Android Auto + GS6 Edge = NEARLY UNUSABLE

[cbryancan]

Is anyone having difficulty using Android Auto with a Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, or any other Samsung phone?

It has gotten to the point where I basically have to restart the phone EVERY TIME before I plug it into Android Auto.

Symptoms include:

1) The head unit completely ignoring the phone, either saying "incompatible USB" or just switching to the USB 2 input on the stock system but not activating Android Auto

2) The head unit starting to load Android Auto, but giving me an error message that AA can't load and telling me to check the phone.

3) Most commonly - it loads, but it's slow as hell and Google Maps frequently crashes. If I use a voice command such as "navigate home," (sometimes after waiting as much as 5 seconds between pressing the button and hearing the prompt tone), it will say "navigating home," but never switch to maps. Sometimes if I do that from maps, it works. Other times, Android Auto won't even stay in maps. It just force closes back to the AA home screen. Sometimes I'll be navigating for a while and it'll randomly just shut down maps and go to home.

Is anyone else dealing with this? Do I need to factory reset or something? It's driving me CRAZY!

I'm willing to tolerate some bumps in the road as an early adopter, but this is too much. When I had a Moto X, it worked very smoothly with Android Auto. And the S6 Edge even worked much better before (though not as well as the Moto X). But in the last couple months it has been almost crippled in terms of usability.

 

[Pedrore]

Head unit has latest firmware? You have the latest versions of the apps as well?

 

[cbryancan]

Yep. I neglected to mention it's the Pioneer AVH-4100NEX unit. Running 1.03. All apps and software are set to auto-update.

 

[biotron2000]

I had all kinds of problems with the same head unit after a couple of months. Changed the USB cable (got rid of the extension it came with) and everything's working fine again.

 

[cbryancan]

I had all kinds of problems with the same head unit after a couple of months. Changed the USB cable (got rid of the extension it came with) and everything's working fine again.

I'm not using the cable that came with the head unit. I'm using a long one I got from Amazon. But I guess I'll order a higher quality one just to be sure. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Been a while since I used the Edge with it, but I've absolutely found that some phones are performing better than others. (A Project Fi Nexus 6 has been just about the best I've used.)

Note 5 seems to be doing OK, except for when I have to manually change it to MTP to get it to connect.

 

[dandan81188]

Phil,
Just bought a note 5 and am about to purchase android auto. What does switching to MTP mean? How do you do it? Is it annoying to do? Any other issues you noticed with the note 5? Still worth installing? Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure it'll work properly before I plunk down $500.

 

[biotron2000]

This is what I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CIYJQJM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Phil,
Just bought a note 5 and am about to purchase android auto. What does switching to MTP mean? How do you do it? Is it annoying to do? Any other issues you noticed with the note 5? Still worth installing? Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure it'll work properly before I plunk down $500.

Here ya go.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Android Auto | Android Central

 

[cbryancan]

To close the loop....

I ended up doing a factory reset. That has made it work markedly better. Such is the life of an Android (especially Samsung) user.