Android Auto

[youngricharduk]

I've had various new nissans lately, not through choice but the fact my brother works for them and its too good a price to pass up for a brand new car. I've had various qashqai's, jukes etc and I've currently got a leaf. I love android auto but i find it so slow and laggy to use, it's forever freezing or not understanding your voice etc. I wondered is this due to AA been crap or is it based on the car you have. For e.g. is Android Auto slick and fast in the latest i drive on a bmw or is it the software on your phone that's at fault.

[sherman]

Do you just have a strong accent?

[TREMAiNE]

I drive a Mustang which uses the SYNC 3 infotainment found in a lot of new Fords.

Android Auto works perfectly, is not slow or laggy etc. Very responsive.

Mrs.TREMAinE runs a Suzuki Swift Sport, the cars Infotainment system is very laggy in general, but Apple Car Play and Android Auto run absolutely fine.

I imagine the issue for you is probably Nissans hardware itself maybe not being powerful enough to smoothly run Car Play/Android Auto.

[BuzzBravado]

I use it regularly in my fabia, and it performs as well as the phone that is connected to it. Has no problem with my accent, but again that's not AA, that's google assistant.

[emperorburger]

What phone do you have?

[superpp]

not all USB cables are the same

[kambites]

As others have said AA basically just mirrors the phone onto the car's screen, all the processing is done in the phone. Thus how good it is depends mostly on how good your phone is.

Are you using it wirelessly or with a USB cable?

[youngricharduk]

Yeah it may be my geordie accent. Surely it can understand 'tek me yem pet'.

I've got a galaxy s20 phone, i have tried various cables but i suspected it may be the cars hardware.

Its still good but sometimes it drives me mental.

[ShinyPsyduck]

I have used it for the last couple of years across a load of Fords. Its hit and miss meaning you may have to plug it in twice for Android Auto to start. There was a month where an update broke it for me and my colleagues. I haven’t had any issues with aftermarket headunits.

[sherman]

youngricharduk said:

Yeah it may be my geordie accent. Surely it can understand 'tek me yem pet'.

I've got a galaxy s20 phone, i have tried various cables but i suspected it may be the cars hardware.

Its still good but sometimes it drives me mental.

Geordie explains everything

[Haltamer]

Probably a headunit thing.

I've had vastly different experiences in terms of smoothness / responsiveness across Ford Sync, Honda Connect, Jaguar & Peugeout's setups.

If the rest of the head unit is slow, Android auto will usually suffer too.

[DazzaSport]

TREMAiNE said:

I drive a Mustang which uses the SYNC 3 infotainment found in a lot of new Fords.

Android Auto works perfectly, is not slow or laggy etc. Very responsive.

Mrs.TREMAinE runs a Suzuki Swift Sport, the cars Infotainment system is very laggy in general, but Apple Car Play and Android Auto run absolutely fine.

I imagine the issue for you is probably Nissans hardware itself maybe not being powerful enough to smoothly run Car Play/Android Auto.

I have a 2018 Swift Sport and also use Android Auto. I don't find my particular unit laggy - either using the unit directly, or via Android Auto. But, I have kept my head unit up-to-date with the latest firmware - 1880 I believe.

In the past, I have had problems using it via Android Auto. But that turned out to be the phones I was using with it. Even my previous OnePlus 6 - which was a powerful phone at the time - gave some issues.

I've since upgraded to one of the latest Google Pixel phones and Android Auto is now perfect.

[EthanSmale]

I've never used the voice function because I find it weird but I've used Android Auto in various JLR cars and not found it laggy or had any kind of problems that I recall

[Denis O]

I had a new Kenwood HU fitted to my R230 SL and got dropouts on Android Auto all the time.

I changed the cable to a better quality one and it's been perfect since.

[B235r]

The wife is Irish & it can't understand her much to my amusement, she has the same problem with Google assistant on her phone

What the fk don't you understand about dggdghsbmirwavhikmpt!!!

[ch37]

I have a 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport, Android Auto runs fine in terms of responsiveness, as you'd hope when being powered by a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but there are a few frustrating bugs...

1) I cannot get it to switch automatically to night mode in Waze/Google Maps at night. This is a well known bug apparently and still not fixed for everyone. Google Maps in day mode is eye searing at night! Rather than a simple toggle on the mirrored screen, the setting is hidden in the AA developer settings on the phone, but even then it doesn't work for many people including myself.

2) Regardless of App (YouTube Music, BlackPlayer, CastBox) audio will often not remember where it was after switching the car off, instead jumping back to the start. Very frustrating given I listen to long podcasts or mixed music. The apps themselves have never done this when used on the phone.

I actually find connecting via Bluetooth (which, mercifully, is also an option on the Suzuki head unit) far more reliable than actually using Android Auto when listening to audio. That suggests to me that AA isn't just simple mirroring, as the phone itself is 100% reliable operating on its own.

[amanu1]

I don't have Android Auto built into any of my cars but have, until recently, been using the version for phone screens. I've found it works really well.

Unfortunately, Android Auto for Phone Screens has entered the Google Graveyard and the replacement Google Driving app is appaling. It doesn't work in landscape, only allows Google Maps (not even Google owned Waze), doesn't talk to the BBC Sounds app......

Does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives?

[ajprice]

Android Auto is getting an update in the summer, with better fit for different size and proportion car screens, and split screen to show nav, media and messages at the same time.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/12/android-auto-is-...

[ShinyPsyduck]

ajprice said:

Android Auto is getting an update in the summer, with better fit for different size and proportion car screens, and split screen to show nav, media and messages at the same time.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/12/android-auto-is-...

The Mazda range currently supports this on there new models. Its pretty sweet but I have found that Waze doesnt work on the small side of the split screen but google maps is working.

[dave_s13]

Can someone explain how a different cable matters. A bit like hdmi, doesn't it either work, or not?

I've got AA in a ford with sync3 and a fairly powerful Xiaomi phone. When it works it's fine but it can be buggy as hell sometimes and even causes the phone to lock up. Not great if you're relying on the nav to get you somewhere.

I could update my head unit software actually so could try that. Intrigued about differing cables though.