2013 Hyundai Sonata USB port

Asked by GuruZBCHW Oct 27, 2017 at 11:52 AM about the 2013 Hyundai Sonata GLS FWD

Question type: General

Hi, I have a 2013 Hyundai Sonata and for the past two
days I haven’t been able to charge my phone through the
USB port. When I plug my phone in it will say “reading
media” and then about a minute later it says “media
connection failed” it has done this a few times before but
usually if I unplug it and plug it back in a few times it will
charge and play my music. I have tried using 4 different
phone charging cords but it does the same thing with all
of them. Anyone know what the issue might be?

8 Answers

290

I had been dealing with the same, "media connection error" message since I purchased the car in 2013 until I decided to do something about it today. I dropped off my car this morning at the dealership to address the recall on the seat belt clasp and routine maintenance, then asked that they look into this USB connection issue. They told me there was nothing wrong with the USB port and suggested that I may have a bad cord. I took all four cords that I had tried it with; the foreman brought a flash drive to prove that it worked, his initial thought was it was a blown fuse. He checked with the parts section and they told him there was a special cable adapter that had the USB and Aux connection that came with the vehicle; however, in order to use it with an Apple product, you will need another adapter. This is a picture of it.

29 people found this helpful.
120

The usb port in the Hyundai Sonata is for use with Apple Carplay and with iphones 5 and later. Also it supports Android Auto and the USB supports flash drives with USB 2.0. Charging your phone with the USB drive may not offer the proper voltage, check your owners manual for details.

12 people found this helpful.
180

I had this issue plague me for half a year. And I use Spotify, but tried Apple Music and now all I do is open the app and play 1 song then switch to sootify. And it’s been working for about 2 months now. Hope this helps

18 people found this helpful.
60

Thank you! I was having the same problem until I read your post. It worked when I had pandora open and then switched to Apple Music

6 people found this helpful.
70

So yes, I’ve had this problem since an iOS update probably 2 or 3 years ago. I think Hyundai should do radio firmware updates to fix stuff like this but the best way I’ve found to make it work is to plug in your phone, go to your iPhone music app and tap a song while it says it’s connecting. Always works and then from there on out, you’re good to go✌

7 people found this helpful.
20

Mine did the same^- played downloaded music and dabbled with plugging it in before radio was on- saw more success- BUT NOW this damn thing won’t even play on the stereo but only plays out of my phone. Anyone else have this problem? Charger I’m using works

2 people found this helpful.
30

What I usually have do is open a YouTube video have that start playing, then switch over Spotify and then it works, but it sucks that so many people are having this issue. The weirdest thing is that sometimes it does recognize my music and it’ll show all the information and other times it’s just no album no artist no title

3 people found this helpful.
40

I own a 2013 Santa Fe Sport. I never had a problem with charging my phone or playing Pandora by my phone App until this week (August, 2020). Both my phone and my wife's phone would not charge. One was plugged into the USB port and the second was plugged into a charging port that was plugged into the accessory port ( as is always the case). We then tried plugging the adapter into the port that is on the back side of the arm rest, facing the rear seat. That worked at first, and then stopped working! I found that if I shut the car off, Unplugged the phone from the power cable, then plugged it back in before starting the car, Once I started the car, the phone charged! I have no idea why this just started happening or how long this solution will work, but I'm guessing that if I plug the phone in before starting the car, it may solve the problem. 2 I phones, same problem, so I'm guessing an upgrade to Apple software or a problem has developed with the Hyundai electrical system.

4 people found this helpful.

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