I have a 2020 (last of the MkIII) Octavia Scout, with (I think it's) the Bolero (basic) head unit. (No Nav, no Skoda Connect services; just Android Auto).

For Maps, Android Auto works fine. But for WhatsApp, especially if I try to voice-dictate responses/new WhatsApp messages, it rapidly gets slower/ falls behind, such that it is practically unusable.

My phone is a new OnePlus Nord (rather high spec, completely up to date Android, firmware, apps, everything; though I think I saw exactly the same problem on my older OnePlus 5T).

For example, after just a few WhatsApp messages have been read to me through Android Auto, the follow-up "Do you want to send a reply?" (or whatever the exact prompt is) may be a little bit delayed, and in any case voice dictation of a reply/new message flat out doesn't work after the second or third message. Disconnecting the phone-to-head-unit USB cable and reconnecting (a process that takes over a minute, just like when Android Auto <-> SmartLink first starts up when I boot up, er, turn on the car) will make it "work" again, briefly...

On a recent long drive, it got so far behind/ out of sync that it was hearing its own long-delayed "do you want to reply?" (or something) message in response to what it thought was me having told it that I wanted to reply. That is, the draft of the voice-dictation reply text was in fact something that the system itself had spoken out loud!

I asked about this in a Spanish Octavia forum and got answers across the board; one or two people had the same problem; a few more said it works reliably for them.

What experiences do Briskodans have with the reliability/performance of WhatsApp through Android Auto, please?

( @SashaGrace @skd12 @Aarond @ExSEAT @SoonToBeOctaviaOwner I've seen each of you comment about using WhatsApp; please forgive me for tagging you directly; I hope that your experiences might be most directly relevant to this question).

Thanks everyone,

-Jay

 

I've not my had Octavia since late 2019 so I'm probably quite out of date but I remember issues like this would come and go with various app updates.

 

I would try the usual things like different USB cables (I had one that worked for everything expect Android auto), clearing the WhatsApp and AA app cache etc.

Thanks for responding @skd12.

Since everything else works reliably even while WhatsApp <-> my car's head unit is going utterly wonky, it doesn't seem likely that it's the cable.

Also, WhatsApp itself on the phone (when I pull over and stop the car so I can manipulate the phone directly, of course) works perfectly even while the head unit is talking to itself and otherwise making my crazy(er...), so I don't see how anything about the WhatsApp app on the phone itself might be related .. I'll try clearing Android Auto's app cache.

The one issue that I think has gone away with updates over time is that, originally, nearly every single time I would connect a phone to the car for Google Maps, Google Maps would claim that it was offline and couldn't get driving directions. Most recently, I may briefly see a "you're offline" message but then it promptly notices that in fact it was online all the time and it refreshes with the driving directions now displayed.

 

No worries @JayLibove, I can understand your frustration! I sold my MK3.5 a couple of weeks ago and what you describe would happen when using read out/voice function, with it feeling like it tended to happen just after an update. Sometimes it would read out and I could dictate to it perfectly fine, other times it would struggle at reading out/accurately recording my dictation/hearing me say send: I would often just ask the google woman to **** off at these times. I don't have a fix for you though man, I just don't think I used it that much after a while due to having to swear at my car. I have a MK4 now and not tested this function just yet.

 

It might be worth trying different cable, swearing, clearing app cache like you suggest and just enjoying the car for what it is 

Hi @JayLibove thanks for tagging me in, always happy to help where I can.

 

I've been using WhatsApp and android auto since 2016 and it's performance has always been hit and miss. The most common problem was always 'do you want to reply' and then 'do you want to send it or change it' both getting no response, with big pauses full of me shouting either 'no' or 'send it!!!' 

 

Lately it's been ok and I've not noticed a lot of lag, I will try it tomorrow on your behalf and see but it has been a lot more reliable for me with my Samsung s20.

 

I've not experienced it getting worse over time as if it is getting overloaded however. 

Thanks @ExSEAT!

I wonder, if you don't mind, in the next days as you drive and occasionally (attempt to) voice dictate WhatsApp replies, could you try to notice whether it actually works well just at first (really, just the first one or two voice interactions) and then the lag starts?

My original sensation had been "it's utter rubbish". I realized over the course of some very long (1000km/day) drives, that it actually worked great ... once, or twice, and then it got bad (and then it got unusable; until I disconnected the phone and reconnected it).

Aside, what was a previous phone on which you had noticed more problems? Was it also a then-high-spec phone like the Samsung S20? Or was it a lower spec phone? (My phones have always been upper-mid to high level, so it *shouldn't* be an overload on the phone itself).

Maybe it's also worth mentioning that I don't get a WhatsApp message every 30 seconds, so I hope I'm not overloading the expected performance characteristics of the car's head unit; I don't know whether the problem was coincident with a couple of WhatsApp messages coming in in relatively close succession or if it happens even with one message at a time with several minutes in between; I do suspect that a combination of WhatsApp messages and Google Maps-via Android Auto voice directions may also contribute to it choking.

Oh, I definitely have tried swearing at it. Doesn't make it work any better 😜

  

18 hours ago, Aarond said:

No worries @JayLibove, I can understand your frustration! I sold my MK3.5 a couple of weeks ago and what you describe would happen when using read out/voice function, with it feeling like it tended to happen just after an update. Sometimes it would read out and I could dictate to it perfectly fine, other times it would struggle at reading out/accurately recording my dictation/hearing me say send: I would often just ask the google woman to **** off at these times. I don't have a fix for you though man, I just don't think I used it that much after a while due to having to swear at my car. I have a MK4 now and not tested this function just yet.

 

It might be worth trying different cable, swearing, clearing app cache like you suggest and just enjoying the car for what it is 

 

 

@JayLibove

I've not been far today, I have a reasonable journey in the car with the wife on Sunday so we can do can air few as an experiment for you.

 

I've typically had the higher end phones, the last one was a Samsung s9, LG G2 etc. 

 

I think its always going to be hit and miss 

I would be interested to know if you have a technisat headunit?

 

Android auto has been implemented very poorly on these units.

 

 

 

Hi @Marshy33, please forgive my ignorance; how do I figure out what headunit is in my car?

  

47 minutes ago, Marshy33 said:

I would be interested to know if you have a technisat headunit?

 

Android auto has been implemented very poorly on these units.

 

 

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, JayLibove said:

Hi @Marshy33, please forgive my ignorance; how do I figure out what headunit is in my car?

  

 

 

If you go to system information and get the headunits part number, we can confirm from that.

Sorry for the long delay @Marshy33. Here is the head unit version information from my car:

Device part number: 565035840

Hardware: H41

Software: 0478

 

Media Codec: 4101.0.0.0

 

Bluetooth version:

C300

SmartLink:

4101.438.1.5

Radio database version:

1.10.10

USB surfstick version:

4101.438.1.5

 

Anyone with a very late MkIII (mfr date April 2020) have newer versions than these?

Does this indicate the make of the head unit? (Marshy33 commented/asked whether it is a Technisat headunit).

 

thanks!

-Jay