Wireless Android Auto not connecting

[DMutt]

I can't get wireless android auto to work on 12" Uconnect 5 with my Galaxy S9 (software is the latest and greatest). It works plugged in, and yes, I have the box checked for wireless AA. It seems like the bluetooth connects, but the wifi direct doesn't. When I click AA on the 12" screen, the AA icon appears on my phone and shows bluetooth connected. Then it just says "connecting" and about 30 seconds later, the 12" screen says "no response from phone/device", but my phone still shows the AA icon and says "to continue use your vehicle screen". Anyone else have this issue or know how to fix it?

I also tried my wife's S9 to no avail. My next steps will include trying a friend's iphone to see if carplay is working (if that doesn't work, then I know it is a truck issue). Also try someone else's android to see if the problem is my S9.

Here is what I've tried.
1. Uninstall/Reinstall Android Auto
2. Clear the AA cache/data
3. Disconnect all other wifi and bluetooth networks
4. Soft reset Uconnect
5. Factory reset Uconnect
6. Uninstall S9 secure folder
7. Ensure there are no hidden notifications
8. Ensure AA has all permissions enabled
9. Try connecting from the S9 AA app
10. Try connecting from bluetooth
11. Try connecting with usb cable, then unplugging it

 

[bill-e]

Wireless Android Auto requires Android 11. Is the S9 at 11?

 

[DMutt]

Wireless Android Auto requires Android 11. Is the S9 at 11?

 

[bill-e]

OK, just checking. Did the S9 ever show up in the head unit Projection Manager list? If so did you delete it to completely remove the phone from the head unit and try again?

 

[DMutt]

OK, just checking. Did the S9 ever show up in the head unit Projection Manager list? If so did you delete it to completely remove the phone from the head unit and try again?

I successfully linked the phone through bluetooth and it appeared in the device manager list with the AA icon. However, when I push the AA icon it says "connecting" then 30 seconds later it says "no response from phone/device". But my phone shows the AA icon as if it is working. Yes, I deleted the device from device manager and reconnected.

 

[Ninety-9 SE-L]

I have the same issue with my LG V60, I've come up with a solution that kinda sucks, but it works.

Real quick, AA works like this:
1. Truck turns on, automatically establishes a Bluetooth connection with the phone. Basic Bluetooth features should work.
2. The Phone and Truck initiate AA, the phone and truck share an encrypted password to direct-connect by Wi-Fi.
3. AA functions are all done wirelessly through Direct Wi-Fi.
Alternatively, you can plug in your phone for a wired connection and it should work without issue.

My phone DOES NOT auto-connect wirelessly. I was going to the AA menu on my phone, and manually telling it to connect wirelessly, but that was also hit-or-miss.

I discovered this solution, that kinda sucks, but it works:
- Before you turn on your truck, open your phone, browse to the AA main menu. You can do as you're walking to your truck, or once you get in, but don't push the start button until you're phone is on the AA menu.
- To get to the AA menu, you need to go to settings -> Connected Devices (or Bluetooth) -> Android Auto. I am trying to figure out how to create a shortcut on my phone. You want this screen up on your phone:

- Now start the truck. Everything should connect almost immediately. Let the phone screen time out, then set it aside and you're golden.
- Yes, you will have to do this EVERY TIME you drive your truck.
- I assume this 'prepares' your phone to expect a wireless connection.
- Supposedly it's only a problem on certain phones. Get an S21 or S22, you'll probably never have this problem again.

 

[Ninety-9 SE-L]

Also, as I wrote the last reply, I came up with a theory:

I keep Battery Saver on my phone, all the time. It prevents crap from running in the background and draining my battery. It's possible that my Battery saver is putting AA to sleep when it's not on-screen. That could be preventing it from establishing a Wi-Fi connection.

 

[bill-e]

If so you can set AA to never sleep and still keep power saving on.

 

[Ninety-9 SE-L]

If so you can set AA to never sleep and still keep power saving on.

Son of a......
Get out of here with your logic.

Guess I'll be trying that out and report back.

 

[DMutt]

So after 5+ hours sitting in the truck over the past week and spending countless hours researching this.. i finally got it to work. I think the problem was a combination of Secure Folder, wifi/bluetooth settings, and battery saver.
1. I completely uninstalled Secure Folder
2. I factory reset my wireless settings only (not the entire phone)
3. I made sure android auto, google, and a few other apps were exempt from battery saver and allowed to run in the background.
4. I ensured android auto had all permissions to turn on/off wifi and bluetooth
5. I cleared all connections and connected bluetooth, then android auto launched
6. Yay! I should have stopped here.


7. I was curious if I could reinstall secure folder, so I did.. problems arose again.
8. I went into secure folder and disabled every single app
9. I tried reconnecting and the truck forced me to install AA inside of the secure folder before it would reconnect.
10. I installed AA inside of the secure folder play store (after re-enabling it)
11. AA has booted up successfully over 3-5 truck starts and reconnects if I purposely disconnect the phone from the phone or truck side
12. After all that.. life is just easier without secure folder installed, but I did prove it can work with it.. just disable every single app (that you don't use) except for play store and android auto inside of the secure folder. My secure folder is set to lock with screen turn off. So it doesnt matter if the secure folder is locked when u try to reconnect AA.

I don't understand why google developers can't just have an option to run Android Auto without accessing secure folder altogether..

 

[DMutt]

Here are some screenshots of my settings

 

[Ninety-9 SE-L]

Reporting back. Mine was simply the battery saver.
I added AA to my list of exceptions and now AA comes up on my radio immediately, without me even taking the phone out of my pocket.

 

[DMutt]

Reporting back. Mine was simply the battery saver.
I added AA to my list of exceptions and now AA comes up on my radio immediately, without me even taking the phone out of my pocket.

That's good to hear! Do you use Secure Folder? Were you forced to install AA inside of it?

 

[tomme12]

Mine actually works great with S21. Sometimes I have to reboot my phone as Android Auto freaks out. 1000 road trip and streamed the entire time (Joe Rogan on Spotify). wirelessly and was great!

 

[Ninety-9 SE-L]

That's good to hear! Do you use Secure Folder? Were you forced to install AA inside of it?

Nope. A while ago, I did the full thing where I tried uninstalling/reinstalling AA, changing settings, etc, but it really came down to the battery saver thing.

I was opening AA before starting the truck, which made me realize it was probably going to sleep in the background. It hit me that it was probably battery saver, and then bill-e reminded me that battery saver can be customized. I already added Amazon Music to my exceptions list, along with Waze and other things I use over Bluetooth, but that was set a while ago, I completely forgot that menu existed.