If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to pair a smartphone to a car via Bluetooth, you’ve come to the right place. Bluetooth FM transmitters are affordable and simple devices that let you stream audio from a phone to a car, along with the ability to make and answer phone calls. This allows you to connect a phone to a car’s stereo without running any extra wires or investing into more expensive Bluetooth kits.
Basically, a Bluetooth FM transmitter plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter and then transmits the audio from a phone to the car’s stereo by tuning to the same FM signal. The phone itself is directly connected to FM transmitter via Bluetooth, and the Bluetooth FM transmitter converts the audio from the phone to an FM signal.
Setting up a Bluetooth FM transmitter is fairly simple: find an FM signal on the car’s stereo that isn’t being used and set that signal to both the device and the car. Once a phone is paired to the device, it’ll send the audio straight to the car. This does mean that you should check to make sure there are open FM signals in your area before purchasing a Bluetooth FM transmitter—you can easily search online for clean FM signals in your area.
While shopping for a Bluetooth FM transmitter, you’ll likely notice that many of the products are very similar. Most will offer USB charging ports for your devices, while others will allow you to play media files straight from a memory card or USB flash drive. Choosing the right one for you may even just come down to price or style, as all the products on our list are extremely popular on Amazon and have majority five-star reviews.