Smartlink

[jst_at_home]

Hi all

 

I have Smartlink on my new Yeti.

 

Apple Car Play works but Apple Maps keeps dropping out.

 

Android Auto also seems to work although I haven't experimented too much with Google Maps.

 

However, Sygic Car Navigation suggests it works on Skoda Smartlink via Android.  I have Sygic Car Navigation but can't for the life of me make it come up on the display.

 

I have e-mailed Sygic Support but nothing back yet.

 

Has anyone nailed this?

 

Many thanks

 

John

[LHVRS]

Google maps are the best there is IMO. I have sat nav on my VRS but never use it as google maps are far superior. You get up to date traffic info and it will always send you on the fastest route plus you don't need to type anything, just press the microphone button and tell it where you need to go. 

Edited 17 July, 2016 by LHVRS

[MartiniB]

Google maps are the best there is IMO.

then try Waze

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PPpZNzXqId0

[LHVRS]

then try Waze

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PPpZNzXqId0

Google bought Waze thats why they are the best

[malcster]

I used Waze and Google and apart from the option to report traffic etc in Waze i still found Google maps better to use

Also you can pre download maps with Google incase you loose your signal

Waze on a few occasions would get me to come off on a motorway/dual carriageway only to take the 2nd exit and rejoin

Not all the time bit annoying when it did

[BlueDiesel]

Sorry to jump on the thread but how can you find out if your system has smart link? I have an Octavia 3 vRS with the Bolero......

[stringbean]

Sorry to jump on the thread but how can you find out if your system has smart link? I have an Octavia 3 vRS with the Bolero......

 

If you push the menu button and then scroll you should see a SmartLink option (or CarPlay/Android Auto if you have a device plugged into USB). There's a thread in the O3 forum about unlocking it.

[BlueDiesel]

If you push the menu button and then scroll you should see a SmartLink option (or CarPlay/Android Auto if you have a device plugged into USB). There's a thread in the O3 forum about unlocking it.

 

That is me without it then. May need to be a Brodit + Google Maps job!

[Michael G]

Spotted this one late.

 

Just to clarify, Android Auto (and Apple's CarPlay) only work with curated apps, for elf n safety reasons. Hence, no Netflix on either!!

 

In the mapping, AA currently only works with Google Maps, and CP only with Apple Maps.

 

I believe Waze support is on its way.

 

Meanwhile it (or any other non-supported Map or other app) will only appear on the car screen via Mirrorlink - the older, third party third option, also provided as part of Smartlink.

 

Mirrorlink only works with certain android devices. It's fine on my wife's S6, but doesn't work on my Google Nexus 6P - presumably because big G prefer me to use their car screen tech.

 

HTH. 

[Shawy10]

Would a dealer be able to install/unlock smart link on my 6month old  Octavia SEL?  Cheers

[LHVRS]

Would a dealer be able to install/unlock smart link on my 6month old  Octavia SEL?  Cheers

Apparently your dealer can get a unlock code but it will cost you £150.

[Exxex]

Hello fellow SmartLink owners

 

 

I don't know if this is the correct thread to post this in, please forgive me if I'm posting wrong.

 

I have fought with my car and with SmartLink for about a year now. My Skoda-dealer cannot help me (but they sure could sell me the SmartLink stuff when I bought my car). I can sometimes connect my phone, but most of the times I get into this connection loop you guys talk about. Android Auto isn't released in Sweden yet so that's out of the question (teaser: it's not!). I cannot use Cygic Navigation because it is one of the worst navigation apps out there. Sometimes I get Google maps to work when standing still, but as soon as I start rolling the app goes black with a warning. All apps except Cygic does this. When restarting my car too quickly SmartLink collapses and I need to remove all and reinitiate the connection from ground up. Totally unacceptable!

 

May I add, my girlfriends iPhone 5 with Apple Car have never been any trouble, this seem to be isolated to Android (and maybe only to my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact I don't know).

 

Now to the good stuff! Even though Android Auto isn't released in Sweden yet it is possible to get it to work. And may I add, it works flawlessly! Google Maps, Spotify, phone control, SMS you name it... I can restart my car and it's still there without any hazzle!

 

Here's how I did it:

 

01. Download and register for a free open VPN-service (there are many to choose from).

02. Shut down your phone, remove SIM-card and start it up again.

03. Connect to VPN in a country where Android Auto is released (USA among others).

04. Open Android settings -> Apps -> Google Play -> Clear cache.

05. Open Google Play, agree to the terms and search for Android Auto.

05a. If you cannot see the app in Google Play this is a bit trickier (but not impossible).

05b. Register and configure a second Gmail-account (that is not tied to your phone's hardware).

05c. Choose the new Gmail-account as the active one in Google Play.

05d. Search for Android Auto yet again and voila!

06. Install the Android Auto app.

07. Uninstall the VPN-service and unregister from the service (it wont be needed for updating the app anyway).

08. Uninstall Cygic Navigation and demand a refund (I did and got my money back).

09. Remove all the ****ty apps from Skoda and keep only Android Auto (there can only be one ).

10. Shutdown the phone, insert SIM-cart, start up your phone.

11. Open SmartLink in your car stereo and choose Android Auto as the preferred protocol.

12. Tether your phone and enjoy how it was meant to be!

 

It hasn't glitched on me yet and I'm finally happy for choosing SmartLink...

 

Please Skoda, stick to what you're good at

 

 

/Exxex

[Michael G]

Exxex

 

Glad you sorted it out. I've had no problems with Android Auto/Smartlink here in the UK.

 

From what I can see, the issue in part arises as a result of Google not yet releasing AA in Sweden. 

 

I'm not sure why Skoda could be criticised for that, although I take the point that unless AA, CarPlay, and Mirrorlink are available to you from their respective suppliers, there'd be little point in specifying Smartlink.

[Exxex]

Hello

 

 

Yes, I agree, Skoda cannot be blamed for the delay of releasing Android Auto globally. SmartLink per se seem to work fine when using AA. It is the MirrorLink functionality that doesn't work as it was sold to do, and it is when using MirrorLink that the SmartLink fails. But now I can leave MirrorLink behind me and never open that box again...

 

 

Thanks/

Exxex

[Michael G]

Ah, the issue was with Mirrorlink then, and your particular phone?

 

Mirrorlink is another android third party solution from http://www.mirrorlink.com/.

 

It works fine on my wife's Galaxy S6, but not on my Google Nexus 6P. Conversely, my N6P works fine with AA, but AA doesn't work on the GS6.

 

I think the phone brands are playing silly beggars. They want you to use their in car solution, or at least, if they don't have their own - not the competition's.

 

Android Auto and Carplay both work well where they, err...work. But they both only work with curated apps, for health and safety reasons. In maps, only Google Maps in AA, and only Apple Maps in CP. I believe Google's alternative map app Waze is coming.

 

If mirroring works, it gives greater choice. Whatever's on the screen is mirrored. AFAIK control is only on the phone, so that's a drawback. And of course, if a particular app is faulty, it'll just show the same on the car.

 

I've no experience with AA or CP in anyone's else's car, but based on my experience I think Skoda have made a reasonable stab at it, given the anomalies found with third party suppliers' different kit and different apps. 

[zom414]

Rather than make another thread I hope it's ok to post here.

Just got my new Fabia Monte Carlo and looked at Android Auto/Mirrorlink this morning. I've got my phone paired etc and google maps is on screen but I cant find anywhere to input destinations etc. It looks like it has picked up some postcodes from when I've used it on my main pc though. Is this normal?

[Michael G]

... I've got my phone paired etc and google maps is on screen but I cant find anywhere to input destinations etc. It looks like it has picked up some postcodes from when I've used it on my main pc though. Is this normal?

 

I spent about 5 seconds searching for a way to key in destinations, but then realised Voice input was quicker and easier anyway.

 

If you're signed in to Google on your PC and phone, it's normal for them to sync. I often save destinations whilst pre-planning on my laptop, knowing they'll be there too on my phone and available in the car via AA.

[zom414]

I spent about 5 seconds searching for a way to key in destinations, but then realised Voice input was quicker and easier anyway.

 

If you're signed in to Google on your PC and phone, it's normal for them to sync. I often save destinations whilst pre-planning on my laptop, knowing they'll be there too on my phone and available in the car via AA.

Thanks, never even thought to use the voice input!  Can it still be done manually though?  I've also got TomTom on my phone and was told in the showroom that it would work no problem via AA but nothing shows on the screen so I take it it doesn't work.  I normally use Waze and although it doesn't work at the moment I've read that they are supposed to be adding it soon.

[Michael G]

Thanks, never even thought to use the voice input!  Can it still be done manually though?  I've also got TomTom on my phone and was told in the showroom that it would work no problem via AA but nothing shows on the screen so I take it it doesn't work.  I normally use Waze and although it doesn't work at the moment I've read that they are supposed to be adding it soon.

 

These so-called showroom experts might know something about selling, but they don't all know about the product they're selling!

 

Google's AA (and Apple's equivalent, CarPlay) only work via curated apps, for H&S reasons. So, even if you subscribe to Netflix and have their app on your phone, it isn't going to appear on the car screen via either AA or CP. Understandably.

 

In the mapping, currently only Google Maps work on AA, and Apple Maps in CP. I've heard Waze (owned by Google) will come to AA. Meanwhile, the Tom Tom app on your phone will NOT work on AA. It's not a curated app.

 

It MIGHT work via Mirrorlink if your phone supports that. In that case (AFAIK) anything on the phone screen is simply mirrored to the car. The drawback is - again, AFAIK - the phone needs to be handy to control it.

 

AA works differently. Once the AA app is launched and the phone connected, it hands over the display and control to the car. All the phone shows is a black screen with Android Auto in white text. The phone can therefore be placed anywhere. On my Yeti, I ran a right angle adaptor to a cable in turn running to the rear console tray. My Nexus 6P won't fit anywhere else. But it's fine, as all control is done from the car, via voice or screen/steering wheel.

 

The Skoda video on Smartlink/AA says that destinations can be keyed manually - see the segment at 1:40 here: