[jihyungchun]

Anyone having issues where your phone loses connection to your car via USB?
I have a weekly 3hr drive and I lose connection every hour or so at random, but it's still charging my phone. So my phone shows there's USB connection but my car kicks me off of android auto and gives me a USB error message.

I've been using the original samsung OEM cable, tried 4 different brand and can't find a solution!

 

[atc98092]

Yeah, my suggestion would have been to try another cable, but you've done that. Perhaps take a can of compressed air and ensure the USB port is clean.

 

[boppinbobby]

I did when I got my new phone but cured it personally by using the OEM cable. I did however find numerous posts about AA not working as intended on some phones and the phone manufacturers blaming the APP and vise versa. What phone?

 

[jmurphEV]

Yeah, my suggestion would have been to try another cable, but you've done that. Perhaps take a can of compressed air and ensure the USB port is clean.

Ding ding! I was having the same problem as @jihyungchun with my Pixel 2 and it turned out it was due to crud in the phone's USB-C port. I used a wooden pick to clean out the debris and all is fine now. In my case I tried compressed air but the junk was packed in there pretty good so the pick was needed to clear it out. Obviously, do not use a metal tool for this. Wood or plastic are your friends. You'll need a pretty slim tool to get in there and remove the junk without damaging the pins inside. I'm fortunate in that I have a stereo microscope at work and used that to let me see exactly what I was doing.

 

[jihyungchun]

hmmm I guess I'll give cleaning my phone's USB port a try. I have the galaxy s10e and everything was working fine for a while and the problem just started all of sudden

 

[atc98092]

The USB port in both the phone and the car. Could be either one, or even both.

 

[yticolev]

Very unlikely to be the car port. It is not carried about in a lint filled pocket.

 

[jihyungchun]

tried cleaning out the USB port in my galaxy s10e and it didn't seem to have solved the problem. I was really really aggressively wiggling the cable and that seems to have recreate the problem once in a while.... not sure what the true cause is here

 

[mrgstiffler]

Mine would disconnect if I barely bumped the cable. Tried a bunch of cables from different manufacturers and still had issues. Cleaning ports didn’t help. Switched to an iPhone a couple months ago and have no problems at all. CarPlay starts up significantly faster too.

 

[atc98092]

While I like Android, I too have switched to an iPhone. Partially so my grandkids can use iMessage from their iPads to me, but one handy item for me is being able to use Siri via Bluetooth. You don't have to have the phone connected via USB. With Android, the phone must be connected to use the equivalent function (sorry, forgot what it's called).

 

[Sstr Maria]

I am having inconsistent performance from Android Auto when connected to my phone. It refuses to engage and I have to restart it at least 3 times (takes ~10 minutes) to get it to work. When it does work, the performance is inconsistent as different parts of it work and don't work at different times. Not at all happy with it as it wastes time and is unreliable. Nothing to do with the cable (have tried several) or car port (is clean).

 

[jihyungchun]

So I googled this problem and it seems like it's an android issue where tons of android users across various phone and car manufacturers are all experiencing the same issue.
Some people report the problem going away after a new cable and others just can't seem to find a solution.
My guess is that the USB C design has a pretty wide room for the cable to just kind of wiggle around once connected and it would cause temporary miscommunication and our cars just can't handle it.

So in conclusion, you're on your own unless you switch to Apple

 

[yticolev]

AA clearly has some issues as some car makers offer Carplay but not AA. Obviously the number of manufacturers and models of Android handsets is an issue with support for Google that is not a concern for Apple. There could be issues even with well supported handsets too. I've yet to read anything definitive about why AA has these technical issues.

 

[Save85]

This is what I was told to try resolving connection issues on my phone from Android Auto team.

1. Go through the troubleshooting guides at My Android Auto app isn't working and Can’t connect or stay connected - How to diagnose/address the issue.
2. We recommend using a high quality 3.0 USB cable or above as they tend to have better performance overall.
3. Please check the USB ports on the phone, head unit and cable for lint or debris and clean them out.
4. Try removing the connected cars from the Android Auto Settings page.
   1. Open Android Auto app > tap the left menu and go to Settings > Connected Cars > top right three-dot menu > Forget all cars > Tap Ok.
   2. Connect to your car display and re-enable Android Auto on your car.
5. Factory resetting the head unit of the car. You can find this information on your head unit/car owner’s manual.
6. Please make sure to disable all battery power saving mode for Android Auto app.
   1. Phone Settings > Tap Battery > Adaptive Battery > Turn off Adaptive Battery.
   2. Phone Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special app access > Battery optimization > Tap the "Not optimized" dropdown menu > Select All Apps > Android Auto > Select Don't Optimize.
7. Try restarting the phone device.

From the list of cables, the amazonbasic cable was recommended from other users which worked best and I'm currently using it without problems.

 

[doro6529]

Wow, I love my Droid but not that much. The iPhone Carplay portion works much more smoothly, dependably than AA and droid. Same goes for interacting with the KIA UVO software.
The AA was supposed to have been revamped a bunch in the last few weeks but I haven't gone back to give it another chance. However, I see people still complaing about AA.
If I can turn on BT and just use the handsfree phone portion I'm fine. I'm not gonna tear what's left of my hair out over this. I still like just driving the car very much.

 

[jihyungchun]

So I've discovered that the USB C connection on the phone is pretty critical. If I use the OEM Samsung cable with tighter tolerances, the cable stays in place longer and I lose connection less frequently.

This is actually aggravating me enough that I don't plug in my phone most of the time and am thinking of switching to iPhone. but BIG problem with apple carplay is that they don't allow you to move around the map while in navigation mode

 

[atc98092]

So I've discovered that the USB C connection on the phone is pretty critical. If I use the OEM Samsung cable with tighter tolerances, the cable stays in place longer and I lose connection less frequently.

This is actually aggravating me enough that I don't plug in my phone most of the time and am thinking of switching to iPhone. but BIG problem with apple carplay is that they don't allow you to move around the map while in navigation mode

Then don't use Apple maps . I'm pretty sure I can move the map around in Waze or Google maps. But now you're going to make me try to remember to test it tomorrow.

 

[yticolev]

As far as I know, all three mapping systems compatible with Apple CarPlay allow you to move the map but not by dragging your finger unfortunately. Instead, you have to tap icons. Clumsy!

 

[atc98092]

I tested both Waze and Google Maps this morning. I was able to move the map with my finger on the screen. This was either with or without an active destination. I didn't bother with Apple Maps, as I've never cared for it anyway.

 

[Bambamwins]

hmmm I guess I'll give cleaning my phone's USB port a try. I have the galaxy s10e and everything was working fine for a while and the problem just started all of sudden

know this is old but quick question on the S10e. does it fit ok in the wireless charging area? I have the 2018 HEV EX Premium and my current phone (OnePlus 7 Pro) won't fit.