Increasingly, the auto market is including USB ports in their front panel consoles for the benefit and convenience of consumers. Not only is this good news for those who want to charge via USB (without a clunky adapter), it’s great on the music front too. Drivers who pass through areas without internet or reliable radio access or clarity can continue to enjoy their audio using podcasts and music that can be stored on a flash drive and played directly from your car stereo. You don’t need to rely on streaming or wear down your phone’s battery to play your stored music.
However, if your car is older or a lower base model, you might not have built-in USB ports available. You can still enjoy music from a flash drive, however. All you need is a wireless FM transmitter with a USB port and a car with an available power charging port (such as a cigarette lighter).
Here are instructions for how to play songs from a USB drive in your car if you don’t have a USB port:
- Connect the FM transmitter to the car via available port, such as a cigarette lighter or generic power charging port
- Plug the flash drive loaded with music into the transmitter’s USB port.
- Turn on transmitter and set to any FM station.
- The flash drive should begin playing nearly instantly
This kind of music set up will run you about $20 for the FM transmitter. Some can transmit through MP3 players and SD cards as well. You may even be able to find a transmitter that is bundled with a remote for convenience’s sake.