Simple question: how do I play the music in a folder and all of its subfolders with a USB flash drive?

If I select a folder that has 100 subfolders, and this folder has no songs, it cannot play anything. It will only play the songs in a given folder.
The same occurs when I search by artist, and that artist has many subfolders. It will only play songs in a single subfolder.

It certainly seems that automotive music tech has gone nothing but in reverse, favoring paid-for subscriptions. My 10 year old prius could search by song, artist, genre on a flash drive. Include all subfolders too. Yet the latest and greatest is a big step back, both in audio quality and functionality. Menu's use tiny type, confusing menus that require too many steps and not even an icon across the side of android auto to get you back to the lexus menus. Multi channel amps that are underpowered connected to poor quality speakers and this is called premium. And the upgrade path is incredibly complex for a DIYer.

 

It can be done but you have to blindly try all the options until you stumble on the right one because the options aren't f'n labeled. I believe the picture I'll try and attach shows the two folder options you need to have.

 

I saw that, but the repeat still did not include the subfolder songs, only the songs in the selected folder or repeat ALL folders in the flash drive, not the children subfolders. When you select a specific folder, it states no media selected so there is no way to play the subfolders.

I have the folders organized by Root, Genre, Artists, Albums, Songs. Let's say I want to play everything by the Beatles. I may have 15 subfolders (one for each album) by the Beatles and want to shuffle play all the Beatles, not everything on the drive. I can select Rubber Soul and listen to it (in order or shuffled), but can't listen to all the Beatles of a single folder with subfolder albums.

And to move all the songs of any artist into a single folder would be even more problematic for the track numbers would play all the track 1s of every album first, then the track 2s etc. Lexus really messed up a previously working system, but I believe it was intentional, to promote subscriptions and not ownership of songs. It is just like movies, with DVDs on the way out since Netflix by mail is stopping their system in September.

 

Off topic... I miss a CD changer...would settle for a "Jukebox" The best I can do with Flash Drive so far is listen to the entire list in Alphabetical order or maybe random play. Life ain't fair. I am following this topic. Good thread.

 

I was going to make a thread about this. So far this has been the only main disappointment for me on the new NX. Unfortunately the car's audio system doesn't recognize playlists and will not let you play a particular genre or include sub-folders when you play a parent folder. It's sad, because this seems pretty basic and standard, even in my 10-year olds Mercedes and Porsche. I don't want to waste my phone's space with music, but basically can easily have them all on a single flashdrive.

 

Another item, when using the Mode button in the steering wheel to select your music source, it cycles through all sources including Amazon Music and Apple music even if you do not subscribe. I found no way to not include either and moreover, the owners manual states (incorrectly) that it only cycles sources with music. Again, the goal is sell you stuff. I imagine that Amazon and Apple PAID Lexus to do this.
So disappointed at how poor the entire infotainment system is. A big step backwards.

 

I know I've told this story elsewhere in other threads but it applies especially to this thread. My wife and I are odd in the fact that we very rarely listen to music when we drive so the whole infotainment system is not important to us. We bought the car with the smaller screen so don't get the pre-paid navigation subscription either. So when we took delivery of the car and our salesman was going through his routine of explaining all the "wonderful" features of all the crap on the screen we really through him a curve ball when our first question was, "How do you turn it off?" He didn't know and had to figure it out.

Back on subject - it's sad that the older Lexus models did a full shuffle including subfolders but this new craptainment system doesn't. Then there's the fact the the new relocated screen is so far off line of site of the road that it's less safe to glance at while driving. Especially if you're trying to change something or find something.

 

Possible playlist workaround ....
My 2020 RX 350 allows genre selection. Organize the usb stick with folders by playlist. Dump in the files in that playlist with your computer. Get a utility that will edit multiple music file information, (found this on my Synology NAS web interface, but it's got to be out there for Windows or Mac), and set the Genre to one of the many really odd ones like "Gangsta". Then you can use genre selection to mimic the behavior of playlist. :-0)

 

Based on what your needs are, you need an iPod. Remember those?