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Infotainment

24K views 103 replies 32 participants last post by  jayck857 
#1 ·
My P8 was delivered to me two days ago and already I'm severely disappointed in the infotainment system. I think we need a new thread just for the new infotainment system. It's clearly not ready for prime time.

I'll start with this issue. All I want to do is listen to my mp3s and wma music files. I used a thumb drive in the USB port in my last car but despite reviews and the Volvo salesman assuring me it is possible to do that in the Volvo, it turns out it is not. After much research and querying different sources I called Volvo Consumer Support who told me at first that it was possible, but then later sent me this official email:

Thank you for contacting Volvo Car USA!

We have looked into your request for information on playing music via the USB port in your vehicle. Unfortunately at this time vehicle cannot play music via the USB port, the only ways to play music from an outside source is from a blue tooth connected phone.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Med vänliga hälsningar!

Yours Sincerely,
Briana
Volvo Consumer Relations Center
800.638.6586

I don't have my music files on my phone and don't always have my phone with me in the car. It's not even clear if it can play music from another bluetooth device like an iPod or mp3 player. The only streaming service I use (and don't even like all that much) is Pandora. I tried to install that, but the Play Store doesn't have it. This is a huge issue for me. any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
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#39 ·
When I get to the artist screen on media I have to scroll through all the artists by hand. Is there a way to jump to a letter? This is a pitiful ui for 2021 when we have thousands of artists. Also safety issue making us scroll and look …


I tried saying a letter. I chose m as was heading to Marillion. In reply the system said you rock. Nice but totally not helpful.


Help me control my big list please.
 
#40 ·
When I get to the artist screen on media I have to scroll through all the artists by hand. Is there a way to jump to a letter? This is a pitiful ui for 2021 when we have thousands of artists. Also safety issue making us scroll and look …


I tried saying a letter. I chose m as was heading to Marillion. In reply the system said you rock. Nice but totally not helpful.


Help me control my big list please.
Agree. I like that YouTube Music lets me stream my own MP3 files - but the UI experience is horrendous. With a large collection it will only be usable if I can figure out some way to use voice commands.
 
#41 ·
I suspect the lack of USB connectivity is a security feature to avoid viruses getting into the system. It's bad enough to get a virus on your PC, but imagine how catastophic/deadly it could be if one got into the car's operating system, especially since this thing is basically a giant PC on wheels?
 
#42 ·
I suspect the lack of USB connectivity is a security feature to avoid viruses getting into the system.
Possible, but I still think it more likely that Volvo simply hasn't released USB device drivers yet (which will be required for promised Apple CarPlay support, among other things). At this point, the USB ports are just dumb power outlets - no USB functions at all.
...but imagine how catastophic/deadly it could be if one got into the car's operating system, especially since this thing is basically a giant PC on wheels?
The car has multiple operating systems, isolated from each other. A USB-based attack would likely be limited to the Android Automotive OS platform - eg, your Infotainment system/apps and climate control. Everything that affects actual vehicle control or Dashboard display is run in a separate secure operating system, nothing to do with Google or Android.

Still, I'm sure Volvo is being extra paranoid about stuff like this - making sure there are no leaks or bugs in the USB drivers before releasing them.
 
#43 ·
I connected my Android phone to the left USB port (the one with circle around it) and the car recognized my phone and was looking to transfer files but there is not yet software to do this. The message was in the drop down you pull down from the top of the screen. Maybe future software will provide fuller function.
 
#48 ·
Update on the YouTube Music app: My goal was to upload my entire MP3 collection to my YouTube Music account, then browse & play my own music in my car - streamed over the internet using the YouTube Music app, with no subscription or fee.
  1. Successfully uploaded my entire MP3 collection to my YouTube Music Library via PC web browser - just over 10,000 songs, 600+ artists, etc. Even WMA files worked for me (other people reported they didn't work for them). Not all album art came over properly, but I think this is because many of my files from the distant past (Microsoft Zune era!) lack proper image tags.
  2. I can open YouTube Music app on my XC40 console, and browse/play this library. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, it appears that Android Automative OS (as well as the previous Android Auto phone apps) deliberately limits all media apps (not just YouTube) to max 100 items in any browse list. That makes browsing my library pretty useless! On the touchscreen I can scroll thru the first 100 Artists, 100 Albums, or 100 Songs - but no further!
  3. Ok, so scrolling thru > 100 items on car touchscreen is apparently inherently dangerous & therefore prohibited. So they must have a Search feature instead, right? Little magnifying glass icon? Um, no...
  4. So the only real way to use your library in the car is to use Voice Commands. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, you have to be very specific and alway tell Google that you want to play from YouTube Music (and not from TuneIn, Spotify, or whatever else it randomly thinks is your "default" music player app). When I say "Hey Google, play Steely Dan" it reponds "Sorry, you can't request Artists on TuneIn". So I have to say "Hey Google, play Steely Dan on YouTube Music" then it works. Kind of.
  5. UNFORTUNATELY if YouTube Music has the artist/album/song you requested already in it's for-pay subscription library - then that's the version it will attempt to play. And if you aren't paying them for a subscription, then it will give you an error message. Buf you ask for something totally unique to your personal YouTube Music library (eg, a recording of a band the younger me was in) then it works fine. I haven't figured out a way to tell Google voice assistant to play the requested music ONLY from my personal YouTube Music upload library. If anyone finds that magic phrase, please let me know!
Bottom line: mostly useless at this point. Think I will listen to the radio for now.
 
#49 ·
It just occurred to me this could be the real reason we don't yet have a way to browse & play media from USB storage devices. Browsing is simply prohibited for more than 100 items at a time in a car!

A simple, dumb "USB storage media browser" app would pretty much be useless by definition (well, unless you have fewer than 100 artists, albums, or songs). To actually make a usable USB media player, you'd need some way for Google to index & search the contents so you can use voice commands. Which means the media has to be on the web/cloud somewhere. Now I wonder if we'll ever see such an app.
 
#50 ·
I've been using Poweramp on my phone successfully, playing in the car using bluetooth. My songs are divided into playlists so I'm getting what I want in the order I want. It has lots of shuffle options, but I dislike shuffle because it seems that get my less favorites more often than my favorites and some songs get skipped completely. I still don't like having to play from my phone, but the bluetooth/GA combo does work pretty well. So do the buttons on the steering wheel. I can control volume, skip a song or go back to the previous one, etc. I agree that the white circled USB port will have to be activated eventually as input for music.
 
#51 ·
I've been using Poweramp on my phone successfully, playing in the car using bluetooth.
I've also been using my iPhone as a bluetooth audio player. Not as crazy as it seems, but it's pretty hilarious hearing me yell "HEY SIRI - play Steely Dan" inside my otherwise all-Google cockpit :)
 
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#52 ·
It happily lets you scroll through over a thousand in the media browser. . .

If anyone works out the right things to say …
And yeah shouting to Siri so Siri can send to google is funny.
 
#58 ·
So if my playlist has more than 100 items will it show? I have a playlist with 600 songs and the playlist will nto even show int he car. I can show it on YT Music on my phone. I have Poweramp, but even with Automagic and BT Connect set to max volume the darn Pixel 3a XL always lowers the volume on connect and I have to fiddle with phone. Volvo, Please don't put this OS in a mainstream model until is fully baked!
 
#59 ·
So if my playlist has more than 100 items will it show? I have a playlist with 600 songs and the playlist will nto even show int he car.
Sorry, but I'm an old-school guy. I use pre-made "playlists" - which were called "Albums" back in my day :)

(Hey you kids, get off my lawn!)
 
#60 ·
I mean, it's 4 years of free data for the new Recharges, use the streaming apps and create playlists of what your mp3s were.

Also, why would you not bring your phone, just curious ?

Can easily store mp3s on your phone or even plug USB drive into phone and play via Bluetooth.

You are basically complaining about 2004 audio functionality being extinct. The world has moved on to streaming, be it TV, movies or music.

You also might have more success when apple car play and Android auto get implemented, but Android automotive probably suits 95% of users audio needs.
 
#61 ·
The world has moved on to streaming, be it TV, movies or music.
Sorry, but old fogeys like me are clearly Volvo's target demographic - this isn't a Kia Soul. And us old fogeys have decades of purchased and carefully-curated MP3 albums that we'd like to listen to in the car, gosh darn it!

849
 
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#67 ·
So, I like Google and how easy it is to use natural language to get things done. I have stated my disappointment in how Google maps and especially traffic looks on the central screen. Sense graphics are far better. Now with the new maps in IOS 15 look extremely impressive. Your move Google.
 
#68 ·
For what it's worth, I prefer the Google maps to all others I've worked with. I find the P8's infotainment view very nice, pretty much like a small laptop view with crisp/readable street names and "right-sized" traffic coloration. I have a Garmin standalone unit too and the Google Maps is much better; the Garmin lines are so fat it messes up the surrounding lines. My former Toyota 4Runner (2016) had the worst navigation I ever used, all but useless; a route would all but obliterate any surrounding info. My wife's Ridgeline has Garmin maps which is pretty decent, I think - and I still like the Google Maps much better.

All IMHO.

On a side note -- I'm pretty much deaf, when it comes to speech recognition, music is better because I typically listen to music I knew when younger (with better hearing. Most voice-controlled devices I've tried were pretty much useless to me as my speech is not all that "normal" due to my deafness; I'm told it's relatively monotonous.

When Google rolled out it's current voice recognition -- first on my phone -- I was floored at how well it recognizes my speech. So for that reason, I absolutely LOVE the Google Personal Assistant features. My only frustration is that almost all non-action responses are verbal and I can't hear those. I'll see if I can pressure Google for a "Deaf mode" where responses can be shown on the screen. Since I'm used to looking around everywhere anyway, I am probably less affected by briefly looking away to read text. Chances are pretty small they'll allow this, though, safety reasons and all. I still love it. "Navigate to 123 sesame street, sacramento"... and done.
 
#69 ·
For what it's worth, I prefer the Google maps to all others I've worked with. I find the P8's infotainment view very nice, pretty much like a small laptop view with crisp/readable street names and "right-sized" traffic coloration. I have a Garmin standalone unit too and the Google Maps is much better; the Garmin lines are so fat it messes up the surrounding lines. My former Toyota 4Runner (2016) had the worst navigation I ever used, all but useless; a route would all but obliterate any surrounding info. My wife's Ridgeline has Garmin maps which is pretty decent, I think - and I still like the Google Maps much better.

All IMHO.

On a side note -- I'm pretty much deaf, when it comes to speech recognition, music is better because I typically listen to music I knew when younger (with better hearing. Most voice-controlled devices I've tried were pretty much useless to me as my speech is not all that "normal" due to my deafness; I'm told it's relatively monotonous.

When Google rolled out it's current voice recognition -- first on my phone -- I was floored at how well it recognizes my speech. So for that reason, I absolutely LOVE the Google Personal Assistant features. My only frustration is that almost all non-action responses are verbal and I can't hear those. I'll see if I can pressure Google for a "Deaf mode" where responses can be shown on the screen. Since I'm used to looking around everywhere anyway, I am probably less affected by briefly looking away to read text. Chances are pretty small they'll allow this, though, safety reasons and all. I still love it. "Navigate to 123 sesame street, sacramento"... and done.
Likewise, love love the Google Navi - the colors are pleasant to the eyes (not like disco neon lights..).. it’s “simple”….”clean”…..and to your point, it recognizes speech quite well….English is like my 3rd language so sometimes how I pronounce words and annotation are not recognized…but Googl is doing a fantastic job to accommodate all it seems….
 
#73 ·
This. First time I enabled "Traffic" in my P8's Google Maps - I honestly thought it wasn't working. I had to look really close to see those faint yellow/red/green lines overlaid on the roads. Nothing like Google Maps on every other platform.

That's my main issue with it - otherwise it's fine.
 
#75 ·
Found another infotainment issue.
When using the infotainment ( to turn on the heated steering wheel) it is responsive (reletively) but when the navigation system is running there is a 6 second daily when hitting the button.

I have not tested other things (will do) but I am betting the slow down is everywhere.

Hopefully this is just bad coding (fixable) and not the limitations of the old model cpu.
 
#76 ·
Found another infotainment issue.
When using the infotainment ( to turn on the heated steering wheel) it is responsive (reletively) but when the navigation system is running there is a 6 second daily when hitting the button.

I have not tested other things (will do) but I am betting the slow down is everywhere.

Hopefully this is just bad coding (fixable) and not the limitations of the old model cpu.
6 second delay?? not 5 second or 7 second...or even 6.5 seconds??
 
#79 ·
Yea and it is fabulous :)

Part of the winter package if I remember right.

It is great at night when you feel cold but probably should not. Warming your hands is all it takes.

Will rock in the winter I think :) or fail and set fire to the car who knows :)
 
#80 ·
Yea and it is fabulous :)

Part of the winter package if I remember right.

It is great at night when you feel cold but probably should not. Warming your hands is all it takes.

Will rock in the winter I think :) or fail and set fire to the car who knows :)
I haven't tried that function yet - its 95% in Dallas so the heart is not there to even try it. Go figure! BUT there are a few winter days where Gloves don't even cut it; and those are the times that even if you only use that function ONCE a year, it somehow still makes it allll worth it ! We are simply super lucky to have what we have !

Given I have min. to no patience, I'm sure i'll be testing it out !
 
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