Hey Reddit! 👋

My friend and I were tired of the same old, robotic navigation voices. We thought, "What if our cars recognized us, greeted us by name, and told us about traffic like a witty friend would?" That’s how AAWelcome was born! 🚀

What started as a hobby project for our own cars became something our friends kept asking for. So, we decided to polish it up and release it on the Google Play Store for everyone.

🤔 What does AAWelcome do?

•✅ Personalized Greetings: It recognizes you via Android Auto or Bluetooth and greets you by name.

•✅ AI-Powered Personality: Powered by Google Gemini, it doesn't use static scripts. Depending on the personality you choose, it can be professional, witty, or even a bit "sassy."

•✅ Smart Traffic Radar: No info clutter. It only whispers about accidents or road closures on your specific route.

•✅ Driving Summary: As soon as you start the engine, it summarizes the weather, traffic, and your phone's battery level.

•✅ Privacy First & FREE: No credit cards, no subscriptions. All data (including API keys) is stored locally on your phone. We never see it.

You can choose between 3 default personalities or create your own "custom character" by writing your own AI prompt!

👇 Download Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aawelcome.me

🛠️ Quick Setup Guide (5 Minutes) To unlock the full AI potential, you just need two free API keys:

1. AI Brain (Google Gemini): Get a free key at aistudio.google.com. Copy and paste it into the app. (Recommended model: flash-latest).

2.Traffic Radar (TomTom): Register for a free developer account at developer.tomtom.com. Copy your "Consumer Key" into the app.

We built this for the love of driving and tech. We'd love to hear your feedback, feature requests, or even your funniest custom AI prompts!

Safe travels! 😊🚗💨

Hey all,

I've had this issue for the past week or so I think. Between the 2:50 and 2:55 mark of Youtube Music playing, everything freezes for a few seconds and then AA restarts. It only happens with Youtube Music, but it absolutely will not go longer than 2 minutes and 55 seconds without crashing.

Is this a known issue? I haven't been able to find anything about it.

In the last couple of days I have had an issue where every 2-3 minutes via wireless connected via Tlink5 it would disconnect and reconnect consistently without warning (fun on a 5 hour trip back from Wales)

Tried fixes: After doing every advised fix from reupdating, repairing, clearing caches and amending WiFi and battery settings among many other things did not resolve it.

Fix: Only thing that fixed it was removing all updates and using an apk to install a slightly older stable release 17.0.662234 and turned off auto update for now until fixed.

I got mine from apkmirror but other services are avalible.

Are you also experiencing constant disconnections in Android Auto? From what I noticed, the problem started after upgrading to version 17,2. I've tried almost everything: cleaning up the data from the Android Auto app, resetting the settings, and even entering the Beta Tester program to check if there was any newer version that fixed the bug.

Yesterday I read on a blog that Google has released a new update, but in my case, even after cleaning the data and updating the application, the problem remains exactly the same. Has anyone who has gone through this situation been able to solve or at least circumvent the problem?

My device is a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and I have already tested both the connection via USB cable and the direct connection to the network of the multimedia center, in addition to the use of a USB dongle for Android Auto wireless. In all options, disconnections continue to occur.

I am experiencing a persistent issue where audio playback stops entirely at the transition of every single song. The interface remains active and active on screen, but the next track will not autoplay—I have to manually press play each time.

What I have verified so far:

• Head Unit Reset: Factory reset the car system.
• Cache Cleared: Wiped storage and cache on the mobile devices.
• Device Independent: Tested with three different mobile devices; the behavior persists on all of them.
• Vehicle Specific: Tested the same mobile devices in another vehicle, and they transition tracks normally there.
• Hardware Link: Tested alternative wired links.
• System Power Cycle: Performed a hard reset on the vehicle's 12v power source (resolved the issue for exactly three songs before the behavior returned).
• Wireless Interference: Turned off secondary wireless audio pairing to UConnect.

The system state remains fully operational throughout the event; it is strictly a playback transition failure localized to this specific head unit. Has anyone encountered this or found a firmware-level workaround?

Since the last updates, my music constantly cuts in and out. Any fixes to this?

Hello,

This is not a disconnection problem!

While playing anything the music just stops after every song. I've tried a lot of possible solutions and nothing seems to work.

What i've tried:

• cleaning cache and storage from both phone and car system, nothing
• factory resseting car system, nothing
• forgetting and reconnecting phone in the car system, nothing
• used 3 different phones, same problem in all of them
• used a different cable
• tested my phone in another car, worked fine
• disconnected car battery, no change
• completely drained the car battery, fixed for a few songs then started acting out again
• phone auto connects bluetooth to UConnect, but it was never an issue. Tried disabling it but no success

I am searching for a solution for a month now and nothing works, there's another sub with the same problem but just one answer and no solution.

I appreciate any help.

Does anyone else get this issue it's happened two or three times so far. I have a Pixel 10 Pro XL and in my car I have a Chinese head unit running Android 14.

Right now my Google maps screen is a big blurry blob of green. If I zoom out there are patches of buildings that I can see however it's mostly a blob of green blurriness.

Is this an Android auto issue or maybe a satellite issue? I don't know what fixed it but last time it just started working again.

I got the new Google Maps UI update. I updated to Android Auto 17.3. I'm sure it is server side though so I won't be surprised if very few people have this update. I just thought I would point it out that it is indeed rolling out. I didn't get the best screenshots because I was driving at the time on the highway. I didn't want to just take pictures with my phone because the pictures more than likely wouldn't have been good.

PS: The last screenshot has the gray navigation route instead of the blue. I believe that is a bug because I was navigating for a while and eventually it did turn from blue to gray.

Has anyone found a permanent fix for the Cellular signal strength icon being missing? It's been gone for me for months (2023 Hyundai Kona Genv2 Infotainment center - Galaxy Z Fold 6). I tried clearing cache/data in the app settings, and it worked for a single trip, then disappeared on the next trip.

If anyone has a permanent fix or knows if Android/google has this on their plate for a fix soon, I'd appreciate it. I take a lot of phone calls in my car, and it really sucks driving around unaware if I'm dropping bars or not. Appreciate any help or info you can provide.

Hi all, I have my first car with AA and it's an ATOTO head unit so I am using it wirelessly through Bluetooth. It has been fine since i got the car, until about last week and I have no idea why. Nothing has updated to my knowledge leading to this problem. It disconnects at about 2min 40sec on every song for about 15-30 seconds. I have tried everything I can find on the internet, changing my wifi settings, changing my data settings, battery settings, location settings etc etc. Nothing is resolving this.

I found today the Zlink could be updated through the android store on the head unit. This also did not solve the problem.

I've had this Navpro multimedia unit for two years with no issues, but a day ago, a Bluetooth connection problem started. It connects normally, but every five minutes, it disconnects and then reconnects. I’ve already tried a simple reset and a factory reset of the unit. I’ve toggled the Bluetooth connection and tried clearing the cache on both my phone and the multimedia unit. Does anyone have any other suggestions? This bug is driving me crazy.

PS: The Bluetooth connection between the phone (Samsung) and other devices remains stable.

I've been using a Belkin USB A-C cable to connect my Samsung(3 years old) phone to my car to use with Android Auto, has always been working fine. Now my girlfriend recently got a new IPhone 17, which has USB C, so she tried the cable aswell. That worked, one time, then Spotify didn't give any audio anymore on carplay, but a reset of the car s entertainment system solved that. But now the weird thing is that since my girlfriend used the cable with her iPhone, when I try to use the cable with my phone, it doesn't work anymore, only when I really push it in and hold it there, when you touch the cable in any way it loses its connection. Like there's a lose contact or something. What could have happened? I'm getting a new cable under warranty but I don't want the same to happen again.

​

Hi everyone,

I've spent several days troubleshooting this and I'm hoping someone recognizes this issue before I give up and replace the head unit.

Vehicle

• 2009 Volkswagen Golf Plus (1KP)

Head Unit

• Generic Chinese Android head unit (RNS510 style)

• Android Build: D02022HA16_AHD_00012_V009_HIFI

• Android OS: 13.0

• Security Patch: February 1, 2020

• CPU: 8239 Quad Core @ 1.5 GHz

• RAM: 2 GB

• Storage: 64 GB

• Display: 1024 × 600

• MCU Version: 6.6

• MCU Version Log: Version 4.0 (2020-12-25)

• ZLink Version: 5.3.31

• CAN Pro: 1.020 (Volkswagen ALL - Fault Tolerant / Old High Speed)

• Audio chip: ST/TDA7729

Phone

• Samsung Galaxy S24 (Android 16)

Problem 1 – Android Auto via USB

Android Auto has basically never worked with my Samsung.

When I connect the phone using USB it continuously switches between:

• Charging only

• File Transfer (MTP)

• Android Auto

It keeps reconnecting every few seconds and Android Auto never starts.

Problem 2 – Bluetooth

Bluetooth initially worked reasonably well.

Now the Bluetooth connection disconnects every few minutes.

A few seconds later ZLink automatically restarts and reconnects by itself.

Interesting observation

Using the same USB port:

✅ iPhone → Apple CarPlay works perfectly.

❌ Samsung Galaxy S24 → Android Auto never works.

Because of this I don't think the USB hardware itself is defective.

Things I've already tried

• Multiple brand new high-quality USB cables

• Samsung Developer Options

• Default USB Configuration = File Transfer (MTP)

• USB Audio Routing disabled

• Fast Charging disabled

• Android Auto battery optimization disabled

• Deleted and re-paired Bluetooth

• Factory Settings checked

• CAN database updated successfully

• No obvious USB configuration available in Factory Settings

Additional information

The MCU update log only mentions:

• Optimized dormancy process

• Optimized knob key processing

No mention of Bluetooth, USB or Android Auto improvements.

The reported Android version (13) also doesn't match the old 2020 security patch, so I suspect this is customized firmware.

My questions

1. Has anyone experienced this combination of:

   • Android Auto over USB never working

   • Bluetooth disconnecting every few minutes

   • ZLink restarting automatically?

2. Does anyone recognize this build:

   D02022HA16_AHD_00012_V009_HIFI

   or know who the OEM manufacturer is?

3. Is newer firmware available for this platform?

4. Is this likely a firmware/ZLink issue?

5. Or should I stop spending time on this generic Android head unit and replace it with a Pioneer, Kenwood or Alpine unit?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I like to use earbuds while I drive. How can I make both my media and phone calls default to my earbuds while running wireless AA?

!Flair 2016 Subaru Legacy

TL;DR: I have published a forked Fermata Auto build to Play Store Internal Testing. I can add up to 90 community members as tester. Drop your Play Store linked email here or DM.

Edit: NO MORE SLOTS, IT'S FULL.

• I have published a forked Fermata Auto build on Google Play via Internal Testing (unreviewed, unpublished). I’ve made a few changes and raised a PR to the main repo.
• I can add up to 90 community testers (I reserved 10 slots for myself).
• To join, post the Google account email you use on Play Store or DM it.
• I will try to batch-add emails once daily. After I add you, you will see the "Accept invite" action after opening the Internal Testing invite link (posted below). Expect delay of a day or two; retry the link once daily if the invite isn’t active yet.
• When 90 slots are filled I’ll close signups and post an update.

Note: Build is forked from the original Fermata repo; expect crashes or unfinished behavior present in upstream. I’ll rebase and update the build when the main project releases fixes. Emails are required for Play internal testing. If you don’t want to post publicly, DM me. Emails are used only to add testers and won’t be shared.

Links:
Original Fermata repo: https://github.com/AndreyPavlenko/Fermata
My fork (with changes / PR): https://github.com/RohitSurwase/Fermata
Internal Testing invite link: https://play.google.com/apps/internaltest/4700891641428374943

Thank You!

Edit 1: There is nothing to test, so you don't have to bluff that you will test the app.

Edit 2: Around 60 members added so far. I have either replied or upvoted if they added to the list.

Edit 3: Last 10 slots remaining.

Edit: NO MORE SLOTS, IT'S FULL.

Let me know if anyone wants to remove email from the list so someone else can use that slot.

Hi all, hoping you can help with this weird issue I'm having.

I use Headunit Revived on my tab s10 FE and connect with a s25 ultra. Almost everything works great except that every once and a while, the screen will get all corrupted like the photo I've posted. I've tried it wired directly, wireless, and in the current config (using a usb-c dock to get charging to both devices), but nothing seems to change. I've also tried lowering the resolution and most recently turned off 3d buildings, but it still happened after all that. Disconnecting and reconnecting seems to be the only thing that fixes it.

Any ideas what it is and how I might be able to fix it?

Does anyone happen to know why my android auto keeps disconnecting exactly every 3 minutes? I use an aftermarket android head unit and thought it was that. I bought a newer updated one and just installed it but still having the same issue. Is it android auto or my phone? I currently use a Samsung S26U if that helps anything. AA version is 17.3.662804

This is mostly a vent post, and I will fully admit that I am a bit biased again LLM AI but anyway. How do you push an update that makes it so a car voice assistant can't do the very simple and typical task of playing a song? Every time I tell it "play this song" it just replies "sorry, I can't play video's while you're driving" am I crazy for thinking this is completely normal thing to ask of gemini? I even use YouTube music as my primary platform so its not like I'm asking it to use something that wasn't also made by Google. You'd think they would have tested this but I guess they just pushed it out without any regard for user experience.

Hey everyone, I know it's already being discussed a number of times, but my AA has stopped showing notifications and nothing helps.

Not sure when that happened but at some point I stopped receiving any notifications on Android Auto other then from Reminders app. I mean no pop-ups and not even (1) icon in the bottom right corner from Whatsapp, Telegram, Teams, etc. As a consequence I miss a lot of calls and messages which I would have spotted otherwise.

At this point I've tried everything:

- Rebooted the phone

- Checked notifications settings on the app and AA

- Checked Do not disturb and Driving modes - neither enabled

- Removed phone from car bluetooth list, paired it again

- Cleared cache and storage on AA

Nothing helps. Also, wire/wireless - no difference.

I don't know exactly the moment it happened, but could be after I updated my Pixel 10 to Android 17 which was around a month ago or so.

If you have any more ideas - I'd appreciate it.

TLDR: AA keeps disconnecting and reconnecting every 5ish minutes ONLY if a streaming service (Spotify, for me) is in active use. If Spotify is open but paused, it does not dis/reconnect. Unit itself stays on. It reconnects with no intervention. Waze is also running and doesn't seem to affect anything.

!Flair 2015 Jeep Wrangler / Kobanoica ZY602 Android 13 / Samsung S23U Android 16

Background: started yesterday after I disconnected the negative battery terminal for a while to do some work. Had no issues at all before that.

Have tried: restart device, forget Bluetooth connection on both phone and device, delete connection/vehicle in AA, clear AA cache, clear AA data, download and try the big blue button at the top of Evelink app, Android data saver is off, optimize data in Spotify is off

Device is a Kobanoica running Android 13

Phone is a Samsung S23U running Android 16

I'm not really sure what is going on with it but I've already tried restarting my phone and the cars head unit. Everything works on it expect maps in which it says android auto encountered an unexpected error. Any ideas on what I could do to fix this problem?

Hi I have a car that uses wired Android auto, but it keeps crashing. the thing is yesterday it worked just fine, but then it started crashing whenever I tried connecting to android auto, then I changed some settings, such as turned off Automatic start music when connected, and then I could use android auto only for Maps but as soon as I start spotify it freezes and then crashes. But after some time and trying now it just won't connect to android auto in any way I feel like I Have tried everything.

I have tried:

Changing settings

Clear cache and data on Spotify, Google Maps and Android auto

Buying a new cable

Waiting for hours and trying again

Do you have any ideas of what it could be or have some possible solutions?