Have to re-pair BT on phone after using AA

[Darel]

So I rarely use the plugin Android Auto but sometimes I do for long trips. Every time I do, when I disconnect the phone, it won't connect via bluetooth again. It's like the phone or the radio (not sure which) has forgotten the connection and I have to go through the entire re-pairing process all over again. ONLY after using Android Auto. Phone is a Google Pixel 3A. Any idea if this is the truck or the phone, and if there's anything I can do to fix it? I'm not really even sure which unit (phone or truck) "stores" the connection.

No issues otherwise. Connects immediately when i get in the truck as long as I haven't used AA in between.

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[Mr._Bill]

I use Android Auto regularly. The phone automatically connects with bluetooth and then updates when the cable is connected. The bluetooth connection does occasionally disappear and it has to be paired again. I use a Samsung phone.

 

[adrnln.JT]

I've only had my Gladiator for not even 2mos (5k miles already !!) but I've found a real annoying quirk with the Android Auto. I've found that if I do anything app related with the phone itself (while tethered, using AA) it locks up the Android Auto app and I'd need to unplug and reconnect for AA to start working again. If I only use the AA based apps then there hasn't been a problem. Maybe something similar is happening to you.

BTW, I have a Motorola G Power running Android version 11

 

[Higher_Ground]

I also have a Pixel 3A and use AA very regularly.

In short, it's buggy.

• I find that the cable loses connection fairly often (Uconnect tells me to get a better cable, but it works just fine about 80% of the time).
• When it loses connection (akin to you unplugging the phone) it sometimes refuses to "switch over" to BT for playing media. (I only really use Pandora as a media player in AA, nothing else).
• If I don't plug it in, it will remember and connect just fine
• All of this is usually fixed by unplugging, turning off bluetooth, then replugging it back in (which automatically turns bluetooth back on)

I like having the AA interface but just about everything else about it is subpar. I do not expect it to get better.

 

[Sublime]

I don't have issues once connected. However getting connected seems to be hit or miss on the first try. I plug it the wire to the phone once i have it started. At time sit will say trying to connect to Android Auto on the radio but never does. Unplug and plug back in then it's fine.

Using a Samsung 8

 

[Darel]

Thanks guys. Oddly the AA connection seems very reliable for me. I am curious to see what happens when I get my Carsifi adapter in a couple of years.

My wife is taking the truck this weekend, I'll ask her to run some experiments and see what happens with her Samsung phone.

 

[Challenger85]

Android, that’s your issue.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

IMO, uconnect and especially Android Auto really suck. They act more like a virus than an app.

Android is a data mining system disguised as useful phones and apps only with AA they forgot to disguise it with usefulness.

 

[RatZer0]

Couple things to try:

- Make sure 'Turn Bluetooth On when Android Auto is Running' is activated in Android Auto Settings
- Go into your phone Settings and into Apps, then select the Android Auto app:
Turn off Battery Optimization in the Battery section
Clear the Cache in the Storage section
- When connected using a cable, pull down on your phone's screen for notifications and select the connection notification. If you're able to choose MTP (Media Transfer Mode) do so.

 

[AmosMoses01]

Ugh - that sounds annoying. I got pushed to the Apple world a year and half ago by the spousal unit, so have had Carplay since then. It worked fairly good, but the latest iOS 15.x is even more annoying than what you've described. I always cable connect, and have found that NOT pairing the phone via Bluetooth has made things like Waze / Google Maps more reliable - just have to always cable connect.

 

[Darel]

Couple things to try:

- Make sure 'Turn Bluetooth On when Android Auto is Running' is activated in Android Auto Settings
- Go into your phone Settings and into Apps, then select the Android Auto app:
Turn off Battery Optimization in the Battery section
Clear the Cache in the Storage section
- When connected using a cable, pull down on your phone's screen for notifications and select the connection notification. If you're able to choose MTP (Media Transfer Mode) do so.

Thanks for this. I changed the phone settings, I'll look for the "Turn BT On" setting on the truck when I get out of work today. Appreciate it!

 

[Challenger85]

IMO, uconnect and especially Android Auto really suck. They act more like a virus than an app.

Android is a data mining system disguised as useful phones and apps only with AA they forgot to disguise it with usefulness.

Beautifully stated! ? I don’t necessarily love Apple but god do I loathe Google and Android.

 

[RatZer0]

Thanks for this. I changed the phone settings, I'll look for the "Turn BT On" setting on the truck when I get out of work today. Appreciate it!

The Turn BT On setting is in the app on your phone FYI.

Some, not all Android phones have a quirk that causes them to forget or not recognize previous BT connections with some poorly coded systems. UConnect being one of those systems that could really use an overhaul with their OS. Deep down, UConnect wants to use BT for phone calls only and a USB connection for data (AA, Carplay & Music). It loses its mind a little when something it wasn't programmed for happens. It is/was supposedly fixed in the new UConnect 5 which seems to be the case so far. UC5 has wireless AA and isn't in the JTs yet.

 

[Darel]

The Turn BT On setting is in the app on your phone FYI.

Some, not all Android phones have a quirk that causes them to forget or not recognize previous BT connections with some poorly coded systems. UConnect being one of those systems that could really use an overhaul with their OS. Deep down, UConnect wants to use BT for phone calls only and a USB connection for data (AA, Carplay & Music). It loses its mind a little when something it wasn't programmed for happens. It is/was supposedly fixed in the new UConnect 5 which seems to be the case so far. UC5 has wireless AA and isn't in the JTs yet.

Yeah I found that, have to change that setting next time I go out and plug in. If I just open the app on my phone without it being linked to anything, I don't get the settings menu. Thank you!

 

[Darel]

Couple things to try:

- Make sure 'Turn Bluetooth On when Android Auto is Running' is activated in Android Auto Settings
- Go into your phone Settings and into Apps, then select the Android Auto app:
Turn off Battery Optimization in the Battery section
Clear the Cache in the Storage section
- When connected using a cable, pull down on your phone's screen for notifications and select the connection notification. If you're able to choose MTP (Media Transfer Mode) do so.

OK, I managed to get all of these settings changed except I could not find 'Turn Bluetooth On when Android Auto is Running' anywhere. Not in the AA app, not in Uconnect, not in the phone settings, whether the phone was connected to the truck or not, with BT on or off. That said, I had three opportunities over the weekend to use AA and it didn't un-pair at all. Maybe it's getting somewhere.

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