Clubjazz - Honda Jazz & HR-V Forums
Honda Jazz Forums => Honda Jazz Mk4 2020 - => Topic started by: Liri on October 17, 2023, 01:55:43 AM
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It took me a while to believe that Honda Jazz Hybrid/E:Hev models don't actually prefer Apple over Android... and I was right!
Here is what you need to do:
1. First, make sure Bluetooth Audio is DISCONNECTED. Even better, delete any current Bluetooth pairing your android phone has with the Honda touchscreen.
2. 'Hack' the touchscreen system to allow Android Auto connection by Holding Down HOME + VOLUME BUTTON + Back skipping (<<) buttons at the same time. After pressing these 3 buttons simultaneously for almost 10 seconds, a Self-Diagnosis screen will come up.
Click on 'Detailed Information' > 'Smartphone Information' > 'Android Auto' > select 'ON(USB/Wireless)
Watch this video on how to do it all -
3. Return to main screen, and click 'CONNECT' with the phone icon at the bottom. There should now be an option for Android Auto that says "Turn ON bluetooth and search 'Honda HFT' on your Android phone'. Do exactly that. Your phone's name should now appear on a list of connected devices (eg. "XX's phone is connected) > make sure you click into that, and now in addition to 'Audio' and 'Phone' functions, 'Android Auto' should appear as a function also. Click that and apply.
4. You can now use Android Auto WITHOUT a USB line!
Bonus: If you're like me trying a million times to connect to my android's phone wifi hotspot, but the SSID/network name just won't show - make sure you switch to 2.4GHz, because otherwise Honda HFT cannot find it...
Have a good day!
[Update: 2 weeks on -
The connection is still working wonderfully. After I get into the car and power on, it takes about 5-7 secs max for Android Auto to automatically appear on the Honda touchscreen, and music to start playing.
I noticed that many people might have a firewall or VPN that could be interfering with their bluetooth connection. I use AdGuard and there is a tab called 'App Management' - make sure Android Auto is selected and that 'Route app traffic through AdGuard' is turned OFF. This ensures minimum disruption to the connection.]
[Great work from ppl over here - https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/honda-hack-root-11th-gen-work-in-progress-discoveries.49933/post-828253 ]
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I hope you have more luck than I did
I ran Android Auto via wireless for over a year and it was flaky to connect
About 50% of the time I got either 'failed to connect' or ' phone not compatible', or, it took up to 2 minutes to connect and that was with compatible Samsung S10 and S23 phones
Once connected, which often required a time consuming phone restart after it failed, it was fine but the phone restart often meant I'd wasted up to 3 or 4 minutes before I could set off
Since those days I've used the USB wired and it's so quick to connect it beats the Start / Settings nag screen
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...Yeah there's a reason they don't switch it on by default and only mention wired Android.
Flaky is a rather kind way of putting it! :o ;D
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In my case it could have been that my phone was also connecting to a Garmin DS61 and was also firing up an Android App called Speedtrap Alert so the phone was performing multiple tasks on car powerup.
Since switching to wired I've removed the Garmin as it's no longer needed but STA is still firing up OK.
As for my music now the phone is in the USB port I've installed VLC Android App and loaded my music on that. Works just like my USB stick did with the VLC playlist, FIFO, first in first out
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...If I don't have a USB in I use YT Music.
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I hope you have more luck than I did
I ran Android Auto via wireless for over a year and it was flaky to connect
It's especially flaky with Android 11 unless you have a Pixel or certain models of Samsung phone. It only works reliably more generally with the latest Android 13 phones really. It's to do with the way mobile data pass through works.
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My S23 is 13 but was no better than my old S10
Having tried wired for some time now and seen the difference there is no way I would go back to wireless
I've got the wiring mostly invisible
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I'm finding Android Auto to be the usual beta grade Google crap. Almost every time they release an upgrade it breaks it. The most common problem is with Maps after an AA upgrade. You enter your destination fine, it even then shows the routes, but when you hit the Start button you just get the spinning icon and then it says "Something went wrong". Nothing will get it working at this point. It only usually starts working again when an update to Maps comes out a few days later. Clearly two divisions at Google not working together and we're just expected to put up with broken SatNav functionality. The wired connection is flaky as well due to the bulky data cable required. You drive over a bump and it frequently loses connection. Usually at a critical point when you need directions.
Google just doesn't get it. They are constantly fiddling with the APIs and breaking it. They don't offer any form of proper support. This is why car manufacturers prefer and promote CarPlay, because Apple gets that you cannot keep constantly breaking critical apps like vehicle SatNav. They actually bother to test releases rather than relying on their user base as beta testers.
With the Honda Garmin SatNav not having traffic in the UK, I've actually gone back to having a stand alone TomTom unit. This peeves me greatly, but at least it is reliable.
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With the Honda Garmin SatNav not having traffic in the UK, I've actually gone back to having a stand alone TomTom unit. This peeves me greatly, but at least it is reliable.
I could weep reading this! Sold my stand alone Tom Tom unit on ebay for not that much money. What a great piece of kit it was and, unlike the byzantine complexity of the built in sat nav update procedure, even I could do the updates by simply plugging the thing into my lap top. I could have used this on the odd occasion I need completely up to date maps and/or traffic. Fortunately this is increasingly rare these days.
I am sick and tired of tech. I have just bought a refurbished Samsung S21 to replace my aging Samsung S7 smartphone. I've bought the right cable to connect the phones up and have watched several You Tube videos. Here are the issues:
1) There is NO consensus on when you should transfer the SIM card. One person says under no circumstances should you do it before transfer another says it doesn't matter.
2) Whats App won't transfer seamlessly. You have to do a highly complex procedure involving "backing up" the contents, then fiddle about until you get a Q code on your old phone which you scan on to your new phone and then you do some other crap.
3) Email. I use Aqua Mail to host my TalkTalk email account. Highly complex procedures again.
4) What do you do about transferring your fingerprint access? Will my banking app work?
I would pay a vast sum of money to pay somebody to do this. The problem, according to an acquaintance who worked in IT, is these protocols and procedures are designed by kids who have grown up with tech. My generation have analogue brains which work in a linear fashion and many of us are disenfranchised by the complexity of doing essential tasks like transferring your stuff to a new phone. A pal has solved the issue by not using his phone for anything other than texts, calls and photos and his Liverpool FC season ticket. PC or lap top for everything else.
Sorry for hijacking this thread - just needed to vent and it does refer to another unnecessarily complex procedure. If I have to use my phone to access Android auto I shall be using a wire!
Rant over and apologies again.
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I've been using Google Maps via Android Auto since Sep 2021 in my Jazz and once connected, that problem now solved, it's never failed for me, routeing has been quick and reliable
Driving over rough roads has never caused any connection issues
Like most things though, it works for some but not for others for reasons unknown
One of the biggest culprits seems to be dashcams. Most issues on those seem to be bad fuse selection or bad SDCard selection
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Great tip!! As per the instructions you MUST unpair any previous Bluetooth connection with your phone before trying otherwise it may come up with incompatible.
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i wasn't able to do it yet. I unpaired or removed my phone from the Honda system. Then I went into that diagnostic screen and enabled USB/Wireless.
Then I did the pairing again and the Android phone is added. However I do not have a "CONNECT" button in my software version. Maybe this step didn't go well. But I came across this screen that says connect new device. I will try again tomorrow.
I am trying to get this to work because once my device is connected via USB it works great but often it does not start when I start the car. Then I have to pull the cable out and put it back in (multiple times). Sometimes I need to activate my phone (from sleep mode). And I have a good data cable. Belker USB-C-kabel 50 cm, 10 Gbit/s datakabel USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, for Android Auto, QC3.0.
Well at least I have the diagnostic screen correct now. Will try again tomorrow. It would be great if I get it working
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Here (2026 Jazz) I've been using Wireless Android Auto (after enabling the hidden setting) with a Pixel 9 phone consistently.
In 2200km so far I have had issues only once or twice. But generally it works fine for me.
I do remember that on day 1 it took me some attempts to make it work. I had to go to some phone settings (in the infotainment system)and manually toggle android auto on my Pixel 9 to make it work.
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i also succeeded :) just went to an area where there is somewhat better signal and now I could see this Android Auto appear to select (see image I took from the youtube video). I selected Android Auto, and saved it (or pressed Apply). Then it popped on on my phone itself and asked to allow the connection. Then it worked. Seems to work very good.
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Yes I think this is the menu I was trying to refer to. It also works I think when you have 2 phones in the car (driver and passenger) and you want to switch to the other wireless android auto.
You can also specify which one is your favorite. (My phone always connects to wireless android auto as a priority over the others).
The only issue I had once or twice is that it stopped connecting. I'm not sure if I solved it by restarting the phone or by turning off/on the car. It rarely happens.
I also sometimes try voice commands like "Ok Google, call "x" person on WhatsApp". So so far I tested: WhatsApp voice calls, Spotify and Google Maps. Also voice commands to play music on Spotify (Spotify launch's automatically playing last music).
The thing I dislike about android Auto is that I understand it needs phone GPS enabled. Years ago it was possible to disable GPS (precise location) then Google Maps was purely using car gps hardware (to save battery life / reduce power consumption). Now if you do that it stops working.
The other thing I dislike is that android Auto screen on time is added to phone screen on time. So if you used maps for 30 minutes on the car. Then it appears as if you used maps in your phone for additional 30 minutes (at least on the Google Pixel).
Sent from my Pixel 9 using Tapatalk
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i went shopping and it was working great, no problems at all. I often was having problems with my data cable over the past weeks. When the mobile signal disappears I could imagine that it stops connecting. In theory it should start back up automatically. Will test this the coming days.
Just asked Google AI and it says that with Android Auto the Bluetooth is only used to make the handshake between the car and the phone and that Wifi takes over from there. Will check that tomorrow if a Wifi-network is added in my phone.
I find it strange that we have to go into this "diagnostics" window to enable wireless for Android Auto. At the same time for the Apple it is enabled by default. What is the reason for this? Anyone know? OK I asked AI :) there are multiple reasons for it
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I guess wireless android auto is still kind on beta maybe just on the Honda side, no idea...
One thing that I also noticed is that android auto doesn't seem to pass the internet to the car (it only passes the internet to the android auto applications).
So if you need to do something in the car that uses internet (like the "check for updates button") you need to disable android auto and host a wifi hotspot and change the car internet connection from android auto to wifi
Sent from my Pixel 9 using Tapatalk
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In my case, I initially tried AA wireless. Once started, the connection would take between 10 to 60 seconds, if it connected. I would say mine had a 60% connection success rate. Once connected though it never failed during that journey
That meant I couldn't start driving until it had connected in case it failed. If it did fail I had to restart the car, or phone, or both to get it to try again, it was a pain
After about a year I switched to cable and it connected 100% and it had connected before the startup nag screen had finished
I'm puzzled why some have wired connection issues, unless it's a phone compatibility problem. In my case my 100% success was a Samsung S10 then a 23+
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I have in Settings, Apps, Android Auto, set that it (Android Auto) can use the battery unrestricted. I read this could possibly give connection problems. When it switches to battery savings.
Not sure about the cable. I read that it is really picky about the data cable itself. Also I have been using that cable for many years since I had an aftermarket Android system in my former car. The last few weeks it was getting worse.
wireless:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3Rz5qd6G6Zw
this is what google AI has to say about it (I do not know if it is true or not):
Wireless Android Auto is often hidden in European Honda models like the Jazz because Honda officially only licensed and advertised wireless Apple CarPlay for this region, while limiting Android Auto to wired connections.
The feature remains built into the head unit's underlying Android-based software but requires manual activation via the hidden "Engineering Mode" (or Diagnostics Menu) for several reasons:
Regional Licensing & Marketing: Honda often tailors its infotainment marketing to specific regions. Wireless CarPlay is frequently prioritized, leaving Android Auto locked to the USB profile.
Platform Fragmentation: Unlike Apple's strictly controlled ecosystem, the Android ecosystem has massive device fragmentation. Leaving it hidden acts as a "testing" safeguard for manufacturers against the endless variety of Android phone hardware combinations, which can be prone to intermittent connection drops.
Support & Warranty: By disabling the feature by default, car manufacturers avoid being swamped with customer service claims regarding lag, battery drain, or pairing issues caused by individual user phones.
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For me the first system update fixed most of the connection problems. (ie. Improving the success rate of AA connecting wirelessly from one in five to about five in six.)
It occasionally gets so bad I factory reset the car's screen. It feels like after so long it will have filled up all the slots it can use for AA, and it refuses to do it wirelessly any more.
VPNs and existing WiFi connections will interfere. AA wireless uses Bluetooth for the setup, but the car itself sets up a 5GHz WiFi network called something like "Car-123", and AA chats over that.
And it's only Honda which is known for having a problem with wireless AA. I've been in other makes and it's been flawless.
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yes I checked yesterday, once the handshake is done via bluetooth it adds a Wifi network in your phone called "car-acab" (if I remember correctly). At least in my car. These last 4 characters possibly depend on the car.
Strange that you are having problems. Mine has been working flawlessly the past few days. And I am in an area with bad mobile signal.
I suggest asking these AI LLM's like google AI or chatgpt for suggestions. Like the apps that you are using should be given unrestricted battery access. Not sure how crucial this is. I have it set to unrestricted for the Android Auto App. But I also use an App called Audials Play for news and certain radio channels and I still had this set to "Optimized" for the battery access. And still it did not give any issues.
But I have a 2026 built car so not sure if my infotainment system has some updates
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The problem with Android Auto (https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=17888.msg155908#msg155908) will probably still be there. I use CarPlay - no problems there.
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But I have a 2026 built car so not sure if my infotainment system has some updates
2026 model cars will probably have a slightly newer release of Android running the console than the 2021 ones.
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i just checked in my car and it shows Android Auto version 8.1.0. I checked if my system (firmware) is up to date, and it says it is up-to-date. So 8.1.0 is the version that Honda uses even though Android Auto on my phone is version 17.2 I think. Version 8.1.0 is however the version that is in my car and apparently it is the latest version Honda uses on the Jazz Mk4.
I am no expert how this works but according to google AI Honda made some AA updates between 2021 and 2026. They seem to adjust the Android Auto software to run on their infotainment system. Anyways in my case it works great.
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Any problems with Android Auto, I switch to inbuilt SatNav for a short time and seems to correct any connection issues. I have a Samsung phone and mainly use wireless, I might plug in the cable for long journeys. USB cable is just an Amazon basic cable.
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I guess wireless android auto is still kind on beta maybe just on the Honda side, no idea...
One thing that I also noticed is that android auto doesn't seem to pass the internet to the car (it only passes the internet to the android auto applications).
So if you need to do something in the car that uses internet (like the "check for updates button") you need to disable android auto and host a wifi hotspot and change the car internet connection from android auto to wifi
Sent from my Pixel 9 using Tapatalk
not sure if this is what you meant but today I wanted to change a setting on my Viofo dashcam. When I start the Wifi on the Viofo dashcam and select that Wifi on my phone the Wifi of the infotainment system keeps popping up asking me if I want to connect.
I just asked Google AI and you can put the phone in Airplane mode and then put Wifi back on while the phone is still in Airplane mode. It says:
To turn your Wi-Fi back on while in Airplane Mode, just follow these simple steps on your Android phone:
- Swipe down from the top of your screen to open your Quick Settings panel (where all the toggle buttons are).
- Look at your Airplane Mode icon—it will be lit up (usually blue or orange), showing it is active.
- Look for the Wi-Fi icon (the fan-shaped signal icon). It will currently be grayed out or turned off.
- Tap the Wi-Fi icon once.
The Wi-Fi icon will light up, turning back on while your cellular network and Bluetooth stay safely disabled in the background. Now you can head straight into your phone's Wi-Fi settings and select your Viofo network!
(Note: Android is smart—once you do this, your phone will remember this preference. The next time you turn on Airplane Mode, it will automatically leave your Wi-Fi running!)
so I actually did not check this yet but I assume when finished I can just turn off the airplane mode on my phone and it will start asking me to connect to the cars Wifi. If I press connect then it will automatically disable the Wifi connection with the Viofo.