Usb song limit with mp3s?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
2013 E350C
Usb song limit with mp3s?
Hello all,
First time here and would love some advice. I have a 2013 E350C and I'm trying to figure out exactly how much storage my car can handle as far as mp3s go with a USB drive. I've tried 128 and 256 Gig sticks and both worked fine but only a handful of my songs actually show up. The mp3s are all formatted the same as well as the file structure so I'm guessing that there some sort of limit as to how many songs can physically be on the drive as opposed to the actual storage capacity?
Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
First time here and would love some advice. I have a 2013 E350C and I'm trying to figure out exactly how much storage my car can handle as far as mp3s go with a USB drive. I've tried 128 and 256 Gig sticks and both worked fine but only a handful of my songs actually show up. The mp3s are all formatted the same as well as the file structure so I'm guessing that there some sort of limit as to how many songs can physically be on the drive as opposed to the actual storage capacity?
Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 580
Likes: 62
From: Maryland
2013 E550 4Matic
I think I vaguely remember that it only displays up to 1000 titles, but I think there was a way around it. I would search this subforum and see if you can find it. I could also be making this up. 
Edit: This is what I was thinking of: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post5071149 maybe you can try what he did. FAT32
Edit: This is what I was thinking of: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post5071149 maybe you can try what he did. FAT32
Last edited by blegthbloo; Jan 26, 2017 at 08:24 AM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
2013 E350C
Thanks so much for the reply. And that was indeed an interesting thread about the external drive. I don't really understand the difference though between an actual hard drive and a USB stick as far as what the car sees. Maybe it's because that's an older thread and the prices were pretty high for high capacity USB sticks back then. My car easily sees the 256 gig stick, but only a portion of the songs are displayed. So maybe there is a 1,000 song limit regardless of the size of the drive. And I'm not sure what partitioning one with multiple 32 gig segments would do as far as getting around that song limit.
If anyone has been able to crack that 1,000 song barrier, please let me know!
If anyone has been able to crack that 1,000 song barrier, please let me know!
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 86
Likes: 20
From: Ontario, Canada
2021 C43 4Matic Wagon
I have 1973 mp3s on a 32GB SD Card and the player sees them all. I have it set to shuffle and it bounces up and down the list without an issue.
If I remember correctly, I had formated the card as exFAT so I can use it on both Windows and Apple.
If I remember correctly, I had formated the card as exFAT so I can use it on both Windows and Apple.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
2013 E350C
One interesting thing I discovered while trying to find the right amount of music to put on my USB stick was you have to not only delete unwanted files but also (on a Mac) empty the trash or else they will still show up when it reads them.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 66
Likes: 6
From: Philadelphia, PA
2018 E300 & 2004 CLK500
The Command manual (online) for my 2014 E350 lists on Page 148 to 154 the info for the USB port:
USB devices (hard drives, flash drives or sticks) must be formatted with the FAT system (FAT 16 or FAT 32)
OR
USB Hard drives can be 1 in, 1.8 in, 2.5" with starting/continuous currant rating of 800 ma
USB memory sticks/flash drives can be used also.
Up to 8 Directory levels (Folders) with up to 1000 tracks are supported.
That being said.. on page 132, th emanual states under File Struture of Storage Medium
"When creating an MP3 storage medium, you can organize MP3 tracks into folders. A folder can also contain additional folders. A storage medium can have a max of 255 folders in total. A max of 255 tracks and 255 folders are permissible per folder.
A MAX OF 4000 TRACKS IN TOTAL ARE PERMISSIBLE PER STORAGE MEDIUM
I believe the same restrictions apply to an SD card.
I us a Toshiba USB drive in the USB port, and in the Command unit, an assortment of 16gb SDHC cards with diff genre of music on each - quick and easy to change
USB devices (hard drives, flash drives or sticks) must be formatted with the FAT system (FAT 16 or FAT 32)
OR
USB Hard drives can be 1 in, 1.8 in, 2.5" with starting/continuous currant rating of 800 ma
USB memory sticks/flash drives can be used also.
Up to 8 Directory levels (Folders) with up to 1000 tracks are supported.
That being said.. on page 132, th emanual states under File Struture of Storage Medium
"When creating an MP3 storage medium, you can organize MP3 tracks into folders. A folder can also contain additional folders. A storage medium can have a max of 255 folders in total. A max of 255 tracks and 255 folders are permissible per folder.
A MAX OF 4000 TRACKS IN TOTAL ARE PERMISSIBLE PER STORAGE MEDIUM
I believe the same restrictions apply to an SD card.
I us a Toshiba USB drive in the USB port, and in the Command unit, an assortment of 16gb SDHC cards with diff genre of music on each - quick and easy to change
Last edited by NSKPhila; Feb 1, 2017 at 06:41 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,122
Likes: 222
From: Milton/Westport, MA USA
me: 2015 SL400 & 2015 ML400; wife: 2022 GLC Coupe; daughter: 2017 GLC SUV
well, I bought THIS DATA CABLE that is AMI to USB-A female and used it to connect my 500MB External Hard drive: no luck, shows as nothing connected. The drive doesn't light up as it does when plugged into a USB slot directly, but there it shows up as unreadable. I have another data cable that's AMI to Lightning and if I connect my iPhone to that the COMAND does read the music on my phone, so I'm guessing the external hard drive just isn't usable for music in the car. Next I'll try an old iPod.
Trending Topics
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
