Hi all, 

 

Just bought a 15 Reg Skoda Fabia Estate SE L

 

One of the things I was quite excited about was the Android Auto functionality.  

 

So I get the car, go to try out the system and get nowhere. 

So it turns out I needed the 2015 which was slightly newer with Smartlink, whereas I only have Mirrorlink 

 

Which doesn't work with my Nexus 5X.....so I have got no phone mirroring at all. 

 

So this has ****ed me off quite a lot as this whole system appears to be shrouded in mystery and nowhere near enough clear information.


So basically I need to know if anyone has any solutions to this issue? How can I get Android Auto in the Fabia? 

Can I retrofit the system to the newer one? Do I have to use an aftermarket stereo? 

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!! SOOO annoyed by the the whole thing. 

New Mirrorlink compatible phone would be the easiest option.

Seeing as Mirrorlinks Website already doesn't include some of the newer Samsungs I am not optimistic about continued support from this interface. 

 

Saw in some complaint cases Skoda have been updating to a newer Satnav model of screen, anyone managed to via this route?

From what I've read the later Smartlink HU can't be fitted to pre week 22 build cars.

This will tell you which phones work with Mirrorlink. http://compatibilitylist.skoda-auto.com/

I had problems with my Samsung s6. I had to reset smart link on car head unit back to factory settings, once this was done it automatically linked with phone. To be truthful I don't really think much of the whole set up.

You'll find that a lot of the issues of compatibility with mirrorlink, smartlink, android auto, apple carplay etc all stem from licensing and software mismatches between phone and head unit.

They both move a completely different speeds in terms of progression and the vehicles technology often gets left behind.

If you were led to believe that you would be able to use android auto on your car then you may well have a case to claim that you've been mis-sold. Had exactly the same issue a few months ago (any cars built before may last year don't have the functionality of using android auto or apple carplay) and dealers should know this! I managed to get my dealer to go halves on the Kenwood satnav (which is awesome!) as compensation for them mis-selling the car. I use Bluetooth for phonecalls and music and have a satnav always there, works well. Hope this helps!

You didn't push the dealer hard enough as we got the Kenwood satnav for free.

Well I raised an Executive complaint as this information is nowhere near as available as it should be, dealer knowledge seems woeful as well so clearly it's a training issue.
Given the narrow margin for changes in functionality for the same year of car they should really be more aware of it.

 

Will see what happens. 

There's no specific training associated with this topic and the only information dealers are given is that already fully available to the public.

I often find myself left in the dark when it comes to phone/mib related issues because skoda don't seem to want to help and release as little info as possible.

If you're stuck with a MirrorLink only car, then I can recommend the Samsung S7/S7 Edge. It's a fantastic phone, and I've just had it working with MirrorLink in my car. The MirrorLink system is, I'm afraid, nowhere near as slick as Android Auto, but it's better than nothing. And the phone is superb, so you'd not be losing out due to that.

Vc-10

Have you had any issues with your S7?

I'm on my second device and it's plagued with faults, particularly the sd card ejection issue.

Not at all! Mine's an Edge- not sure if that would make a difference. 

 

What's the SD card ejection issue?

Mine is too.

It keeps ejecting the sd card which removes pictures, videos and apps stored on it.

Huh. No problems here!

have no problems with a Motorola Moto X Play on Android Auto; cheaper than the Samsungs and a cleaner version of Android.

TouchWiz is definitely the worst bit about my S7. Thankfully, you can download a new launcher from Google Play with relative ease!

 

And yes, Android Auto is fantastic. I absolutely love it. But if your car is pre-mid 2015, then it's not going to work unfortunately. I completely understand the frustration that owners of those cars must feel, it would really put a dampener on the system even if the regular Bolero is very good.

Mine is too.

It keeps ejecting the sd card which removes pictures, videos and apps stored on it.

The hand book only advises using a full size SD card. If you are using a micro card in an SD carrier that could be the problem. Have had my car over a year with no problems from the SD card. Joe

I think James is talking about his phone!

Having said that my S7 was fine with SD cards.... I turned it on after my exam this morning, and the SD has been corrupted. Admittedly it's a cheap one from CEX, but still. Very annoying, luckily my photos back up to OneDrive. The SD can't be formatted by the phone, and I'm trying to get the data off it with my PC.

Try a hard reset of the phone then attempt to format it. It brought one of mine back after the phone seemingly killed it.

I've tried re-formatting it with my PC. Luckily my Surface Pro has a microSD reader built in, putting it in a regular SD adaptor in my regular laptop just gives the 'insert a disk into Drive E:' error message!

 

Neither my Surface nor the phone will format the card. It was a cheap one from CEX though, but they warranty everything for a year so I'm going to take it back to them.