# Why does my USB quality suck?!



## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I have an iPhone 4 16GB with about 600 songs on it that I just keep in the car for music since I upgraded and that phone just sits and collects dust, but anyways I have a weird problem with music quality.. Every song I play has a crackling noise or "pop" that happens at random times. It's so irritating and I really love music!! The quality of the music should be pretty good considering that I buy all my songs from iTunes opposed to downloading them. Is there a way to fix this issue on my own? Removing the USB, restarting the phone and even turning off the car to restart the radio doesn't seem to do anything! The noise is driving me insane!!!!! Sometimes it's so bad that I end up listening to FM radio instead. Even the auxiliary quality is better than the USB, but I like being able to change the songs from the steering wheel controls.. The playlists get messed up too! When I scroll through my playlists looking for music, it's there on the radio screen but if I choose it another song starts playing. If I go to my iPhone and scroll through playlists, the song isn't even on that playlist! The car scrambles my playlists and the only way to resolve this is to restart the iPhone. Which is a hassle especially when driving. So far I'm not impressed with the quality and I'm not sure what to do. Can anyone shed some light on this weird issue I'm having? Oh and I have a '12 Cruze LS with the base radio.


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## chevycruze2012 (Nov 13, 2012)

You have a shitty USB cable...

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## Nunez (May 17, 2014)

I have the same issue. What I noticed was that if you want the best quality you need to use an AUX cable. It may be more of a hassle for you but at least it sounds better. As to why it does this, it has to be the actual radio OR the USB input that the car has inside the center arm rest box thingi; it's most likely the manufacturers fault for choosing such a low quality input. I have the Cruz LT 2012.


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## MamaCruze (Apr 12, 2014)

my ipod has never given problems, i dont know!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Happens on occasion for me, with a genuine Apple cable.

Unplugging the cable and plugging it back in fixes it every time for me, though I still have no idea why it happens.

Playlists and stuff - the stock radio is incredibly slow about talking to the phone; think it just freaks out. Still have an iPhone 4 FWIW.


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

Well I have a '13, so my response probably won't be helpful, but I have a 32gig 4s and that's the only way I listen to music in the Cruze (I hate listening to the radio with a passion). 

I use an apple USB that is actually starting to fall apart, but I have never had an issue with the sound quality. My only issue is that sometimes I have to un-plug and then re-plug in order for the USB to even connect to the radio, and it loads forever (but could be because there's like 2000 songs on my iPhone, lol idk) It also forgets the last playlist it was on sometimes and will just start playing the first "A" song on my list, which gets annoying and sounds similar to some of the issues you're having with the playlists. Is your Cruze still under warranty at all? I would maybe talk to the dealer about it since you said re-setting the phone and turning off the car haven't fixed it....


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> I have an iPhone 4 16GB with about 600 songs on it that I just keep in the car for music since I upgraded and that phone just sits and collects dust, but anyways I have a weird problem with music quality.. Every song I play has a crackling noise or "pop" that happens at random times. It's so irritating and I really love music!! The quality of the music should be pretty good considering that I buy all my songs from iTunes opposed to downloading them. Is there a way to fix this issue on my own? Removing the USB, restarting the phone and even turning off the car to restart the radio doesn't seem to do anything! The noise is driving me insane!!!!! Sometimes it's so bad that I end up listening to FM radio instead. Even the auxiliary quality is better than the USB, but I like being able to change the songs from the steering wheel controls.. The playlists get messed up too! When I scroll through my playlists looking for music, it's there on the radio screen but if I choose it another song starts playing. If I go to my iPhone and scroll through playlists, the song isn't even on that playlist! The car scrambles my playlists and the only way to resolve this is to restart the iPhone. Which is a hassle especially when driving. So far I'm not impressed with the quality and I'm not sure what to do. Can anyone shed some light on this weird issue I'm having? Oh and I have a '12 Cruze LS with the base radio.





chevycruze2012 said:


> You have a shitty USB cable...
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Only it may not be the USB cable from your iPhone. The cable from the center glove box to the PDIM may not be secured at one end or the other. Take a look in my sig for the BlueTooth AUX music for instructions on how to check your PDIM's connection. Also, if you don't have Db/Db firmware replace the PDIM with the Bluetooth PDIM to get the current firmware. It's cheaper to go this route than have a dealer upgrade the firmware.


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

happens to my iPOD from time to time. The problem is the USB in these cars is not very high quality and the controller software has issue (at least in mine it does).


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies! I doubt it's a cable thing because I switched from a genuine apple cable to a store bought one and they both sound the same. I'm still under warranty, thank god.. But I'm afraid if I go to the dealer with this issue they're just gonna laugh and say that they don't see any problems with it. I was afraid that I would have to resort to the aux cable. Which is a hassle to change music when I'm driving! I believe I have the latest firmware, and I was thinking about switching the PDIM for the Bluetooth one but being unsure of the quality of the music always held me back. If the PDIM in the car was loose would I still have aux function at all? Because it works just fine right now..


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

To the OP: Have you tried loading some songs a good quality flash drive and plugging it directly into the USB port? This will eliminate any cable or iDevice issues. Don't use a cheap flash drive, as they've been pretty much proven to have issues with most car audios. I only use SanDisk Cruzer drives with no problems.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

IMO the Bluetooth AUX sound quality is just as good as the cabled USB in the Cruze and far better than the 3.5mm AUX jack. The one thing you lose with the Bluetooth is the ability to select play lists or see what's playing on the radio head unit. The steering wheel controls still work however.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

obermd said:


> IMO the Bluetooth AUX sound quality is just as good as the cabled USB in the Cruze and far better than the 3.5mm AUX jack. The one thing you lose with the Bluetooth is the ability to select play lists or see what's playing on the radio head unit. The steering wheel controls still work however.


I hope you mean it's better than the USB quality because mine sucks! haha. I just wanna make sure it's gonna be worth 89$ to buy the new PDIM..


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## EcoDave (Mar 7, 2013)

No problems with my 32GB stick. It's tiny and quick when transferring music from my PC.

$15
Silicon Power Touch 835 32GB Waterproof USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model SP032GBUF2835V1T - Newegg.com

I use DVDvideoSoft (free) for music and convert it from any format to Extreme High Quality 320kbps MP3


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> I hope you mean it's better than the USB quality because mine sucks! haha. I just wanna make sure it's gonna be worth 89$ to buy the new PDIM..


No - I couldn't tell the difference between the USB and Bluetooth. What I did notice was that I no longer get alternator feedback whine when my phone is plugged in for navigation. I also have an older Android (Gingerbread) phone so that may make a difference. Many members have discovered that when they upgraded their phones the newer devices don't work as well as the older ones.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

Never thought about using a USB stick. I should try that and see if the quality improves. Not really sure how playlists would work on those though..


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## EcoDave (Mar 7, 2013)

Create a simple Windows Media player Playlist.
Not sure how with your LS base version but with MyLink it's as easy as a one two touch on the screen.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Make sure you do a hard format (not the quick one) on that new flash drive before you load anything on it for the car. Most of them come with some sort of firmware for security or file access and it usually hoses the car audio. I'm a bit paranoid about the Chinese made drives so I also do a 3x or 7x drive wipe with CCleaner on them to make sure they are really without anything on them.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Jim Frye said:


> Make sure you do a hard format (not the quick one) on that new flash drive before you load anything on it for the car. Most of them come with some sort of firmware for security or file access and it usually hoses the car audio. I'm a bit paranoid about the Chinese made drives so I also do a 3x or 7x drive wipe with CCleaner on them to make sure they are really without anything on them.


I was going to say you must be military and then I looked at your tag on the left. Duh lol! But like me, you've been informed well about the chinese flash drives! In anycase, OP should take it in as it's under warranty and if they laugh you should go elsewhere. They're mechanics not comedians. Fix my car and get paid or don't. 

Also, contact the Chevy Rep on here and they'll call the dealership you're going into for repairs. Make use of that warranty!!!


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I tried an old iPod touch I had just lying around and the quality is much better! It's like night and day. No more that cracking sound at random times and my playlists don't get messed up anymore. Thank you everyone for all your help!! One more issue squashed and driving the Cruze is fun again. Really glad I didn't have to waste time at the dealer


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

chevycruze2012 said:


> You have a shitty USB cable...
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


That was one issue, going to Apple cord before it gets damaged fixed most those issues.



jblackburn said:


> Happens on occasion for me, with a genuine Apple cable.
> 
> Unplugging the cable and plugging it back in fixes it every time for me, though I still have no idea why it happens.
> 
> Playlists and stuff - the stock radio is incredibly slow about talking to the phone; think it just freaks out. Still have an iPhone 4 FWIW.


I guess it depends on that and the iOS. 1st version of iOS7 i was fine, each update took something from me. Last update took my ability to play vine,IG and youtube via usb cabe over the car speakers. When I get the battery for my 3gs I will see if it will work out or not. That thing is full of songs too.

To also skip another quote, close all them apps you have running in the background. If you have multiple apps open it indexes forever and a day.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

The older software works better IMHO.


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