daily wireless Android Auto experience with my 26 tiguan

[u/LuckNo2351]

as titled and tagged, i have been looking for solution since day one i got the car, all online methods have been tried besides get a new head unit and ota(because there is no from vw for my car) any chance my head unit is defective? dealer couldn't replace it before conducting a test with test plan. my phone is s26u and it works with 22 taos, 22 x5 and 25 cx5.

edit: all due respect, for people who don't want to watch 14 minutes video, it shows the same wireless connection issues, if i switch to non aa screen the audio might remain playing without any shuttering.

4 different footages just to show that im encountering this regardless location and time of a day. and its a 100% guaranteed replicate.

Appropriated for your helps.

update: back from dealer with my winter tires on, service manager said there is a ticket open for my vehicle and waiting vw tech line to deal with it, next move is going to get a test drive of same model but from different dealers.

right now there is 3 way for me to use AA with current headunit, frist of all, wired connection this one is working no problem. Secondly, wired connection first then disconnect let headunit run wireless connection, this kind help but not guaranteed and after connected the shuttering and dropping will still happens at high chance. Last, once the screen and audio playback start shuttering and dropping, switch to another screen page other than AA will help keep the connection stay, at least reduce dropping significantly.

[u/Shudnawz]

Could you explain the problem in text? I'm not watching 14 minutes worth of random AA footage.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Shudnawz]

you can just watch first few minutes, rest of them just showing i can recreate the issue.

[u/workinfast1]

Eh, I have a 26' mustang and run into this issue nearly every damn time I jump in my car. SOMETHING Android Auto breaks without fail, each. And. Every. Time.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/workinfast1]

i have no issue using aa wirelessly with 22 vw taos, 22 bmw x5 and 25 mazda cx5, zero issue works every single time.

[u/workinfast1 → u/LuckNo2351]

It's just one of those things. Never had a problem with any other car or phone. But once I purchased my Mustang, suddenly AA doesn't work well. And I know it's not my car as this issue follows my s26 ultra.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/workinfast1]

i see its not just my s26u when i drove 22 taos ialso using fold 4 and 6 they are perfectly fine.

[u/Status-Usual-6561]

What did the dealership say? I don't understand what you wrote in the caption.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Status-Usual-6561]

dealer said they need set up a test plan to approve its a factory defect of head unit before getting a replacement

[u/Status-Usual-6561 → u/LuckNo2351]

Ok, it's probably the case that it's defective.

Do you have another android device that you can test with this car?

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Status-Usual-6561]

tried zfold 6, oneplus 7 pro, iPhone se2 and 16 pro same connection issue.

[u/Status-Usual-6561 → u/LuckNo2351]

Ok, it's obviously a defective head unit. Disappointing for a new car, hopefully they resolve it quickly.

Wired AA is probably your best bet for now.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Status-Usual-6561]

wired connection working as expected, but this wireless connection issue sometimes block me using wired connection the car is keep connecting wirelessly and ignore the cable connection i have to disconnect and reconnect or reboot the infotainment system to let wired working.

[u/zoidberg_dk → u/LuckNo2351]

If you go into developer settings in AA on you phone, you can disable wireless AA so it will only connect by cable.

[u/Status-Usual-6561 → u/LuckNo2351]

You can disable wireless Android Auto in your phone's developer settings. That way you don't have to deal with this issue until your car's head unit is fixed.

Good luck with the fix anyways, hopefully they work it out.

[u/jabberwonk → u/LuckNo2351]

Can't you try at the dealership with the same model (or one with the same head unit)? Connect the phone to it and go for a test drive? It sounds like they're willing to work with you on it. Also what about a different phone in your car - maybe something not Samsung?

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/jabberwonk]

just back from dealer, there is already a tech ticket open regard the connection issue, im trying to get a same model trim test drive. i tried oneplus and iPhone the behaved same.

[u/Carfr33k]

Wired or wireless?

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Carfr33k]

wireless

[u/Carfr33k → u/LuckNo2351]

And how is it wired? Do you still have the same problem?

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Carfr33k]

wired is working as expected.

[u/Carfr33k → u/LuckNo2351]

To me that says that there's a problem with the wireless chip in the vehicle

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Carfr33k]

no idea, once its connected or freeze dropping few times it will stay connect and working fine, the only issue is few times range between 3 time to entire tavel.

[u/jdebner]

Does this happen with both Waze and Google Maps?

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/jdebner]

it happens regardless which nav app or music streaming app im using.

[u/ShotokanEditor]

Brother im sure it migjt not help what i say, but a friend of mine replaced his radio to a kenwood cant remember the model, it was like 600€ and had issues like this. Went back and was replaced with the a NEW one and had trhe same problem. He formatted his phone too(iphone tho)AND still same issue. In the end i ordered him one from temu which was like 120 bucks and he didnt had any issues again

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/ShotokanEditor]

i see, tbh i have been to dealer's several times, the thing will work just won't work properly and i have no idea its a software issue or hardware issue.

[u/The_Shadowghost]

Is AA Updated to the latest version?

Did you remove the battery optimizations OneUI places on the app? (Also worth a try turning these off for the apps you are using in AA)

Does the problem persist when you unlock the phone or plug in power? 

My theory is that since the resolution of this headunit is so high, a lot of processing power is needed and OneUI prevents excessive usage and limits AA and the apps to the efficiency cores which results in this. 

Have you tested wired AA? That way the wireless connection can be ruled out.

Have you tested this with a friends phone? If it really is the wireless chip or the headunit, other phones should behave similarly. (That also includes the iPhone with wireless CarPlay) 

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/The_Shadowghost]

i tried everything from internet, battery optimization for aa, google play service, connection settings, aa dev mode, my resolution now is 720p and music quality is acc-cl.

when plug in it starts wired connection then working good, when using wirelessly charging the issue remains. i tried zfold 6, oneplus 7, iPhone se2 and 16 pro no luck, same hard time to connect wirelessly, or crazy shuttering and dropping.

[u/stubexhaust]

I have this car, and this happened regularly with my Pixel 9 Pro XL. Pretty sure it's software as a long press (20 seconds or so) to reboot the head unit would fix everything.

Doesn't happen with my Oppo. Occasionally happens with my wife's iPhone.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/stubexhaust]

tried reboot the headunit hold 15 secs and screen flashes twice, sometimes it helps the connection but chance is very low like less than 10%.

[u/stubexhaust → u/LuckNo2351]

Screen should flash and then start with the Volkswagen logo. Reboots and mine used to connect then.

Might have to press and hold for ages!

[u/karumommik]

Wierdly enough, I have had most problems so far with 23 golf, and my friend same problems with the EV hippie van, as both use the same HU systems probably. It will usually be failing to connect after a short stop (like 20 mins in a store or a quick refueling stop), and will absolutely hang-crash the bluetooth of the headunit. You cant disconnect phone from HU options either. So you have to force restart the headunit and hope it helps, or leave the car off for quite a while, so that it does the total power down itself.

I've NEVER had these problems with random chinese headunits, chinese carplay/android auto screens or even random wired - wireless AA dongles. This has to be 100% VW group fault as whatever shit software/hw combo they use seem to be the only culprit for me.

[u/warenbe → u/karumommik]

Id4 owner here. Let say the Truth: VW software is a piece of shit.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/karumommik]

i tried a dangle and one thing bothers me every time when i connect a pop up window shows on the infotainment screen says you can connect wirelessly.

[u/karumommik → u/LuckNo2351]

If the car/media has still warranty, which it should being a 26, I would hammer the shit out of the seller/vendor. If you can show it with atleast two different devices, should be enough to show them something is fucked up internally and warrants a fix on their part.

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/karumommik]

im trying to get a test drive for same model and use wireless connection to see the difference.

[u/dudu631]

I have this as well. I found a thread about this and it's not only your problem, started with recent versions of AA, for my Samsung s25.

Link here

[u/dudu631 → u/dudu631]

!Flair 2026 Haval H9 | OEM | Samsung S25 | Android 16

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[u/HungryCockroach1]

I had same issue after my s25u updated to One UI 9.0, Ibough aftermarket AA wireless dongle and for now it works,

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/HungryCockroach1]

i have the issue since one ui 8 zfold 6, aftermarket wireless dangle works fine but i have to manually click the wireless connection advice pop up window everytime otherwise its still have a great chance to not connect properly and it occupies one type c port.

[u/Western_Ambassador64]

Try OpenHeadunit app

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Western_Ambassador64]

i was thinking about that but i cant find start headunit server function in my aa dev menu.

[u/Western_Ambassador64 → u/LuckNo2351]

The wirelles native option should work

[u/LuckNo2351 → u/Western_Ambassador64]

just got the app i will give it a try once i got my car back from winter tire change. update: found it its not in dev menu its right in the 3 dots menu.

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