Wireless Android Auto from Motorola

[Volfy]

The disconnection is not necessarily the fault of the wireless Android Auto USB dongle, or wired USB connection. I have two MA1's running in two cars and they are typically very stable. Every once in a long while, I might get a drop out, but they look as though they are more related to cell signal issues, than hardware stability.

I've had the same thing happen in another vehicle that has an aftermarket head unit with built-in wireless Android Auto.

Personally, I prefer to mount my phone high up on the dash and in the open, so as to get as good cell reception as possible. Not only for that, but I noticed my phone would typically run warm when in AA operation, so I actually mount them so as to get some cold air from an A/C vent outlet. A few times I forgot to take my phone out of my belt pouch, and it would pretty darn warm. Not good for phone/battery longevity.

 

[Maljey]

Hey there. I was wondering if this is still the case? I have gone through tons of USB cables trying to find one that won't disconnect randomly. I assumed the MA1 would disconnect as well. Have you had disconnects with the MA1?

Thanks

Unfortunately my MA1 stopped working a little over a month ago. I have largely been working from home, and got a new phone in the meantime, so I haven't tried troubleshooting it too much. I did try pairing it with my new phone once, and had no success.

I read a tip from someone on Reddit on making sure you use a usb cord capable of transferring data quickly. I have been using this 1ft cord from Amazon:

Amazon.com

It's been MUCH better than other cords I've used in the past. I will still get the occasional disconnect, but nowhere near the rate of previous cords.

Frankly I'm not too motivated to replace the MA1 right now since the above cord has been good.

 

[tjcee1]

Unfortunately my MA1 stopped working a little over a month ago. I have largely been working from home, and got a new phone in the meantime, so I haven't tried troubleshooting it too much. I did try pairing it with my new phone once, and had no success.

I read a tip from someone on Reddit on making sure you use a usb cord capable of transferring data quickly. I have been using this 1ft cord from Amazon:

Amazon.com

It's been MUCH better than other cords I've used in the past. I will still get the occasional disconnect, but nowhere near the rate of previous cords.

Frankly I'm not too motivated to replace the MA1 right now since the above cord has been good.

Thanks for the info.. I went with the AA Wireless option. After reading a few reviews on different Android Auto wireless options, the consensus seemed to think AA Wireless was the winner. It came yesterday. So, not a lot of time using it yet. However, it was extremely simple to set up. It comes with a separate USB cable. So, that cable is replaceable if you needed to. From what I understand, the MA1's cable is attached. AA Wireless also has an app for your phone for upgrading. It upgraded the OS once right away..... So far so good. I have had one disconnect, but I was messing with the phone at the time. Not sure if that was the reason or not. But, as of now, I'm very happy.

 

[tjcee1]

Update.. for anyone who cares.. My 1 week old AA Wireless disconnected a bunch of times on my commute this morning causing it to, somehow, fly onto the passenger side floorboard. I do have a Anker USB cable I have not tried yet. I might try the Anker USB along with the AA Wirelss and see if that does any better.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when or why it disconnects. It is random.. Has nothing to do with vibrations, bumps in the road, or movement of the phone. Sometimes it disconnects once then stays for an hour straight afterwards. Other times, like this morning, it disconnects over and over every minute or two for 20 mins until it gets "disconnected"..

Very frustrating.. So far, my experience with Android Auto .. it sucks! Oh, btw Samsung S22 plus..

 

[Volfy]

From what I understand, the MA1's cable is attached.

That can be a plus or minus, depending on your POV. To me, that eliminates a point of failure and uncertainty. I park my MA1 directly in front of the USB port and that is where it stays since day 1. That short pig tail is perfect for that.

 

[bfglitch]

Update.. for anyone who cares.. My 1 week old AA Wireless disconnected a bunch of times on my commute this morning causing it to, somehow, fly onto the passenger side floorboard. I do have a Anker USB cable I have not tried yet. I might try the Anker USB along with the AA Wirelss and see if that does any better.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when or why it disconnects. It is random.. Has nothing to do with vibrations, bumps in the road, or movement of the phone. Sometimes it disconnects once then stays for an hour straight afterwards. Other times, like this morning, it disconnects over and over every minute or two for 20 mins until it gets "disconnected"..

Very frustrating.. So far, my experience with Android Auto .. it sucks! Oh, btw Samsung S22 plus..

Odd. I used to have an S22+ (s24+ now) and the only times I had disconnections was when I went to grab my phone and the plug, where it plugged into the phone, if it hit something on the way out, it would disconnect. At least in my case, my problem is the cable I'm using. I've been on drives of 4+ hours long and haven't had it just randomly disconnect ever otherwise. Well...that's not 100% true. The only other times I had random "disconnects" was because the stupid phone overheated and shut down.

For reference, this is wired AA, not using my MA1, which I'm tempted to try out again.

 

[tjcee1]

That can be a plus or minus, depending on your POV. To me, that eliminates a point of failure and uncertainty. I park my MA1 directly in front of the USB port and that is where it stays since day 1. That short pig tail is perfect for that.
View attachment 85383

Yeah, the AA Wireless has a detachable cable. I thought that would be a positive.. since I can replace it if it wears out. If the Anker cable doesn't resolve the issue, Amazon will be getting the AA Wireless back.

Do you have disconnects with the MA1? .. Maybe I'll give that a try.

Thanks!

 

[Maljey]

Update.. for anyone who cares.. My 1 week old AA Wireless disconnected a bunch of times on my commute this morning causing it to, somehow, fly onto the passenger side floorboard. I do have a Anker USB cable I have not tried yet. I might try the Anker USB along with the AA Wirelss and see if that does any better.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when or why it disconnects. It is random.. Has nothing to do with vibrations, bumps in the road, or movement of the phone. Sometimes it disconnects once then stays for an hour straight afterwards. Other times, like this morning, it disconnects over and over every minute or two for 20 mins until it gets "disconnected"..

Very frustrating.. So far, my experience with Android Auto .. it sucks! Oh, btw Samsung S22 plus..

That sucks. I wish Kia's system would have just built in/updated wireless AA and we could avoid all of this. I vaguely recall European Stingers getting a downloadable update for wireless AA but I could be mistaken.

My wireless charging pad is broken too, and I haven't bothered to take it to dealership yet, so that's another reason why I'm just going with a wired connection for now. When my M1A wireless AA device was working, I didn't like having the battery drain on the phone.

I came from a 2019 Camaro and never had wired AA issues like this, so it's been very frustrating for me as well.

 

[Volfy]

Yeah, the AA Wireless has a detachable cable. I thought that would be a positive.. since I can replace it if it wears out. If the Anker cable doesn't resolve the issue, Amazon will be getting the AA Wireless back.

Do you have disconnects with the MA1? .. Maybe I'll give that a try.

Thanks!

If you are talking about physically coming loose from the USB-A port, I've never had that happen. That connection is so tight, I have to pull pretty darn hard to unplug the USB-A cable from that port. I run AutoX with the stuff plugged in just like in the pic above, and they take the max lateral G-forces without so much as a sniffle.

If you are talking about disruptions in the Android Auto software/signal connection, I did have that happen a few times. Seems like it was related to a particular AA software update, like it would happen a few times all in the same week, and after an AA update... rock solid for months and months. As of now, I don't remember when was the last time a glitch happened in my car... probably at least some 8-9 months ago, maybe even longer. I've also changed phones several times since installing the MA-1, from a couple of OnePlus's to a S24+ just last week. No effect on reliability.

 

[tjcee1]

If you are talking about physically coming loose from the USB-A port, I've never had that happen. That connection is so tight, I have to pull pretty darn hard to unplug the USB-A cable from that port. I run AutoX with the stuff plugged in just like in the pic above, and they take the max lateral G-forces without so much as a sniffle.

If you are talking about disruptions in the Android Auto software/signal connection, I did have that happen a few times. Seems like it was related to a particular AA software update, like it would happen a few times all in the same week, and after an AA update... rock solid for months and months. As of now, I don't remember when was the last time a glitch happened in my car... probably at least some 8-9 months ago, maybe even longer. I've also changed phones several times since installing the MA-1, from a couple of OnePlus's to a S24+ just last week. No effect on reliability.

Thanks.. I'm not talking about the cable becoming physically disconnected. The Android Auto connection just drops. As as I know I have the latest AA Auto software update. I will double check on that.

At first I just ran AA Auto through a USB cable connected to my phone. It dropped out / disconnected randomly. I tried all sorts of cables. Many supposed to be "AA Auto" supporting. As I said, now I have an Anker cable.. I'll see if that works any better. But, recently, I picked up the AA Wireless puck. It is set up with a detachable cable unlike the MA1 .. I have had random AA Auto disconnects with that set up as well. Some days zero... some days a bunch.

I have not tried the Anker cable with the phone itself or connected to the AA Wireless puck. I'm going to give that a shot today.

Hearing that your MA1 doesn't disconnect, I might just ship the AA Wireless back to Amazon and give that a go.

thanks for the info.

TJ

 

[Volfy]

That sucks. I wish Kia's system would have just built in/updated wireless AA and we could avoid all of this. I vaguely recall European Stingers getting a downloadable update for wireless AA but I could be mistaken.

That is correct. I have not read about any timeline for US getting it.

My wireless charging pad is broken too, and I haven't bothered to take it to dealership yet, so that's another reason why I'm just going with a wired connection for now. When my M1A wireless AA device was working, I didn't like having the battery drain on the phone.

I came from a 2019 Camaro and never had wired AA issues like this, so it's been very frustrating for me as well.

I've never used the OEM charging port. The $18 SuperVOOC 80/65w charger for my 1+ phone has 2 ports and works far better. Plus it has a voltage readout that is very handy for keeping an eye on what the Stinger's Smart Charging algorithm works. It does some pretty interesting things.

 

[Volfy]

Thanks.. I'm not talking about the cable becoming physically disconnected. The Android Auto connection just drops. As as I know I have the latest AA Auto software update. I will double check on that.

At first I just ran AA Auto through a USB cable connected to my phone. It dropped out / disconnected randomly. I tried all sorts of cables. Many supposed to be "AA Auto" supporting. As I said, now I have an Anker cable.. I'll see if that works any better. But, recently, I picked up the AA Wireless puck. It is set up with a detachable cable unlike the MA1 .. I have had random AA Auto disconnects with that set up as well. Some days zero... some days a bunch.

I have not tried the Anker cable with the phone itself or connected to the AA Wireless puck. I'm going to give that a shot today.

Hearing that your MA1 doesn't disconnect, I might just ship the AA Wireless back to Amazon and give that a go.

thanks for the info.

TJ

It does sound like it could be cable related.

FWIW though, sometimes the AA update could be on the server side. For that to take effect, you'd have to clear your phone's data cache. See here: PSA: If you still haven't received Coolwalk (Android Auto) try this. I haven't had to do that since the Coolwalk intro more than a year ago, but I would definitely try that if I come across a pesky AA problem.

 

[stoopid]

I have the unique luxury of having used the MA1 and AA Wireless for about a year each in my Stinger. I have experienced about the same level of glitchiness with BOTH solutions, and it seems more related to when I'm navigating and playing music at the same time. With navigation (turn by turn) off, music is mostly flawless. I'm thinking it's just part of the wireless android auto experience. This is with the phone in my pocket, I rarely need to put it on the charger as most of my driving is commute and it's 20-30 minutes max.

There's an update available for AA Wireless (the solution I'm currently using) and will be applying that. It's only the second update I've applied in the ~year. Maybe it will help, but I suspect not based on the above experience being almost identical for each solution.

They're both fine for the convenience and price. They both work 90 something+ percent of the time, close to 100% most days. There's a lot of moving digital parts making this software solution happen, so I'm certainly not surprised it has 'personality'.

 

[tjcee1]

Thanks for all the info. I'm not sure what's going on now. After work today, I tried the Anker cable with the AA Wireless and the system wouldn't recognize anything was connected. So, I swapped back to the cable the AA Wireless shipped with... same result. No connected USB device recognized. After that, I went back to straight cable from phone to USB .. nothing. Now, for some reason, no matter which cable I use, the USB port doesn't recognize that any AA device it plugged in. However, the port still charges my phone. I'm at a loss.

Can a USB adapter inserted into the charging port be used for Android Auto? At this point, I'm not sure how to proceed.

 

[chxei]

One note I want to tell you guys is that don't let MA1 or AA wireless device get hot. Just don't cover, don't place something near that will make it hot. Cause it is getting warm after about 1 hour of driving, and after its warm it starts to lag and stater. Sometimes my MA1 just won't connect, in that case reset helps(as in every electronic device).

 

[tjcee1]

Thanks for the advice.

I did have my AA Wireless inside the compartment where the USB port lives. However, today it was first thing in the morning. 5 am and 42 degrees outside. It started acting up about 5 minutes into my drive. I don't think it got hot that quickly. Also, it was inside the same compartment working fine for the last few days.. One or two hiccups.. If I do get it working again, I'll try to keep it outside and see if that helps.

 

[stoopid]

Can a USB adapter inserted into the charging port be used for Android Auto? At this point, I'm not sure how to proceed.

Not sure what you mean, there's only one port in my Stinger that can be used with the AA Wireless/MA1 devices, low on the console where the wireless charging pad is located. This USB is connected directly to the head unit. No other USB ports in the car will work with aa wireless solutions.

I suspect your issues today were a glitch in the martrix and the next time you go to use the car after it's been off for 30+ minutes and all systems shutdown/reset, things will detect and work normally again. It's likely your head unit needs a full power cycle to start talking to that usb port again. If not I would suggest following the aa wireless/ma1 devices reset procedure and start fresh. My MA1 seemed dead (which prompted getting the AA Wireless) but ended up coming back to life after I looked up how to and performed a full hardware reset.

I also notice that if I'm going to have random audio glitches (with or without navigation), it's early in my drive like 5 minutes as you noted. This may have something to do with a process working in the background, as it glitches briefly maybe 20% of the time at that 5 minute mark. When navigation and music are both active, a more substantial glitch/stutter or random restart of the aa wireless device happens at a more random interval, sometimes 20 or 60 minutes into a drive. I was assuming it could be heat related initially, but have ruled that out having this happen when the interior is cold or hot, sun or not, etc. And the aa wireless devices never physically feel hot to the touch.

There's a lot of hopeful speculation in this thread trying to wish away these bugs, but as I said prior... as a network engineer by trade it's my job to be methodical when troubleshooting and my conclusion based on my observations and fairly robust anecdotal experience is that the technology is just glitchy, and this is as good as we're going to get with this generation hardware/software.

 

[tjcee1]

Yeah.. I suspect you are correct. I was also pretty sure that the USB port near the charging pad was the only port that could be used for AA.

Also, odd that this happened 2 days after my Samsung S22 updated. I need to go over the settings on the phone as well.

Thanks.

 

[Volfy]

One note I want to tell you guys is that don't let MA1 or AA wireless device get hot. Just don't cover, don't place something near that will make it hot. Cause it is getting warm after about 1 hour of driving, and after its warm it starts to lag and stater. Sometimes my MA1 just won't connect, in that case reset helps(as in every electronic device).

Heat is a problem for electronics in general, especially battery packs. I am actually much more concerned about the phone. Every phone I ever used for AA always get warm after even a short period of AA use, even just streaming Hi-Rez Audio from Amazon Music, which I'm on probably 95% of the time in the car. There were a few times I forgot to take the phone out of my belt holster, and it would get seriously warm. I always have a case on my phone, so that doesn't help. Even hanging on the dash in open air, it would still get hot on a warm sunny day. I had to mount the magnetic holder such that I can direct A/C vent to blow cold air on the phone

 

[tjcee1]

Good Info. However, I'm pretty positive it's not my phone getting hot.. Although, now I'm questioning whether or not it's the USB port or something else on my phone. My phone is in a holder that keeps it free from heat. I doubt that's my issue.

I was able to get AA working again. - Yesterday, I said it would not come up no matter what I did. AA was not recognizing any cable attached to anything. This morning, using my Anker USB to my Samsung S22, AA came up right away. After driving 20 - 25 mins and 7 or 8 times where AA dropped and reconnected, I gave up and disconnected my phone.

I do get errors on the phone saying something about a faulty USB cable and cable connection. My S22 is 3 years old and has been through the ringer. I have had multiple occasions where the USB port has been too wet to work. I'm sure over that time, much dirt has accumulated in the port. If AA is finicky to start, my dirty USB port can't help the situation.

I'll clean the port and try and test with another phone. Although, a dirty USB on my phone does not explain why AA Wireless stopped working, it is a possible problem. At this point I'm shot-gunning my troubleshooting and trying to remove as many possible variables as I can.

Again, thanks everyone for your input and help.

TJ