[BarefootDonna]

I am thrilled to load all of my music from iTunes on a USB drive to use in the car. Big thing for technically-challenged me.....but I have a question....

Do I need to remove the USB from the slot when I park the car (turn off the engine)?

 

[greaseman85]

No you can leave it in.

 

[BarefootDonna]

Thanks -- someone told me that leaving a USB plugged in was not a good idea -- I couldn't see a big deal.

 

[greaseman85]

They probably meant as in leaving it plugged in makes it easier to be accidentally hit and damaged, other than that there's no reason why you wouldn't keep a USB drive plugged in to anything. You can avoid accidental damage by getting one of those tiny USB drives like this:
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-Low-Profile-Flash-SDCZ43-032G-G46/dp/B00LLER2CS/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455114216&sr=1-7&keywords=usb+drive

 

[VANDAL]

If anything constant plug-and-pull in the usb port would cause greater wear & tear over time? lol

 

[rodzilla47]

I'm using a 128 GB USB flash drive loaded with music. It takes a long time after starting the car before music starts playing. I haven't timed it but it's about 1 to 2 minutes. I play it in shuffle mode and usually it will start playing at the same point that I shut it off. Occasionally though, it will start playing the first song in alphabetical order and the shuffle mode icon won't be highlighted on the display anymore. Has this happened to anybody else?

 

[anchorman]

Yes, my phone usually starts playing where it left off but every now and again it starts at A1. I've got no doubt that's why Ed Sheeran named his album. The trouble is it wears thin eventually and he will get binned off anchormans music list if he's not careful.

What causes it will have to be explained by one of our many gadget boffins. I only mend things that have a physical presence and just treat tiny devices that store thousands of tracks and no moving parts as witchcraft. I just accept it happens like a colour TV. If I had to invent an entertainment system it would be a massive Wurlitzer juke box type thing but with compasses and weathervanes stuck in the middle of your dash but at least you could see it move.

Sorry for the long reply!

 

[Geezer]

They probably meant as in leaving it plugged in makes it easier to be accidentally hit and damaged, other than that there's no reason why you wouldn't keep a USB drive plugged in to anything. You can avoid accidental damage by getting one of those tiny USB drives like this:
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-Low-Profile-Flash-SDCZ43-032G-G46/dp/B00LLER2CS/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455114216&sr=1-7&keywords=usb+drive

Take a look at all the stubby little USB flash drives that are for sale in Amazon. One of these would be really practical and can be left plugged in permanently with no problems. I especially like them for the CX3 because if anything should accidentally fall on them, they will not break off like the longer flash sticks might. I particularly like the look of the Samsung versions.

 

[Helisak]

guys have noticed the loss of sound quality when it comes from a bluetooth source , well, today was testing and decided to put some music from a USB , it exploded my head , really the bose sound is lost from bluetooth, get a try

 

[BarefootDonna]

I had my music start from the beginning of everything once. Usually it is from where it left off. I timed it a few times and it takes less than one minute to start. The little "I agree to not get distracted" screen pops up and it takes a few seconds for that to go away before the music plays.

The sound is best from the USB or a CD than anything else. I am going to get a new flash drive for the car - I am using one of the MANY I have around here (being a photographer.....I have a boat load of flash drives) But I want one of the very small ones. I have a couple small ones now -- but they don't have enough space on them for the complete music library.

 

[santa]

I use one of these in 16GB (I'm thinking on getting a 32 or 64GB one) size:
http://www.sandisk.com/home/usb-flash/cruzer-fit
Nice and small

 

[jtonline]

Me too, santa. Being low profile means it's hardly noticeable in USB1 slot. I copied my Apple iTunes library to it so I don't have to plug my iPhone in every time I get in the car.

 

[DJ9999]

Yep, using that same USB. Blends in nicely as shown above.

Side note: Love that Mazda gave us 2 USB slots. Super handy (thank you, Mazda!)

 

[gelucho]

Same here!

 

[funambulistic]

guys have noticed the loss of sound quality when it comes from a bluetooth source , well, today was testing and decided to put some music from a USB , it exploded my head , really the bose sound is lost from bluetooth, get a try

Bluetooth has pretty bad sound quality across the board unless it is utilizing newer "audiophile" protocols (which Mazda is not). Even though my CX-3 has Pandora, Stitcher, Aha (all over bluetooth, of course) and a bluetooth audio function, I rarely use them because they do not sound very good. I even stay away from Sirius/XM for the same reason (though the Classic Vinyl and Symphony Hall do sound surprisingly good). Usually, I listen to HD radio or music on a USB drive (or - gasp - an actual CD). I have some FLAC files on my phone and, directly connected via usb, they sound rather nice as well. then again, engine and road noise nullify any real differences in sound quality...

Speaking of HD radio, has anyone noticed that the signal range is not very good and/or there are a lot of drop-outs (HD radio is either on or off, no fading in and out like regular AM/FM)? My last Mazda had the satellite antenna and the "whip" (as opposed to the just the "shark fin") and the reception was much better.

 

[andbern]

Just purchased a Sandisk ultrafit 64Gb USB stick but it doesn't seem to working, the car isn't even acknowledging that I've inserted it. Tried another 64Gb USB stick I had and same problem. They're both USB 3.0, could it be that the car only works with USB 2.0 flash drives?

 

[DanyC]

Please check formatting, it should be FAT32 in order to work:

Just purchased a Sandisk ultrafit 64Gb USB stick but it doesn't seem to working, the car isn't even acknowledging that I've inserted it. Tried another 64Gb USB stick I had and same problem. They're both USB 3.0, could it be that the car only works with USB 2.0 flash drives?

 

[andbern]

are you using a USB 3.0 flashdrive without any issues ?

 

[DanyC]

Yes, I have the 16 GB version of SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 Flash Drive / https://www.sandisk.com/home/usb-flash/ultra-fit-usb

are you using a USB 3.0 flashdrive without any issues ?

 

[andbern]

That's interesting, I had initially formatted the flash drive to NTFS for increased file transfer size, but then I formatted it back to FAT32 after it wasn't working... Will try reformat again and see if that works.
Thanks!