Australian Stingers and sms text messaging

[Gavan Flower]

Nothing works except Google Maps.

Spotify just gets stuck on one playlist. Cannot select songs or any other lists and it you try it gets stuck in a continual loop.

I tried downloading Anchor to see if it was any better - again stuck and cannot function.

Also none of the badic functionality with "Ok Google" such as texting by voice or even telling me the weather.

The biggest kick in the guts is actually having to hook it up via USB. This means you have a clunky cord hanging over your gearstick as you cant close the console where its housed. Meanwhile a perfectly functioning wireless charger sits there useless.

When you get a car that is meant to be state-of-the-art, we shouldn't have to put up with this kind of disappointment.

 

[Gavan Flower]

Never had it before so did not miss it. If you have to send a txt wait til you’ve switched off and not driving. The Kia system is ok for me but I guess you lot are miffed because u spent so much on the car, I would too but it’s not an issue for me. Hopefully a software update will fix but you’re going to have to raise the issue strongly with Kia.

So answer me this - how do we air our grievances to Kia so its heard and then if its heard and there is a software update, is there a way to update without having to take in for a service?

 

[Kia Stinger]

Welcome aboard, @Gavan Flower! Thank you for signing up!

 

[ezascanbe]

This Kia website maybe US only but it indicates txt messaging with Android Auto works and even demonstrates how to use it.

Android Auto App | Quick Start Guide | Kia Technology

Can't image they used a different implementation

Bugs and issues aside this old like all the features I was expecting with Android Auto.

 

[Kazz]

It's good to know, somehow, that it's SUPPOSED to work, anyway.

 

[Gavan Flower]

This Kia website maybe US only but it indicates txt messaging with Android Auto works and even demonstrates how to use it.

Android Auto App | Quick Start Guide | Kia Technology

Can't image they used a different implementation

Bugs and issues aside this old like all the features I was expecting with Android Auto.

Thanks for that info - and from what I can it is supposed to work as demonstrated in the video; problem is that it doesn't. Looking forward to it being corrected in the near term.

FYI, I am using a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, so not sure if it is now a phone problem or if it is the Stinger OS. I am suspecting the latter but would love to know if anyone has it functioning as it should (albeit through the USB rather than Bluetooth).

 

[Chris]

Thanks for that info - and from what I can it is supposed to work as demonstrated in the video; problem is that it doesn't. Looking forward to it being corrected in the near term.

FYI, I am using a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, so not sure if it is now a phone problem or if it is the Stinger OS. I am suspecting the latter but would love to know if anyone has it functioning as it should (albeit through the USB rather than Bluetooth).

Shouldn't be the phone. Google updates Android auto independently of the phone manufacturer. All phones should have the exact same Android auto software running on them.

 

[ezascanbe]

Sometimes things stop working on Android in general if the app's security access is revoked. When you first use Android Auto it asks for the permissions to be set, but they can revert back.

I'm on a Pixel2 but you could try checking Apps & Notifications > Advanced/Special App Access > Notification Access > And make sure the Android Auto slider is on.

I get my car tomorrow so can check then.

Cheers

 

[Gavan Flower]

Sometimes things stop working on Android in general if the app's security access is revoked. When you first use Android Auto it asks for the permissions to be set, but they can revert back.

I'm on a Pixel2 but you could try checking Apps & Notifications > Advanced/Special App Access > Notification Access > And make sure the Android Auto slider is on.

I get my car tomorrow so can check then.

Cheers

Yep - my configuration is all setup correctly on the phone. For mine its a car issue.

Good luck with yours tomorrow buddy... will be interested if you have a better result that I have with the phone

 

[ezascanbe]

Yep - my configuration is all setup correctly on the phone. For mine its a car issue.

Good luck with yours tomorrow buddy... will be interested if you have a better result that I have with the phone

That's annoying! Will keep you posted.

 

[ezascanbe]

Sometimes things stop working on Android in general if the app's security access is revoked. When you first use Android Auto it asks for the permissions to be set, but they can revert back.

I'm on a Pixel2 but you could try checking Apps & Notifications > Advanced/Special App Access > Notification Access > And make sure the Android Auto slider is on.

I get my car tomorrow so can check then.

Cheers

P.s. love the colour of your ride!

 

[ezascanbe]

So I got my car today and so far everything is amazing except that AndroidAuto is very flakey. I can listen to Spotify for the most part but Waze and Google Maps crash almost instantly.

Once it crashes it has to be unplugged and plugged back in after the drive home it wouldn't even detect the phone. I had to mess about and change it to USB MTP as it somehow just wanted to charge of the USB.

Need to try with my wife's phone tomorrow see if there is any difference.

I actually think it might be this Android version which is 8.1.0 with Security Patch 5th Jan 2018.

What's your version @Gavan Flower ?

 

[ezascanbe]

Further my last update it looks like this is a wide spread issue

Google Groups

On hold waiting for a google engineer now...

 

[Gavan Flower]

So I got my car today and so far everything is amazing except that AndroidAuto is very flakey. I can listen to Spotify for the most part but Waze and Google Maps crash almost instantly.

Once it crashes it has to be unplugged and plugged back in after the drive home it wouldn't even detect the phone. I had to mess about and change it to USB MTP as it somehow just wanted to charge of the USB.

Need to try with my wife's phone tomorrow see if there is any difference.

I actually think it might be this Android version which is 8.1.0 with Security Patch 5th Jan 2018.

What's your version @Gavan Flower ?

Its Android 7.0 updated 1 October 2017 .

So I got my car today and so far everything is amazing except that AndroidAuto is very flakey. I can listen to Spotify for the most part but Waze and Google Maps crash almost instantly.

Once it crashes it has to be unplugged and plugged back in after the drive home it wouldn't even detect the phone. I had to mess about and change it to USB MTP as it somehow just wanted to charge of the USB.

Need to try with my wife's phone tomorrow see if there is any difference.

I actually think it might be this Android version which is 8.1.0 with Security Patch 5th Jan 2018.

What's your version @Gavan Flower ?

It's Android version 7.0 Patch Level 1 October 2017. Says its up to date when I try and update.

I love my ride too - this is my only frustration. Got a workout today i gridlocked Melbourne traffic and failed miserably. The internal GPS is useless for traffic conditions so I hooked up the USB for Google Maps and while it worked, i couldn't use any functionality on Spotify and when I tried changing to other apps it got locked in an endless spiral. The biggest frustration remains being the fact I need to pull a USB out to access it. Why can't it be accessed through Bluetooth?

 

[ezascanbe]

[FAQ] Bluetooth and Android Auto: How it works and why - Android Auto Help

The link above seems to indicate that there isn't enough speed in Bluetooth to carry the video signal to the head unit and Bluetooth is reserved for voice calls. May just be an excuse but I don't think any Android Auto cars or phones support Bluetooth only. Happy to be corrected on this.

Given that your maps work and Spotify doesn't we may be facing Potentially different issues.

The only other tid bit I've come across is to enable USB Debugging in developer options on the phone. Will try that tomorrow.

I've also logged a case with Google. See how that goes.

 

[Chris]

[FAQ] Bluetooth and Android Auto: How it works and why - Android Auto Help

The link above seems to indicate that there isn't enough speed in Bluetooth to carry the video signal to the head unit and Bluetooth is reserved for voice calls. May just be an excuse but I don't think any Android Auto cars or phones support Bluetooth only. Happy to be corrected on this.

Given that your maps work and Spotify doesn't we may be facing Potentially different issues.

The only other tid bit I've come across is to enable USB Debugging in developer options on the phone. Will try that tomorrow.

I've also logged a case with Google. See how that goes.

Android auto does support wireless connections. Note this is not Bluetooth it uses WiFi. To be fair to Kia this is a pretty recent development, I believe Google made the change last summer, probably too late for this model year. Although if I had to guess you won't see it in next year's car either. It will require a hardware change to the head unit.

 

[Beestinger]

I have a '17 Stinger GT. Android auto has worked for me pretty much everytime. Can open Spotify, Google music, Google maps and Waze with no issues both through touchscreen and VR (google assistant). Can call and read incoming WhatsApp messages as well as reply to them with google assistant accessed with VR button on the steering.
Once, there was an app which got stuck and would make Spotify and Waze crash repeatedly. Then, I simply uninstalled that app, restarted the phone and re-downloaded that app. Has had no issues since.
I use Galaxy S8+ with the latest Samsung update.

In terms of needing to plug-in USB for android auto and apple carplay, it is probably to do with the Bluetooth hardware version. If it is 4.0 (equivalent to WiFi 802.11), then the bandwidth shouldn't be a problem (25Mbps) to make these work. Not sure which version the Stinger has currently.?

 

[Gavan Flower]

Hey Beestinger - nice work.

As an update on mine, it now works as expected through the USB after updating everything (which is clunky compared to Bluetooth).

One of the of frustrations now with the Android Auto is the lock that comes up "for my safety" if scrolling through a playlist. You get two pages down and it locks you out. Same thing happens with phonecalls (albeit you can scroll through these using the steering wheel switches). Quite frustrating if the podcast you are after is a few pages down. Only workaround is to unplug from USB and do manually in the phone (which is 1000x more unsafe than simply scrolling 1 more page).

 

[AV8R]

I have a '17 Stinger GT. Android auto has worked for me pretty much everytime. Can open Spotify, Google music, Google maps and Waze with no issues both through touchscreen and VR (google assistant). Can call and read incoming WhatsApp messages as well as reply to them with google assistant accessed with VR button on the steering.
Once, there was an app which got stuck and would make Spotify and Waze crash repeatedly. Then, I simply uninstalled that app, restarted the phone and re-downloaded that app. Has had no issues since.
I use Galaxy S8+ with the latest Samsung update.

In terms of needing to plug-in USB for android auto and apple carplay, it is probably to do with the Bluetooth hardware version. If it is 4.0 (equivalent to WiFi 802.11), then the bandwidth shouldn't be a problem (25Mbps) to make these work. Not sure which version the Stinger has currently.?

Hi and welcome. Can you put your location in your avatar and add you name to relevant state register of owners in Downunder forum please.

 

[AV8R]

Hey Beestiner - nice work.

As an update on mine, it now works as expected through the USB after updating everything (which is clunky compared to Bluetooth).

One of the of frustrations now with the Android Auto is the lock that comes up "for my safety" if scrolling through a playlist. You get two pages down and it locks you out. Same thing happens with phonecalls (albeit you can scroll through these using the steering while switches). Quite frustrating if the podcast you are after is a few pages down. Only workaround is to unplug from USB and do manually in the phone (which is 1000x more unsafe than simply scrolling 1 more page).

Hi and welcome! Please go to VIC state register of owners thread in down under forum and add you name so we can let u know about meets. Thx