Android Auto \ Full Link

[gshaw]

Quick question for those with Full Link and Android, how's it working for you so far?

Tried both iPhone and Android (HTC One M8) in the car so far (MY16 unit) and so far found:

- iPhone connects up instantly and CarPlay seems to work well
- Android Auto is buggy and crashes or sometimes puts audio out through the phone instead of the HU sometimes
- once Android Auto is paired it seems to override MirrorLink despite what I set on the HU
- voice control to change tracks etc. is cool on Android Auto but does need a screen navigation to select artists etc. as I imagine if there's no 4G signal at the time it won't work as Google relies on the cloud for voice recognition.

Reviews in the Google Play store seem to suggest the crashing is a known issue with Android Auto at the moment. Hoping the product will get a bit more resource thrown at it to make the experience more reliable as time goes on.

 

[hydrostatik]

I have full link but only tried with iPhone 6 so far.

Mostly good but I've found an issue that I can't identify the root cause of. Basically intermittently the phone will connect but then disconnect immediately. Like its faulty cable or something. I've swapped out cables and tried another phone and it's intermittent.

I think it may be something to do with selecting a 'car play app' before you've connected the phone. Or connecting the phone too early. I'm not sure.

All good in terms of functionality tho and much prefer using Apple maps instead of the built in nav!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bretth1974]

I can't get on with Android Auto at all on my s5. Either my expectations of it were far too high or I am doing something wrong.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[twitchynik]

I get an intermittent issue where the head unit spaz's out saying there's a problem with CarPlay. Had this before iOS 9 (and the recent updates to 9). Happened this morning in fact.

Tried all sorts inc a phone reboot until the head unit crashed and rebooted itself. Problem was them cleared.

Also found that it works better/quicker with Bluetooth turned off.

 

[hydrostatik]

Agreed, Bluetooth messes it up.

You get the same issue as me then. There's no rhyme or reason for it except I think it's to do with what app is open when you plug the phone in.


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[bleedsoff]

Is there a specific car play app you need to download for Apple iPhones?

 

[hydrostatik]

No, there are specific apps that work with full link. Specifically phone, messages, maps, music, Spotify, audio books and pod casts. I think there's one other third party app that also works.

Edit: Car play is a feature of iOS. Built in.


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[Major Tom]

No, there are specific apps that work with full link. Specifically phone, messages, maps, music, Spotify, audio books and pod casts. I think there's one other third party app that also works.

Edit: Car play is a feature of iOS. Built in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you sure of CarPlay being a part of iOS? So to support more apps we will have to await iOS upgrades, and the car is unaffected? I can see that Apple takes excessive time to support Google Maps in their system, but e.g. the Navigon app should be supported asap I think. Else I think it's a case for authorities for being anti-competitive behaviour.

 

[twitchynik]

Are you sure of CarPlay being a part of iOS? So to support more apps we will have to await iOS upgrades, and the car is unaffected? I can see that Apple takes excessive time to support Google Maps in their system, but e.g. the Navigon app should be supported asap I think. Else I think it's a case for authorities for being anti-competitive behaviour.

Suggest you go read about CarPlay on Apple's website.

CarPlay is built in to the iOS and only Ape approved apps will work through it. i.e. Apple Maps not Google Maps.

 

[Major Tom]

Suggest you go read about CarPlay on Apple's website.

CarPlay is built in to the iOS and only Ape approved apps will work through it. i.e. Apple Maps not Google Maps.

I have read about it, I was just worried that supporting more apps in CarPlay required updates to the car entertainment system as well (which always takes too long). Glad to hear it's all within iOS. Wonder if there is a way to see if there is any ongoing work qualifying any more apps for CarPlay, that was what I meant with being hindering for other companies. If I was a navigation app company putting in a lot of $$$ in app development and then being shut out of a lot of cars I'd be thinking of going elsewhere. And actually the same goes for me as an end-user.

 

[Obee72]

Chances are Apple will only ever support their own apps via CarPlay. They are very precious when it comes to allowing competition access to anything but basic connectivity. Look at the Pebble smartwatch, when used with Android its really quite powerful, but via IOS, just the basics.

 

[Major Tom]

E.g. Spotify is supported though not an Apple app.

 

[Obee72]

Spotify was probably supported prior to Apple Music coming along. Wouldn't be surprised if it gets pulled. What I'm saying is don't hang your hopes on anything other than Maps being supported in CarPlay.

 

[hydrostatik]

I think people miss the point with this also. It's to make driving easier for you so you don't have to look at your phone. For example you don't get to read your messages when selecting on the head unit, Siri reads them out to you.

Mail will not be supported for the same reason, the whole point is you don't look at your phone/a screen.

Can you think of any other apps that you need in your car that don't require you to actively look at them?

It's less about app support and more about road safety!

Tapatalk won't be integrated for this reason lol.


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[gshaw]

Still working on trying to get Android Auto to work reliably. Noticed some of the background services on my phone don't help (HTC Sync Manager and Car Mode) and also that it doesn't handle disconnect / reconnect too well at present.

Voice control of music is cool though, although Google Play Music snatchers defeat from the jaws of victory by sometimes freezing up while loading the track. Google you can do better than this...

 

[stu_m]

I want this full link in mine!!

I have seen a guy doing exchange units for £1500!! not cheap at all

 

[Major Tom]

Can you think of any other apps that you need in your car that don't require you to actively look at them?

Absolutely not. Oh, wait, how about... all kinds of music players (not just Apple Music and Spotify), podcast apps, navigation apps other than Apples, internet radio apps, apps playing the latest traffic reports (E.g. I use this every day), audio book apps other than iBooks and AudioBooks.com etc etc

 

[hydrostatik]

Absolutely not. Oh, wait, how about... all kinds of music players (not just Apple Music and Spotify), podcast apps, navigation apps other than Apples, internet radio apps, apps playing the latest traffic reports (E.g. I use this every day), audio book apps other than iBooks and AudioBooks.com etc etc

Well yes of course but those all still fit into the same category of app. I was just saying that I think people expect more from these things, think YouTube etc and hence why I said tapatalk. I just imagine someone moaning because it doesn't have a Wikipedia app!

Totally agree with you regarding apps but c'mon! It's Apple. Are we used to anything less than a walled garden? We still buy it though




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[Tricepz]

For Android it works on all the countries?

what do i need to install (if any) to make it work except plugging in the microusb and clicking on the full link?

 

[gshaw]

For Android it works on all the countries?

what do i need to install (if any) to make it work except plugging in the microusb and clicking on the full link?

Android Auto App from Google Play.

It's basically a splash screen to cover all the apps it runs in the notification area.

Seems that Android Auto connects OK first time but doesn't handle disconnect / reconnect very well. Google Play Music is also horribly buggy, really needs some serious effort from the developers to catch up with Apple on that front.