Intermittent Android Auto

[kayp]

Hi guys, I have the MG 4 and the AA seems to randomly work.
I have the same cable plugged in all the time so nothing changes.
I get days when the A A works and I can use maps and as for Google to make calls for me. And then later in the day nothing. No AA at all.
This can last up to a month with no activity.
Has anyone else experienced this.
Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Deleted member 14255]

Hello, your cable's data cables are damaged, try with different cables.

 

[ReintjeWA]

Maybe there is some dust or lint in your charge port?

 

[Kenp1]

Maybe there is some dust or lint in your charge port?

Yes, I've had this before, you normally notice this when the cable no longer clicks into the phone. It's amazing how much comes out, and how tricky it is to pick it all out.

 

[kayp]

Thanks guys, I will try your suggestions.
The cable is top of the range and new, but I will try cleaning the ports out...

 

[pjmmk]

Make sure it's a good quality cable as well, they tend to have better plugs. If there's any movement of the plug in either port, it'll upset Android Auto - I had this issue with my Focus ST for months before I found a cable that had a decent tight fitting plug on both ends...

 

[QLeo]

Hi guys, I have the MG 4 and the AA seems to randomly work.
I have the same cable plugged in all the time so nothing changes.
I get days when the A A works and I can use maps and as for Google to make calls for me. And then later in the day nothing. No AA at all.
This can last up to a month with no activity.
Has anyone else experienced this.
Thanks for any assistance.

There's.... discussion... going on the household about this at the moment. My phone, who goes by the name of Wolfie, has no trouble whatsoever with Android Auto. Herself's phone, going by the name of Sugarplum, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, sometimes disconnects. Both phones the same manufacturer but different models. The USB cable remains in the car.
The only explanation is "flounce mode" on some android phones.

 

[ReintjeWA]

There's.... discussion... going on the household about this at the moment. My phone, who goes by the name of Wolfie, has no trouble whatsoever with Android Auto. Herself's phone, going by the name of Sugarplum, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, sometimes disconnects. Both phones the same manufacturer but different models. The USB cable remains in the car.
The only explanation is "flounce mode" on some android phones.

Have you checked Sugarplum's charge port for lint and dust?

 

[QLeo]

Have you checked Sugarplum's charge port for lint and dust?

She's brand new.

 

[siteguru]

Newer phones are anecdotally more-sensitive to cable quality, given that they're generally more power-hungry. (That last part is a guess by me).

 

[deke]

Hi guys, I have the MG 4 and the AA seems to randomly work.
I have the same cable plugged in all the time so nothing changes.
I get days when the A A works and I can use maps and as for Google to make calls for me. And then later in the day nothing. No AA at all.
This can last up to a month with no activity.
Has anyone else experienced this.
Thanks for any assistance.

I've often found AA to be intermittent too and I know what I'm doing with cables coming from a University Electronics workshop. To be honest cables should be more reliable than Bluetooth because it's a 'solid' connection and not much to go wrong. Yes check that both ends of your cable are clean and free from fluff and any grime. I have noticed with my partner and her being a woman makes a difference. No not it any way derogatory. It's the oily fingers she has with so much moisturizing creams that she uses. It can leave a film on the connector if she has been touching it. It doesn't take much to lose a signal with electronics and it's one possibility. So make sure your hands are clean too before you start investigating. Our MG is a ZS EV and the infotainment connection setup is awful. My partner forever loses the ability to use Spotify even though her phone shows as connected. This also means she sometimes doesn't get hands free calls either. It's a pain and I blame the way the software is controlled on our units and Bluetooth being a terrible communication method. I mean we can only connect one device at a time - in this day and age, come on. Industry has been able to have multiple channels connected for decades and we have to put up with this. We take what we can get and with our MGs I think if it works it works. I'm fed up trying to ensure there's a good connection only to lose it again the next day. Software updates have not helped with our unit preparing on restarting itself when it wants to. Thankfully not as often as it used to but when you're trying to follow a map and the screen goes off for more than ten seconds. It's just crap. Good luck. I hope you have better consistent luck than we have had.

 

[rabacon001]

Hi guys, I have the MG 4 and the AA seems to randomly work.
I have the same cable plugged in all the time so nothing changes.
I get days when the A A works and I can use maps and as for Google to make calls for me. And then later in the day nothing. No AA at all.
This can last up to a month with no activity.
Has anyone else experienced this.
Thanks for any assistance.

Hi, I had 6mths of this last year and eventually I narrowed it down to two issues. The first was that there was a bug in Android Auto and the Android Operating System that caused the link to be lost when changing cell towers under certain conditions. I reported this to Google along with several hundred other people. This was resolved by an update to the phone of the operating system and presumably Android Auto although Google never admitted to the issue. But it then left random disconnects. After a lot of searching of the internet forums and trying of multiple cables I finally narrowed down the issue to cable length and cable quality. The longer the cable the more prone to interference. I now have 15cm USB C cable rated for the highest data rate and that fixed the issue of random disconnects. However, after the most recent Android update I have had two random disconnects on separate journeys but that could just be that the cable connection is getting worn. I do a lot of driving!