Car Audio - specifically Bluetooth

[Electric_Andy]

Hmm, not liking cables. If you have Android Auto/Apple car play, you have to plug the phone in as it then disables the phone ! You can connect by bluetooth for music, but if I want maps/phone I have to plug in - it's a safety feature.

Does the existing head unit have any car settings in it - if it does, replacing the unit may bugger up access to them !

No Canbus as far as I know. The head unit is purely maps, FM radio, BT. All the other controls are below with separate knobs which I'm glad about

 

[Electric_Andy]

I would expect you can test if it is interference by driving somewhere well clear of other "noise" away from houses, other cars, etc.), turn engine off and see if it connects OK.

That might indicate if interference or might be screening (eg things between radio and phone blocking signal which would be worse of BTLE.

If switching to a 2 DIN unit and depending on budget, the higher priced "Car Play" (Android,Apple) communicate over Wi-Fi which may or may not resolve screening/interference (I believe that BT use 2.4 GHz, same as a fair number of WiFi systems though WiFi might be better at avoiding narrower band interference?.

yes 2 DIN, although I'm not keen on the android auto/mirroring. For me it's overkill, and screens have a habit of going wrong or becoming scratched and losing functionality unless you buy very high end. I'm thinking a branded 2DIN which is just a BT stereo and nothing else

 

[Electric_Andy]

I have analysed the above and deduced your best course of action is to buy a better car….

haha, there's nothing wrong with this one apart from the Bluetooth!

 

[markemark]

seems to be only for charging? Charging is not an issue...unless I have missed something (which is likely)

It would be a base that could support the cable you buy.

 

[Electric_Andy]

What version of BT does the car support?

I've been trying to find out, but can't. I'm assuming (rightly or wrongly) that if it was made before BT 5.0 came in then it might not properly support 5.0 and later. But it clearly does sometimes

 

[Electric_Andy]

It would be a base that could support the cable you buy.

oh I see, thanks

 

[fossyant]

No Canbus as far as I know. The head unit is purely maps, FM radio, BT. All the other controls are below with separate knobs which I'm glad about

That's good. My wife's car is like that, but my older car had all the controls on the screen, and my van has everything in the screen unit. My son's BMW android unit is quite clever in that you can switch back to the BMW menus if needed.

 

[newts]

I would make sure that your medianav has the latest firmware/updates. I used Renault medianav for phone & streaming music /podcasts from 2016 until last year, can't remember having bt connection issues.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I've been trying to find out, but can't. I'm assuming (rightly or wrongly) that if it was made before BT 5.0 came in then it might not properly support 5.0 and later. But it clearly does sometimes

No if earlier version it will only support its version and earlier. Thus if car is BT 4.0 then you won’t get anything better than that if your phone for example supports 5.0. BT has backwards compatibility but not forwards compatibility.

 

[Electric_Andy]

No if earlier version it will only support its version and earlier. Thus if car is BT 4.0 then you won’t get anything better than that if your phone for example supports 5.0. BT has backwards compatibility but not forwards compatibility.

The Renault Captur 2014 uses BT 4.0. My phone uses 5.3 and works perfectly sometimes, but not others. This is what I don't understand. If it was a compatibility issue, surely it would work fairly poorly most of the time. Instead of working perfectly 40% of the time, or totally failing to connect 60% of the time? Or is the 60/40 functionality symptomatic of the 4.0/5.3 mis-alignment?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

This is what I don't understand

Then they will be working under BT 4.0 restrictions not 5.3. Thats the bit to understand. The range will be much lower, the bandwidth lower etc etc

 

[Electric_Andy]

Then they will be working under BT 4.0 restrictions not 5.3. Thats the bit to understand. The range will be much lower, the bandwidth lower etc etc

ok got it, thank you. So it would probably make sense to upgrade the stereo to one that supports the most recent BT version possible

 

[markemark]

ok got it, thank you. So it would probably make sense to upgrade the stereo to one that supports the most recent BT version possible

....you are running the risk of it still not working any better if it's other factors that are interfering.

 

[si_c]

The media nav system is pretty terrible, we have it in our Renault (2013 Clio) and it's similar to your issue.

We've got an android replacement (£200ish on eBay) which replaces the whole head unit and frame with a new one, and has a 8" or so touch screen with android auto/apple carplay so it works very much like new cars. Just not got around to actually replacing it yet, so it's in the garage.

Might be something like this but you'd need to check whether you need a new frame around the dashboard or not. Ideally you want something with Android 14 or better. Worth doing a bit of research on what you might need first - a local car audio place is likely to be able to help.

 

[Electric_Andy]

The media nav system is pretty terrible, we have it in our Renault (2013 Clio) and it's similar to your issue.

We've got an android replacement (£200ish on eBay) which replaces the whole head unit and frame with a new one, and has a 8" or so touch screen with android auto/apple carplay so it works very much like new cars. Just not got around to actually replacing it yet, so it's in the garage.

Might be something like this but you'd need to check whether you need a new frame around the dashboard or not. Ideally you want something with Android 14 or better. Worth doing a bit of research on what you might need first - a local car audio place is likely to be able to help.

Thanks, I don't want an android unit though. Just an old fashioned 2 Din will be fine