Android Auto is an alien facehugger on my SYNC 4 system

[Snakk Attakk]

2023 with 12" screen and no issues here . The wireless AA is one of the things I enjoy best about the Bronco during my daily commutes. My 2020 Ranger had sync 3 and it was fine also , just wired and had to have a good quality cable for it to be reliable. I used a Samsung S20 in the Ranger and have the ZFlip5 in the Bronco.

There does appear to be a correlation with the display size. I wonder why that would be? It's not like it is just one issue, every aspect of this integration blows.

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[CrazyPete]

2023 with 12" screen and no issues here . The wireless AA is one of the things I enjoy best about the Bronco during my daily commutes. My 2020 Ranger had sync 3 and it was fine also , just wired and had to have a good quality cable for it to be reliable. I used a Samsung S20 in the Ranger and have the ZFlip5 in the Bronco.

.....and comments like this never make much sense to me. How can people using AA, on a Samsung phone, on the same Sync4 system have drastically different experiences? Idk. I personally think it's more of a Ford (Sync4) issue than an AA issue. On our GMC Denali truck, AA works without any issues...and has for yrs.

 

[Snakk Attakk]

.....and comments like this never make much sense to me. How can people using AA, on a Samsung phone, on the same Sync4 system have drastically different experiences? Idk. I personally think it's more of a Ford (Sync4) issue than an AA issue. On our GMC Denali truck, AA works without any issues...and has for yrs.

I haven't compared the specs between the 8" and 12" systems, but it is conceivable that they are diverged quite a bit. I'd expect a more powerful processor for the larger display, and maybe they changed the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios as well just for funzies. Who knows.

 

[CrazyPete]

I haven't compared the specs between the 8" and 12" systems, but it is conceivable that they are diverged quite a bit. I'd expect a more powerful processor for the larger display, and maybe they changed the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios as well just for funzies. Who knows.

I have the 12" display. Haha

 

[userdude]

Mmm, good thing Android Auto is taking over the whole interface. Replace these plugin issues with first class app bugs! Fun fun fun.

Frankly I have a lot of these with my iPhone, although it's gotten more stable over the nine months I've owned my Bronco.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Not that it helps, but my 2023 with a 12" screen has not exhibited any of the items listed.

<<I have now officially jinxed myself and they will begin happening at the next start-up>>

 

[beardymcstash]

- The touch panel becomes partially unresponsive. This is random and mainly affects the icons in the AA app drawer which can trap you from exiting to SYNC 4. A reset of SYNC 4 is necessary to recover.

Sometimes shifting into reverse, which activates the camera, has fixed this for me but it may be a Ford-side issue.

- The wireless connection can drop harshly with a dialog box. You have to wait a bit and dick around with settings to get it connected again. This often occurs near busy intersections. USB does not have this issue (but it suffers from all the others).

This is often at the same geographic area where the 2.4GHz band is saturated and, in my experience, has some illegal signal boosting(but a billionaire can bribe the FCC I guess?)

- When AA is enabled, the SYNC 4 phone messaging app is replaced by the AA messaging app. The SYNC 4 version can read all my SMS messages and supports text to speech. The AA version only shows messages received during the current session (usually zero), and the text to speech function only produces silence.

That may be a setting on your phone. I had the same phone and it read my texts just fine until I turned off that permission.

- The AA touch panel integration is even more laggy than the SYNC 4 functionality (which is also laggy). The skip and volume buttons are horrific.

The steering wheel buttons work just fine. Any issues with that is app-dependent except for the 30-minute delay between changing the volume and it showing up on the display--all Ford.

- AA defaults to popping up a split screen with GPS, and there is no apparent way to defeat this. I don't need to see GPS on my commute, and this works my phone harder.

You can't switch it to the app you're using, full screen? AA requires your location on... gotta get that data.

- Amazon Music always has dropouts for the first few minutes after starting the vehicle. ALWAYS. It usually subsides but sometimes requires a reset of SYNC 4 to recover.

Amazon App problem. I get better results if I open the app on my phone within minutes BEFORE getting into the Bronco. I don't do anything other than open it.

- Amazon Music is in a mode where it wants to play the same 5 shitty bands on My Soundtrack, sometimes the same band back-to-back. I had to thumbs down like five in a row after rating bands for years with my paid account (this is clearly an Amazon issue but still salt in the wound).

Yeah, that's the Amazon Music app.

I received some sort of AA software update this week, and they fixed DICK.

I'm glad they fixed your...

These responses are accurate in my case, I can confirm the unresponsiveness/facehugger attitude it gets at times and def seems like a sync/AA issue combined. This is really the only issue i've ever had with the system.

All the other issues listed seem to be related to either permissions or the apps themselves. I use Youtube Music and never have any issues with volume delay, switching songs, or the other issues op listed.

8" screen with a pixel 7

 

[KillerPenz]

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S22 with mostly default settings and hardly any apps installed. I use the wireless (Bluetooth/WiFi connection) as well as a wired USB connection.

Here is my list of grievances:

- The touch panel becomes partially unresponsive. This is random and mainly affects the icons in the AA app drawer which can trap you from exiting to SYNC 4. A reset of SYNC 4 is necessary to recover.
- The wireless connection can drop harshly with a dialog box. You have to wait a bit and dick around with settings to get it connected again. This often occurs near busy intersections. USB does not have this issue (but it suffers from all the others).
- When AA is enabled, the SYNC 4 phone messaging app is replaced by the AA messaging app. The SYNC 4 version can read all my SMS messages and supports text to speech. The AA version only shows messages received during the current session (usually zero), and the text to speech function only produces silence.
- The AA touch panel integration is even more laggy than the SYNC 4 functionality (which is also laggy). The skip and volume buttons are horrific.
- AA defaults to popping up a split screen with GPS, and there is no apparent way to defeat this. I don't need to see GPS on my commute, and this works my phone harder.
- Amazon Music always has dropouts for the first few minutes after starting the vehicle. ALWAYS. It usually subsides but sometimes requires a reset of SYNC 4 to recover.
- Amazon Music is in a mode where it wants to play the same 5 shitty bands on My Soundtrack, sometimes the same band back-to-back. I had to thumbs down like five in a row after rating bands for years with my paid account (this is clearly an Amazon issue but still salt in the wound).

I received some sort of AA software update this week, and they fixed DICK.

OP, I'm in a '21 BaseSquatch 8" screen. Had my previous phone, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and now current phone, Galaxy S23 Ultra, both hooked up to AA wirelessly without issues for a long time.

I will say 2 years ago I had issues in which AA was freezing up on me, and eventually figured out if I simply turned off WiFi to disconnect, it would reset and reconnect while resolving that issue. I blamed Sync4 for being the issue back then because eventually a Sync4 update stopped that from happening.

As for having split screen with GPS & Amazon Music (or whatever 2nd app is open), I've found that if you touch the screen over 1 of those 2 apps, that app will go to full screen.

Also, the Amazon Music app, which I have used maybe twice, appears to be super limited as to what you can do with it. Luckily, I have all my music on my phone so I just use PowerAmp and have no issues whatsoever.

Only thing I can think to suggest is, delete your phone from Sync4 and reconnect it. See if that solves your problem. Though the latest Sync4 update (supposed to fix reverse camera issues) screwed up my reverse camera which cuts in and out now (never did before). And if the backup camera does this, then the audio is laggy when skipping. So I wouldn't have much faith in Ford fixing a software issue.

 

[GroovyGeek]

There does appear to be a correlation with the display size. I wonder why that would be? It's not like it is just one issue, every aspect of this integration blows.

May have something to do with the fact that on 8" AA takes over the entire system, while on 12" the SYNC4 controls remain active/visible.

 

[Snakk Attakk]

I use Youtube Music and never have any issues with volume delay, switching songs, or the other issues op listed.

I think I'm going to drop Amazon Music and do a trial period of YouTube Music. I used it back when it was Google Play and switched to Amazon Music two years ago to upload songs. But they no longer offer that service. And there's the issue of them really sucking now.

My Amazon Music issues are bizarre. Today it went into "live tracks" mode. Every song was a live album track, from many different rock artists. One after another, I must have skipped a dozen in a row. Then a non-live track finally came up...from the "Hollies". The Hollies? What the flying F is up with that??

It's mostly playing hard rock other than the Hollies which is good but is on a "BulletBoys" tangent. I've heard them a dozen times (never given a thumbs up ever). Skip one BulletBoys track and get another. I mean they are OK I guess, I just need a break from them! Play some Van Halen FFS.

 

[userdude]

I think I'm going to drop Amazon Music and do a trial period of YouTube Music. I used it back when it was Google Play and switched to Amazon Music two years ago to upload songs. But they no longer offer that service. And there's the issue of them really sucking now.

My Amazon Music issues are bizarre. Today it went into "live tracks" mode. Every song was a live album track, from many different rock artists. One after another, I must have skipped a dozen in a row. Then a non-live track finally came up...from the "Hollies". The Hollies? What the flying F is up with that??

It's mostly playing hard rock other than the Hollies which is good but is on a "BulletBoys" tangent. I've heard them a dozen times (never given a thumbs up ever). Skip one BulletBoys track and get another. I mean they are OK I guess, I just need a break from them! Play some Van Halen FFS.

The struggle is real!

 

[FstFrd00]

- The touch panel becomes partially unresponsive. This is random and mainly affects the icons in the AA app drawer which can trap you from exiting to SYNC 4. A reset of SYNC 4 is necessary to recover.

All the time (Galaxy S20+).


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[GToddC5]

2021 w/ 12" screen using Google Pixel 7 pro, YT Music and wireless BT to connect. Everything works great more often than not, so I can't complain. Until now, with Murphy taking notes and preparing to brick my system. I especially love being able to say, "OK Google, play (insert song title here)" or "OK Google, call (so and so's cell)" or "OK Google, text (so and so)" or "OK Google, take me to (insert name of establishment here)", and it all just works.

 

[beardymcstash]

I think I'm going to drop Amazon Music and do a trial period of YouTube Music. I used it back when it was Google Play and switched to Amazon Music two years ago to upload songs. But they no longer offer that service. And there's the issue of them really sucking now.

My Amazon Music issues are bizarre. Today it went into "live tracks" mode. Every song was a live album track, from many different rock artists. One after another, I must have skipped a dozen in a row. Then a non-live track finally came up...from the "Hollies". The Hollies? What the flying F is up with that??

It's mostly playing hard rock other than the Hollies which is good but is on a "BulletBoys" tangent. I've heard them a dozen times (never given a thumbs up ever). Skip one BulletBoys track and get another. I mean they are OK I guess, I just need a break from them! Play some Van Halen FFS.

Hopefully that at least smooths out the music sides of things for you. If not.... at least it is/was a trial.

I don't have any loyalty to any of the streaming apps, as I also started using it back when it was google play and you got a bundle of it and youtube premium when you bought a new Nexus device.

But I will say it has been reliable over the years and it has some good features. One of my favorites is that if you create a playlist and play it on a youtube app on a tv and there is a music video it'll show the video automatically instead of just album art or a screen saver. Nice for parties or background to be doing something else.

Best of luck, cheers!

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