Sync 3.4 Sees New Phone as Mass Storage Device Instead of Android Auto

[Papageorgio]

What is your SYNC Region? North America

Do you have Navigation? Yes

What region is your SYNC APIM? North America

What was your old SYNC Version? 3.4.21020

What is your new SYNC Version? 3.4.21194

Do you have a error message, if so what is it? N/A

How did you update, Ford Website / CyanLabs Website / Syn3 Updater? Syn3 Updater

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If you answered Syn3 Updater above;

• What version of Syn3 Updater did you use? Most recent as of 8/22/2021

• Have you read the documentation at Syn3 Updater - CyanLabs ? Yes

Hi all. I also posted this message on FordSyncForum.com, but I am cross-posting it here as this community seems more technical and a bit more active.

I just got a new Android 11 phone. It is a Nubia Redmagic 6 Pro. It is not a US mainstream device, but it has the specs that I wanted and is ultimately made by ZTE which was (politics aside) reputable enough for me.

My APIM is running Sync 3.4.21194. The issue I am having is that this phone, and only this phone, is unrecognized by Sync as an Android Auto capable device. Instead, Sync tries to mount it as a mass storage device like a USB thumb drive with media files on it. Android Auto is never triggered.

I’ve ruled out just about everything I can think of. I’ve used a high quality cable, done master resets on the phone and Sync, re-paired Bluetooth, and tested other phones in my vehicle, which all work. The reason I’m not posting this in an Android forum (yet) is as follows – Android Auto on the new phone works perfectly in other vehicles. My wife has a Sonata and as soon as the new phone is plugged in, Android Auto immediately starts. My vehicle equipped with Sync is the only car so far that won’t trigger Android Auto on my new phone. This suggests to me at least that Sync is partially responsible for error.

I’m looking for some guidance on where to go from here. I know tracking the root cause of this issue is going to be a PITA, but I’m willing to do as deep a dive as I need to figure out what’s going on. Can anyone suggest what I should be looking at next, no matter how technical? Off the top of my head, I’m wondering if Sync has some kind of whitelist for cellular devices for Android Auto or it’s looking for some special type of signaling from the device that only applies to Sync…any help to point me in the right direction so I can continue my troubleshooting would be much appreciated.

[SaNdMaN]

After a quick google, it seems your issue is quite widespread with those phones.
Hard to say if it’s Android Auto or Sync3, or a combination of both; but it’s most likely it’s due to the phone not being manufactured by a “big company”, maybe it was not certified.

Some of the stuff mentioned in the internet, was to change the default connection type on the phone, and also enabling USB debug, but some had said that does not work. Also another person said he was able to use android auto by manually selecting it on the screen, it did not auto launch.

But again, I found issues with other makers as well, so it’s not exclusive to Ford it seems.

[Papageorgio]

@SaNdMaN

Some of the stuff mentioned in the internet, was to change the default connection type on the phone, and also enabling USB debug, but some had said that does not work. Also another person said he was able to use android auto by manually selecting it on the screen, it did not auto launch.

Thanks for searching, I had previously given those things a try too. I’m on the list for an AAWireless to be delivered at some point, so I anticipate that will ultimately solve the issue and let me use AA on Sync with the new phone, but still really curious what the culprit is here with the wired connection.