Android auto

[Tommohawk]

Thank you

 

[mg4]

I had a lot of intermittent connection with Android Auto over many rental cars and the MG4. It was never the car in hindsight.

But there is a difference between a working cable and a really good working cable, or so i learned. I finally said ill go against my understanding that i do use good cables, and i bought the cable with highest data throuput in gbps (10 gbps) i could find that had a usb c on one end and a usb a on the other, no adapters at all, and the shortest i could use (50cm).

It's been a week, with me using it all the time and stressing it as much as possible:

• always play music through AA
• always use guided voice navigation even if the trip is 10 minutes and i know where i am going
• have no locally downloaded maps
• issue all kinds of voice commands

I have had zero disconnects so far, so i was wrong for over 2 years - it is the cable.

Here's mine, outlining the important search terms:

Hope it helps you not waste time.

However, once i got used to AA after must be the 20th attempt, now that it is reliable, the next hurdle is i don't like plugging in the cable every time. Us humans, we are strange that way i guess

So, now i am looking for a wireless option that is as reliable and as highbthrouput as the cable. Go figure.

If anyone uses one of the many stick linked here and can recommend it, i would be grateful.

 

[securespark]

I never had Android Auto working in our MG4 until recently, when I bought our umpteenth lead. It too supports 10 Gbps and works a treat.

 

[Tuareg]

Mine works fine with a wireless dongle, no cables.

 

[mg4]

Mine works fine with a wireless dongle, no cables.

Would you be able link it or the name?

Also, does the UI or functionality change between wired and wireless? Asking if the dongle is just a connection or also some emulation happening.

 

[Jamesrr]

Also, does the UI or functionality change between wired and wireless? Asking if the dongle is just a connection or also some emulation happening.

There is no AA UI difference between wired and wireless. It is purely a connectivity capability.

 

[Tommohawk]

I had a lot of intermittent connection with Android Auto over many rental cars and the MG4. It was never the car in hindsight.

But there is a difference between a working cable and a really good working cable, or so i learned. I finally said ill go against my understanding that i do use good cables, and i bought the cable with highest data throuput in gbps (10 gbps) i could find that had a usb c on one end and a usb a on the other, no adapters at all, and the shortest i could use (50cm).

It's been a week, with me using it all the time and stressing it as much as possible:

• always play music through AA
• always use guided voice navigation even if the trip is 10 minutes and i know where i am going
• have no locally downloaded maps
• issue all kinds of voice commands

I have had zero disconnects so far, so i was wrong for over 2 years - it is the cable.

Here's mine, outlining the important search terms:View attachment 37023

Hope it helps you not waste time.

However, once i got used to AA after must be the 20th attempt, now that it is reliable, the next hurdle is i don't like plugging in the cable every time. Us humans, we are strange that way i guess

So, now i am looking for a wireless option that is as reliable and as highbthrouput as the cable. Go figure.

If anyone uses one of the many stick linked here and can recommend it, i would be grateful.

Thanks for this. I actually ended up finding a cheap value pack of those flat cables at a red dot store, one being just 30 cm, so perfect length to feed through cable run without any slack. It works perfectly - play music and maps at all times. For me it's never been the quality of the cable, but the length. The shorter, the better. Just enough to get it to the ledge is what works for mine.

 

[securespark]

The cable I have that works is 1.8m!

 

[Tommohawk]

The cable I have that works is 1.8m!

Yes, I guess that's the difference in cable quality then. Glad you sussed it out. I'm happy with my solution as don't need a long cable. BTW, I had a Ottocast Wireless transmitter. Great for maps and music, but didn't function well with phone. Major delays in voice transmission and call dropping out. I do think there may be an issue with my usb port with this and the cable issue as I don't think anyone had this latter issue. Will ask for a check when I get 1st 2 yr service done in November. Cheers

 

[Lola]

I believe the problem is usually the cable. I know your cable work at home etc etc but buy couple of good/very-good cables from google etc and then see if it still disconnects.

I tried 2 cables before it worked.

 

[securespark]

I've had my "reliable" cable for a while.

On Friday morning I got in to start a weekend trip to Notts. We were going to pick up my Ma.

It worked fine when I unplugged it at Ma's house. I put her in the front (under great protest, you know what Mums are like!) and I sat in the back.

The lead is 2m, so plenty long enough to reach to my seat behind Mrs S. I plugged my phone back in.

No amount of fiddling would bring any life to the infotainment screen. Just the "plug in...." warning came up when I tapped the Android Auto icon. I thought there was dust or fluff in my charging port so when we got to central Notts, I asked my lad to look at it (his eyes are miles sharper than mine!), but he said he couldn't see anything.

Maybe I'll get some air-in-a-can and see if that improves anything. Else the phone end of the lead is kaput?

 

[pjmmk]

Android Auto is astonishingly sensitive to lead issues. A disconnect for a fraction of a second causes problems for it. I don't know why.

I had the same issue with AA when I had the Focus ST. Go over a bump and AA would disconnect, almost every time. I resolved it by cleaning out the port on the phone with contact cleaner and getting a high quality cable.

I don't even bother with a cable in the MG. I use a bluetooth dongle to connect to the phone. No problems at all.

 

[LenEV2016]

I have no idea why they can't get the software stable enough for it to work wirelessly as it's supposed to

 

[siteguru]

I have no idea why they can't get the software stable enough for it to work wirelessly as it's supposed to

I'm not sure I follow - the MG4 doesn't natively support wireless AA, only wired. (Or wireless via a separate dongle). It doesn't have wireless AA hardware installed as far as I know.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

For those of us with Android 9 phones which will not support a wifi dongle having a decent cable is a must , but its only as good as its connections at either end. Sometimes wiggling at the phone end works other times at the fascia end . Cleaning each of the four connection points helps but many a time the phone says its connected , yet nothing on the screen , annoying , as its difficult to find a solution with so many variables including unseen software glitches. Once working it tends to stay fine until its time to unplug.
Not expecting a solution unless someone knows of a specific software anomaly.

 

[siteguru]

TBH, whilst A9 phones will still work they're way out of date as regards security patching. A16 isn't far off now.

 

[securespark]

I have an Android One phone and the latest and last OS update was A14.

The security was last updated 1 March 2025.

Will be looking for a new phone soon.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

TBH, whilst A9 phones will still work they're way out of date as regards security patching. A16 isn't far off now.

To get a newer phone goes against the grain , I only use mine as a glorified MP3 player and its availability for emergency calls . Unless someone takes pity on me and suggests how to fix up a crowd funding site.........

 

[Kenp1]

TBH, whilst A9 phones will still work they're way out of date as regards security patching. A16 isn't far off now.

A16 is already here, had it on my phone for a month.

 

[LenEV2016]

I'm not sure I follow - the MG4 doesn't natively support wireless AA, only wired. (Or wireless via a separate dongle). It doesn't have wireless AA hardware installed as far as I know.

I stand corrected, it shows how often I drive the wife's car!!

To be fair why doesn't it? You connect your phone to the car (by Bluetooth) anyway (if you want to use it) why can't it connect to car play or AA in the same way