Fifty150 Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 (edited) The phone is a Samsung A10e. The radio is an extremely inexpensive radio from Amazon. The same radio is sold by many Amazon sellers under different "brand" names, priced from under $50, to over $100. The displays will be the same. The back of the radio will be the same. The wiring harness and wire colors will be the same. It's the same radio, from the same factory - sort of like how a lot of the aftermarket LED light bars, spotlights, dashcams, backup cams....... are exactly the same. The same things are also sold on eBay. And oftentimes, it's the same "seller" selling under different names. I bought the least expensive version, since it's not worth paying more. Whether you have an Apple or an Android, the only thing that you need to do, is plug in the USB cable. That is where it starts going wrong. Sometimes the phone connects right away. Sometimes, it never connects. I turned to the internet. Android Auto not connecting appears to be big problem. Different types of phones. Different types of radios. Different types of cars. It makes sense. So many different variables, and Google engineers have to write code for every variation to work. Is that possible? I don't know. Even very expensive phones, with very expensive radios, and very expensive cars were having problems. So my inexpensive phone, and inexpensive radio, wasn't having problems because of me being cheap. Sometimes it's "user error". People are using cheap USB cables that they bought at a gas station or liquor store. You need a cable which is capable of carrying high speed data. The cable should be as short as possible. I got that. 12" high speed data cable. The next piece of advice, which was commonly found online, was just to disconnect the cable, wait, then plug it back in. Not really a solution. I got the same results. Sometimes I plug it in, and it works. Sometimes, it doesn't work. How many times can you unplug and plug a cable in? No logic to it working, then not working for a few days, then working again. Another piece of advice online was to "start from scratch". Disconnect the car battery ground wire if possible. Or take the dash apart and disconnect the radio harness. This erases the radio's "keep alive memory". Disconnecting the battery ground could also wipe out other memory in your car's computers. Uninstall the Android Auto app, restart the phone, reinstall the Android Auto app, then restart the phone. This is not a solution. You can't do this every time you go to your car. I tried it. It didn't work. After reading though a lot of online websites, I was just as confused as I was in the beginning. As I told Chuck Woolery, "thanks, but I think I'll try my luck on my own". Some car stereo sellers, even the cheap ones on Amazon and eBay, offer firmware updates. I found the webpage for that. The radios that I had were already loaded with the latest versions of their firmware. My phone allegedly has the most recent updates. Here is what I found. So far, it works. I went into the phone's settings, went to the application, and manually allowed permission for Android Auto to change system settings. With any luck, it will keep working. Hopefully this helps the next person who tries to install an aftermarket radio. Edited October 11, 2022 by Fifty150 typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 According to Android Authority, it's almost impossible to troubleshoot problems with Android Auto. Too many combinations of phones, cars, and radios. Too many variables. With so many auto manufacturers, car stereo manufacturers, and cell phone manufacturers invested into the technology, and the countless number of end users who are now trying to use the technology - Google quits. Now for anyone who has an Android, and wants to be able to use the technology.....good luck! Here is what I have found. Open Google Maps. Go to settings, navigation settings, then Google Assistant settings. Manually turn on "Driving Mode". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 The latest version of Android Auto, which is supposedly no longer supported, is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 Android Auto is no longer supported. They just released version 8.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Android Auto for phone screens was discontinued. They put all effort on the car screen now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 Android Auto was supposed to be replaced by Google Assistant Drive Mode. Drive Mode has also been discontinued. Now it's unclear as to what will happen. There are countless cars built with Android Auto integrated into the OEM radio. And an unknown number of aftermarket radios with Android Auto installed. What happens next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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