Android Auto vs Fordpass/Sync

Blake Sacha

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I have been an avid android auto user with previous vehicles. However, Fordpass/Sync looks like it can do most of the same things. My Journeys doesn't appear to record when Android auto is running. Android auto doesn't always connect automatically to my MME. Has anyone decided to give up Android auto and what has your experience been?
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You tried uninstalling android auto, and reinstalling?

I only get the problem with android auto when it's charging my phone, after 30 minutes it may or may not start having a seizure lol. Graceful otherwise.

Paak works great when you try opening any passenger door first, then drivers seems to unlock too.

Power up 1.4 with the latest android auto and Ford pass update
 

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I've had no issues with Android Auto on the Mach E.
 

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I suspended AA in late Spring when it was contributing to my phone overheating and powering off. Since then, I've been using only the built in stuff and Bluetooth audio.

It's been ok. The built in UIs are nice except I find the 3D map view distracting. But there's a north up option so that's fine.

I think I'll go back to AA when road tripping. Or maybe switch back and forth. Not sure.
 

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I have been an avid android auto user with previous vehicles. However, Fordpass/Sync looks like it can do most of the same things. My Journeys doesn't appear to record when Android auto is running. Android auto doesn't always connect automatically to my MME. Has anyone decided to give up Android auto and what has your experience been?
I still switch back and forth between Android Auto and Sync. On my last road trip, the Sync navigation did great. Not only did it add charging stops it rerouted me around a traffic jam.

My Journeys sounds cool and I wish it would work while Android Auto was running, but my workaround is to use the MileIQ app to log my trips. It has limitations with the free version, but I'm hoping to find something to work so I don't need to worry about My Journeys.
 


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I've had no issues with Android Auto on the Mach E.
Me either, although I haven't driven for more that 2 hours.

I suspended AA in late Spring when it was contributing to my phone overheating and powering off. Since then, I've been using only the built in stuff and Bluetooth audio.
And that's the real issue. I did change AA to NOT keep the screen on during usage (who needs it since the 15" screen is what you care about), and the drain and heat issue are not nearly as bad.

*** EDITED***
So, with the phone screen off and the phone sitting in the charger it does get warm, but I can use waze and it works really well. It's hard to say if it is practical for longer than 2 hours because the phone needs to charge and between the bluetooth, gps receiver, and induction loop of the wireless charging the phone still might overheat

I still switch back and forth between Android Auto and Sync. On my last road trip, the Sync navigation did great. Not only did it add charging stops it rerouted me around a traffic jam.
Yeah, but Waze is so handy to find the nice police officers who want to ensure you have a safe journey. Because of the above issue I think all day drives probably require not using AA, which does kind of suck. I wish Ford either allowed a native waze app or at least sourced waze's road hazard data
 
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BMT1071

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Me either, although I haven't driven for more that 2 hours


And that's the real issue. I did change AA to NOT keep the screen on during usage (who needs it since the 15" screen is what you care about), and the drain and heat issue are not nearly as bad


Yeah, but Waze is so handy to find the nice police officers who want to ensure you have a safe journey. Because of the above issue I think all day drives probably require not using AA, which does kind of suck. I wish Ford either allowed a native waze app or at least sourced waze's road hazard data
You know you can use Waze with AA, right?
 

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I've got both 1.6 and 1.4 Powerups (in that order!)and FordPass 3.28.

My initial connection with wireless is pretty temperamental and somewhat less so with USB-C. The phone charges better and stays a little cooler with the USB-C connection but it's just mechanically awkward. It's an S20 Ultra and it's a just a smidge too big to fit flat on the wireless charging pad. I wonder if the slight gap causes some of the wireless charging issues.

I'm using Deezer on the phone with Android Auto and every so often the music will pause or go into a very annoying stop/start/stop/start pattern. This is even with music that has been downloaded to the phone so I don't think it's a cellular data signal issue. I think I was able to reproduce the issue with RocketPlayer and music stored locally on the phone.

My suspicions for where the blame lies is fairly evenly split between the phone and the car. I had sworn never to get another Samsung phone after my S5 but time and the promise of amazing cameras in the S20 Ultra resulted in breaking that vow. The S20 Ultra has very much put me off Samsung again, though.

I'm not sure I want to start using the native Nav; I have a ton of saved places in Android and it knows me pretty well. I wish it would get addresses from my contacts with voice recognition, though - it works if I type a contact name but can't do that when in motion.

I do wish there were native music streaming apps, though. Or that Android Auto wasn't *quite* so restrictive with it's interface to music apps. It was less frustrating and less distracting to use the interfaces directly on my phone in a dash mount in my car with no Android Auto support.

Also, it would be nice if one could pause and restart (Android Auto) music with a button on the steering wheel. And it would be even nicer if one could switch between the (AA) navigation view and the music app view and navigate in the latter using steering wheel controls.

My 2012 Hyundai Genesis had a knobby-wheel thing that wasn't exactly amazing but it I found that to far less frustrating and distracting to navigate the music interface than using the touch screen in the Mach E. I'm not sure why, but I don't do very well with voice controls.

The Pixel 6 can't come out soon enough for me - but it's only a hope that will solve my issues. I was pretty happy with my Pixel 2 XL before I got the S20. It worked well for quite a while but was starting to get a little flaky after many drops and a screen replacement.

Polestar's full native Android is actually more appealing to me now that I've lived with Sync and Android Auto....
 

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Me either, although I haven't driven for more that 2 hours


And that's the real issue. I did change AA to NOT keep the screen on during usage (who needs it since the 15" screen is what you care about), and the drain and heat issue are not nearly as bad


Yeah, but Waze is so handy to find the nice police officers who want to ensure you have a safe journey. Because of the above issue I think all day drives probably require not using AA, which does kind of suck. I wish Ford either allowed a native waze app or at least sourced waze's road hazard data
If you aren't using AA/Carplay, and just using Bluetooth for Music, you can use AppLink for Waze. It's Ford's proprietary wireless App thing, but Waze works with it. (At least it does for iPhones...)

It's not as nice as AA/Carplay IMO, but it does work when I tested it. I'd assume this would work with MyJourneys as well, but I've never tried since Carplay is much nicer/safer IMO.
 

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You tried uninstalling android auto, and reinstalling?

I only get the problem with android auto when it's charging my phone, after 30 minutes it may or may not start having a seizure lol. Graceful otherwise.

Paak works great when you try opening any passenger door first, then drivers seems to unlock too.

Power up 1.4 with the latest android auto and Ford pass update
You can fix the driver's door issue by removing the back panel in the frunk to gain access to the 12V battery, then disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds or so. It also fixed the driver's door pillar lock icon not working for me.
 

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You know you can use Waze with AA, right?
Yes, and I do - that was what I was trying to convey. But it eats quite a bit of battery and with the phone on the charging pad for more than a couple of hours might overheat the phone.
 

timbop

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If you aren't using AA/Carplay, and just using Bluetooth for Music, you can use AppLink for Waze. It's Ford's proprietary wireless App thing, but Waze works with it. (At least it does for iPhones...)

It's not as nice as AA/Carplay IMO, but it does work when I tested it. I'd assume this would work with MyJourneys as well, but I've never tried since Carplay is much nicer/safer IMO.
I don't have an issue with waze; I did a bad job of explaining what I meant. Waze works great for me, as does AA. However, I am not sure it is a workable combination for 6 or 8 hours of driving because you need to also charge the phone since mine at least will be dead after 5 hours with gps and AA on. Between the bluetooth, gps receiver, and charging I am concerned the phone will overheat. So I will probably use the ford nav for very long trips; but will miss waze in that circumstance.
 
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BMT1071

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Yes, and I do - that was what I was trying to convey. But it eats quite a bit of battery and with the phone on the charging pad for more than a couple of hours might overheat the phone.
Gotcha.
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