Photo: Alpine
Android Auto keeps disconnecting from the head unit, some drivers are now complaining, and by the looks of things, all these people have one thing in common: they’re using an Alpine HU.
More specifically, the issue is most often encountered when the Alpine ILX-W650 head unit is installed in the car, and the random disconnects happen regardless of the phone that’s being used to power the app.
This has already been confirmed by users in this Google thread on Samsung phones, the Google Pixel, and several other brands running both Android 9 and Android 10.
While Google has so far remained tight-lipped on the problem and we still don’t know if Alpine is investigating these reports or not, it looks like fixing the whole thing is actually much simpler than you expected.
It all comes down to the cable that comes with the Alpine head unit, as it looks like this is the culprit of all the issues. So technically, replacing the cable with a high quality one should do the trick and bring Android Auto back to the normal working condition.
“Last night I went to Best Buy and bought a 3 foot Dynex USB-A to USB-C cable for 8 dollars. My hunch is that this head unit is not compatible with USB 3.0 cables. As soon as I plugged this new cable in (which is USB 2.0) and using the Alpine adapter, I am now not having any issues,” someone explains on the forums.
“I think this unit is just extremely finicky with the cable type which is pretty unacceptable imo but if you are looking for a solution I think the problem is with using a fast charge capable cable. Also I can only guess the shorter the cable the better off you are as well for obvious reasons.”
If you’re using a Samsung phone, sticking with the high-speed cable that came with the mobile device is the best thing to do, as the cables provided by the South Korean company are very often among the most reliable on the market causing zero Android Auto connectivity issues.
This has already been confirmed by users in this Google thread on Samsung phones, the Google Pixel, and several other brands running both Android 9 and Android 10.
While Google has so far remained tight-lipped on the problem and we still don’t know if Alpine is investigating these reports or not, it looks like fixing the whole thing is actually much simpler than you expected.
It all comes down to the cable that comes with the Alpine head unit, as it looks like this is the culprit of all the issues. So technically, replacing the cable with a high quality one should do the trick and bring Android Auto back to the normal working condition.
“Last night I went to Best Buy and bought a 3 foot Dynex USB-A to USB-C cable for 8 dollars. My hunch is that this head unit is not compatible with USB 3.0 cables. As soon as I plugged this new cable in (which is USB 2.0) and using the Alpine adapter, I am now not having any issues,” someone explains on the forums.
“I think this unit is just extremely finicky with the cable type which is pretty unacceptable imo but if you are looking for a solution I think the problem is with using a fast charge capable cable. Also I can only guess the shorter the cable the better off you are as well for obvious reasons.”
If you’re using a Samsung phone, sticking with the high-speed cable that came with the mobile device is the best thing to do, as the cables provided by the South Korean company are very often among the most reliable on the market causing zero Android Auto connectivity issues.
Google News