Ottocast with MG4

[ippy1]

I've just purchased a Ottocast Mini for my MG4 2022.
I'm having no success getting it to work repeatedly. If I unplug it and re insert it seems to work okay.
obviously, that's not its intended use.
I was wondering if anyone has had any success using the Ottocast mini with their MG4, and if so how did you get it to pair successfully?
Iphone 13

 

[Jamesrr]

Is this a "wireless" CarPlay / Android Auto adapter?

If so, find out how to connect to its management interface and ensure there's a 20-30 second "startup delay" set.

 

[ippy1]

I can try that, did you get it to work for you?

 

[Jamesrr]

I can try that, did you get it to work for you?

I don't have an Ottocast specifically. I've had three* cheap "generic" ones from Amazon/Aliexpress and they've all had the delay pre-set.


*We have 2 MG4s and one of the three didn't work reliably for my wife's car and her iPhone. They've all worked fine for me with a Pixel 9 & 10 android phone.

 

[ReintjeWA]

This dude shows how to get into the settings for an Ottocast Mini 3 (according to google, I didn’t watch the whole video)



It alluded to having a 5 or a 15 second delay on start up, I would definitely go for the 15, most people report a 30 second delay works most reliably on the MG4.

 

[redwood98]

This dude shows how to get into the settings for an Ottocast Mini 3 (according to google, I didn’t watch the whole video)



It alluded to having a 5 or a 15 second delay on start up, I would definitely go for the 15, most people report a 30 second delay works most reliably on the MG4.

I find even if I use a cable I plug it in too fast for the car to recognise and have to unplug then replug it back in

 

[DonBattino452]

Ottocast Mini Dot with firmware from 12/2025 works flawlessly with startup delay mode 2 (about 25-30 secs).

 

[Rom]

I had one and it was a disaster. It kept android auto constantly running in the background on my pixel 9.
Every time I opened ismart it started running and the phone kept android auto and maps running in the background.
It also overheated a lot and i started getting constant usb connection errors from the car, even when I tried wired connections with the phone instead.
I had to reset everything on the phone and car to undo the mess it caused.
I have a carlinkit 5 as well, but I rarely use it due to excessive battery drain, but that does work a bit better.
I'm back using a wired connection with a good quality Anker cable.

 

[DonBattino452]

@Rom I had a similar issue where Android Auto stayed active and Driving DND didn’t deactivate automatically, even though I was already back at home. In my case, the solution was to remove the direct Bluetooth connection to the MG4. Only the Bluetooth connection from the Ottocast should be present. Now everything's ok.

 

[NLMGSAN]

@Rom I had a similar issue where Android Auto stayed active and Driving DND didn’t deactivate automatically, even though I was already back at home. In my case, the solution was to remove the direct Bluetooth connection to the MG4. Only the Bluetooth connection from the Ottocast should be present. Now everything's ok.

So you can only use the phone app to make calls?

 

[Rom]

@Rom I had a similar issue where Android Auto stayed active and Driving DND didn’t deactivate automatically, even though I was already back at home. In my case, the solution was to remove the direct Bluetooth connection to the MG4. Only the Bluetooth connection from the Ottocast should be present. Now everything's ok.

I tried that too. But I kept getting persistent Bluetooth pairing requests, even though I forgot the car and changed the names of both devices.
I also have a dash cam and it was preferred to remove the pairing for that too so the only Bluetooth connection was the wireless adapter.
You have to give up too much to go wireless, the charge pad in the car is useless and if your phone is out of your pocket you may as well use a wired connection anyway.

 

[DonBattino452]

@NLMGSAN Do you mean the MG built-in phone app or the one from, for example, Android Auto?
With my Ottocast, I have a permanent Android Auto / CarPlay connection, which means that when you open the MG phone app, you get redirected to the Android Auto phone app. You can only get back to the MG-built-in app once you start a call and then press the Home button. At that point, a floating icon appears; tapping it takes you back to the MG phone app.


@Rom I agree with you there — AAWireless definitely has its downsides.
If I can find a second phone user, I’ll try to record my setup. I’m usually a big fan of stock Android; the heavily customized Android from Samsung on my S23 doesn’t appeal to me personally at all. Maybe in this specific case I got lucky with One UI for once : it’s known for killing apps in the background, and perhaps this famous “RAM management” is exactly what ensures that Android Auto actually shuts down properly.

On my Standard MY22, I have the issue that there is no wireless charging pad, and I’m dealing with a “USB cable pothole problem.” What does that mean? My S23 is connected via USB-A, Android Auto is running, and I drive over a bumpy road. Boom — Android Auto crashes and reconnects after a few seconds. This happens to me all the time.
What’s interesting is that this only affects the Android Auto connection; charging on the S23 is not interrupted at all, strangely enough. I can even reproduce this behavior by slightly wiggling the cable at the phone’s connector. I’ve tested several cables: the original Samsung one, one from Anker, and one from Ugreen — always the same result. For some reason, the S23 seems to have a very sensitive charging port.