Choppy audio from wireless android auto

[shadowsjc]

Occasionally (and recently, frustratingly more and more frequently), the audio on my Pandora music will become very choppy - almost as if there's some cutting in and out of reception. I use wireless android auto exclusively and it sometimes exhibits this problem without any rhyme or reason

Today when it started happening, i stopped Pandora and switched to Spotify again but it had the same issue.

I think I read in another thread that you're supposed to turn off Bluetooth in the car's menu in order for wireless android to work correctly. However I tried that yesterday and the car just turns it back on automatically.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with wireless android auto?

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[macchiaz-o]

I had this issue early on and I think it turned out to be my phone. It couldn't keep up with all the demands being made of it ... Slowing itself down from heat (from both charging and running AA which is intensive all by itself), and the various apps that were still running.

Restarting your phone may help quite a bit, as it'll clear up some of the memory which may otherwise be under too much pressure/demand.

Unplugging from power may also help (or move off the wireless charge pad), if thermal management is causing your phone too slow down.

A higher end phone would also do better here. I use a Pixel 3a which is a mid ranger from a few years ago.

The vehicle won't connect to a particular device on Bluetooth and Android Auto at the same time. The only control you have for this is telling it which one to use: Bluetooth or AA. You don't need to "disconnect" from Bluetooth unless you prefer Android Auto, and vice versa.

I'm using BT right now because with summer heat, my phone was actually turning itself off (heat protection) if I tried to use AA in the hot car when I was heading home from work.

 

[jrstinkfish]

I have what would be considered a high-end phone (Samsung Z Fold 2) and the audio skips on me as well with wireless AA (works perfectly wired). The only solution I've found is to go into the settings of your music streaming app and lowering the streaming quality. Crappy solution, and I'm not sure how high on Ford's to-do list it is to fix this, or if it even is something Ford can fix instead of Google.

 

[OlyPen]

I've definitely found Android Auto wired resolves a lot of those issues. I've used Android Auto in 5 different manufacturers' vehicles with 4 different manufacturers' phones and had issues in every one. Android Auto isn't ready for prime time in any vehicle. That's definitely not just a Ford MME issue.

I think that's why Google is trying to shift Auto manufacturers over to the new Android Automotive operating system since they can't handle the complexities of interfacing so many different phone versions with all of the software permutations and every different car model.

But, yeah, turning off app projection in the car settings and turning off wireless Android Auto in the phone (when they aren't connected together), and turn off "resume media" in the phone. Use the USB-C connector.... That seems to be the tightest option to reduce issues.

 

[shadowsjc]

Sucks to hear it's a prevalent issue across all car brands. I definitely don't want to resort to wired connection. My phone isn't the newest but it should be enough (galaxy S10). I'll try rebooting the phone more often

 

[Tyldum]

Rumored to be a lot better in the beta version. Follow the link in the article. Will be testing tomorrow.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...lved-a-major-android-auto-problem-166357.html

 

[shadowsjc]

Bump - this problem went away for awhile, but this week it started again. I'm running a galaxy s22+ now, so fairly new phone. Still cuts out every 1-2 mins very briefly, but enough to be annoying.

I really don't want to resort to wired android auto. Honestly I can live with all the little issues this car has (and even some bigger ones, like the hvbjb issue, which I just went through), but having the audio cut out every few mins is maddening

 

[michaelmmegt]

I started getting this issue after one of the 3.5.x updates. Worked perfect until then and I have the same phone with no recent updates.

 

[shadowsjc]

Yup same here after 3.5 X earlier this week

 

[Up and Over]

I have this happen with iPhone/CarPlay. Similar symptoms and also similar time course (went away for a while but recently returned).

 

[macchiaz-o]

@Scooby24 mentioned having this issue, too.

I *might* have found a workaround. Try pausing the music/audio player. Wait several seconds, then resume.

I've tried that a couple of times now and it helped both times. Not enough testing to say it will always solve it, but maybe you all can give it a shot.

In my case, I listen to podcasts (Podcast Addict). After Power-Up 3.5.x, I'm finding that audio is sometimes buffering for awhile before I begin hearing it. The way I can tell is when I hear ads during podcasts. I try to skip past them from the steering wheel controls but there's a long delay (5+ seconds??) before I notice any reaction. Same for skipping backwards to replay something I missed.

So on a hunch, I tapped pause on the Android Auto task bar. It visually showed that the audio was paused, but I didn't hear it pause until 5+ seconds later.

Once I resumed, everything was fine. (No stuttering. No crazy long delays for skip forward/back.)

 

[JRSNoVa]

I haven't driven my MME enough to experience this yet, but I can confirm that it happens in other cars. In fact, it's one of the reasons I ditched my EV6. It started out with brief pauses in audio but on long trips it would progress to full on failure of the car/phone connection (wired only in that model). A newer phone helped but didn't totally solve the issue. I think generally carmakers tend to skimp a bit on infotainment processor/memory specs.

 

[Scooby24]

@Scooby24 mentioned having this issue, too.

I *might* have found a workaround. Try pausing the music/audio player. Wait several seconds, then resume.

I've tried that a couple of times now and it helped both times. Not enough testing to say it will always solve it, but maybe you all can give it a shot.

In my case, I listen to podcasts (Podcast Addict). After Power-Up 3.5.x, I'm finding that audio is sometimes buffering for awhile before I begin hearing it. The way I can tell is when I hear ads during podcasts. I try to skip past them from the steering wheel controls but there's a long delay (5+ seconds??) before I notice any reaction. Same for skipping backwards to replay something I missed.

So on a hunch, I tapped pause on the Android Auto task bar. It visually showed that the audio was paused, but I didn't hear it pause until 5+ seconds later.

Once I resumed, everything was fine. (No stuttering. No crazy long delays for skip forward/back.)

Definitely sounds like it's a buffering issue then. Thanks for the feedback, hopefully they resolve it quick. It's driving me nuts.

 

[shadowsjc]

Pausing it seems to fix it temporarily but it stays again a few mins later

 

[Blue highway]

I haven't driven my MME enough to experience this yet, but I can confirm that it happens in other cars. In fact, it's one of the reasons I ditched my EV6. It started out with brief pauses in audio but on long trips it would progress to full on failure of the car/phone connection (wired only in that model). A newer phone helped but didn't totally solve the issue. I think generally carmakers tend to skimp a bit on infotainment processor/memory specs.

I think the problem is on the phone side, not the car side.

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