If You’re Heading Out on a Road Trip, Connect Your Phone to Stream Radio in the Car

Apple’s CarPlay, Google’s Android Auto and multiple streaming services can entertain you at the wheel

Edward C. Baig,

AARP

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Published December 31, 2024

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Getty Images (3))

My wife and I will be taking a big road trip, and I need something to keep me awake on those drives of eight hours or more. My car doesn’t have a CD player, and I don’t know much about streaming. I’m not looking to spend a lot of money, either. Can you help?

I know firsthand what it’s like to drive rural stretches where you can’t find appealing music, news or talk on the radio. It’s how years ago I got hooked on XM satellite radio, now Sirius XM, during Ohio-bound drives along Interstate 80 in parts of Pennsylvania.

Before getting to the heart of your question, let’s take a quick spin down memory lane and reflect how car audio has evolved. You have more listening choices these days and superior sound systems in most vehicles.

If you’re of a certain age, you probably rode in a vehicle with just an AM-FM radio and at best a ho-hum speaker.

Maybe a few years later you splurged for an 8-track cartridge player, which for folks who may not recall, had this pesky thing where a song literally broke up midstream because it had to skip to the next track before resuming. The cartridges played in a continuous loop that could not be rewound.

Cassette tapes, which you could rewind, eventually overtook 8-track. And then during the 1980s, the digital compact disc (CD) player came into vogue with the first car CD players arriving around mid-decade.

Fast-forward to the present, and we’re smack in the era of streaming. CD players in cars aren’t obsolete yet, but they're an endangered species in newer models.

Thus, beyond radio waves, content has to come from somewhere else. That somewhere else is increasingly your smartphone.

Connecting smartphones to car audio systems is pretty simple, typically by USB-A or USB-C cable, wireless Bluetooth and in some vehicles Wi-Fi.

Instructions vary by vehicle, and some newer and expensive cars boast fancy infotainment touchscreens. Consult your car manual for specifics on how to pair a phone.

Sync phone to car with Apple CarPlay, Google’s Android Auto

With that in mind, let’s focus on the phone itself.

iPhone owners can take advantage of CarPlay, a built-in feature that as of this writing is supported in more than 800 vehicle models. Google’s Android Auto counterpart is supported in more than 500 models and stereos.

Many cars are compatible with both systems, and several aftermarket auto accessories also support CarPlay and Android Auto.

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While the emphasis here is on entertainment, CarPlay and Android Auto also let you make and receive calls, handle messaging, use GPS for directions and more, sometimes in response to voice commands.

How to connect using Android Auto

First, confirm that your car is compatible with Android Auto, which is already integrated into Android devices.

Make sure the infotainment system is turned on, that Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and location services also are on, and that the vehicle is in park.

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If you’re taking the USB route, plug the cable into an available port in the vehicle. If you’re using Bluetooth, navigate to Bluetooth in Settings ⚙️, which on a Google Pixel can be found under Connected Devices and on a Samsung Galaxy in under Connected.

If applicable, on the car steering wheel, press and hold the voice command button to pair your phone. Otherwise, follow any on-screen instructions for pairing.

After connecting, you can tweak Android Auto settings on the phone to have the feature start automatically, start even when the phone is locked, and start playing music when you start driving.

In some cases, you’ll have to tap an icon on the car display to start Android Auto and tap buttons to navigate control. Or use your voice.

How to connect via Apple CarPlay

Connect your iPhone to the car’s USB port. If the car has this port but also supports a wireless connection, an alert will appear on the phone the next time you connect telling you that wireless is an option.

If the vehicle supports only wireless CarPlay, hold down the voice command button on the steering wheel and make sure the car is in wireless or Bluetooth pairing mode. Consult the car manual for instructions.

Back on the iPhone, enable Wi-Fi. Then in Settings ⚙️, tap General | CarPlay and tap your vehicle under My Cars. More than one might be listed. You can customize which CarPlay-capable apps show up for a given vehicle.

As with Android Auto, you have the option to run CarPlay even when the phone is locked. In some vehicles, the CarPlay home screen will show up immediately when the phone is connected. On others, you’ll have to tap the CarPlay logo on the vehicle display.

What is available to listen to?

Plenty, and pretty much any content available on your phone: music, audiobooks, podcasts.

If you have a large music library on your device, you might play songs in shuffle or random mode as I often do. It feels a bit like radio if only because you don’t know what’ll pop up next.

Meanwhile, you have more streaming options, many free, than I can mention here, and I say that as someone who subscribes to Apple Music, SiriusXM and Spotify. Plus, my musical tastes may not jibe with yours.

Like old radio shows?

Explore these free streaming sites to find your favorites before you go. Some are available for download as podcasts or MP3 files.

1640 AM America Old Time Radio, Chicago
The Big Broadcast, WAMU-FM, Washington
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Conyers Old Time Radio
Gunsmoke, WRCW-AM, Warrenton, Virginia
The Old Time Radio Researchers’ searchable database with 90,000+ episodes of 3,300+ programs
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

To be sure, fare is available in almost any musical style you can think of: classical, easy listening, jazz, rock, showtunes, not to mention myriad sub-genres. You have many news, sports and old-time radio choices as well, along with live faraway radio stations.

Check out the websites of over-the-air radio stations, such as your local NPR affiliate, or the website of a program you already know and love. Often, you’ll be able to download some podcasts to catch up on shows you’ve missed, and you can stock up either before you leave using your home Wi-Fi or every night with the hotel or your friends’ Wi-Fi connection.

These days, many stations and shows have livestreaming options that allow you to listen anywhere your phone has two bars or more of cell reception. Be aware: This will eat up data on your cellphone plan.

Going free means less flexibility. You typically must put up with ads, have fewer options for skipping tracks and face a more limited selection of content.

Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora Spotify and YouTube Music are among the best-known streaming services offering free tiers, but I recommend poking around Apple’s App Store and Google Play to explore other ways to keep you awake and make that endless drive more tolerable.

Related:

Bonus tip: Now you can call ChatGPT

ChatGPT pretty much kick-started the generative artificial intelligence (AI) era we’re in now. But while OpenAI’s chatbot began as a bot you summon on a computer and later through an app, the company recently offered another option: The ability to call or text.

You can call ChatGPT at 1-800-242-8478 or text via WhatsApp, but you’ll have to do so from a U.S. phone number.

OpenAI says you can ask about recipes, trivia, travel ideas or almost anything. Limits may change, but for now you’re given 15 minutes a month to call.

If you’re concerned with privacy, OpenAI says it does “store and may review your calls, transcript of calls, and WhatsApp messages … for a limited period of time for safety and abuse prevention purposes.”

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Edward C. Baig covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune, and is author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. Follow him on LinkedIn; Threads; and X, formerly known as Twitter.