Nick2017

Hi everyone,

I recently traded in my 2017 C300 for a 2018 E400. I was an iphone user and found apple carplay to be very intuitive. It just worked on its own without me having to tinker with it.

I recently got a galaxy note 8 and find android auto very difficult to use. Has anyone else figured out the following:

1. USB Cable - audio through Command USB will only play whats on the phone memory. It will not route media from apps unless its on bluetooth
2. Steering touch controls - they dont work with Android auto. Is there a setting i am missing. With carplay it just worked without enabling anything. On AA i can only use the rotary dial. None of the touch controls on th steering or the centre console work
3. Is there a way to make AA full screen

Unfortunately if i dont find a fix for these i will be returning my Note 8 and getting an iPhone X. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

ua549

I know that AA can't be made full screen. That is why I don't use it.

zorz

I’ve heard of other people having the same bad experience because android auto is not as well optimized as Apple CarPlay. However, it may be different with other phone makers, but you know it will be good with the iPhone X.

I’m curious though: were you able to use anything other than the click wheel with the 2018?

Sam Manuel

The audio thing is frustrating ! you have to use Bluetooth or go through android auto not USB audio , this is just how android code is , no fix.

I think full full screen isn’t available due to the widescreen nature of your screen, android auto doesn’t support the resolution , it goes full screen in 8 inch systems but usaully not in the 10 widescreen displays.

i strongly disagree with you ! Android Auto is amazing , feels mature like it’s an actual product built from the ground up to be useful in the car , android auto is the only reason I buy an android device ( I’m an iPhone person)

the car play apps look like / feel like dumb versions or stripped down versions of iPhone apps , Siri is completely no fun to interact with the android thing is more competent with less errors and gets more done.

i can see album art on songs , google maps works so well my preferred podcast app look and feels so well done , android auto in my opinion is way better !

Google has done a very good job with it , just my opinion.

Nick2017

I am about to go on a RANT here.

I agree for some things android auto is very capable. but not having full screen is such a bummer. Google maps would just look glorious on it. Such a missed opportunity. If apple the kings of inflexibility when it comes to UI can customize based on car screens what excuse does android the king of customization have ?

Also without any of the steering wheel controls working it feels soooo backward. especially in a $90,000 dollar car. ........

Nick2017

nope. nothing other than the click wheel works.

goldme21

I agree with you completely. I have searched everywhere for a solution to the full screen issue and the implementation of Android Auto is just amateurish. The resolution cannot be changed (only 720p or 1080p options but they do nothing) because the aspect ratio is locked. The wheel controls don't work. There is no dedicated button to go back to android auto once you left it.

Then the thing that makes AA unusable: the idiotic 6-tap limit. If you have a podcast list that is somewhat lengthy you will never be able to reach the items further down the list. Carplay does not have that but I hate the Apple eco system so I won't be using that.

I had to root my old phone (S6) to get rid of the tap limit via an XPosed module. But that does not work anymore with my new phone (S7).

I'm back to bluetooth streaming and using the phone to choose my media while driving. Much safer that way and a lot less frustration.

When you look at the videos of AA it might seem a good system to use but in reality it is not.

thefisch

Until they let us mirror our screens - these options will mostly disappoint.

Sam Manuel

That would defeat the purpose of the systems and in fact increase the danger smartphones present.

zorz

So I can confirm that in the 2018 models (or at least my e400s) you can use the click wheel, touch pad and wheel touch pad with Apple CarPlay.

It makes it far superior to the previous implementation this way and I found I am quite at home using the wheel touch pad with it.

jsclarke

I use Android Auto frequently because of one "killer app" that Car Play doesn't have- WAZE ! It's great. I turn off all audio except for announcements- and occasionally I'll hear "watch out, police reported ahead" or "watch out, stopped vehicle on the side of the road". I routinely use spotify, pandora, radio paradise, google play music all through the USB cable too.

I've read Apple Car Play won't let you use any navigation app except Apple Maps. Having a Waze is really nice.

(Samsung Galaxy S8, 2017 E300). John

zorz

Funny enough, I tried it this evening and the wheel touch pad was totally unreliable and the center touch pad didn't work at all. I think this is an issue with the CarPlay software a I rebooted the phone and it was fine for a moment before it became an issue again.

I don't use CarPlay much, if ever, so not a big issue. Likely will be solved in the next update.

BeachBunny

Supposedly there was a major update of Anrdoid Auto last week...has anyone used it since?

~2 weeks before I take delivery...yay!

Wolfman

CarPlay let's every compatible app work. This is not an Apple restriction. Waze could easily work with CarPlay but given that it is owned by Google I think the chances of that are close to nil

Wolfman

I have not had the touchpad work and assume that this is a MB Comand version issue. Unfortunately MB is just behind in the implementation of CarPlay; the wireless version has been out for a year and it's still only wired.

BeachBunny

Not true, at least the last time I played with CarPlay. Only Apple Maps and apps using Apple's base maps were allowed to be used.

zorz

So I tried again this morning after updating to iOS 11.2 and the touch pads and wheel pad work fine. Go figure.

thefisch

Oh wow, I didn't know they added waze. Last time I tried it there was only google maps available. Waze is a big step up IMO.

Wolfman

You are correct. No 3rd party navigation apps at this time...

Wolfman

It's still a comand version issue. Our 2018 E63s (launch edition) has no touchpad/steering wheel control at all. Just the scroll wheel. All E63's were only released in mid/late October even though many had been shipped to the US months earlier.
Our version is also missing a couple screen options. We'll have the software updated next week so that will hopefully also take care of the CarPlay

WagonWoman

I am still trying to figure out Android Auto with my Samsung S7. I took delivery of an E400 wagon a few weeks ago. It sounds like it doesn't work with USB -- the only thing that has come up when it connected (after 20 minutes!) was a video of my dog barking -- a little monotonous when I was hoping for Spotify. I will try using Bluetooth. Any tips would help, I really am not eager to switch over to the Apple dynasty...

Mbracer26

Try a new high quality usb cable.

thefisch

I had a similar Android Auto experience using my LG G6 charging cable on a loaner GLC. Was able to get it to work finally and get Waze going but it took several tries and I didn't find the connection reliable after a restart. Overall, I wasn't impressed enough that I would care.

johna1

I revisited Apple Play today, after I read this thread. It seemed a lot better, or at least the Spotify app seemed to work a lot better than it used to. It now does everything I expect without hanging or going to strange screens, or just refusing to do anything. I don't know what has changed, but I always apply all the updates, so someone has fixed most of the issues I struck.

I'm going to try using it more now.

I still much prefer the MB navigation, I wish there was a way to use that when Car Play is running, but everything seems to just go to the apple maps app, which I don't like so much.

Long Islander

If you use Waze and Android Auto, will it display the route on the multi-media screen on the car or do you just get audio?