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My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

imdanielkendall.com

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Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#211
post #80
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please could you share the name of the manufacturer, so the rest of us know who to be wary of?

Volkswagen Group for example. Most of their brands are like this, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda. Carplay/Android Auto is in the head unit but you have to pay 200-300€ to unlock unless it’s part of the trim level you choose.

That's interesting, thanks. For me this feature is mandatory, and I won't risk buying a car (second hand usually) unless I see it working with my phone first. I drove 200 miles to buy a car once and walked* away because of this. The seller acted surprised.

* drove

Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#213

To be fair, Android Auto breaks when you look at it funny.

Both Android Auto and Chromecast are great ideas, but so incredibly flakey.

The number of times I've heard someone say 'oh it's disconnected again' is extreme.

To be honest, some court ought to simply demand Google makes it reliable or refunds all money people paid for the phones as the product is not fit for purpose.

Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#214
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's even more bizare now, mid 2026, when software is solved with AI. Why doesn't op simply ask AI to write software to fix his problem?

A lot of the time, the head unit only accepts signed updates

Software is solved so you just need to use AI to fix android auto or find a vulnerability in the head unit.

Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#215
Spoke to MINI, cleared security, and gave them my license plate.

They pushed a manual patch to clear out files out over 4 hours. Not sure how i feel that they can directly target my car with license plate but ah well

Nothing happened initially, but after deleting and re-pairing, it’s finally working.

Blocked future updates when I take it in for its next service, I’m thinking of telling them to leave the FW the fuck alone.

Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#216
post #99

Kia just did this with their EV9 update - it broke CarPlay with a blank screen a few minutes into driving, which then reverted itself a minute later. Another OTA mostly resolved it. Neither of these updates explained what happened or what the fix was.

Let me be a devil's advocate here: you have essentially two options. 1. You write release notes thet contain technical details. Less than 1% of your customers understand them. More than 90% probably won't even care, let alone understand the document. And then there are the folks who get confused or scared and reach out to customer support with weird questions. This generates extra workload. 2. You explain nothing. Th…

The thing is, Kia does tell you what’s going on in some of their release notes, for example: https://owners.kia.com/us/en/ota-software-update-release-not...

However the very update that says it fixes the blank screen caused the blank screen to happen in the first place. (Never happened before that update.)

Then another silent update not listed on their site undoes that problem, but you have to wait a month or so to get it.

Re: My car’s OTA update broke Android Auto

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stuff like climate control and radio/Bluetooth were included in many/most cars in the last decade. Expensive as they were, the cars were a lot cheaper than today's cars. And they just worked , which means they were either so simple that sophisticated testing wasn't necessary, or they tested it thoroughly. I don't think they're saving that much by ditching them and going to SW. They also didn't need updates (well, the…

bluetooth audio is probably all one needs for phone car integration. but carplay/android auto are sadly really popular. So already, your phone can connect in two different ways, just over bluetooth, with cars today. And car companies have to support both. Plus the car must show something on the screen when a phone isn't there, and the rear-view camera isn't on, at the very least on test drives/ showroom displays. I d…

I want the screen for the rear view camera.

I'd be OK with the screen doing other things, as long as it's not inferior to my just using the phone. Currently, AA is inferior.

You don't need a huge screen for the rear view camera. There's plenty of space to have that screen and have all the usual buttons for climate control and radio/audio. Cars had been doing that for over a decade.

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