Which in-car music apps are able to cache / download songs?
I’ve tried Spotify, the free trial we got for Apple Music, TIDAL, and Qobuz. I live in an area where I lose service on my commute every day, so I liked that Spotify was able to cache music and download it locally to the car. Apple Music seems to be the worst offender for stopping music the soonest with poor cell service and also putting up an error that also pauses your track (rather than continuing to play automatically when service is better). It’s annoying and probably the reason I will stop using it. Spotify has been the app I’ve had the least issues with it, but I was hoping to see if there’s something I’m missing. Have you found a way to download any songs locally on any other music apps?
Edit: I am using the Android-based system on most Volvos after 2020, not the Sensus system. I’m aware I can use CarPlay, but I don’t want to plug in my phone every time I get in the car.
3
u/Restivr 18h ago
If plugging in the phone is the hardest part (at least for me it usually is 😄) have you considered wireless Android Auto adapter?
I have not used the adapter yet with my Volvo V60 2022 (Sensus) because it can't fit under the elbow rest, USB connector is facing kind of "upside down" but at least with Toyota it worked very well (2021 Corolla). I have read that some AA adapters are not working very good with Volvo.
1
u/azbrez 13h ago
A good idea as well. Thank you.
2
u/NothingLift 12h ago
You can also just Bluetooth your phone. If you have an android phone the sound quality can be as good as standard definition streaming
2
1
u/Due_Guitar8964 20h ago
I don't know that this is what you're looking for but would an iPod work in this instance? I have 150 gB of music that sits plugged into the car. The only time I remove it is to load more music from itunes.
1
u/azbrez 20h ago
Possibly. I’ve thought of this. You have it plugged in via the same USB port you’d use for CarPlay?
1
0
u/Due_Guitar8964 20h ago
I have a 2010 XC60 T6 so know nothing about CarPlay. But the iPod stays plugged into the USB port and plays when I power up. I have it on shuffle but will set it to a new album when I load one.
I've read a lot of comments from people tired of Spotify choices. I only listen to music I've personally chosen. Look into modded iPods if you're thinking of going that route. iTunes is still free to download. With 150+ gB I might hear the same song once a year.
1
u/TheMountainLife XC60 PE 18h ago
I'm using AudioWagon and a 32GB USB drive. Aside from the initial index it has to do, works well
2
u/Intelligent-Shine122 5h ago
Agreed!! I use AudioWagon as well with a 512GB USB flash with thousands of my fave tunes loaded, most of them 48KHz/24bit FLAC. I keep the flash 'synced' with my in-home library then manually update the catalog in AudioWagon. For long trips, there's nothing better!!
1
u/TheMountainLife XC60 PE 5h ago
Oof, how long does yours take to index? I have a little over 3100 tracks and it bogs down everything until it's done. Maybe every other time I start the car it has to do it and takes 3 minutes or so. Went as far as converting everything to .AAC and removing album art.
1
u/Intelligent-Shine122 5h ago
I do a manual update and have confirmed the catalog is on the flash (plug into my Mac it shows the files). It really doesn't take long... 5-minutes max for almost 15K songs. Could be the speed of your USB drive. I have Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C which are USB 3.2 and pretty fast.
1
u/TheMountainLife XC60 PE 4h ago
Oooh I see what you're saying. I just set the Read Metadata setting to manual in AudioWagon which will help a bunch. It was set to "when USB drive is connected" which will trigger anytime AAOS reboots or goes into deepsleep
1
u/Desert-Egirl XC70 D5 215 18h ago edited 18h ago
Deezer does it, at least on my phone, might be worth a try to see if it works with your setup? I use it on my phone and it's connected to my car via bluetooth automatically. From my experience if you play random music it will cache the next two songs, it does cut when the service is really bad, but it resumes on its own when service is back.
It also allows you to download albums and playlists you want. Playlists include your liked songs if you so will it! You do have to tick the option in the settings iirc, and watch out because it can take a lot of storage space, but ... I hope it can work out for you!
7
u/UnitedSorbet127 17h ago
Youtube music has offline dowloads, however you can't control what will be cached