sync & android auto repeatedly disconnecting

[ToddTheCanadian]

I have a 2020 Ranger Lariat, and am having the most frustrating problem between my phone and Android auto in my truck.
The truck keeps disconnecting. Sometimes it lasts 5 minutes, sometimes 10 minutes, but it almost never goes longer than that without disconnecting.

Things I've tried:
My first thought was a flaky cable. So I bought a 3 pack of new cables on Amazon, and changing the cable doesn't affect anything.

I tried plugging into the other USB port in the front of the truck, same thing happens.

When it disconnects, I usually unplug the phone end of the cable and plug it back in, and it reconnects only to do it all over again. Instead of that, I tried unplugging the end at the truck, and same thing happens.

So after being annoyed with this for another few days, I thought it might be my phone, so I tried my work phone. (Both my phone, and my work phone, are both Samsung Galaxy S21s) - same thing happened with my work phone.

I made sure the Android Auto version on my phone was fully up to date.

I checked the ford website and it says my SYNC version is up to date ( Update Ford SYNC® & Navigation Maps | Ford Owner Support )

This whole process of elimination leads back to what seems like an unavoidable conclusion that the problem follows the truck itself.

My phone: Samsung Galaxy S21, Android 14
Truck: 2020 Ranger Lariat
Sync: Sync 3, version 3.4, build 23188

I really love the maps and music integration with Android auto and this problem is driving me nuts. Does anyone have any experience with this, or any ideas about how I can move closer to solving it?

Thanks for any ideas.

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[JohnnyLightning]

I think it is android auto. Mine is doing it too. It used to be really solid and never have a problem. I have a pixel 8, aawireless adapter, and a 2020 lariat. Instead of waiting till it comes back on its own I have restarted everything. The only restart that helps me is holding the radio volume power switch in and holding the next track button.

 

[ControlNode]

Have you tried cleaning the USB port on the phone? They can get lint in them and prevent proper seating of the plug in there.

 

[got3fords]

Are you using a high quality data cable, not a cheap charging cable? I had the same issue and the only fix happened when I changed phones. And I'm not even using a super fancy phone, it's a Samsung A516.

 

[Hmcbmet]

I had the same problem, then bought this and no issues any further
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PQ95GY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[TVRangerSTX]

My frustration too, using AAWireless thing, or even with phone plugged in direct. Tried several different cables including $$ Anker data cable, very scary when I'm going somewhere I'm unsure of...wiggle cable or shake the AA and it comes back on. Maybe it is lint? I'll have to check, thanks...
Also soooo annoying when it cuts out in the middle of my favorite Taylor Swift song ? ???

 

[Capt Jon]

I had the same problem, then bought this and no issues any further
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PQ95GY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I agree I use the MA1 wireless device too and 99% of the time have a seamless connection and all is well.

 

[JasonTremor]

Every time I had that happen, I found that the truck was downloading updates during that time. Sometimes it went on for days as I was a short tripper and the downloads take forever to complete.

 

[ToddTheCanadian]

ination leads back to what seems like an unavoidable conclusion that the problem follows the truck itself.

I had the same problem, then bought this and no issues any further
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PQ95GY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for that, I ordered one of these yesterday and just got it today, I'm resetting everything and will give it a shot.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CH31RMC3

 

[mtbikernate]

was always a flaky cable or connection problem for me. I occasionally have to pick pocket lint out of the usb-c port on my phone with a needle or pin.

 

[ToddTheCanadian]

Ok, so here's an update (in addition to the things I've already tried):

- I used compressed air and blew out the connector
- I went through my phone and configured a few things:
- I set Android Auto (AA) to 'never sleep'
- I cleared all of the cached data for AA, which effectively reset it to the defaults.

- I reset the system in the truck by holding down the volume and skip buttons for around 10 seconds.
- I bought one of these wireless dongles and paired my phone to it (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CH31RMC3)

- After all of this, I drove around for awhile with my phone connected wirelessly, and it did not disconnect.

- The only apparent problem at this point is that for some reason, the Spotify app isn't rendering on the display. It plays music with Spotify if I use voice commands but won't display any of the contents of the Spotify window, the Spotify window is just blank? I will mess with this and see if I can get it sorted out in the coming days.

So we'll see how it behaves over the coming week or so. If it remains stable, then I probably tried too many things to know which of them solved the problem, but I'll provide another update anyway.

 

[got3fords]

Ok, so here's an update (in addition to the things I've already tried):

- I used compressed air and blew out the connector
- I went through my phone and configured a few things:
- I set Android Auto (AA) to 'never sleep'
- I cleared all of the cached data for AA, which effectively reset it to the defaults.

- I reset the system in the truck by holding down the volume and skip buttons for around 10 seconds.
- I bought one of these wireless dongles and paired my phone to it (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CH31RMC3)

- After all of this, I drove around for awhile with my phone connected wirelessly, and it did not disconnect.

- The only apparent problem at this point is that for some reason, the Spotify app isn't rendering on the display. It plays music with Spotify if I use voice commands but won't display any of the contents of the Spotify window, the Spotify window is just blank? I will mess with this and see if I can get it sorted out in the coming days.

So we'll see how it behaves over the coming week or so. If it remains stable, then I probably tried too many things to know which of them solved the problem, but I'll provide another update anyway.

I hope you fixed it, but the engineer in me says never change multiple things at once when troubleshooting something.

 

[ToddTheCanadian]

I hope you fixed it, but the engineer in me says never change multiple things at once when troubleshooting something.

I know what you mean, but that theory only holds true when you're trying to find the cause of the problem, not when you're just trying to fix it. Lol.

 

[got3fords]

I know what you mean, but that theory only holds true when you're trying to find the cause of the problem, not when you're just trying to fix it. Lol.

I get it, but what if you start having issues again? What if a buddy has similar issues? Are you going to suggest they change everything you did?

 

[ToddTheCanadian]

I get it, but what if you start having issues again? What if a buddy has similar issues? Are you going to suggest they change everything you did?

Yes, that is exactly what I would suggest. (To try everything I tried if they can).

If there is some step(s) they could not do, then leave that one out and do the rest of them.

From an engineering perspective:
The source of my theoretical buddies problem might not be the same as mine.
If he wanted to understand the problem more than he wanted to solve it, then he might do the steps one at a time, but this takes a long time when the problem is intermittent and the validation feedback-loop for each iteration can take days.
The combinational solution factor also undermines this approach when only one test subject exists. (The second solution you try might seem to resolve the problem, but it might only have worked because you also implemented the first solution), so implementing each solution component one at a time really only rules out all of the things you did not implement as contributing to the solution.

If you just want to solve the problem, and the steps are not resource-intensive or potentially harmful, then I would suggest to go for it and try them all.

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