AUX input and steering wheel controls

[Daedroth]

I'm pretty sure the answer to this question is that it can't be done, but I'll ask anyway!

 

I have a Mazda 2 1.3 Tamura with an aux input and steering wheel controls. I also have a Kinivo BTC450 Bluetooth-AUX dongle so I can play music from my phone through the car's speakers without having to connect the AUX cable to the phone. Good times. However the steering wheel controls for next/back don't work on either the bluetooth adapter or connected directly with the 3.5mm cable. Bad times.

 

From what I've gathered and assuming, it's a limitation of the 3.5mm AUX input that means it can't do this. A lot of the topics from sites I've read have dated back several years, so I was wondering if there's been any improvement on this?

 

Edit: I know this can be worked around by buying an aftermarket stereo, but this just isn't worth the cost for me. It's just something that would be nice to have.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Bluetooth usually can carry the back/forward commands.  But it sounds to me like your connection is really 2 connections - one to bluetooth and then another onwards to 3.5mm?

[Daedroth]

4 minutes ago, Human.Online said:

Bluetooth usually can carry the back/forward commands.  But it sounds to me like your connection is really 2 connections - one to bluetooth and then another onwards to 3.5mm?

Yeah, that's correct. The Bluetooth device itself does do the skipping and play/pause commands, as it's communicating directly with the phone. Just would have been nice to control it from the wheel!

[Jim K Global Moderator]

You're SOL controlling next/back/etc with the steering wheel. The aux jack is just carrying the R/L audio ...  no way for it to send commands.

[Daedroth]

35 minutes ago, Jim K said:

You're SOL controlling next/back/etc with the steering wheel. The aux jack is just carrying the R/L audio ...  no way for it to send commands.

What do you mean SOL?

 

That's what I was thinking about it only sending audio and not able to send data/commands.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Sorry.  SOL - Sorta outta luck.

 

[Daedroth]

4 minutes ago, Jim K said:

Sorry.  SOL - Sorta outta luck.

 

Ahh, no problem, thanks anyway.

 

After all my years on forums, I've never come across SOL! That's weirdly a nice surprise!

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

3.5mm can carry commands - has done for years, but it simply isn't - and I think that's because in reality you are daisychaining two different connections.

[Daedroth]

1 minute ago, Human.Online said:

3.5mm can carry commands - has done for years, but it simply isn't - and I think that's because in reality you are daisychaining two different connections.

Even if I rule out the Bluetooth and simply use a 3.5mm - 3.5mm cable connecting my phone directly to the cars AUX, it still won't work.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

I see, I may have misunderstood your solution.  That AUX is just an AUX-IN, nothing more, so yeah, SOL.  Sorry

[Brandon H Supervisor]

unfortunately with your current setup you're most likely out of luck getting your steering wheel controls to work

 

you say aftermarket stereo is out of the question because of price but how constrained are you?

 

even cheap aftermarket stereos have bluetooth on them now so you may be able to get your desired results for cheaper than you would think with an aftermarket stereo

 

Here's a couple examples from the UK Amazon

Bluetooth Car Stereo, LUCKYDIY Digital Media Player

Favoto Car Stereo Bluetooth Car Radio

 

there are a lot of others too; here's the search results if you'd like

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-CD-Tuners-Entertainment/b/ref=sn_gfs_co_auto_3030791_1?ie=UTF8&node=3030791&pf_rd_p=fbc2c1b6-2251-489a-8aca-248160102d2f&pf_rd_r=ACJPPC4606FB92N6HX9K&pf_rd_s=ce-subnav-flyout-content-8&pf_rd_t=SubnavFlyout

 

48 minutes ago, Daedroth said:

Even if I rule out the Bluetooth and simply use a 3.5mm - 3.5mm cable connecting my phone directly to the cars AUX, it still won't work.

most 3.5mm aux jacks in stock radios are just basic jacks and don't support smart controls unfortunately

[Jim K Global Moderator]

39 minutes ago, Human.Online said:

3.5mm can carry commands - has done for years, but it simply isn't - and I think that's because in reality you are daisychaining two different connections.

Right. I was mostly referring to what you'd find in a car. I'm not aware of any car which had a Smart-Aux (my made up term...haha).  With respect to other 3.5 jacks which carry commands...I believe those are per manufacture ... in other words I do not believe there is a standard. I could be wrong.

 

Anyway, car Aux's would just be carrying the R/L.

[sc302 Veteran]

if the radio had bluetooth capabilities to have the phone connect directly to it, the steering wheel controls would function.  There would be no way for steering integration would work through the aux connection, most of those types of connections are one way.  There are exceptions as headphones can create a feed back from a button push that would cause the device to do something (raise volume, lower volume, mute...I think at some point there was a skip as well).  

 

I think you are better off getting a vent mount so that you can control your phone without holding it.

[Daedroth]

Thanks for the replies. Like I mentioned, I do have a Kinivo BTC450 (which has now broken and I've ordered the BTC480 as a replacement) and it's mounted just near the stereo system on the central dash. I have no issues using the play/pause/next/previous buttons on the device itself, it would have just been a nice thing to have.

16 hours ago, Brandon H said:

unfortunately with your current setup you're most likely out of luck getting your steering wheel controls to work

 

you say aftermarket stereo is out of the question because of price but how constrained are you?

 

even cheap aftermarket stereos have bluetooth on them now so you may be able to get your desired results for cheaper than you would think with an aftermarket stereo

 

Here's a couple examples from the UK Amazon

Bluetooth Car Stereo, LUCKYDIY Digital Media Player

Favoto Car Stereo Bluetooth Car Radio

 

there are a lot of others too; here's the search results if you'd like

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-CD-Tuners-Entertainment/b/ref=sn_gfs_co_auto_3030791_1?ie=UTF8&node=3030791&pf_rd_p=fbc2c1b6-2251-489a-8aca-248160102d2f&pf_rd_r=ACJPPC4606FB92N6HX9K&pf_rd_s=ce-subnav-flyout-content-8&pf_rd_t=SubnavFlyout

 

most 3.5mm aux jacks in stock radios are just basic jacks and don't support smart controls unfortunately

I know I can get a cheaper stereo, but I'd also have to buy a replacement fascia for the dash to make it look half decent. Plus I have the Kinivo Bluetooth device that does what I need. It was just something that would have been good to get working if I could. I've spent this many years without when using my phone, so I can continue as is!