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Best wireless Android Auto adapter?

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Fijipheene

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm sure this has been asked before, so sorry, but search didn't turn up any decent results for me.

What's everyone liking for a wireless Android Auto adapter? This would be for use with a Samsung Galaxy S10 phone. Also, is wireless AA even worth it if you don't have wireless charging, which I don't? If I have to keep my phone plugged in charging all the time so the wireless AA doesn't zap the battery, then it seems like it really defeats the purpose of wireless AA.

Thanks for the help!
 
#2 ·
Fijipheene said:
Also, is wireless AA even worth it if you don't have wireless charging, which I don't? If I have to keep my phone plugged in charging all the time so the wireless AA doesn't zap the battery, then it seems like it really defeats the purpose of wireless AA.
Click to expand...
This is why I stopped looking. I was given a third-party wireless charging insert and it charged so slowly I'm not convinced that it could keep up with the AA draw. If I have to be plugged in to charge while running AA wireless, I'll just plug in for AA when I need it. Wireless charging is far less efficient and creates more heat - a bad addition for phones that are already maintaining GPS for maps or data for other things. The power delivered by that port is enough to come out with a net +charge while AA is drawing what it does. But good luck if you do go for one.

The phone and the vehicle both have to support AA wireless, and the root of the problem is that the Rav head unit doesn't support 5GHz wifi which AAw requires, only 2.4. I work in IT and scavenged some dual-band adapters, and near when I was about to try disassembling the head unit to add in the 5GHz capability it struck me that it gains nothing when you have to have to plug in for one reason or another. I'm currently considering a short, magnetic charging cable so I could still use the phone to take pictures on a trip or whatever, but quickly and easily pop it back on for AA projection. Maybe that gives you an idea to run on.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Mr_Flux said:
Maybe that gives you an idea to run on.
Click to expand...
It reinforced what I was already thinking, so thanks for that. My phone isn't wireless charging capable, so it looks like that alone pretty much kills wireless AA for me. And, using the wire isn't that big of a deal at all for me since I use a magnetic coupler so no wearing out the phone's charging port. So, that and most everything I read (reviews on Amazon) said the 3rd party wireless AA adapters sucked. They were slow, unrefined all around, they liked to drop the wireless connection requiring all sorts of crap to get it working again like having to stop and turn off the vehicle completely to reboot the infotainment system and wireless AA unit, etc. No thanks. The wire works fine and costs me exactly nothing extra, so I'll just stick with what already works.
 
#4 ·
AAWireless on IGG is getting a lot of attention and support. They are slow to ship since it's a crowd funded project, but the people who have received their units say it works well (see r/androidauto).

Second option is the new Motorola MA1 wireless adapter. It's manufactured by a Chinese company that licenses the Motorola Sound brand. Early reviews say it works well. I'm waiting on more reviews.

In general I would expect more wireless adapters to come to market as other manufacturers duplicate (read: copy) the code and idea behind AAWireless.
 
#5 ·
Fijipheene said:
I'm sure this has been asked before, so sorry, but search didn't turn up any decent results for me.

What's everyone liking for a wireless Android Auto adapter? This would be for use with a Samsung Galaxy S10 phone. Also, is wireless AA even worth it if you don't have wireless charging, which I don't? If I have to keep my phone plugged in charging all the time so the wireless AA doesn't zap the battery, then it seems like it really defeats the purpose of wireless AA.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

I use AAWireless. The OEM Qi charger can't keep up with the phone's battery drain/heat from using it, but the majority of my trips are short so I don't even get the phone out of my pocket.

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#7 ·
I didn't notice this thread but I just put this as a new discussion:
www.rav4world.com

Wireless Android auto!! (with adapter) Motorola MA1

MA-1 product page So I finally got one of these adapters(sold out but goes in and out of stock) and I like it very much! While I do get the occasional audio drop-out it is worth it in my eyes and could just be my phone causing the drops. This will not work with 2019 units that don't already...
www.rav4world.com www.rav4world.com
 
#8 ·
I didn't mind plugging in my phone to use Android Auto, but I kept leaving my phone in the car when I'd go somewhere. I've recently installed AAWireless and it's working well for me. I can keep my phone in my pocket and I haven't noticed a high drain or the phone heating up. Possibly because all my trips are relatively short. When I do go on a longer trip, I'll plug in the phone anyway, but probably use the center console and leave the AAWireless dongle attached to the data USB port.
 
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