Re: Galaxy S6 and Android Auto (not working yet ...)
Hi all... So, I have a Pioneer AVH-X5700BHS head unit, hands free was working fine with my Note4 (Rogers) and then suddenly it stopped working - I picked up the new GS6 edge and same thing, will not work for hands free phone calls - apparently the mic works to send audio, but the person on the other end of the call does not come through the head unit. BT Audio for streaming music works fine on both phones. I can't recall exactly when the Note4 stopped working, but it was probably within the last month.
Went into Rogers tonight and swapped the GS6 edge for a brand new one after reading many posts about people having issues with the BT on theirs, went back to my car and tried to make hands free BT call, again, even with the brand new fresh outta the box GS6 edge, no audio. Also of note, the hands free voice commands were not working either. Even calling the GS6 edge while connected via BT from another phone not connected via BT to simulate a random call, the GS6 edge would ring on the phone, but still show full phone controls on the head unit. Answering the call would result in no audio from the caller coming through the head unit, but the caller hearing me fine.
So, I went back into the Rogers store and explained it to the Rogers rep, so he decided to come out, and we tried it in his VW GTi and worked like a charm on his stock VW deck first freakin time. He did mention that the problem seems to be with Samsung's 2 way BT communication protocol with certain (or many) Pioneer head units - something to do with the encryption algorithm and how Samsung is not completely (if at all) compatible. He also mentioned that it is probably more of a "Samsung" Bluetooth compatibility issue with Pioneer head units opposed to it being an issue with the Pioneer decks, as he had seen similar problems with GM vehicles without BT that went with aftermarket Pioneer decks with BT, that also would not work with certain Samsung phones. Now, I am somewhat techsavvy, but far from an expert (which is why I searched here, then went into Rogers for their "advice") - what I don't get, is it was working with my Note4 about a month ago, and now it doesn't work. So, apparently, until Samsung comes out with a fix for this, many of us S6 edge users with "certain" Pioneer BT head units have no hands free functionality...
Oh, and I tried everything I could think of after reading many of the posts here: clearing the BT memory on the head unit (several times) and phone, re-pairing the phone and head unit, disabling my Gear 2 Neo watch (read something somewhere in here about that as well) Uninstalling AppRadio and AppRadio Live, Android Auto, disabled CarMode, even unplugged iPod Touch connected via USB. I even downloaded and installed Pioneer's latest firmware update 8.31 for the AVH-X5700BHS last night hoping that might fix it, but nope, still no 2 way audio for phone calls...
Hope this might shed some light for others with a similar situation - hopefully if it is an issue with Samsung's 2 way BT communication for hands free calls, they will push out a fix for this soon - I do love the GS6 edge, but I was almost tempted to return it and try a Nexus 6 or LG G4 - that, or wait for the Note5