ktf524

One of my must-haves when searching for a new car was Android Auto. It just makes so much sense to leave the infotainment system to someone with a rich ecosystem and a motive to keep it up to date.

I have had my Q7 for about a month now and I have gotten comfortable with controls in both the Audi MMI and the Android Auto mode. I wanted to share some tips and see if anyone else has found any helpful ideas.

First, the Android Auto display does not fill the entire width of the center display. I found this very annoying until I stumbled upon a fix that makes it better. If you go into the Android Auto app (on the phone without the cable connected to the car) and tap on the “Android Auto” title 10 times you will enter developer mode. If you scroll down to the bottom you will see “Allow 720P video output”. If you enable this, you will see that Android Auto fills the width of the display. I assume some phones may not support this but my Nexus 6 does.

Second, the level of the radio (SiriusXM, FM…) is much louder than Android Auto. If I had been listening to SiriusXM and then start Android Auto, I need to turn the volume up quite a bit. When you unplug the phone it reverts to radio and blasts you out of your seat. I don’t plan to keep SiriusXM past the trial and I have all the podcasts, books and music that I need on my phone, so I selected “Media” and picked the Aux in with nothing in the aux jack. Now when I unplug my phone it reverts back to silence.

I wish I had a better place to put my (large) phone so that there was less force on the cable where it connects to the phone but I can just make do with a curl in the cord and the phone in the tray behind shifter.

I do like the built-in maps if I am not worried about traffic. Real Google Maps has much better support for avoiding slowdowns. The built-in maps told me there was a significant traffic delay but when I started to take an alternate route it kept trying to get me to turn back and follow the original route. Real Google Maps adjusted right away and handles the situation beautifully. I also like that real Google Maps shows me less irrelevant detail. The built-in maps are very dense with information that I don’t need, like roads on either side of a highway. The ability for the built-in maps to have a zoom-in view in the virtual cockpit and a zoomed-out view in the center display is pretty nice. Too bad Android Auto can’t use both displays.

It's too bad that after you backup with the rear camera that it does not revert back to Android Auto but at least it only takes one click.

It would also be nice if the voice button on the steering wheel turned on the Android Auto voice assistant instead of the built-in one. If Android Auto is active I am not sure when I would want to ask MMI to do anything. At least the track forward and back goes to Android Auto.

cukoodukoo

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.I personally feel that the main navigation screen is a little small in size compared to what competition offers.I wish it was a little more wider.

Does android auto navigation show up on the HUD or the Virtual cockpit?My guess is "NO" which again is a bummer.Its painful to see simple advances in [available]technology to come in tiny increments,they always need something to advertise for the next model.Frustrating.

SYMAWD

Long pressing the voice button activates the Google voice commands.

mike99

Thank you for the tip on the developer mode for Android Auto. It's a much better experience with the 720p option enabled.

asm777

+1!

munsabin

I suggest using this on the passenger side:

I keep all things I want quick access to in here, and it's neat cause it has a coin holder as well. When I plug my phone into to use Android Auto (usually don't on daily commutes), it fits there perfectly without causing stress on the cable. Also, you don't need to always open the arm rest as I leave the end of the usb cable hanging in this side pocket.

Also, another good thing you can consider is a magnetic phone holder... here's a link to what I did w/ mine:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-...ution-2918134/

Calebe Aguiar Viana Goncalves

Very good top. Thanks

d213rr

I had used the tip in this thread to enable 720p setting in developer mode, which worked great for many months. After a recent AA update a few weeks back, every time I turn on AA, it starts up without the setting enabled. I have to disconnect my phone and re-do the settings, and then restart AA. Annoying. Please let me know if anyone else has experienced this and has a fix.

Thank you

smacky

Report it to Google in the Play Store. Just tell them that Dev Options settings don't stick after disconnect or restart. They should look in to it.

Doc H

Same here - doesn't stick....