table and an iPad mount available.
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      11-01-2019, 11:59 AM   #32
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silly, frustrating, backwards

This whole situation seems pretty backwards. Or at least underwhelming. I understand that many people just "stream" these days but these storage and connection options are pretty bad.

No Progress
Didn't the E9x-era BMWs have ~17GBs of music storage? And we get twice that? These trucks went on sale in 2018 and will be around for many more years. Could BMW not spring for 64GB? 128? The physical chips take up the exact same amount of space. Power draw and heat output have to be similar, if not identical. This is chintzy, bottom line.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
On to USB. First, kudos for going USB Type-C. This is obviously the connector of the future. But two (2) measly ports up front? As someone mentioned, these are pricey, brand-new cars. I expect better. For example, a buddy of mine has a 2013 Cadillac ATS. It has two type-A USB ports, an SD card slot, and an AUX port under the armrest. Behind the CUE screen (center infotainment) is another easily-accessible USB port. And some models have wireless charging as well. There is obviously the typical Bluetooth streaming as well. This is on an entry-level (but still pretty decent) sports sedan, not a $60,000 luxury truck.

Oblivious Design
Why not at least two ports in the front and two in the armrest? Does BMW not think it is cumbersome for a passenger to have to wrestle with the cup holder to plug in? If I want to have a flash drive plugged into one of the ports, that now means I have one USB plug left. Which means if I have a passenger and we're both charging, one of us is using the cigarette lighter for power.

Totally Outclassed
Didn't the F15 X5s have two USB ports under the armrest? Why go backwards up front, but be forward-thinking with USB Type-C on the back of the seats for rear passengers? Not a 100% apples-to-apples comparison, but you can get a Yukon Denali with seven(!!!) USB ports, a 110-volt power outlet (normal wall plug), a wireless charging point, and five 12-volt ports (cigarette lighter). That wealth of options is almost comical. The Yukon Denali is a $70,000 truck. Our X5s aren't far off.

Missed Opportunity
Don't get me started on no Android Auto. Not going to support by far the most popular cell phone platform? OK. Bet that goes over REAL WELL in the Asian markets. My freaking Nissan Sentra rental had Android Auto in addition to carplay, and it worked perfectly. I would love to see it on that big beautiful screen we got, but no dice I guess.

Work With What We Have
I ordered these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HFQQ71F
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016W4M5BE

The first is what I believe is the smallest USB 2.0 MicroSD card reader, and the second is what I believe is the smallest USB 3.0 MicroSD card reader. Both seem to work just fine so far on my PC accommodating my 200GB MicroSD card (roughly half full).

My initial thought was plugging it in to the Type A port with the cup holders. This would be nice since these card readers sit pretty close to flush with the port, especially the USB 2.0 one, and there is little risk of the USB card reader or (much, much worse) the port being damaged. But that means no one can charge with their "normal" Type A USB cables (no one I know has a Type C to Type C cable, even me who has had Type C Android phones for a few years now; forget anyone having a Type C to apple lightning cable).

The other option is the Type C port in the armrest. There are no low-profile Type C flash drives or MicroSD card readers that I can find. I'm worried about reaching in there fumbling around for something while driving and damaging the drive or (much, much worse) damaging the port. Someone cleverly mentioned a Type C dongle, letting it hang, and attaching a flash drive. Very smart! I think I will take it a bit further and use a 90-degree angle adapter to hopefully make the connection as "low-profile" as possible. Maybe something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/URWOOW-Adapte...dp/B07JK1G6W2/

In conjunction with the shortest Type-C to Type-A dongle I can find:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZWN64RS/

Alternatively, I may just get one of these super-shallow cheapo Type C to female type A and plug in a slim MicroSD card USB adapter.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-C-Male-.../382965019965?

Whatever
Long post, I know. But this situation is silly. BMW should not have put us in this position. Simply adding one more USB port in the front would alleviate a lot of potential problems.
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      11-01-2019, 12:28 PM   #33
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Well, these are available, so there's that....

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      11-01-2019, 01:18 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paladin1 View Post
Well, these are available, so there's that....


And I bet there are some "knockoff" ones out there as well. That's besides the point anyway. Competitors have somehow figured out how to put more than four (4) total USB ports in their large vehicles.
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      12-28-2019, 10:33 AM   #35
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Does anyone know if the storage capacity is the same on the X7? I have attempted to load 30gb worth of music onto it and import stops at about 35% complete with the error message of "insufficient storage". Nothing was stored on it before this and I do not see a way to clear the data to redo the process.
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      12-28-2019, 10:49 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post
Does anyone know if the storage capacity is the same on the X7? I have attempted to load 30gb worth of music onto it and import stops at about 35% complete with the error message of "insufficient storage". Nothing was stored on it before this and I do not see a way to clear the data to redo the process.
It is probably the same where only 20GB is available for user storage. Once an imported song is playing, hit the Option button and then choose Manage Music Collection and you will have options for deleting.
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      12-28-2019, 01:38 PM   #37
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Thanks for the assist on this one. I went into the options folder cleared everything. It shows 100% available and 32gb but when pulling data off the thumb drive it stops at about 65% now. It appears your theory is plausible and we're only getting the 20gb of the full 32gb. Curious what else is on there since about 35% is not available and a 12gb partition would be quite large especially since there wouldn't be much reason for it.
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      01-25-2021, 10:14 AM   #38
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What's the largest USB drive that anyone has gotten to work, playing audio files? Hopefully something 512GB minimum, 1TB even better. Very large media library.
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      01-25-2021, 10:48 AM   #39
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What's the largest USB drive that anyone has gotten to work, playing audio files? Hopefully something 512GB minimum, 1TB even better. Very large media library.
I think 256 is what has been mentioned.
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      01-25-2021, 01:54 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Blue View Post
What's the largest USB drive that anyone has gotten to work, playing audio files? Hopefully something 512GB minimum, 1TB even better. Very large media library.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleBoy View Post
I think 256 is what has been mentioned.
I am using 1 TB SSD USC C drive for videos and music, connected to the USB C port inside the centre armrest. Some info below:
  • SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB Solid State Drive, Model SDSSDE60-1T00.
  • Formated as exFAT.
  • Audio playable formats: MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA, FLAC.
  • Video playable formats: MP4, M4V, WMV, XVID, H.264
  • USB C port is located in the center armrest provides 3A max.
  • USB A port is located in the center console provides 1.5A max.
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      01-25-2021, 03:39 PM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartSaves View Post
I am using 1 TB SSD USC C drive for videos and music, connected to the USB C port inside the centre armrest. Some info below:
  • SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB Solid State Drive, Model SDSSDE60-1T00.
  • Formated as exFAT.
  • Audio playable formats: MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA, FLAC.
  • Video playable formats: MP4, M4V, WMV, XVID, H.264
  • USB C port is located in the center armrest provides 3A max.
  • USB A port is located in the center console provides 1.5A max.
Excellent. Perhaps they increased the max when they got rid of the hard drive.
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      01-25-2021, 06:51 PM   #42
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I looked around to try and find the threads where the USB size was discussed and only found one from a member saying their 256GB works fine but they can't get 1TB to work so that may have been.

I did find this in the infotainment manual saying there is a limit to the number of tracks that can be on the USB.
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      01-26-2021, 12:02 AM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartSaves View Post
I am using 1 TB SSD USC C drive for videos and music, connected to the USB C port inside the centre armrest. Some info below:
  • SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB Solid State Drive, Model SDSSDE60-1T00.
  • Formated as exFAT.
  • Audio playable formats: MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA, FLAC.
  • Video playable formats: MP4, M4V, WMV, XVID, H.264
  • USB C port is located in the center armrest provides 3A max.
  • USB A port is located in the center console provides 1.5A max.
I bought a 1TB USB "thumb drive" from Amazon and used that, both to play and to store into the hard drive (I have a 2020, G06...).

Make sure you format the drive to ExFAT. (I think that if you use FAT32 for a larger thumb drive, you'll have problems. (I did. It was extremely slow to load and then the G06 didn't recognize it.) I switched to ExFAT and it recognized it rather quickly and storage from my Mac was LOTS faster.)
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      01-26-2021, 09:56 AM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartSaves View Post
I am using 1 TB SSD USC C drive for videos and music, connected to the USB C port inside the centre armrest. Some info below:
  • SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB Solid State Drive, Model SDSSDE60-1T00.
  • Formated as exFAT.
  • Audio playable formats: MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B, AAC, WMA, FLAC.
  • Video playable formats: MP4, M4V, WMV, XVID, H.264
  • USB C port is located in the center armrest provides 3A max.
  • USB A port is located in the center console provides 1.5A max.
Absolutely outstanding, thank you. So very helpful. I actually see two SanDisk models with that model number on Amazon. One ending in -G25, the other in -A25. Any idea which one you have? I'd hate to buy the faster A25 and not have it work for some reason.

https://smile.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ext...1676133&sr=8-1
https://smile.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ext...52&sr=8-5&th=1

Looks like your picture lines up with the slightly older G25. Maybe I'll get that, just to make sure it works with the G05/G07.

My high-res lossless audio files are in AIFF, so those may not play, but no worries. I'm going for high quality audio with the B&W audio, but it's not like I'll be doing fine critical listening sessions. That's what the home system is for.
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