Android Auto Connection

[jordieDAFC]

Hi,

Picked up a 2020 Corolla over the weekend and attempted to connect Android Auto without any success. I know Corolla's pre 2021 didn't have this and instead had it retrofitted. I have the option to use Android Auto in the menus, but when I plug in nothing happens (I'm assuming that because it's in the menus that I have it! If that's wrong, then this is probably why!) 

I've tried reinstalling the app, resetting it, using an Anker cable with no luck 

Any other tricks to get it to connect? 

[Mojo1010]

Try a different cable, need to be data cable not just a regular one. 

[jordieDAFC]

8 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

Try a different cable, need to be data cable not just a regular one. 

Already tried 3 cables 😂 

Originally I was using the ones from my other car which I know works, then I went and bought one that was recommended for AA by the AA Community Forums 

Great when it works, but it's an absolute nightmare of an app when it doesn

[Don Mac]

16 minutes ago, jordieDAFC said:

Already tried 3 cables 😂 

Originally I was using the ones from my other car which I know works, then I went and bought one that was recommended for AA by the AA Community Forums 

Great when it works, but it's an absolute nightmare of an app when it doesn

So you have been using cables and a phone which work with another car? ... and looking for help on the AA Community forums.

Sounds like you have covered most of the bases I can think of already.

Are there any signs that the USB socket is working? (silly question, but you know that only the one on the dash works for this don't you?) Can you play MP3s from a flash drive?

 

My remaining suggestions are to make sure that any previous car connections are removed from your phone, try another phone with the car if possible and (finally) do a factory reset on the car's head unit.

 

[jordieDAFC]

1 minute ago, Don Mac said:

So you have been using cables and a phone which work with another car? ... and looking for help on the AA Community forums.

Sounds like you have covered most of the bases I can think of already.

Are there any signs that the USB socket is working? (silly question, but you know that only the one on the dash works for this don't you?) Can you play MP3s from a flash drive?

 

My remaining suggestions are to make sure that any previous car connections are removed from your phone, try another phone with the car if possible and (finally) do a factory reset on the car's head unit.

 

I did wonder if there was an issue with the USB port as the first 2 cables I tried to use didn't even charge the phone. However the 3rd cable I tried fixed this so I assume the USB port is working

I think the factory reset is looking like the final option. Was planning on taking the car to the garage for a service so if that doesn't fix it then I'll mention it to them.

 I assume given I've got the option for AA in the settings menu means that the car has it? 

 

[Don Mac]

2 hours ago, jordieDAFC said:

 I assume given I've got the option for AA in the settings menu means that the car has it? 

I would think so. AFAIK it was factory fitted in the 2020 cars.

[jordieDAFC]

Confirmed with Toyota that the car had AA fitted from the factory. Tried deleting all personal information from the infotainment system to reset it - No luck though 

Ended up emailing Toyota's Connectivity Team for their input. Will post in here what their thoughts are incase somebody else has this issue down the line! 

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, jordieDAFC said:

Confirmed with Toyota that the car had AA fitted from the factory.

My March 2020 Corolla did not.  I believe it was rolled out in 2020

 

[2badmice]

Are you just using any old cable lying around?  Have you tried the cable that came with your phone?

Amazon basics cables work, as do Ugreen cables.  It doesn't need to be a data cable as such, however, I'd avoid using cheaper alternatives as the cables may not support AA.

[panmat]

Why not try one of these, just leave your phone in your pocket.

Tried and tested, great!

 

AAWireless - Wireless Android Auto Adapter

[jordieDAFC]

6 hours ago, 2badmice said:

Are you just using any old cable lying around?  Have you tried the cable that came with your phone?

Amazon basics cables work, as do Ugreen cables.  It doesn't need to be a data cable as such, however, I'd avoid using cheaper alternatives as the cables may not support AA.

Yeah I've tried a few cables from the one that worked in the previous car, to one recommended by the Google Community for Android Auto (Think the brand was Anker), to the official Google Pixel cable and none of them give me a prompt to connect to the car and get setup. I'm genuinely stumped 

5 hours ago, panmat said:

Why not try one of these, just leave your phone in your pocket.

Tried and tested, great!

 

AAWireless - Wireless Android Auto Adapter

Didn't know such a thing existed tbh! 

[panmat]

16 hours ago, jordieDAFC said:

Didn't know such a thing existed tbh! 

Me neither, connects with in 10 seconds even remembers the last phone it was used with !

In my opinion a very neat solution, can be hidden out of sight, or used with a short cable and tucked in the passenger foot well.

[NxJohn]

On 7/26/2023 at 7:45 AM, jordieDAFC said:

Hi,

Picked up a 2020 Corolla over the weekend and attempted to connect Android Auto without any success. I know Corolla's pre 2021 didn't have this and instead had it retrofitted. I have the option to use Android Auto in the menus, but when I plug in nothing happens (I'm assuming that because it's in the menus that I have it! If that's wrong, then this is probably why!) 

I've tried reinstalling the app, resetting it, using an Anker cable with no luck 

Any other tricks to get it to connect? 

Dumb question, but you are plugging in under the dash?  The USB in the console is only a power supply.

[jordieDAFC]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:25 PM, panmat said:

Me neither, connects with in 10 seconds even remembers the last phone it was used with !

In my opinion a very neat solution, can be hidden out of sight, or used with a short cable and tucked in the passenger foot well.

Am I right in saying that to set this up I would have to connect the car to my phone for the initial connection, then I would be fine to go wireless onwards? Or can you just plug it in and it sorts the rest?

 

On 8/3/2023 at 4:05 PM, NxJohn said:

Dumb question, but you are plugging in under the dash?  The USB in the console is only a power supply.

Yeah plugging it into the one under the dash

[Don Mac]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:36 PM, jordieDAFC said:

Am I right in saying that to set this up I would have to connect the car to my phone for the initial connection, then I would be fine to go wireless onwards? Or can you just plug it in and it sorts the rest?

You connect your phone to the AAWireless box (there's an app to set it up), which you plug into the car as a sort of bridge.

The car then 'thinks' that the phone is plugged in to it, whilst the phone knows it's connecting wirelessly.

[jordieDAFC]

57 minutes ago, Don Mac said:

You connect your phone to the AAWireless box (there's an app to set it up), which you plug into the car as a sort of bridge.

The car then 'thinks' that the phone is plugged in to it, whilst the phone knows it's connecting wirelessly.

Hmm, Might end up giving it a go although I feel everything is pointing towards an issue with the USB port

 

Finally got a response from Toyota's Connectivity team who gave a fairly standard response of clearing the cache and trying another cable! Looks like a trip to the garage is all that is left to do 

[Don Mac]

Have you tried plugging a flash drive into the port to see if it will read MP3s etc. off that? (the  drive needs to be formatted FAT32 I believe)

If this doesn't work I would say that you have proved there's a problem with the port, which should help push things along a bit. (usual caveats about confirming that the drive works elsewhere apply)

[Chuffmonkey]

What is the phone OP?

I have issues with my Pixel 6. It will initially connect and display Google Maps but it will disconnect after about 15 mins, then it wont connect at all.

I have not really explored the issue as I am happy with the built in Sat Nav but after reading this thread I will change the cable for a data lead and see if my phone connects properly. 

[jordieDAFC]

16 hours ago, Don Mac said:

Have you tried plugging a flash drive into the port to see if it will read MP3s etc. off that? (the  drive needs to be formatted FAT32 I believe)

If this doesn't work I would say that you have proved there's a problem with the port, which should help push things along a bit. (usual caveats about confirming that the drive works elsewhere apply)

I still need to try the USB drive to definitely confirm it. Although, when I have plugged my phone in, all the options in USB Preferences (Lets you choose whether just to charge the phone, allow data transfer - Including Android Auto ) are greyed out suggesting that the port isn't allowing anything else other than a charge

 

15 hours ago, Chuffmonkey said:

What is the phone OP?

I have issues with my Pixel 6. It will initially connect and display Google Maps but it will disconnect after about 15 mins, then it wont connect at all.

I have not really explored the issue as I am happy with the built in Sat Nav but after reading this thread I will change the cable for a data lead and see if my phone connects properly. 

It's a Pixel 7 Pro. The only issue I had in the previous car was that it would occasionally disconnect when knocked, But I think that was a dodgy cable and usually required the phone to be rebooted to re-connect. Read online about all sorts of connectivity issues between Google phones and Android Auto. Great phones, But not a great look if you can't get your own software to run on your own hardware! 

[Don Mac]

49 minutes ago, jordieDAFC said:

The only issue I had in the previous car was that it would occasionally disconnect when knocked, But I think that was a dodgy cable and usually required the phone to be rebooted to re-connect. Read online about all sorts of connectivity issues between Google phones and Android Auto. Great phones, But not a great look if you can't get your own software to run on your own hardware! 

I used to suffer from random disconnections when running AA cabled, not sure if it was the physical connection or just the flaky software, which could only be cured by un/re-plugging the cable. Whilst these still happen the AAWireless box often seems to be able to reconnect itself.

Trying to work out what is at fault is almost impossible (for me anyway) when you have software, phone, cable, head unit & wireless adaptor as possible suspects.

[Roy124]

19 minutes ago, Don Mac said:

1 hour ago, jordieDAFC said:

The only issue I had in the previous car was that it would occasionally disconnect when knocked, But I think that was a dodgy cable and usually required the phone to be rebooted to re-connect. Read online about all sorts of connectivity issues between Google phones and Android Auto. Great phones, But not a great look if you can't get your own software to run on your own hardware! 

Expand  

I used to suffer from random disconnections when running AA cabled, not sure if it was the physical connection or just the flaky software, which could only be cured by un/re-plugging the cable

Snap

[jordieDAFC]

On 8/7/2023 at 5:37 PM, Don Mac said:

Have you tried plugging a flash drive into the port to see if it will read MP3s etc. off that? (the  drive needs to be formatted FAT32 I believe)

If this doesn't work I would say that you have proved there's a problem with the port, which should help push things along a bit. (usual caveats about confirming that the drive works elsewhere apply)

Did the USB test this morning and it couldn't find it which definitely points towards an issue somewhere between the USB port and the head unit. 

Looks like the USB port should just pop out so might have a fiddle around with it 

[Luke717]

I've been using Android Auto in my 2020 model Corolla since I bought the car in June that year. As I see mentioned earlier in this thread, a wired dongle like AA Wireless is definitely a good idea - I was using this since it was launched in early 2021. Late last year I switched to Carsifi, a similar dongle. But this one in my experience is much better with never a disconnect.

With both devices, you also need to make some settings changes in the AA app on your phone and enable developer mode. One thought re some of the issues I read is that phone make and model can also have a bearing on your success in connections, all else being equal like a cable that works and a USB port also.

Hope this helps!

[jordieDAFC]

Purchased a replacement USB port for the one under the dash. Swapped out the old one just now and it's fixed the issue and Android Auto is working perfectly 

The fit is a lot better for the cable too as the old one had a bit of wiggle so I guess it's been knocked at some point and broken 

So thankful it's sorted haha

[Don Mac]

4 hours ago, jordieDAFC said:

Purchased a replacement USB port for the one under the dash. Swapped out the old one just now and it's fixed the issue and Android Auto is working perfectly 

The fit is a lot better for the cable too as the old one had a bit of wiggle so I guess it's been knocked at some point and broken 

So thankful it's sorted haha

Excellent, glad to hear you've fixed it.

Is the replacement simply a matter of plugging a new port onto the cable?