CarPlay and Android Auto stopped working

[thejpster]

We sent our car to Peterborough today to see if they could fix the radio. It’s a bit crashy, and recently both CarPlay and AndroidAuto stopped working. After most of a day (and no courtesy car) they’ve said it wouldn’t take a software update and MG need to fix it. We don’t know when that will be but I’ve also been waiting 18 months for a fix to stop my dash being in °F so I don’t hold out any hope of this getting fixed in a hurry. In the mean time I’m paying finance on a car that doesn’t work as advertised.

My working assumption is the USB cable between the radio and the socket has failed in some fashion. I assume that’s the same USB socket they try and use for firmware updates. In fact I might go try and play an MP3 with it.

 

[dragon2611]

Worth trying a different cable, or trying that usb cable with another device such as connecting the phone to a computer.

Also i've found with the iphone at least the lightning port has an awful habit of getting pocket fluff and junk stuck in it, perticullarly if you often wireless charge and seldom use the port.

 

[thejpster]

Yeah tried a bunch of cables - known good ones. And contact cleaner in the socket. And the phones work with those cables on a PC.

They’ve now said the radio/nav needs to go to MG. We have to bring them the car for 08:30, wait a few hours, and go home in our car with no radio/nav unit. We then have no radio/nav for an unspecified amount of time until they call us to get it refitted.

They cannot offer a replacement radio and they cannot offer a courtesy car.

I tried a USB key with MP3s and AAC files on it. It worked in the right hand slot instantly, but it did not work in the left hand slot. Is it supposed to?

 

[maskull]

I can play MP3 and FLAC on both front USB slots on my Pre Facelift . I normally use AA on the left hand USB . I have had problems with AA suddenly cutting out and asking me to fit a USB cable ( mostly when I get in an area I'm not familiar with ) Tried other cables and still doesn't work until I power the car down and back on .

 

[thejpster]

Sounds like some kind of failure on the left hand USB port then: mechanical, electrical or electronic.

Can you do AA on the right hand one? The icons below the USB sockets suggest you cannot, and I’m sure I must have tried but I wouldn’t swear on it.

 

[maskull]

Sounds like some kind of failure on the left hand USB port then: mechanical, electrical or electronic.

Can you do AA on the right hand one? The icons below the USB sockets suggest you cannot, and I’m sure I must have tried but I wouldn’t swear on it.

Stupidly , I haven't tried the right one . I will next time I get in the car

 

[kevin ellard]

Stupidly , I haven't tried the right one . I will next time I get in the car

On my FL the right hand socket is just a charger.

 

[maskull]

Mine both work for data. Progress eh!

 

[thejpster]

Is it easy to remove the panel that holds the two USB ports to look behind it? I wouldn't want to do anything warranty-endangering when the car is 2 years 10 months old but this really is annoying. How hard can it be to wire up a USB cable?

 

[akendall1966]

Bit off topic but had a hire car (chevy) in the US for 2 weeks in Aug. Used AA daily same phone and cable worked flawlessly every time. Got home started it up in my 22my pre fl 5 ... crashed before I got out of the T4 Heathrow long stay carpark!

 

[Grriff]

My MG4 was diagnosed with a faulty USB socket but the problem turned out to be a slow USB lead. It needs a fast USB lead with a non-white insert. May be true for the MG5.

 

[thejpster]

USB leads very in quality, and there’s certainly the 5 gigabit/sec (and more) “SuperSpeed” USB Type A cables which usually have a blue plastic piece and extra gold contacts, and just “regular“ USB Type A cables, but I don’t think white vs black plastic means much.

I suspect MG ran crappy unshielded wire from the radio to the socket, perhaps without the right amount of twist in the +/- pair, and without using a hub chip near the socket to regenerate the signal, so anything less than a short, very high quality shielded cable to your phone, means there’s too much noise and doesn’t work. But I’d have to take the dash apart to find out.

In my case I suspect the lead has just failed entirely because this all used to work fine two months ago.

Also beware of “phone charging cables” which leave out the two data wires in the name of saving a fraction of a penny in copper. Those definitely won’t work.

 

[maskull]

Sounds like some kind of failure on the left hand USB port then: mechanical, electrical or electronic.

Can you do AA on the right hand one? The icons below the USB sockets suggest you cannot, and I’m sure I must have tried but I wouldn’t swear on it.

Sorry for the tardiness in replying . I tried AA in the right hand USB today and it didn't work . Left hand port was OK though

 

[thejpster]

Makes sense, thanks.

Are there any guides for taking the centre console apart? Or even a service manual?

 

[maskull]

I'm sure there's a thread here somewhere . Personally ,I wouldn't do it

 

[thejpster]

 

[thejpster]

The indicator no longer goes tick-tock, and it no longer goes bong when you trip the speed limiter. This seems like a safety issue. Hopefully the radio will be back from Longbridge by the weekend.

 

[thejpster]

In the photo you can see Black, Grey and Brown mini-USB connectors which lock in to the back of the radio. If you buzz them out with a multi-meter you find the black one is the Phone/Tablet socket on the left and the Grey one is the USB trident socket on the right (which is for USB thumb drives containing MP3s). Not sure where the Brown one goes - reversing camera possible, because that’s too much data to go over the CAN bus.

There’s what looks like standard ISO connector for speakers, CAN and power, and an RF lead for the radio (maybe the GPS? unclear). That’s about it.

My cables appear to be connected at least, so hopefully it is just a radio software update that’s needed.

 

[5teep]

In the photo you can see Black, Grey and Brown mini-USB connectors which lock in to the back of the radio. If you buzz them out with a multi-meter you find the black one is the Phone/Tablet socket on the left and the Grey one is the USB trident socket on the right (which is for USB thumb drives containing MP3s). Not sure where the Brown one goes - reversing camera possible, because that’s too much data to go over the CAN bus.

There’s what looks like standard ISO connector for speakers, CAN and power, and an RF lead for the radio (maybe the GPS? unclear). That’s about it.

My cables appear to be connected at least, so hopefully it is just a radio software update that’s needed.

Do you have a usb socket in the back of the center console?

 

[thejpster]

No, it’s a 70 plate Excite. But maybe they put the wires in anyway?