Trying to get my Android phone to play Qobuz and Tidal through my vehicle stereo system...

[bluegrassphile]

...I have a 2018 GMC 2500 Denali with the usual GM/Bose premium sound system, phone, and navigation systems. I also have a Samsung 9+ cell phone with Qobuz and Tidal downloaded.

Do I need to download an app to play streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal from my phone to my vehicle? Or can you plug your phone into a USB port and play it directly through the vehicle sound system? I have 3 or 4 USB ports in the truck and I have both Qobuz and Tidal downloaded to my phone. I tried the Android Mobile app and it downloads and operates just fine except I can't get the phone to play over my truck's sound system. Not sure what I'm doing wrong? Any suggestions?

[tino27]

I haven't looked at new cars so it may be different now, but my 2013 KIA has a USB Port and it's only for powering/charging devices, not data transmission. However, the car does support Bluetooth connectivity, so I play music from my phone to my car that way. I have the actual Qobuz app installed on my phone, but that only gives me access to my Qobuz content. USB Audio Player Pro allows me to play any music stored on my phone (or micro-SD card), Qobuz, Tidal (which I haven't tried), and Internet media streams. Just be aware that USB Audio Player Pro doesn't let you set the download bandwidth depending on whether you are connected to wireless or cellular service separately (which I discovered after eating up 1 GB of my data plan while streaming a hi-res version of Yello's Toy album). The Qobuz app lets you set different bandwidths depending on your network connection type.

[bluegrassphile]

I haven't looked at new cars so it may be different now, but my 2013 KIA has a USB Port and it's only for powering/charging devices, not data transmission. However, the car does support Bluetooth connectivity, so I play music from my phone to my car that way. I have the actual Qobuz app installed on my phone, but that only gives me access to my Qobuz content. USB Audio Player Pro allows me to play any music stored on my phone (or micro-SD card), Qobuz, Tidal (which I haven't tried), and Internet media streams. Just be aware that USB Audio Player Pro doesn't let you set the download bandwidth depending on whether you are connected to wireless or cellular service separately (which I discovered after eating up 1 GB of my data plan while streaming a hi-res version of Yello's Toy album). The Qobuz app lets you set different bandwidths depending on your network connection type.

I downloaded USB Player Pro. How do I get it to stream/play Qobuz in my vehicle?

[tino27]

I'm working off the Android version, but there is a little button on the upper left corner of the app (on my phone it looks like 3 horizontal lines) that brings up a menu where you can choose Library, Folders, Networks, etc. About halfway down the list is Qobuz and Tidal. I selected Qobuz and it allowed me to log in to my Qobuz account. Once I did that, selecting Qobuz from that menu took me to the Qobuz specific menu where I could select between Discover, Playlists, Favourites, and Purchases.

[bluegrassphile]

Can't find the "button" anywhere. What page is it on? The browser/home page? The first page of the USB Audio Pro app?

[tino27]

If you are inside the USB Audio Pro app, it should be the area that is at the top left corner of the screen (assuming it's running on Android). I don't know where it is (or even what it looks like) on an iPhone. And I use the word "button" only in the sense that it is an area of the app that is sensitive to touch (meaning, it's triggers something to happen ... in this case, showing the menu of different music sources available).

[bluegrassphile]

I did download the Android Auto app and I have it playing Qobuz on the app itself but there is no sound from the truck sound system. I just need to get the app to play over the truck sound system.

[bluegrassphile]

I was able to get things working with Android Auto. Not sure how I did it. I did have to unplug the USB cable and plug it back in to get the truck system to recognize the app. Oh well, at least it works. I've only tried it with Qobuz so far. But it should work just as well with Tidal. Much better sound quality vs Sirius/XM.

[bluegrassphile]

Thanks for your help, tino27.

[Nikhil]

Android Auto is the way to go - integrates seamlessly.
You do need to connect your phone to the primary USB port.

But even if you don't use Android Auto you should be able to connect over Bluetooth to your truck system.
Once connected, it really doesn't matter which audio service you use. They all should work including Youtube.

Regards



.

[bluegrassphile]

Android Auto is the way to go - integrates seamlessly.
You do need to connect your phone to the primary USB port.

But even if you don't use Android Auto you should be able to connect over Bluetooth to your truck system.
Once connected, it really doesn't matter which audio service you use. They all should work including Youtube.

Regards



.

Nikhil, you're absolutely correct. I now have everything working through both Android Auto and USB Audio Pro. Only issue is I had to pay $8.00 for the USB Audio Pro and all I really needed was the free Android Auto or BT. Oh well...live and learn.