[Solution] Resolved if the vehicle does not recognize USB flash drive

Cause-Connector shape

 

Reading errors sometimes occur when a flash memory drive is inserted into the USB port of the car audio input. The most common reason for the error is the shape of the connector on the USB flash memory drive.

 

For example, personally, Hyundai and Kia cars produced before and after 2012 have had an experience that did not recognize certain USB memory drives.

 

There are usually two types of USB memory drives that we purchase on the market. For convenience, we will call it Type-1/2

 

Type-1

Type-2

 

The one shown as Type-1 in the photo is the USB standard, and is officially called 'USB Type A Connector'.

In the figure, the shape of Type-1 is made of iron with the contact terminal closed, and in the case of Type-2, the outside of the contact metal terminal is exposed without clogging.

Tested on some vehicles, the USB drive recognition rate was better with a Type A Connector(such as photo Type-1) USB memory stick (drive).

 

The standard type is a metal-enclosed form as shown in the photo, but some USB memory drives made of plastics are also recognized without problems. However, in the case of Type-2, most of them did not work.

 

In conclusion, when buying a USB memory drive for your car, purchase a standard memory stick like Type-1.

 

Cause-File System

 

Note that the newly purchased USB memory must be formatted first (or as needed), in which case the file system must be selected as FAT32. PCs recognize automatically both NTFS and FAT32 system, but most older vehicles only recognize the FAT32 file system.

Or, for high-capacity USB, format it in exFAT format. We confirmed that the standard type of 64GB USB memory was formatted as exFAT on the 2011 Kia Motors and recognized without any problems.