Cell phone holders

[andyross]

I have a 2011 Fusion, no NAV option. I'd like to know what types of cell phone holders people find that work well with the Fusion. I've been experimenting with using my phone for GPS. For now, I place it down behind the shifter. It works well horizontally, but I can't see the screen if I put on my polarized sunglasses!! It's also a bit too low to be safe.

 

I've seen several holders that hook into the CD slot. Do they work well with the Fusion's location and faceplate? Any particular ones you have used?

 

I'd rather not have anything really permanent on the car or require sticking a magnet or metal plate on the phone. I'd rather have a simple grip. The phone is small/normal size (5" screen, roughly 5.5 x 2.75 x .530), but somewhat thick with the cover/case I have.

Edited February 20, 2017 by andyross

[sirtanon]

I use my phone in my car as well.. sometimes for GPS, but mostly for the Torque app. I was stuck for a good location to put the phone as well, and then I realized that there's a perfect spot already built into the dash.. well, sort of.

 

Now, my Fusion is a 2010, but your 2011 should have the same thing in the same spot. look at the picture below - immediately to the left of the steering wheel and just below the dash vent. There's a little pull-out drawer, which I'm assuming is meant for toll change.

 

 

Fully extended, my Galaxy S3 fits nicely inside it, with a little room on both sides. If I just set it in there by itself, it's fine when I'm driving on the highway, but I found that it falls over if I take a moderate turn. The fix is as simple as adding in a fabricated mount. Works great. I'll see if I can take a photo of it at some point.

[hermans]

Here's what I had in my 2010 Fusion....I loved it.

http://www.proclipusa.com/dashboard-mounts/vehicle/ford/fusion/2010-2012/proclip-console-mount-834364-14520.cmsv

[fusionff]

This is the one that I have, works perfectly.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Mount-Universal-Holder-Smartphones/dp/B00PC29ETE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487688344&sr=8-3&keywords=cd+slot+phone+holder

[andyross]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will get that MPOW unit. Looks really nice and flexible.

 

The Proclip is much too low to really be safe to use for GPS, unless you want to rely nearly 100% on just the voice.

 

The change tray sort-of works. I did a brief test while parked at home. I mainly worry about it being too loose. Also, sitting vertically, I cannot supply power since the connector is on the bottom. Horizontally sort-of works. With my cover folded back, pushing the tray closed did clamp it a bit, but the phone could still easily flop over during acceleration.

 

Also, does anyone have issues with audio? This is an Android phone (running Android 6, August patch level). I had to disable the phone's Bluetooth 'Media Audio' option for the SYNC connection or I heard nothing.

[fusionff]

Here is the Mpow holder in my 07. I figure pictures always help.

• You simply squeeze the side tabs together which clicks along as you go to hold the phone.
• There are two flip out tabs on the bottom to prevent the phone from slipping down.
• You can adjust the display left/right and up/down with one adjustment (swivel type).
• There is a tab to press on the lower left which slowly releases it's hold on the phone when you're done.

 

[andyross]

Since I ordered it early on Tuesday, I ended up getting it today. Here is a test fit on my 2011:

[sirtanon]

Seems to fit well and looks like it's easy to use. Unfortunately, it would never work for me - I use my CD player all the time.

[andyross]

I haven't used CD's in my Fusion, other than a brief test to verify it worked. I use a USB thumb drive with about 52G of music on it instead!

[akirby]

Seems to fit well and looks like it's easy to use. Unfortunately, it would never work for me - I use my CD player all the time.

 

Rip those CDs to a flash drive and leave it plugged in all the time. Keep the discs for backup. You can create playlists, play a specific album, song or everything by that artist. It's so much more convenient.

[akirby]

If you're worried about it being too technical, it's not. You can get itunes for free, rip the cds into itunes, create playlists if needed then use a free program called iTunes Export to copy them to the usb drive.

[sirtanon]

it's got nothing to do with it being 'too technical' - I have pretty much every CD I own ripped into MP3 format on my main computer, and I know how to make MP3 USBs and CDs. I just like my CDs.. I have a couple dozen MP3 format CDs, each with 4-8 albums on them. I also use my phone via bluetooth sometimes, but only sometimes. The CDs are the main.

 

I also refuse to use iTunes, or any other Apple product..

 

As far as USB goes - I actually have a couple music USBs, which I use in my Altima when I drive it. Plugs right in, plays right away. In the Fusion, however, the only USB plug is in the center console storage well, and when I plug a music USB into it, nothing happens. It almost seems like the direct "play MP3s from a USB" ability was not built into the 2010 systems.

 

Anyone know if the 2010 systems even have the ability to play music straight from USBs?

Edited February 23, 2017 by sirtanon

[akirby]

If you have a USB port then it supports MP3 files. If you plug in a phone does it work? Sounds like the usb port is bad.

[sirtanon]

If I plug the phone in, it will both charge the phone and play from the phone. It will not play directly from a USB drive though, as well as other music playing devices, including a friend's iPod.

 

I'm thinking there's no logic/software built into the system to play from USB. I've tried at least 5 different USBs with the same result... either that, or there's a file system/formatting issue on the USBs. Seems unlikely, since they all play in my Altima.

[andyross]

On my 2011, it works fine. You have to hit the AUX button on the console. If it defaults to Line In (common), I use the voice commands and just say "USB".

[sirtanon]

Hmm.. I'll try that this afternoon, andy, and post my results later.

[andyross]

And you can also set the various play options. I found you do need to be in USB mode first, otherwise it won't recognize the commands! I usually use the voice as it's easier than figuring out the stupid menus. I usually set PLAY ALL and SHUFFLE ON to randomly play the roughly 6300 songs on the drive.

 

Also, there is a common Sync bug where it may not be able to scan the drive and commands to play a particular song or album will not work and just give a 'voice commands not available for this device' error. It may work one day, but not the next. It's not unique to the Fusion.

[akirby]

When it plays from the plugged in phone, is it playing over USB or via bluetooth?

 

As stated make sure you are on USB input.

 

Turn off bluetooth on the phone and try again - if you can still play music then the usb port is good.

Edited February 24, 2017 by akirby

[andyross]

When it plays from the plugged in phone, is it playing over USB or via bluetooth?

 

As stated make sure you are on USB input.

 

Turn off bluetooth on the phone and try again - if you can still play music then the usb port is good.

 

I wasn't trying to play music. It's the voice from Google Maps that it seemed to think was going to the car over BT, but it wasn't actually playing. I also had the same issue when I tried playing a little game once. Need to see if there is a Sync setting to let the phone override whatever the car is currently playing, like the radio or whatever.

[akirby]

 

I wasn't trying to play music. It's the voice from Google Maps that it seemed to think was going to the car over BT, but it wasn't actually playing. I also had the same issue when I tried playing a little game once. Need to see if there is a Sync setting to let the phone override whatever the car is currently playing, like the radio or whatever.

 

Oh that. Normal audio output on the phone (including google maps) does not interrupt current audio sources. That only happens with phone calls. Everything else has to be on the usb input to get the sound. And you may have to select Sync as the output option on the app as well depending on the phone and os version.

 

In short, to hear music or app audio on your phone or to play music from an ipod or usb drive you must be on the USB input.

[andyross]

That's why, for the SYNC connection on the phone, I had to disable the option to use BT for 'media'.

[sirtanon]

So I got around to fiddling with the AUX/USB settings in my Fusion this weekend. Turns out, I was just making the wrong assumptions. I had assumed that Aux - Line In meant that I was using the USB port.. Of course I was only half right. Line In means it's listening for input from a device.

 

As Andyross pointed out, I had to select AUX and then use the input select to choose Aux - USB... And what do you know, it plays from my USB drive. Thanks Andy!

 

Having said that, I have loaded a USB with about 8GB worth of music from my MP3 directory - I rip every CD when I buy it, so I've got lots of music to load on to it. BUT I still expect I'll be using my CD player as well, from time to time. I still find it useful, as the USB functionality is not perfect, and I don't feel like messing what's on the USB each time get new music.

 

 

.. but thanks for the help guys. I love being able to use the USB in this car!

[andyross]

I found a setting in Google Maps (at least the Android version) to disable trying to use Bluetooth for it's voice without having to fully disable Bluetooth media on the phone.

Hamburger (menu)/Settings/Navigation Settings/Play voice over Bluetooth.

Edited March 6, 2017 by andyross

[nForrest]

IF using the phone for GPS, I would recommend a windshield mount for the phone. To keep you from looking down

 

http://www.hdaccessory.com/products/hd-universal-car-mount-holder.html?gclid=COuMkouQ1dICFQMDaQodCJUOcg

[andyross]

I haven't tested it yet, but the phone holder part supposedly uses the same ball size as a Garmin mount. I have one of those, too, so may try that. It's just that a window mount is a bit more of a security risk unless you remove it. The CD holder is a bit less obvious.