Android Auto Connection Nightmare

I drove my brand new 2019 Sedan Touring off the lot yesterday, and encountered this exact issue almost immediately. It's especially annoying for me as the app I use to play music is not supported by Android Auto and so I have to start the player from the phone (Samsung Note 8). I have not tried other cables yet, but the cable I use is a very heavy duty one and works flawlessly for data and charging connections to various PCs and wireless charging docs that I use at work and home.

I was able to mitigate it somewhat by making sure the phone and cable don't move, but it still happens.

I have not yet contacted the dealership. Is there a firmware fix for this issue yet? Should I bother to call the dealership or am I SOL? I did tests and there's a definite difference in audio quality between Bluetooth and cable. I wanted a cable connection to the head unit of some kind for just this reason. It's all very disappointing.

Is it possible to turn off the auto play when connecting to the usb? I’m sick of hearing the same song from the top of my library every time that I plug in.

HondaCivicSport said:

Is it possible to turn off the auto play when connecting to the usb? I’m sick of hearing the same song from the top of my library every time that I plug in.

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My USB stick always picks up where where it was last playing when the car was shut down. (using Honda's built in MP3 player app).

If your is jumping back to the start each time, maybe its a bad stick, or you have a corrupt MP3 file, that is causing the head unit to re-read the whole stick again, and reset its start point. (The PRIMITIVE Honda Mp3 Folder Player is not that fault tolerant of corrupted Mp3 files)

I did take some care in making sure that every MP3 file on the stick was not corrupt, and passed a couple to Mp3 validation tools, as well as using "DriveSort" to pre-sort all the folders and files,

"MP3Cheacker" and "Mp3 Diags Ustable" to find and correct corrupted MP3files (especially corrupted tags etc)

(Found a LOT of corrupted meta statements tag etc on my Mp3 collection )

Mp3Tag to edit Tags etc, make sure each mp3 has an Image and consistent Album, track info etc

Also, make sure you have LESS THAN 700 folders on the stick - the Honda player won't see any folders past 700 in any case)

Roykirk said:

I drove my brand new 2019 Sedan Touring off the lot yesterday, and encountered this exact issue almost immediately. It's especially annoying for me as the app I use to play music is not supported by Android Auto and so I have to start the player from the phone (Samsung Note 8). I have not tried other cables yet, but the cable I use is a very heavy duty one and works flawlessly for data and charging connections to various PCs and wireless charging docs that I use at work and home.

I was able to mitigate it somewhat by making sure the phone and cable don't move, but it still happens.

I have not yet contacted the dealership. Is there a firmware fix for this issue yet? Should I bother to call the dealership or am I SOL? I did tests and there's a definite difference in audio quality between Bluetooth and cable. I wanted a cable connection to the head unit of some kind for just this reason. It's all very disappointing.

Click to expand...

I want to update my original reply with some new information.

I purchased a new USB cable, and it has made all the difference. Since I got it over two weeks ago, I've had maybe one disconnect that I can recall. It's been smooth sailing otherwise. It was a 3' Amazon Basics USB-A to USB-C cable (connecting to Samsung Note 8 and then Note 10+ not long after) recommended by The Wirecutter, and is rated highly by them for data, not just charging. I believe making sure your cable is highly-rated for data transfer is the key.

I have run into issues with charging / cable errors over the years with my 2016. The 7" MMI does not like short cables. at all. 6", 1' and 3' I have tried. Only the 3' ft cables will work with out any issues. Zero issues with Android Auto. Comes down to signal output from the phone / resistance. I'm using a Mate 9.

Sounds like you have a physical usb connection issue though.

Boosted_01_R said:

I have run into issues with charging / cable errors over the years with my 2016. The 7" MMI does not like short cables. at all. 6", 1' and 3' I have tried. Only the 3' ft cables will work with out any issues. Zero issues with Android Auto. Comes down to signal output from the phone / resistance. I'm using a Mate 9.

Sounds like you have a physical usb connection issue though.

Click to expand...

Longer cables can cause resistance (ohms) issues with android auto, yes. The only type of cables I recommend are OEM, Insignia, or Anker.

Anyone having issues with AA freezing? I've had it occur on two different phones (S6 and P20 pro), where the screen freezes, but the voice navigation continues. I have to unplug the phone and wait until the screen shows a stop responding message. Plug the phone back in and it's fine for the rest of the trip. Assume it's a headunit issue, as different cables used for the two phones.

On another note, anyone use Waze and the direction on the instrument cluster is wrong? Only seems to be an issue with roundabouts.

Forgive me I didn't have time to read the whole tread. Just need a quick question answered from what I read so far.

Sounds like those with 2017 Civic (in my case a Si, don't think it matters though) we should NOT upgrade the factory firmware. Is this correct? Thanks!

I have a 17 si and have never been prompted to update the firmware, FWIW