# iPod switching to FM radio problem



## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

Hello all,

I have a 2011 Chevy Cruze. I am having a problem where I will plug in my iPod classic and then the car will switch to the FM radio. Sometimes I can get through a whole song and then it will change to the FM radio and other times it will change once the car recognizes it. When it is working, the iPod will display the gray screen with the orange circle saying "okay to disconnect". Once the car goes back to FM radio, the iPod displays the regular screen with the options (cover flow, playlist, etc). This happened at a number of different times. A couple times it has happened when there are 4 seconds left in a track. A couple times it happens when I go to switch songs. Other times it seems to happen at random. One time it has happened when I turned random on in the dash controls. Once it turns to FM radio I can not get it back on iPod without disconnecting and reconnecting the iPod to the USB cable. Also I know that the iPod is connected because the little green battery icon on the iPod has the lightning bolt in it meaning that it is currently charging, yet the car won't play it and instead keeps going to FM radio.

This problem started about 2 weeks ago. Two days ago, my battery died. Today, I just got my car back from the dealer after they replaced the battery. I told them about this iPod problem and on the service receipt they wrote that it was likely due to the battery dying. However, I continue to have this problem.

This is a very frustrating issue for me. Having a USB port in my car so I could listen to my iPod was a deal breaker when I was searching for a car to buy. If someone could please help me I would be forever greatful. 

I have searched the forums and only saw one other guy who had this problem. It was post #8 in this thread: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/36-audio-electronics/12675-radio-automatically-switching-inputs.html He didn't seem too bothered by it and the Chevy Customer Care person (in post #9) recomended that the car be taken to the dealer, which I have already done.

Please help me!

Thanks!


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## McNeo (Dec 17, 2013)

Haven't heard of this exact issue myself, definitely interesting.

Do you have the base radio or MyLink radio?

When you say the iPod switches back to the normal screen, that tells me the iPod thinks it's no longer plugged into something. Do you have a different cable you could try?

Also, do you (or a friend/family) have a smartphone you can try via the USB?

If you experience the same issue with a phone, I'd say there may be an issue with the USB port in your car.

If the phone works fine, then there may be an issue with your iPod cable.

If you get the same result with a different iPod cable, and the two lines above tested fine, then I'd say it may be an issue with the iPod.


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

McNeo said:


> Haven't heard of this exact issue myself, definitely interesting.
> 
> Do you have the base radio or MyLink radio?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the response!

I have the base radio. I don't know what the Mylink radio is.

I thought the same thing that the iPod no longer thinks it is connected, but the lightning bolt in the battery suggests that iPod knows it is plugged in to something that is charging it at least. I've tried two different cables so far. I used an actually Apple USB cable for prolly 2 years without any issue. Then I got a generic USB cable and used it without issue untill this problem started. I got a new generic USB cable and began using it for the last week and am still having the problem.

I would definately like to try a different iPod or phone. I only have this iPod though. I'll have to ask around and see if someone at my work or a family member can let me use their device to try it. The only other thing I have that I could try is a USB flash drive.

I decided tonight to do a complete "restore to factory settings" on my iPod. It is currently resynching all my music. Then I'm going to go try it and hope that will fix it.


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

Well, the complete iPod "restore to factory settings" seems to have fixed the issue. I took the car for a little drive once all my music got resynched on the iPod and it hooked in to the car without issue. I listened to a few songs all the way through and it never went to FM radio and disconnected. I tried putting it on random and skipping tracks and all that and it worked flawlessly just as it always did up until a couple weeks ago.

I'm not sure what the deal was. My best guess is that, even though I add music to my iPod all the time, when I added some stuff a couple weeks ago it did something to the iPod that was confusing my car. Weird.

Soooo glad it seems to be working again.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

A restore tends to force a OS update. Could have been a bug fixed by an upgraded OS. How old is your iPod Classic? If it's a few years, it could simply be the connection on the ipod itself or a bad usb port in the car. If it happens again I would start suspecting one of these two issues. I know others have had issues with the USB port itself and have had it replaced under warranty.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

simpjkee said:


> Well, the complete iPod "restore to factory settings" seems to have fixed the issue. I took the car for a little drive once all my music got resynched on the iPod and it hooked in to the car without issue. I listened to a few songs all the way through and it never went to FM radio and disconnected. I tried putting it on random and skipping tracks and all that and it worked flawlessly just as it always did up until a couple weeks ago.
> 
> I'm not sure what the deal was. My best guess is that, even though I add music to my iPod all the time, when I added some stuff a couple weeks ago it did something to the iPod that was confusing my car. Weird.
> 
> Soooo glad it seems to be working again.


Hey there,

We are happy to hear that everything seems to be working fine with your USB and you're continuing to enjoy your music. Please feel free to let us know if you have any more questions or concerns!

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

I'm not even sure how old it is. I would guess that I got in 2008 or 2009 so it's getting up there. I thought that there might be dust or pocket lint in the connector on the iPod since I carry it in my pocket a lot and the connecter is exposed. I thought about getting compressed air to try and clean it out a little. I definitely didn't see anything in it that looked like it could be causing a connecting problem.


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

I spoke too soon. It worked okay last night. Today it is back to having all the same problems I was having before. Today I even noticed that when I switched to random song on the dash and then hit "play all", the radio switched to FM. I unplugged the ipod and plugged it back in. a song started playing, but I could not skip to next song or last song. I could pause it, but skip song did not work on the dash nor on my steering wheel.

I am very frustrated


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

Chevy Customer Care said:


> Hey there,
> 
> We are happy to hear that everything seems to be working fine with your USB and you're continuing to enjoy your music. Please feel free to let us know if you have any more questions or concerns!
> 
> ...


I am continuing to have the same problem and now I am having an additional issue of the control on dash and steering wheel that skip songs are unresponsive.

Please help me! I am very frustrated at this.


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## simpjkee (Jun 11, 2014)

I've tested two additional iPods. I've switched back and forth between these two and mine and they seem to all work fine. These are quick tests however. I just started my car, hooked them in for a bit, messed with the controls, and then switched to a different one. It seems it may take a little bit of time before the radio starts switching to FM. I'm going to try it tonight with GF's iPod and see how hers works over a longer drive.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Car still under warranty? If so, message the Chevy Reps on here and take it in!!


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## wowsheeka (Nov 22, 2013)

I have an iPod classic (160gb) and like to listen to it in my 2011 Cruze--I have experienced the same issues. I noticed the problem became extreme when I added a lot of audiobooks to my playlists--I think I read somewhere that there is a memory limitation in the Cruze's infotainment system that can cause indexing issues. I redid my playlists and removed a lot of the audiobooks. I also erased the iPod and re-synced it in iTunes. This seemed to stop the lengthy indexing, only to jump back to FM and say "device not supported" issue (I think it's kind of like a defrag of the iPod's hard drive). Also, the connectors inside the center console seem to be easily contaminated with dust and debris, cleaning it out now and then helps; another suggestion--try switching your cable--for some reason, a cable can work perfectly fine in the house, yet have issues in the car. On connecting your iPod, don't touch the radio controls while you see "indexing"--trying to search while it is indexing seems to confuse and crash the whole system. Hope this helps.


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