All the ways to listen to mobile music in the car

Whether it is for a long trip or simply when it comes to traveling a few kilometers with the car, you start listening to the music that plays on the radio. However, there comes a point where no station convinces you, but luckily today we have different ways of connecting a mobile phone to a vehicle in order to listen to our favorite songs.

Technology has advanced so far that it makes it easier for us than ever. If a few years ago it was almost unthinkable to achieve this, having to resort to CDs or the classic cassettes, now it is possible to listen to music in the car from any smartphone . Of course, it will also depend on our car, so we will give you different methods so that you can find the one that best suits your vehicle.

listen to mobile music in the car

By jack

One of the most basic options that we can use to play any song in the car from the phone will be through a double output jack cable. One will have to be connected to the vehicle while the jack output will be connected to the mobile phone.

Automatically, we will start listening to the music that we have put on the smartphone playing through the car audio equipment. In addition, this is the first alternative that we bring you because these cables are the cheapest option that we will find at any time, since they usually have a price of less than ten euros and, best of all, they take up little space, for so we can save them anywhere.

altavoces estéreo minijack móvil

However, we will have to make sure that the terminal we use has a 3.5 mm jack port, in addition to the fact that the radio or the vehicle has an input socket for this cable.

And we must bear in mind that there are current smartphones that do not have a headphone port, so in that case you should use a USB-C cable to a jack port that you can always leave connected and that will also cost you between eight or eight. nine euros.

We will not have to configure anything on the phone either. Just plug the cable at both ends, the car and the phone, and generally it will automatically start playing the song you want in the app you use in your day to day. However, if it is not automatic, you will have to look for the Auxiliary option on your car radio.

Via Bluetooth

If you are one of those who want to avoid using any type of cable between the music player and the sound system of your vehicle, we will always have the alternative of opting for Bluetooth systems to interconnect both devices. For this reason, we show you some of the simplest options, as well as economic ones.

Bluetooth coche

Radio

This could be more complex since not all cars have this option, although it is the most complete method. Basically because we will need the vehicle to have this technology incorporated into its radio. It will also be the fastest, since we only need to pair both devices.

To do this, we will have to go to the terminal settings> Bluetooth and search for the vehicle’s device with Bluetooth . If it asks for a code, usually it will be 0000 (four zeros), but if it doesn’t work, try 1234 as well. If it still doesn’t work for you, you should refer to the instruction manual of your car radio in case you have a specific key.

Bluetooth receiver

If for your luck the sound system of your car has an auxiliary input, we can use a Bluetooth jack receiver. In addition, the operation is similar to any Bluetooth audio system. In this case we will connect the jack output to the auxiliary input of the car and we will search for the device on our mobile phone.

Receptor Bluetooth jack coche

When we are able to pair both devices we can start using a phone to play music in the car . There are currently different models on the market, but if we want to have a higher sound quality or even a more stable connection, we recommend that you have Bluetooth 5.0 technology.

The negative side is that it must always be connected for it to work, although we can disconnect it without problems if we want to save it or we are not going to use it, since the configuration should be saved like any other device.

Bluetooth FM transmitter

In the event that we do not want to change the radio in our vehicle and neither do any type of installation on it , we also have the alternative of using a Bluetooth FM transmitter.

Transmisor FM bluetooth coche

These types of accessories are connected to the car cigarette lighter so that they can receive power, then we can pair it with the mobile phone via Bluetooth. Once we have it connected, we will have to choose a blank station (from 87.5-108.0 MHz) of the FM band in the adapter, that is, in which no radio station is heard. Next, in the radio of our vehicle we will tune the same one that we had selected. In this way we can start listening to the songs we want.

CarPlay and Android Auto

Our vehicle may already have a modern system compatible with CarPlay or Android Auto , so it will be even easier to configure it to listen to music. In addition, we will show you two options: via cable and wirelessly (in case you still prefer to put aside any type of cable that interferes with you).

Via cable

In the case of Android mobiles we will need to connect one end of the USB to the car’s own port and the other end to our Android phone. In addition, we will need to know if our vehicle is compatible or not with Android Auto. Afterwards, you may ask us to install your app on your phone:

After this, we will only have to follow the instructions that will appear on the screen to complete its configuration. In addition, the phone’s Bluetooth connection is automatically activated when Android Auto is connected to the car via a USB cable. Finally, we must access this software tool in our car. And, from that moment on, we will be able to play the music we have on our mobile.

Apps música Android Auto

But, if in your case you have an iPhone, you must use CarPlay, a software that is integrated into Apple phones since iOS 13 . To do this, we must use our Lightning cable to connect our phone to the car. From there, a notification will appear on the smartphone to configure this option.

Wirelessly

For this, we will have to check that our car has the Wireless function compatible with both Android Auto or CarPlay . In the case of the Google operating system, if it is the first time that we connect the mobile to the car, we will have to link them by Bluetooth. Afterwards, we will pair both with a USB cable. After this, access the Android Auto app> Settings> scroll to the option wirelessly. Then, authorize the connection on your vehicle’s screen. A few seconds later, since the wireless connection is configured.

In a vehicle compatible with wireless CarPlay, we will have to perform another series of steps. Of course, we must also consult detailed instructions in the vehicle manual. If your car has a voice command button on the wheel, press and hold it. If not, make sure it has Bluetooth turned on. Then go to your iPhone settings> General> CarPlay> Available cars and select yours.