r/Audi • u/elocin180 • Oct 26 '24
Tech Garbage Audi MMI. Android Auto Disconnects. Warning; What I wish I would have known.
I don't understand how they've gotten themselves so far behind EVERY OTHER CAR BRAND. I'm so frustrated that I'm stuck with this car.
Bought a 2021 Audi A5 Quattro Coupe after owning a 24 Lexus RZ that was totalled by a co-worker and I'm honestly furious with Audi.
The car is beautiful, and it drives well, but the infotainment system is useless. Huge lag to even connect to the phone, then it drops Android Auto consistently in the same few spots in the city. The dealership recommended cords vs Bluetooth, which is fucking stupid, but I tried it. STILL DROPPED.
Gave up on Android Auto, but even the actual Navigation MMI sucks. The Audi App won't send addresses from your phone reliability, so who knows if your destination will send. Sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes it's two days. Then it just saves those destinations FOREVER.
Try typing in the address? Whelp "System Unavailable while driving for your safety". Have a passenger? Fuck em. Still disabled.
Don't get me started on the garage door opener. They got rid of the physical button, and guess what, you need to come to a complete stop to open your garage! Because again, "System disabled for your safety". Can't open it even at a slow roll of 3mph. I'm back to a physical garage opener in my "luxury" vehicle.
Just tried to add my husband's phone to the infotainment system, and had to completely disconnect mine and turn it off to even allow another phone to connect.
Tried to reset the MMI; now I have to drive back to the physical dealership for them to "Confirm my identity" for the Audi App to accept me as the key user again.
Literally get any other car. I'd take my old subaru, nissan, mini, ford, lexus, toyota, oldsmobile, or ram over this shit any day. None of those vehicles would randomly disconnect from my phone.
I don't understand how they've gotten away with this for so long. First and definitely last Audi.
4
u/Spectre_2020 Oct 26 '24
I guess the issue is that for most, the MMI problems are probably not that much of a dealbreaker. I have an older 2019 A4 but the sound system quality and rattling subwoofer is more of an issue for me than the MMI shortcomings.
2
u/elocin180 Oct 26 '24
I don't know, I'm 32, I can only imagine the younger generations will be even less accepting of tech shortcomings.
It's just the fact that this is sold as "premium"
I also have a blown tweeter that is driving me crazy, so I feel your pain!
3
u/Captain_Pink_Pants Oct 26 '24
I've never been in a car that had an infotainment system I would call "good". Porsche, BMW, Merc, Range Rover, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lexus... all garbage. It's incredible to me that any car manufacturer could even find a group of devs so unfamiliar with the basic needs and wants of a system most of us use every day in one form or another.
But Audi somehow still distinguishes itself as having an unusually poor system. Worst of the bad.
3
u/PaintBeginning478 Oct 27 '24
I have had a similar issue with the MMI dropping out here in DFW area of Texas with two Audi’s (23 ETron and 24 ETron GT). There’s two areas that absolutely freak the MMI out. One spot is on Hwy 121 by Top Golf Fort Worth. And the other is on Hwy 114 in Irving. I have determined that it’s actually not the MMI, but a cellular disruption to my phones (I have an iPhone and Android). I never encountered this issue with the ‘23 when I lived in NJ and worked in NYC. So for people not experiencing it, whatever causes the issue may not be present in your travels. So far for me, it’s only in those two spots and for the OP, it’s in the one spot she travels daily.
If my phone is connected either wired or wirelessly, it will completely freak the MMI out. System freezes then screen blanks, then soft resets. If I have nav set, it drops out also. But after it restarts, phone will either not reconnect, takes a long time, or I have to do a hard reset. I verified that it’s the phone by turning off Bluetooth and WiFi in my phone so it doesn’t connect. Drove through my trouble spots and had zero issues.
3
u/tdietro 2021 SQ7 APR Stg 1 Oct 27 '24
I have a very similar issue. My son goes to a special needs camp not far from Temple, TX. Every time, and i do mean EVERY time we reach one spot about 5 minutes away from the camp, my Android Auto resets. It is phone related because it has happened repeatedly in my wife's Grand Cherokee L, and last weekend, it happened in my SQ7. It doesn't matter if it is connected wirelessly or wired.
2
u/PaintBeginning478 Nov 02 '24
I drove down to Austin this past week and right around the Buc-ee’s in Temple on 35, sure enough…….drop and reset.
1
u/elocin180 Oct 27 '24
I literally switched from Verizon to AT&T, hoping it was the network, but I'm having the same issue in the same area.
How did you fix it?
1
u/PaintBeginning478 Oct 27 '24
No fix, and I have ATT on iPhone and Verizon for the Android. Luckily I only drive through those areas a small number of times a month.
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Oct 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/burningrubber365 Nov 10 '24
Because Audi is fucking lazy and won't upgrade shit, but will still increase the price on their cars every year. That's why I didn't start a new lease from my 21 A5 Sportback to a 24 because it's the exact same car, no updates. I think the last update was 2019 or 2020, but they're still trailing BMW in tech and performance. I have to raise the volume to about 80 to 90 percent to be able to hear anything for Android auto while driving. If you don't remember to turn down the volume after using talk to text or listen to a text, then the next notification you get from your phone blows your ear drums and startles you. Aside from that I prefer the Audi design and it's been an enjoyable car.
3
u/Annh1234 2010 A5 2018 S5 SB Oct 26 '24
Get a wireless android auto dongle and keep it connected to the car usb, and then use that.
A 100$ dongle is better than whatever junk they put in the car.
Got that in my S5 and no more random disconnects
-1
u/elocin180 Oct 26 '24
I bought one and it wouldn't work, but I guess I'll try again. It's the only workaround on every forum.
Since there's so many forums about this totally KNOWN and old issue.
2
u/Spectre_2020 Oct 28 '24
There are loads of cheap ones and more expensive ones and tbh I think there are bugs/compatibility issues depending on device, phone and car.. I have one that worked from day one, then started not reconnecting, tried to reset and set-up, still happened. Bought another one to try and that thing was worse. Went back to my original one and now it has started reconnecting flawlessly every time I get in the car. Absolute head scratcher, fucked if I know why.
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u/R8Daily R8 Oct 26 '24
Imagine spending over $200K and not having blue tooth Apple CarPlay. Yeah that’s me. Oh yeah and also my MMI lovessss to randomly „break” by going to a black screen randomly while driving or even seconds after plugging my phone into the USB.
Took it into my dealer multiple times and they ran multiple diagnostics and plugged various phones into the car and they said “it’s completely fine and operating as it should”. BS.
-2
u/elocin180 Oct 26 '24
Dude. Like... I was almost jealous of my friend's Mazda.
Shit just works? Everyday? All the time? What a fucking mike drop..
1
u/mletourn '17 A3 e-tron Oct 26 '24
weird... i'm in a 2017 A3 e-tron and the MMI and Carplay works flawlessly 100% of the time. Sucks
0
1
u/Grat_Master Oct 27 '24
For the garage opener it works while moving. I use it every time I backup in my garage.
You can set a gps location and it will pop up in the notification when you are close or you can set it to the * button on your steering wheel. Since my garage opener is cheap and the range is crap, I always use the button.
The mmi is not laggy at all. My phone never disconnected once, with or without android auto.
2
u/elocin180 Oct 27 '24
Mine doesn't have a * button. But maybe the GPS would work, thanks!
1
u/Grat_Master Oct 27 '24
On the right side of the airbag, bottom left button, what does it do in your car? That's the button I can map to garage opener.
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u/FPSUsername 2015 A3 1.4TFSI Stage 1 170hp/310Nm Oct 27 '24
Android Auto has issues lately (past two months) that it freezes. If I reopen AA on my system it works again.
Did the MMI change in the past year? Nope. Did AA update in the past year? Countless times.
AA is Google's playground and it's not stable, it never will be because they f up something with every update. It's peak Google's crap software.
1
u/Vitamin-A- Year Make Model Oct 28 '24
Same MMI. Have had none of your issues. Must be user error, faulty component specific to your car or…. Dare I say… Android sucks? I use Apple CarPlay and it’s truly wonderful.
10
u/facaine ‘23 A5 SB S-Line 45 Oct 26 '24
Incredible how I have the same MMI and have zero of the problems you described. Makes me wonder if you’re just slightly dumb and can’t operate the system.