Still cant get Android Auto to work

ZSDave said:
Mine works OK on my Mk 1 ZS EV. Sometimes after plugging the phone in I get a message on the car screen to plug in so I unplug the lead from the phone and then plug in again and that does the trick.

I generally get better results by plugging the phone in before turning the car on to ready mode.

Dave
Click to expand...
Dave, tried that, will keep persevering, hopefully get there in the end 😬
 
DrJohnny Fever said:
So what does Android auto do?…I know Galaxy is an android phone, but that’s as far as my knowledge goes..
Click to expand...

It runs apps directly from your phone. So you can use Google maps, Spotify, calls etc and charge your phone at the same time. It will work fine on your phone, just make sure you have a good cable. I have an s20+ 5G and it works perfectly.
 
It's also worth noting that some phones need to be unlocked initially after plugging into the car. This is certainly the case with my work Samsung, whereas my newer Moto doesn't need to be unlocked (could be a setting somewhere).

This gives the impression it's not working, but as soon as I touch the fingerprint reader it springs into life.
 
The difficulties experienced with Android Auto in all the MG EV models by so many forum members makes it pretty obvious to me that the problem lies with MG.

Any number of fixes suggested with different cables, different phones, different phone settings, different car settings etc. work for some but not all. I tried all the suggestions and in the end the only thing that worked is the AAWireless device available at Indiegogo.

It works flawlessly (for me, and apparently everyone else) and solved all the connection and dropout problems I had before. It has perfectly solved one of the only niggles that reduced my driving experience. It's not particularly cheap, at $85 USD (and delivery can take a while) but I think worth every cent and we've just got to admit that MG's installation of Android Auto is buggy and needs fixing.

I have the 2021 ZS EV and I'm not sure if the new 2022 version with better infotainment system has solved the problems.

Edit: The problem may also be with Android Auto itself. The fact that there seems to be no problems with Apple Carplay in the MG and also that there's such a market for the AAWireless, not just for MG owners, suggests that it might be the source of the bugs.
 
Last edited:
Lguk said:
It runs apps directly from your phone. So you can use Google maps, Spotify, calls etc and charge your phone at the same time. It will work fine on your phone, just make sure you have a good cable. I have an s20+ 5G and it works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Thank you..now I know, can't see me using Google maps and I hope Spotify and calls will work though Bluetooth..car comes with the phone charger pad..
 
ZS comes with a Qi Charger, MG5 does not.
Music and phone will work fine through Bluetooth.

I use my phone in a cradle in my 2 other cars. So AA replicating that experience means I don't need/want a cradle in the 5. All operators choice.
 
smokie said:
I rent cars quite regularly and Android Auto often isn't the smooth experience you might hope for.
Click to expand...
Just too many variables. And frequently, underspec phones or poor configuration. My work Samsung A26 I'm not even going to attempt to use with AA even though it does meet the listed minimum of Android 6 and the app.

Apples whole ecosystem is controlled by one set of drivers, hardware, and specification. Carplay is a lot easier to get consistent results with.

That said, if you have a flagship model android phone from the last couple of years, you should be OK. Android Auto is also now being updated to give feedback on cable quality/condition which will also help weed out those poor cables that are to blame.
 
Lguk said:
Just too many variables. And frequently, underspec phones or poor configuration. My work Samsung A26 I'm not even going to attempt to use with AA even though it does meet the listed minimum of Android 6 and the app.

Apples whole ecosystem is controlled by one set of drivers, hardware, and specification. Carplay is a lot easier to get consistent results with.

That said, if you have a flagship model android phone from the last couple of years, you should be OK. Android Auto is also now being updated to give feedback on cable quality/condition which will also help weed out those poor cables that are to blame.
Click to expand...
I have Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android 10 with Android Auto built in and the original cable (also tried premium Belkin cable) and still couldn't get reliable connection. I agree all the variables in the Androidverse make for difficulties but I thought I should have been OK with that setup.
 
ChrisR said:
I have Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android 10 with Android Auto built in and the original cable (also tried premium Belkin cable) and still couldn't get reliable connection. I agree all the variables in the Androidverse make for difficulties but I thought I should have been OK with that setup.
Click to expand...
You would think that 🤯
 
ChrisR said:
I have Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android 10 with Android Auto built in and the original cable (also tried premium Belkin cable) and still couldn't get reliable connection. I agree all the variables in the Androidverse make for difficulties but I thought I should have been OK with that setup.
Click to expand...
I have the Samsung Galaxy S10+ and, initially, Android Auto would not work for me.

In advance of taking delivery of the car I had purchased a USB A to USB A lead. along with an adaptor lead, USB A socket to USB C and Lightning plugs. (My thinking was that, although I have an Android phone my wife has an iPhone and therefore should be able to use the same lead to run Apple CarPlay, clearly not at the same time as me running Android Auto!).

I plugged my phone in (using the USB C adaptor/connector, obviously) and, zilch! No amount of plugging/unplugging, starting Android Auto on the car, entering the Android Auto app on the phone would make any difference at all.

So, having read the various threads in the forum about this I decided to try a different cable, so ordered this one. Plugged it into car and phone and Android Auto opened immediately, everything accessible and customisable!

So, for me certainly, it does seem, as others have clearly found, that the cable you use makes a whole lot of difference.
 
Yes I agree I spoke to the guy in service dept at the garage he told me that you need a data cable to use the android auto Also the two usb ports in the mg5 the left us where they down load in the garage that is why you have the laptop and mobile phone picture on it 👍
 
I have an issue with Android Auto and Amazon music, spotify and youtube music too. I plug in android auto works fine, music loads, but when you press play it plays a fraction of a second then cuts off. If I unplug the phone, it plays fine on bluetooth. I have managed to get it to connect on a couple of times and play seamlessly, but I have no idea what on those rare occasions I am doing wrong! Any thoughts?
I have tried:
Disabling battery optimisation and re-enabling it.
Tried to change USB to file share but it keeps reverting to 'do nothing', and if I change it again I am booted out of Android Auto
Tried to allow bluetooth to connect first then connect cable.
Tearing my hair out, I have no idea why this is so difficult.

It isn't the phone - tried two Android phones - Motorola g8+ running android 10, and Doogee V10 running android 11. Appleplay works fine with other half's iPhone.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I now have a swanky Anker USB 3.0/USB C lead, which looks pretty, but that sadly still didn't work. I've turned on debugging to see if that might as per
Android auto problem . when I try turn on file transfer it keeps defaulting back to No Data Transfer in a system notification, and if I click on it and try change back, I bounce out of Android Auto completely.

Any further suggestions? Frustrating. I can either navigate using google maps, or listen to music via Bluetooth media, but not both, which should not be challenging frankly!
 
I now have a swanky Anker USB 3.0/USB C lead
Click to expand...

I think that the fact it is USB3 may be the problem! The cable I linked to in an earlier post (this cable) works in my car but is NOT USB3. Although the actual plugs can be interchangeable the signal protocols are quite different. :eek:
 
OK, I will give it one more go with yet another cable. . . I am collecting them like I do shaving soap, but that is another story. If that doesn't work, I think I'll just have to live with it.
 
Perhaps I can make an interesting art installation with all the duds, and call it Android Auto Frustration?
1649696733587.png
 
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

MG3 Hybrid+ & Cyberster Configurator News + hot topics from the MG EVs forums
Published
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom