iPhone with Android Auto

[nlel1975]

My car head unit only supports Android Auto. My main phone is an iPhone 14 Pro Max and is on a contract giving me 250 minutes of call time each month. So I purchased a relatively cheap Android phone to connect to Android Auto for navigation purposes.

I have a PAYG SIM in the Android phone so what I do is temporarily setup call forwarding on my iPhone to the number in the Android phone so I can receive calls sent to my main iPhone number on my Android Auto head unit.

This works well but I have to pay for the forwarded calls, this comes out of my monthly call allowance. I’ve put £25 into the Android PAYG phone which will give me about an hour of call time which will last me ages.

Another good thing is when the iPhone forwards the call it sends the callers number to the Android phone rather than its own number so you can see who is calling you. This saves me the hassle of changing the head unit and is a poor man’s CarPlay.

For me it does everything I need, I don’t spend a lot of time in the car otherwise it may be better to take out a second contract on the Android phone. Not fussed about receiving sms messages sent to my iPhone being able to receive calls on my main number is all I really need.

 

[nlel1975]

Sounds like you’ve found a reasonable workaround.

It’s the standard head unit that was installed in my 2019 Smart car from the factory. It’s called the R-Link as it was designed by Renault. It’s also called the Smart Media System and is found in Renault Twingos as well.

 

[nlel1975]

Are you sure it does not do Carplay? Like really sure? As above, quite rare it does one or the other. Have you tried updating it as well as in software update of the headunit? A 2019 headunit that only does AA and specifically not carplay seems odd. I have a Renault Clio which used to have media nav unit. I upgraded it with a headunit out of a Clio 2019 which ran the Media evolution unit (very similar but with slightly better hardware and different underlying OS) specifically because it does Android auto and Carplay. It only does it wired, but it does it quite well and very reliably.

100% sure it doesn’t do CarPlay. I know this from research I’ve done on specialist Smart car websites and it can’t be added via a software update as it’s a hardware thing. If I plug my Android phone into the USB port it immediately comes up with “Do you wish to start Smartphone mirroring“.

If I plug my iPhone in nothing happens. I not that bothered anyway as Android Auto does everything I need and I can forward iPhone calls.

 

[nlel1975]

Surely the car does standard bluetooth anyway so you can connect the iPhone to that for calls?

I just have to get in the habit of enabling call forwarding on my iPhone before I get in the car and turn it off after, it only takes seconds. Go into settings/phone/call forwarding enable it and enter number. Do the opposite to turn it off.

Just like I switch off stop/start every time I get into the car by pressing a button. I could run the iPhone over Bluetooth without using Android Auto but where’s the fun in that?

I like the way it’s all integrated into the steering wheel too, when I receive a call I can answer it by pressing a button on the steering wheel. As I said I don’t spend a lot of time in the car so I’m not doing it every 20 minutes.

 

[nlel1975]

I don’t think RLink is android auto or CarPlay. It just mirrors your phone doesn’t it?

No it definitely has Android Auto.

 

[nlel1975]

Do iPhones not have routines or macros or something you can setup to automate this on a specific condition, like it connecting to the cars Bluetooth?

No unfortunately not.

 

[nlel1975]

Have you emailed the Smart dealer to ask them yet?

No, lol! Here is the instructions for adding Android Auto to older Smart 453 head units. Its just a software update.

https://www.evilution.co.uk/mod/adding-android-auto-to-453.htm?highlight=android auto

As mine is a 2019 it was already updated to support Android Auto. Definitely no CarPlay support.

 

[nlel1975]

I only drive once a week and always come home afterwards, so it’s just a case of turning call forwarding on then off again when I get back. I don’t drive to work but if I did I’d probably turn it on in the morning and use the Android phone throughout the day to receive calls, then turn it off again in the evenings.

You have probably got WiFi at work as well anyway. My Android phone wasn’t expensive it’s a Motorola G8 Power and was £165 new. I could afford a new head unit and pay it have it fitted but I don’t really need it for my use.

The factory head unit does everything I need including DAB.

 

[nlel1975]

It is a wired android auto ? so you could have a wifispot on your iphone sim, and use its data for any AA music streaming - personally, more interested in maps/music in cars than calls.

Yeah it’s a wired connection to the USB port in the car. I am also more interested in maps/music than calls. My iPhone contract only comes with 1GB of data a month so not a lot really. I hardly use it anyway. It’s good to be able to receive iPhone calls on my AA head unit.

 

[nlel1975]

Well these are the options for getting CarPlay in my Smart. Buy one of these wireless adapters for approximately £400...

https://thecarplayer.com/products/a...ta5SEGefK5lCBxgoliIpHP7OKZWrEyPVIpJl3EFzlSWdE

Buy this Pioneer unit for £599 plus whatever it costs to fit...

https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/pio...two-6-8-bluetooth-carplay-android-stereo.html

Or buy the OEM head unit from the electric Smart for approximately £1188.

https://www.kufatec.com/en/smart/fo...lVGocA_MXTmoq9AGzb8w2UhH9cMAF93fhQrFCNq7oSnlQ

Looks like buying my Motorola G8 Power for £165 was the cheapest way to get into screen mirroring albeit using Android Auto without to much hassle.

 

[nlel1975]

It is a wired android auto ? so you could have a wifispot on your iphone sim, and use its data for any AA music streaming - personally, more interested in maps/music in cars than calls.

Well I recently bought the Motorola MA1 wireless Android Auto dongle and then discovered my Motorola G8 Power phone wouldn’t connect to it as it doesn’t support 5ghz WiFI. So I bought a new phone the Samsung Galaxy A34.

All was working fine then I decided to try Google Assistant for the first time by saying “hey google” it came back with “Oops, something went wrong, please try again later.”

This was while running google maps downloaded for offline use. Discovered that I needed a mobile data connection running in order for Google Assistant to work and apparently it won’t work over a WiFi connection so running a WiFi hotspot off my iPhone wouldn’t have worked.

It’s no problem anyway as I now have my contract SIM in the Samsung Galaxy A34 and just have a PAYG SIM in my iPhone. No need to forward calls anymore and Android Auto is working perfectly wirelessly including Google Assistant.