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A few weeks ago, Mpow read one of my reviews on Amazon about my disappointment on their Bluetooth Receiver and reached out to me to resolve the issue. To resolve the issue they offered to send me out another product to replace my Bluetooth Receiver. They gave me three great options to choose from. After some research I ended up going with the Mpow Bluetooth Receiver, Hands-Free Car Kit / Bluetooth Audio Music Receiver with Dual USB Car Charger & Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio System.
Features: Mpow Bluetooth Receiver, Hands-Free Car Kit / Bluetooth Audio Music Receiver with Dual USB Car Charger & Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio System
The Mpow Bluetooth Receiver, Hands-Free Car Kit / Bluetooth Audio Music Receiver with Dual USB Car Charger & Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio System is a complete hands free system for your car. It has everything you need to connect your phone(s) to your car and not have that annoying background noise that many cars have when you try and charge your audio receive and listen to music or talk through the Bluetooth 4.0 receiver.
The Mpow Bluetooth Receiver can connect to most Bluetooth enabled devices and most cars. Your car just needs a 3.5mm input in to your car stereo.
To operate the device… Instructions taken from Mpow sales page.
- Fix the receiver on the best position of the car;
- Connect the noise Isolator to the Aux-in jack of the car stereo system (not mentioned in the instructions);
- Connect the receiver to the other end Aux port of the car stereo system;
- Connect the receiver to the car charger;
- Plug the car charger into the cigarette socket;
- Pair the receiver to your smart device;
- Adjust the car radio to Aux in mode;
- Now you can enjoy your music through the car stereo system.
- Multifunction Button
- Quick Press: Answer or Hang up call
- Long Press: Reject call
- Double press: Redial the last call
Mpow noted that you need to use a 5V standard charger to charge your Mpow receiver. Do not use a quick charger/ flash charger/ fast charger for the output voltage is over 5V and may destroy your Mpow receiver.
Review: Mpow Bluetooth Receiver, Hands-Free Car Kit / Bluetooth Audio Music Receiver with Dual USB Car Charger & Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio System
First off I have to say Mpow is a great company and a great customer service staff. I have a lot of respect for the company and a fan of the company as long as they keep putting out great products and have a great support staff.
As to the Mpow Bluetooth Receiver, Hands-Free Car Kit / Bluetooth Audio Music Receiver with Dual USB Car Charger & Ground Loop Noise Isolator for Car Audio System, I have to say this is a great package deal. It works great and everything in the package is made well.
One of my complaints about the Mpow Bluetooth Receiver I originally purchased had a noise issue when charging the device and caused an echo when using speaker phone to talk with people.
This noise issue is a common issue with many cars (I never had this issue with other Bluetooth Receivers). But with the noise isolator it resolved the issue!
As to the operation of the device I did have some issues connecting an iphone 4 (for playing music only) and LG G4 or any other second device at the same time. The instructions are straight forward and should be easy to connect. For my devices I can get either phone to automatically connect when powering up the device. But if the second device isn’t ready to connect it may not connect even if you manually search and connect. I ended up powering down the receiver and auto connect the first phone to the receiver and then manually connect the second one. I found that if I waited more than a minute to connect the second device, it may not connect until I power down the receiver and try again.
At other times both phones would connect at the same time. I haven’t figured out why this is. I don’t think the second handset is suppose to auto connect. But it should connect anytime I want it to. Also make sure your devices aren’t playing music when connecting both. This can cause the devices not to connect.
When it comes to connecting both devices, music can play on one device and when the second device receives a call or Google Maps start talking the music pauses and will start up once the other device is quiet.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I like the Hands free Kit and works great for my needs. I’ve been looking for a Bluetooth hands free kit for my car and this isn’t exactly what I wanted but I am glad Mpow sent me this product. Listening to music, audio books, podcasts, and talking/listening on the phone works great. The audio is loud and crisp and the other person can hear me clearly even if I turn my head away from the microphone.
What I don’t like, is all the wires. But the wires are long enough that you can hide the wires or tie them up out of the way. Also the USB charger isn’t a quick charger or have the safety features of products by Anker, RAVPower, or Blitzwolf. But the receiver does require a basic power source to power it. The quick chargers can damage the receiver.
Because the receiver requires a basic power source, Mpow has included a 1a/2a dual charger. The charger is made well and looks good. It charges my devices quick enough. But because it not a quick a charger and the receiver requires a constant power source, I loose one of my outlets. On long road trips, I have variety things plugged in using USB ports and regular car outlets.
For me these issues are not a deal breaker. I highly recommend this product. For more information or to purchase one, check out the Amazon sales page.
If you are looking for another option from Mpow, check out these other options found on Amazon. I haven’t tested them (hope to in the future) but all have 4 stars or more. Make sure to read the reviews before purchasing.
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