Car Internet connectivity head unit Android Auto

[androidrookie1]

Hi there thanks for the invite and joining the community here
Ive an issue with internet connectivity in the car via my phone (realme c11 2021 ) model rmx3231....
Having just installed an Android Auto head unit in the car it is working fine, blue tooth ,steering wheel functions etc but it tells me there is no wi fi connection signal , the phone is Android 11, the head unit says its incompatible !? it should be adequate , any suggestions please as im completely lost with hi tech stuff (im an old joiner !) as a side note the screen is connectivity 7071 and another one says 8021 is this a contradiction ?)im sorry to be vague but just fitting this car head unit is a new experience, and not a little frustrating , any guidance would be appreciated please i dont know if its a hard wire problem or som thing is just switched off !

 

[Daniel Detkowski]

You're going to need a signal to your head unit for internet service.
Contact your carrier and add Hotspot coverage to your plan, or sign up with Onstar for an internet plan with them

 

[androidrookie1]

Hey Daniel thanks for your valued contribution.So as i understand its the phone end needs sorting out as its not connecting internet to the head unit.I will have a word with them
Thank again
Ken

 

[spARTacus]

Hi there thanks for the invite and joining the community here
Ive an issue with internet connectivity in the car via my phone (realme c11 2021 ) model rmx3231....
Having just installed an Android Auto head unit in the car it is working fine, blue tooth ,steering wheel functions etc but it tells me there is no wi fi connection signal , the phone is Android 11, the head unit says its incompatible !? it should be adequate , any suggestions please as im completely lost with hi tech stuff (im an old joiner !) as a side note the screen is connectivity 7071 and another one says 8021 is this a contradiction ?)im sorry to be vague but just fitting this car head unit is a new experience, and not a little frustrating , any guidance would be appreciated please i dont know if its a hard wire problem or som thing is just switched off !

Do you mean the phone and the head unit are together not able to achieve a wireless (via wifi) android auto connection? Does a wired (via USB) android auto connection fully work between the phone and the head unit? For some head units, I think the bluetooth connection isn't really for android auto functions but instead really only just for hands free calls/media, and for helping to establish the wifi android auto connection. For android auto between the phone and head unit to actually work, it needs either a successful and stable wired (USB) or wireless (wifi) android auto connection. For most head units, I don't think there is a connection to the internet per se when the phone and head unit are fully connected to each other, except for what the phone facilitates via its data cellular network. Some phone and head unit combinations have had lots of not very easy to explain, trouble shoot and resolve nuances, especially in the past and especially for earlier versions of android auto, phone and head unit operating systems. Overall, I think the situation has gotten better over the more recent months and years, but you might have to do lots and lots of googling in specific reference to your head unit and phone combination, or hope that someone else in here has experienced your specific situation. In theory, you should also be able to get support from the seller/manufacturer of the head unit or phone.

 

[androidrookie1]

Thanks for the reply, on the new Android head everything works but internet ,even steering wheel functions camra and voice,theses no signal at all for internet / GPS etc I wasnt sure if i had fitted the hard unit properly or if i needed to ....tune the head set in to the phones internet which works on gps quite well sorry to be vague im totally out of my depth here

 

[spARTacus]

I don't really know what that means, "...everything works but the internet...". For my phone/car, hands free calls/media (and with the steering wheel buttons, etc...) will all work fine through Bluetooth, independent of if Android Auto is working, pretty much a completely separate set of functions of the head unit. Then, if Android Auto is connected property and properly working with the phone, via Android Auto I will have a richer experience available for hands free calls, text, media, GPS/maps, calendar, etc.., all through the Android Auto compatible apps that are on my phone (for which icons of those will appear on the head unit screen). However, if the Android Auto connection between the phone and head unit is not working, I won't get access to any of those icons/apps. For me, the phone does all the work per se in serving up the apps and services for those apps to the internet, serving those up to the head unit and via the phone's data cellular connection for anything that needs to connect to the internet. Your head unit maybe works a bit differently.

 

[androidrookie1]

sorry im having trouble explaining this , ,voice activation, steering wheel functions, radio, camera , all great, but i have no internet signal for GPS etc on the head units icon , it is an aftermarket upgrade Android Head head unit replacing the old 2013radio ,cd unit .The Android Auto head display tells me the phone is incompatible but it is well above the minimum spec to connect to it,(Android 11) so maybe its a phone connectivity/internet issue,
perhaps the systems are not all integrated on these older vehicles as on newer ones

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to AC!
I moved this from introduce yourself to Android Auto Forums

 

[Daniel Detkowski]

If your head unit is functional as you say, you only need Bluetooth connectivity for your phone to work through it.
Pair your phone using Bluetooth on both devices, the car needs to be started and in park...

 

[spARTacus]

If the head unit itself is reporting an interoperability error/messsge for with your phone, then maybe you might need a different head unit or a different phone, or maybe software in one or the other still isn't fully up to date or compatible. I suggest trying to see if/how it might work with some phones of some friends or family (and I suggest testing with both iOS and Android phones) to confirm what works (and how well) with other than your phone.

 

[androidrookie1]

If the head unit itself is reporting an interoperability error/messsge for with your phone, then maybe you might need a different head unit or a different phone. I suggest trying to see if/how it might work with some phones of some friends or family (and I suggest testing with both iOS and Android phones) to confirm what works (and how well) with other than your phone.

thanks ,great idea i will try this

 

[androidrookie1]

Welcome to AC!
I moved this from introduce yourself to Android Auto Forums

thanks ,like i say im not too familiar with the tech stuff

 

[spARTacus]

If your head unit is functional as you say, you only need Bluetooth connectivity for your phone to work through it.
Pair your phone using Bluetooth on both devices, the car needs to be started and in park...

I don't think Android Auto will work very well with only a Bluetooth connection. Might work fine enough for limited hands free calls/media (and those might not even be via Android Auto per se, but instead just via whatever "handsfree" capabilities are built into the car like what exists in things like handsfree speakers/headsets). I think the richer Android Auto experience and functions pretty much need either a wired (USB) or wireless (using the phone's WiFi capabilities) Android Auto connection. I can't even use "phone projection" functions (that's what it's called in my head unit, for Android Auto and/or Apple CarPlay) if I do not have either a wired (USB) or a wireless (via the phone's WiFi) connection.

 

[androidrookie1]

If your head unit is functional as you say, you only need Bluetooth connectivity for your phone to work through it.
Pair your phone using Bluetooth on both devices, the car needs to be started and in park...

thank you for your time

 

[androidrookie1]

I don't think Android Auto will work very well with only a Bluetooth connection. Might work fine enough for limited hands free calls/media (and those might not even be via Android Auto per se, but instead just via whatever "handsfree" capabilities are built into the car like what exists in things like handsfree speakers/headsets). I think the richer Android Auto experience and functions pretty much need either a wired (USB) or wireless (using the phone's WiFi capabilities) Android Auto connection. I can't even use "phone projection" functions (that's what it's called in my head unit, for Android Auto and/or Apple CarPlay) if I do not have either a wired (USB) or a wireless (via the phone's WiFi) connection.

thanks for the input ,much appreciated

 

[androidrookie1]

I Think its sorted . i need a ssid number from the internet provider before it will connect internet to head unit (i am in France ) thanks all for your input and help

 

[spARTacus]

I Think its sorted . i need a ssid number from the internet provider before it will connect internet to head unit (i am in France ) thanks all for your input and help

That sounds to me like your head unit has the ability to connect to the internet via wifi (eg: to your home wifi, to any private wifi, or to a public/paid wifi hotspot from a Cafe, Hotel, etc...) in addition to using wifi to connect to your phone for an Android Auto connection.

Maybe just try to connect it to your home wifi network SSID to start, just like you do at home with your phone. Remember however, as soon as you drive away from that wifi, you'll no longer have internet via that connection.

As someone else pointed out, you might need to look into always having a local wifi hotspot served up from your phone. Or, something like OnStar. However, that shouldn't normally be required for things like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The normal premise of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is to just be seamlessly connected via your phone, without needing to have or aquire additional services and data plans. So, it could be that the "needed SSID" you are referring to is actually supposed to be the Android Auto wireless (wifi) connection served up from your phone (which in you case the head unit seems to be reporting as not compatible), the one that the phone and head unit normally atomatically set up themselves as part of establishing a wireless Android Auto connection. If that is the case, you might not have luck trying to manually connect your head unit to an SSID.

Let us know how it works out.

 

[androidrookie1]

You are spot on , its now working through the house wi fi system , our phone is another provider se we will get the SSID from them later and put another number in there , at least it works now as does google (tho i must have the shortest GPS system invented at 10 foot max !)i thought i had wired it all up wrong , very many wires and very many without any connection at all back there ,
IM sure on a learning curve < SSID