My brain hurts - I am trying to understand how Android Auto and the on board Skoda Amundsen system connect to my phone via Bluetooth and / or WiFi. CAN AYONE EXPLAIN PLEASE???

I am reasonably IT literate but I am baffled by this. A few points about what works for me and what does not:

I can connect my phone (Samsung Galaxy S23 - so fairly modern phone on an O2 SIM only package) to the Amundsen system in my 2024 Karoq. I can use my TomTom Go app for navigation because I find it better than the Skoda one - personal preference perhaps.

When I take the phone to the car, I have Bluetooth(BT) switched on and when it all connects and starts, the BT is connected AND the phone tells me that it is connected to Skoda 47** via WiFi. I thought that the two were ONLY connected by Bluetooth - so why the WiFi connection??

The O2 SIM only plan has a small data allowance so I have tried connecting the phone to the internet by using a MiFi device (small, portable 5G router) in which there is a THREE network SIM card with loads of data. As soon as the phone connects to the car, the WiFi connection to the MiFi device is killed and replaced by a connection to Skoda 47**. Why does this happen - again I state that I thought the data connection would be via Bluetooth and NOT any WiFi connection.

I have tried manually over-riding the situation to force the phone to use the THREE MiFi device but EVERY time it switched to the Skoda 47**. I have tried switching Mobile Data off in the phone and all that happens is that there is no data available and Android Auto does not work in the car.

If someone out there does have a good understanding of what is connecting to what and why it would be good to know. If there is a sensible, usable way to do what I want that would be great.

Anyone want to offer an explanation / solution?

Thanks in advance, Frank

Android Auto uses both Bluetooth and wi-fi to connect to the car. Bluetooth for pairing and phone calls, wi-fi for navigation apps, music streaming and other things. Bluetooth cannot handle the bandwidth needed for those things. If it were only Bluetooth, you'd get a car screen that updated about once every half minute.

Don't get me started on the other limitations of Bluetooth, a 30-year-old protocol that never worked particularly well.

I'm not familiar with Android Auto, but did originally use Carplay - maybe you can adapt or get some clues from my experiences. The Skoda Infotainment system has both Bluetooth (BT) and Wifi. Initially my Phone was connected through Carplay and was using the Cars Wifi hotspot connection. I only realised this when I noticed that my Iphone browser was unable to Goggle anything in the car but worked perfectly 6 feet away when on a 5G connection. The internal SIM in the car is does not have a data allowance and is 3G. With CarPlay I was able to drop the internal Car hotspot wifi and just use BT. So maybe you can isolate your phone from the Cars internal Wifi.

I also found that many of the steering wheel controls do not operate with Carplay, that the Virtual Dashboard centre section where you can have Navigation directions, Media listings or Phone call data (contact lists, recent calls etc) do not interface with Carplay either. Maybe Android is better, but I stopped using Carplay. Now I use the inbuilt facilities where everything is integrated and works. I have had Garmin Sat Navs for over 15 years and one does get used to way a specific brand of SatNav works. However I now actually prefer the built in Skoda SatNav, its much quicker to adapt to changing traffic situations and the traffic info is much more up to date than the Garmin I had. The Infotainment GUI for the Sat Nav is not so good but I have been using the Skoda App on my phone to select destinations (which uses Goggle Maps) and then send to the car. Even when sitting in the car its quicker and easier than using the GUI on the Sat Nav!

In the last week I have finally worked out how to operate the voice commands for the SatNav - they had me baffled for a year, but this week I found a very helpful config option, in the settings you can 'turn display voice commands on'. This was a game changer for me! Pressing the voice button on the steering wheel displays a graphic with the different functions that can be controlled, choose 'Navigation' by saying the word, further prompt screens are displayed from which you can quickly find the right response. Before I discovered this I had no idea what to 'say' when asked a question.

Maybe there is something in my ramblings above that will help with your Android Auto issues. Good luck

1 hour ago, mumpsim said:

Android Auto uses both Bluetooth and wi-fi to connect to the car. Bluetooth for pairing and phone calls, wi-fi for navigation apps, music streaming and other things. Bluetooth cannot handle the bandwidth needed for those things. If it were only Bluetooth, you'd get a car screen that updated about once every half minute.

Don't get me started on the other limitations of Bluetooth, a 30-year-old protocol that never worked particularly well.

In case it wasn't clear from my earlier post: since Android Auto requires both Bluetooth and wi-fi all the time it is in use, you can't connect your phone to another wi-fi device at the same time. That means you can't use Android Auto with a MiFi device that connects to 4G if that MiFi device uses wi-fi to connect to your phone. A portable router providing 4G data that connected to your phone by USB might - or might not - work, if there is such a thing.

By the way, Apple Carplay is no different, requiring both Bluetooth and wi-fi connection to the car simultaneously.

I have an iPhone rather than an Android device, but for my data use when in the car, I use a Huawei dongle with a Three 24gb data only Sim, which has a 24 month lifespan. When setting up, I connected the car’s hotspot to the Huawei dongle by selecting that as the “mobile device”, and that means that when my phone connects to CarPlay and the hotspot, it’s using the data connection provided by the dongle.

2 hours ago, mumpsim said:

Android Auto uses both Bluetooth and wi-fi to connect to the car. Bluetooth for pairing and phone calls, wi-fi for navigation apps, music streaming and other things. Bluetooth cannot handle the bandwidth needed for those things. If it were only Bluetooth, you'd get a car screen that updated about once every half minute.

Don't get me started on the other limitations of Bluetooth, a 30-year-old protocol that never worked particularly well.

Quite incorrect (I work in IT), Bluetooth is more than able to manage streaming and navigation (or mirroring), and in fact I use a Bluetooth dongle system for my (not wireless AA enabled) Android auto system, it streams music, calls and navigation to the head unit without breaking a sweat.

If you consider a phone copy to cooy of images, or apps etc, is routine, the later BT stacks have absolutely no issue with the bit if data AA requres.

However, newer systems do use both, but it isn't for lack of ability with BT.

Edited 23 July, 202523 Jul by Frizzbee30

1 hour ago, Frizzbee30 said:

Quite incorrect (I work in IT), Bluetooth is more than able to manage streaming and navigation (or mirroring), and in fact I use a Bluetooth dongle system for my (not wireless AA enabled) Android auto system, it streams music, calls and navigation to the head unit without breaking a sweat.

If you consider a phone copy to cooy of images, or apps etc, is routine, the later BT stacks have absolutely no issue with the bit if data AA requres.

But we are not talking about some dongle you have. Look up the bitrates of the OP's Galaxy S23 and the MIB3 he is using it with.

Apologies in advance. I may be missing something really obvious - but I don't understand why a Mobile Wifi dongle is necessary to connect your phone (IOS or Android) to get a data connection for Carplay or Android. Surely both Carplay and Android Auto are simply acting like PCAnywhere (showing my age and historic IT experience) to remotely control the phone and mirror its screen. When I was still using Carplay over BT only - the Carplay controlled Iphone was using its own 5G data connection .

15 hours ago, thamestrader said:

Apologies in advance. I may be missing something really obvious - but I don't understand why a Mobile Wifi dongle is necessary to connect your phone (IOS or Android) to get a data connection for Carplay or Android. Surely both Carplay and Android Auto are simply acting like PCAnywhere (showing my age and historic IT experience) to remotely control the phone and mirror its screen. When I was still using Carplay over BT only - the Carplay controlled Iphone was using its own 5G data connection .

You're quite right that a wifi dongle isn't necessary for a data connection. The OP did state, however, that they have a limited data allowance, and so the use of a wifi dongle to provide data becomes more attractive and, possibly, cheaper. In my case, I have a pay as you go mobile. Using the wifi dongle with the Three 24gb data sim (my most recent one cost £34.99) is considerably cheaper for me. If I were to use the full 24gb during the 24 month period, the equivalent cost on my pay as you go contract would be £240.

@RCC49 Thank you for the clarification.

On 24/07/2025 at 14:54, thamestrader said:

@RCC49 Thank you for the clarification.

All, Wow - the question generated a fair bit of information along with varying answers so thank you to everyone who responded.

Yes - the concern I have is a limited (read CHEAP) data allowance on my phone SIM but (Like RCC49) I have a stand alone MiFi device to provide me with a mobile WiFi data connection for phones and laptops when away from home and using fair amounts of data. This setup suits me for what I do and the (like RCC49) low cost Three data SIM in the MiFi "just works" for me.

In all this, it looks like the solution from RCC49 should be the most relevant for me and as such I would like to discuss / chat a bit further with them. Hence:

Understanding that when I collected the car, the dealer connected the car to my Samsung phone, if I now want to do what RCC49 explained, how would I go about "unlinking" (if that is the right word) my phone and then linking to a stand alone MiFi device? How much re-connnection would be needed to make sure that the Skoda provided services (3 years total with a newish car) still all works. I am reasonably IT literate but finding the right screen to do anything on the in-car system seems overly complex.

The next question would be "Do I simply then connect my phone to the MiFi device (for a WiFi connection) with the phone then "automatically" sending the Tom Tom Go navigation data from the phone to the car display screen?" Are there any other extra steps or should it really be just as simple as that?

Going forward from the first connection, I guess that each time I use the car, I would need to start the MiFi device (just for convenience let's say I kept it with the car keys) before leaving the house so that when I settle in the car both it and the phone would connect to the MiFi and away I go again.

If this is the answer then that would appear to be what I am chasing. YES I realise it feels complicated but IF IT WORKS then I will try it and it is then maybe available for other people.

Thanks again to all who originally replied, Frank

1 hour ago, Frankst237 said:

I am reasonably IT literate but finding the right screen to do anything on the in-car system seems overly complex.

There really ought to be a menu search, like for Android settings. Or at the very least, a menu map in the manual.

1 hour ago, Frankst237 said:

All, Wow - the question generated a fair bit of information along with varying answers so thank you to everyone who responded.

Yes - the concern I have is a limited (read CHEAP) data allowance on my phone SIM but (Like RCC49) I have a stand alone MiFi device to provide me with a mobile WiFi data connection for phones and laptops when away from home and using fair amounts of data. This setup suits me for what I do and the (like RCC49) low cost Three data SIM in the MiFi "just works" for me.

In all this, it looks like the solution from RCC49 should be the most relevant for me and as such I would like to discuss / chat a bit further with them. Hence:

Understanding that when I collected the car, the dealer connected the car to my Samsung phone, if I now want to do what RCC49 explained, how would I go about "unlinking" (if that is the right word) my phone and then linking to a stand alone MiFi device? How much re-connnection would be needed to make sure that the Skoda provided services (3 years total with a newish car) still all works. I am reasonably IT literate but finding the right screen to do anything on the in-car system seems overly complex.

The next question would be "Do I simply then connect my phone to the MiFi device (for a WiFi connection) with the phone then "automatically" sending the Tom Tom Go navigation data from the phone to the car display screen?" Are there any other extra steps or should it really be just as simple as that?

Going forward from the first connection, I guess that each time I use the car, I would need to start the MiFi device (just for convenience let's say I kept it with the car keys) before leaving the house so that when I settle in the car both it and the phone would connect to the MiFi and away I go again.

If this is the answer then that would appear to be what I am chasing. YES I realise it feels complicated but IF IT WORKS then I will try it and it is then maybe available for other people.

Thanks again to all who originally replied, Frank

I have a Columbus rather than Amundsen, so I'm not sure if the process is identical, but I'll explain. To connect the infotainment system to the wifi dongle, I select "Menu", then "Vehicle", then select "Settings" (the cogwheel icon on the bottom right of the screen). I then select "Wifi", and on the next menu "Wi-fi:". This will display a list of available devices to connect to, one of which should be the wifi dongle (this presupposes that you've already set up the wifi dongle with an SSID and Password). Select the SSID for the wifi dongle, and you'll be prompted to enter the password. Once you've done that, the infotainment system's hotspot should connect to the wifi dongle, and will do so every time you start the car. As I said previously, I have an iPhone and use CarPlay, so I don't quite know what the process would be for an Android device, but for the iPhone, to connect to SmartLink (in my case CarPlay, in the case of an Android, Android Auto), I enable Bluetooth, then I would go into Settings, select CarPlay, and then follow the instructions on the phone and infotainment system. As for connecting the wifi dongle, I leave mine permanently plugged into the 12 volt socket in the boot of the car. This is an "always on" socket, so there's no delay while the dongle starts up when starting the car. With this arrangement, the phone will automatically connect to SmartLink on starting the car, using the data/wifi provided by the wifi dongle.

Thanks again to RCC49 - once set out clearly it is straightforward and I think I have done what I wanted to do.

To possibly help others, a few things have clicked together in my brain (I think) while I have been playing with this.

My car system (in the WiFi settings screen in the car) is set up to be used as a Hotspot i.e. available to supply a WiFi connection in the car to any WiFi devices in the car (phones / tablets / laptops etc.) The Hotspot name is something like Skoda4799.

This made me think a bit about what I thought were problems last week. I believe the way this was working (following on from what I have learned and done) is that:

I get in the car with my phone connecting to the internet via the SIM / mobile data on the SIM (for me a low data allowance)

I switch on Android Auto and the phone connects wirelessly to the car using the car as a Hotspot

This appears to mean that there is a whole load of TRANSMIT / RECEIVE activity going on in the phone - hence the phone battery takes a real hammering and discharges quickly (also drained by the TomTom GO navigation app).

What I now have (I believe) is

The car connecting to the internet via the MiFi device.

The phone connects to the car via the car Hotspot (switched on by activating Android Auto)

This MIGHT (yet to test thoroughly on a journey) mean that there is less data TRANSMIT / RECEIVE via the phone hence extending the battery life (while using the MiFi device and its battery). We will see.

Thanks to all who contributed - I am not claiming to be any sort of expert in this but I (with everyone's help) arrived where I think I want to be.

As a general comment, it is great to have a forum like this to seek help from other people who know more stuff than I do with those people willing to take the time and trouble to help.

Regards,

Frank

What you experienced with the car hotspot is exactly the same as I did - with Carplay. The phone was getting its Internet access via the hotspot, that was why I switched off the hotspot and only used BT. As my phone has a large data package. Did you consider increasing your phone data package - there are some good deals out there.

Hello thamestrader,

I am planning to change mobile provider in a few months when my current O2 contract runs out so am already looking for suitable plans.

This latest "adventure" has been to explore what can / could be done with a MiFi device because (as I said in my original post) "my brain hurt" after trying to get it to work when it should have been (and actually is) a fairly simple process. I will make a decision on what to do when I get to that point.

Regards, Frank

1 hour ago, Frankst237 said:

Hello thamestrader,

I am planning to change mobile provider in a few months when my current O2 contract runs out so am already looking for suitable plans.

Might be worth looking at EE/BT. If you have home Broadband and landline with them, then they double the data allowance on the mobile SIMs, I have this combined package, recently arranged for a relative to be moved to the same consolidated package from separate providers. The phone SIM was £10 a month unlimited text, calls and 100 gb doubled up to 200gb. I’ve had the same package since 2023 but the SIM was £15 but I will get £10 SIM at renewal in Nov.

On 23/07/2025 at 13:38, Frankst237 said:

My brain hurts - I am trying to understand how Android Auto and the on board Skoda Amundsen system connect to my phone via Bluetooth and / or WiFi. CAN AYONE EXPLAIN PLEASE???

I am reasonably IT literate but I am baffled by this. A few points about what works for me and what does not:

I can connect my phone (Samsung Galaxy S23 - so fairly modern phone on an O2 SIM only package) to the Amundsen system in my 2024 Karoq. I can use my TomTom Go app for navigation because I find it better than the Skoda one - personal preference perhaps.

When I take the phone to the car, I have Bluetooth(BT) switched on and when it all connects and starts, the BT is connected AND the phone tells me that it is connected to Skoda 47** via WiFi. I thought that the two were ONLY connected by Bluetooth - so why the WiFi connection??

The O2 SIM only plan has a small data allowance so I have tried connecting the phone to the internet by using a MiFi device (small, portable 5G router) in which there is a THREE network SIM card with loads of data. As soon as the phone connects to the car, the WiFi connection to the MiFi device is killed and replaced by a connection to Skoda 47**. Why does this happen - again I state that I thought the data connection would be via Bluetooth and NOT any WiFi connection.

I have tried manually over-riding the situation to force the phone to use the THREE MiFi device but EVERY time it switched to the Skoda 47**. I have tried switching Mobile Data off in the phone and all that happens is that there is no data available and Android Auto does not work in the car.

If someone out there does have a good understanding of what is connecting to what and why it would be good to know. If there is a sensible, usable way to do what I want that would be great.

Anyone want to offer an explanation / solution?

Thanks in advance, Frank

I'm very close to your exasperation level!

I have a Karoq 1.5 TSi SEL (2022) with Amundsen.

My previous phone obviously didn't have Android Auto so the connection, just to be able to use my phone hands free, (which is all I want apart from the car having all the contacts in place), was simple and straightforward.

Not so now. I've bought a new phone that obviously has this complication. I can't seem to just connect it using Bluetooth and using it as a hands free. I have to have all of my apps and everything else there too.

I spend a lot of time in the car actually driving it so I really don't need all of this distraction. All I want is the phone with all of my contacts and when I open the door and climb in I need it to connect automatically as soon as I switch the engine on.

I've tried several times now. I've paired and unpaired and tried again but I haven't so far found a work around. I can't work out if I have to switch Android Auto off from my phone. I don't seem to be able to switch anything off in the car settings.

Why oh why do they make things so complicated.

Any way, did you find any answers?

I'm a total pleb as regards all of this! Not my area of expertise by any stretch!

So, will someone please clarify things for me. My new phone, when pairing with my Karoq Amundsen goes off on one and leads me down the path of Android Auto. It appears there are no options or choices in the matter. I can't just pair up, like I did with my previous phone of four years unfettered use, and just go hands-free and have all of my contacts and phone related information at my finger tips. I've tried turning off all the settings on my new phone that are anything to do with Android Auto in the hope my phone returns to some sort of basicallity and just pairs normally but doesn't seem to want to know.

I live in hope, but I can't help but feel that hope is fading with each small realisation.

So, instead, it seems that I am expected to have a complete extension to all the capabilities of my smartphone installed on my infotainment system. God knows how I'll get to use them when I'm driving down the M56 at 70mph, or dodging the school run and all the kids and prams thereof but there you go!

The disturbing thing is, and I'm confused as to whether it's true or not, is that even though I have my Mobile Data permanently turned off, (I tend to use this valuable commodity very sparingly), I am still incurring charges for data usage, whereas before, with my previous brick, (phone), all charges were taken care of via my phone contract allowing unlimited calls, (and texts, but that is a no-no when driving isn't it!).

Evertime a new car is launched with even newer technology, it makes me wonder how these minds work. I am still trying to fathom why the Columbus system in my old L&K Yeti, which I traded 3 years since, could play not only acceptable CDs, which aren't so much of a distraction when running, but also DVDs. And you could play them whilst driving. There's nothing like watching Die Hard, (which is a Christmas movie despite what they are saying), when your driving down the M6 at 70mph on a snowy winters evening!

Thank goodness I'm not that stupid.

I'm going into the main dealers tomorrow to try and get a handle on all this, but if anyone can enlighten me, on anything to do with this, in a simple way for my sake, I would really appreciate it.

12 minutes ago, Barneyboy48 said:

if anyone can enlighten me, on anything to do with this, in a simple way for my sake, I would really appreciate it.

On your phone go to Settings > Apps & scroll to Android Auto. Tap on it to open & at the very bottom left of the screen is a Disable option.

Edited 4 December, 20254 Dec by Rbz5416

@Barneyboy48 you should be able to connect you phone using just Bluetooth. It all becomes so much easier that way. If then uses the built in Phone functionality of the Amundsen unit which means all the steering wheel buttons work and the phone contacts etc display in the centre of the dash …

1 hour ago, Rbz5416 said:

On your phone go to Settings > Apps & scroll to Android Auto. Tap on it to open & at the very bottom left of the screen is a Disable option.

Thanks for this.

Thanks for this. What effect does this have?

Before I commit, I am going to have a trip down to Skoda tomorrow and check things out and see what they have to say. There must be others who have queried it.

7 minutes ago, thamestrader said:

@Barneyboy48 you should be able to connect you phone using just Bluetooth. It all becomes so much easier that way. If then uses the built in Phone functionality of the Amundsen unit which means all the steering wheel buttons work and the phone contacts etc display in the centre of the dash …

You should be given the choice, no doubt about it. But I have tried several times in a few different ways. I just haven't found it yet.

Maybe after my visit to Skoda tomorrow I'll get the epiphany!

Either way, I'll be posting my findings tomorrow when I return.

Watch this space!

BarneyBoy, if you get some sense from the dealer (good luck with that - they have the same problems we do because of constantly changing versions and apps) then it would be good to post it here.

Just an addition to this thread. At the end of October the car had an annual service at local main dealer. Apparently it needed a software update which was installed. Just what I didn't need in terms of Android Auto!!!!!!

Previously, the system had somehow been set up so that when I pushed the APP selection on the car screen panel, TomTom Go opened on the display. As I said before I prefer this to the Skoda navigation and Google maps. After the software update, when I press the APP selection, it opens Google Maps and (I believe from the internet) there is no way to change this default of Google maps. I then find myself wandering about the screen trying to simply FIND TomTom Go link and start it - just what is needed when trying to drive.

Does anyone else wonder "who are these children who have been brought up with smartphones who design these monsters AND do they actually do any driving when trying to operate their Frankenstein creations????" Also, why should us customers have to repeatedly go to our dealers (at our expense) to have this stuff explained / corrected / reset / etc. Yes - SatNavs are VERY useful for navigation and giving notice of congestion / accidents but the rest of it???

Anyway, good luck. I cannot send you a personal message (PM) because I don't have enough post contributions but if you want to share in a personal chat then (if you can) send me a PM and we can perhaps share ideas.

Regards, Frank