Bikers/motorcyclists and Harley dealerships often reach out to Law Abiding Biker® Podcast & Media for our expertise & guidance with the Harley Davidson Boom!™ Box Infotainment System and our #1 best selling Boom!™ Box tutorial videos.
Recently, we received an inquiry where an individual was having a problem when synced between his smartphone and his Boom Box system via bluetooth and playing music. The music playback would stop/freeze and he was also not able to fast forward, rewind, or move on with the joystick toggles on the handlebars or via the touchscreen on the 6.5 Boom Box model. It was also tested with the smartphone/music player plugged directly into the Boom Box via the USB port in the juke box compartment on the Harley and the same issue presented itself.
Many times in the past we have fixed situations like this by flashing the Boom Box system back to factory etc. See our original Boom! Box Tutorial Video to learn how to do this & a ton of other things. It can solve many issues if your system locks up.
Normally, when synced (bluetooth) via a smartphone or iPod (MP3 player) with the Boom Box or when plugged directly in via a USB cable you can control your music player/smartphone via the toggles on the handlebars or via touch screen. This is the way it is supposed to work.
He even took his Harley to the dealership and they were stumped and didn't know what to tell him to fix his Boom Box. This is a very common experience and no fault of the dealerships as Harley headquarters threw this system on them with little or no training.
After much testing it was determined that in this individual's music playlist on his smartphone/music player were several video files that would also play music. However, the Boom Box system does not accept video files and locked/froze up, because it does not know how to read them.
So, whether you are playing music through your Boom Box system via a smartphone, iPod, MP3 player, or with a thumb drive/memory stick make certain you have no video files hidden in there and you will avoid this issue.
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I think you will find this a big issue with a lot of Harley owners on the new boom box, I have owned two 14’s and have experience this on both bikes, tried refreshing back to factory, didn’t work and I also do not have any videos on my iPhone or flash drive. I also took a new flash drive and downloaded music on that and it froze up after awhile.. It seems to take about 45 min to hour, before it freezes..
Thanks for sharing. Yah, it seems to be isolated units that are freezing like this.
I have the same problem and its only with my ipod. the new updates also took my toggle for skipping or replaying songs. Makes me very mad that I spent all this money on something and the radio don’t work. don’t have this problem in my car ipod works fine only on this 6.5 junk.
Very frustrating for sure
What about a system that just totally stops working screen and all. I stopped on the side of the road and let the bike sit for about 3 minutes and this still did not bring the system back. I then went on with my ride and stopped to fuel up and grab a drink and after about 30 minutes the system started working again. NOTHING worked and NO display.
There have been reports of that. I had it happen a year ago, but several updates have fixed that for me. If that happens you need to flash the system back to factory etc. You can also try disconnecting your battery for a bit, so the unit has zero power. We have a video to help you flash it back a bit. https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/boombox
Hope this helps
2015 Street Glide Special
My Boom Box completely dies, intermittently, while listening to the radio, screen goes dead and no audio. I also get red light on one of the middle gauges sometimes. I keep up to date on the latest flash hoping one of them will fix this issue. About ready to tell the dealer to put a new one in. For the money paid, I shouldn’t have to deal with a flakey sound system.
Yah, you have a lemon unit Mark and they are out there. Have your dealership replace the unit.
My boom navigation is froze on calculating route. It ha been like that for a week now can’t search anything and map come up black screen. Before she come on and says calculating route everything works fine. As soon as she talks I can’t do anything on the screen . Did an update it took the update fine but still froze disconected the fuse overnight that didn’t help ethier. Any suggestions?
You may have to reset the system. Restore to original and then update to the most recent version.
Hi there.
My 6.5 boom box won’t rewind my ipod(thru USB). It used to work fine then became an intermittent problem now just won’t rewind at all.
Any ideas? Thanks
Roadrunner,
There are tons of issues with the Boom!™ Box system right now. It has many bugs and viruses. Unfortunately, if that is all your experiencing right now, feel lucky. There are an array of issues Harley Davidson and Harman Kardon are working feverishly to get rid of.
With that said, the only way to fix these issues it to make certain you are running the latest software at all times on your Boom!™ Box system. Just like a smartphone or computer, this system needs to be up to date. With these continuous updates will come fixes to the issues.
If you don’t know how to update your software and maps then here is a video we have to help: https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/boomboxsoftware
Get hooked up on the free email list. I send out critical information on the Boom!™ Box system. https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/emailclub
We also have a great Boom!™ Box video that will show you everything you need to know about your system to include hidden menus and options you are likely not even aware of. https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/boombox
If you aren’t using your Boom!™ Box system in conjunction with Harley-Davidson’s free Ride Planner to plan trips and upload then you are missing out big time. We have a video that will assist you with that too. https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/rideplanner
~Lurch
Same issues, works fine one day then the next time you set out to ride the bike says “No playable media” it will look for your phone but won’t find the media. I’ve done the latest update on the bike and my iPhone is up todate
I have an iPod classic that plays through the USB cable. It will play and then stop, or freeze for a bit, then start again. It picks up where the music stopped so it is not skipping. Seems to happen when I accelerate or use the throttle. If i’m using the cruise control it seems to play longer with no cut out. At first I thought it was an issues with vibration so I tested the bike and extreme padded the iPod, still same result. Paid attention to road vibration and decided that was not it either. Suggestions?
One of the many bugs that people experience with the Boom Box. It’s been going on for some time. Boom Box Software updates have fixed that issued from time to time.
I just bought a used 2015 roadglide special with 6.5 boom audio. When trying to pair my phone when you hit bluetooth is says initializing and wont go past that. I have tried updating the software which didnt work. Not sure where to go from there.
Contact your Harley Dealership. You may have a lemon unit. It could be a bad WHIM too. Or corrupt software in the WHIM. (Wireless Headset Interface Module)
Hi Ryan,
I have a 2022 Road Glide special. Radio Flashed for Wireless Harley Headset. I connect my IPhone through the port to get Apple Carplay. Issue I am having is when playing music, whether it is Pandora, or saved music on my phone it will briefly stop playing, or the sound is lowered to 0 then a couple seconds later it will start playing. This happens through My harley speakers or my wireless headset. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks very much,
Wes