Wireless Android Auto - is it worth it?

I’m thinking of replacing the Alpine head unit with something better. I want Android Auto and was wondering if it is worth paying the considerable uplift for the wireless version.

I saw another thread somewhere that said that it drains the phone battery, so you would probably need to have the phone plugged in to a power output anyway, so where is the benefit?

I have iPhone Wireless Auto on my Kenwood. I just didn’t want to faff about plugging in and out and having another cable lying about. It also accepts Android, (either or). Never experienced excessive battery drain. Just an opinion,why buy on the cheap for putting in an upgrade.:man_shrugging: For me it’s well worth paying the extra.

I brought a Kenwood for exactly that - the wireless aspect as I don’t like messing around plugging and unplugging. Battery drain is there but not too excessive depending on the length of journey you are doing.
However, get a wireless charging pad if you concerned - I slotting mine into the little cubby hole to the bottom right of the steering wheel. If does stick out a little but is not a big issue. Depending on the size of your phone it could slip around so I place a cloth on top of the phone to keep it in place - though looking for a better solution. Don’t want a dash/ window/ vent mounted phone holder as it spoils the look.
I don’t do long journeys in the MX-5 (longer than an hour) usually, but I have noticed on my daily (BMW with after market Android Auto box fitted) then my phone can get too hot on a wireless charger and will stop charging as protection. In this case a wire charging cable is the solution :frowning:
This getting hot issue may be phone specific though (I have a Google Pixel 5) so you may not notice it.

However, overall I am happy with the experience :slight_smile:

I would imagine wireless charging making the phone hot is a general issue. I have a wireless charger in the house and it has a fan built in - they wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t necessary.

It’s not the charger getting hot (my house ones don’t) but the phone itself. I assume this is because it is receive the change wirelessly while continously transmitting of BlueTooth and WiFi (for the android auto) as well have have data on to update maps and (in my case) play spofity. Basically a lot of antenna systems all active!

I thought long and hard on this one before going for the cheaper wired option. I’ve found by running the USB along the whole length of the centre console exiting at the rear and then leaving the tail between console and passenger seat I have fairly neat installation. Obviously you need quite a long USB fly lead but the one that came with my Pioneer is plenty long enough.

In an ideal world I would have preferred wireless, but the premium was too much for me. The £350 I paid for the wired HU already seemed quite pricey to me for what is effectively a small tablet with a dab tuner.

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Or spend a LOT more money than the cost of a long cable and get an NC 3.75 - there is a USB socket (and 3.5mm audio jack) in the central cubby :wink:

My 63 plate Sport Graphite doesn’t have usb or aux there…it just had a bunch of leads in the glovebox from the Sanyo/Panasonic sat nav.

Hi Juan, question, what unit did you go for and did you use the Pioneer screen aerial?
Regards Glenn

My 2013 Sport Tech doesn’t either. Where exactly is yours?

Right at the back of the central storage / cup holders. It is yet another step in removing the central console in my 25AE (2.0L NC 3.75 PRHT).

No definitely not there on mine. All I needed to disconnect to take out the console were the window switches. Are you sure it’s not aftermarket on yours?

Hi it’s a SPH-DA160DAB. Yes used Pioneer CA-AN-DAB.001 screen aerial. Works really well and is fairly unobtrusive.

It certainly looks like part of the original car. I would prefer not to take the console apart to check if the cables are part of the original loom :wink:

I think the 25AE was the very last NC model, so it may be a late addition to the spec.

Roger that. Not on mine either.
Thanks for the time.:+1:

Fair enough, certainly don’t want you to take it apart!

Bit late to the party here…

I have an NC and upgraded to a standard AA head unit as I didn’t want to pay the extra for the wireless capabilities. I did also get an AAWireless dongle and tried it out for a bit but found that the time it took to connect (which may not be an issue on head units with built in wireless) was just not worth it, I like to make sure it’s all connected before I move off. I did also experience the battery drain quite badly (Samsung Galaxy S10+).

I fitted the centre console tray to replace the cupholders from MX5parts.co.uk (can be found here, I highly recommend it: Centre Console Storage Tray & 12v Power Outlet, MX5 Mk3) which has a hole in the front ready to fit a cigarette power socket in. I never fitted that and instead have a USB cable going from the USB port in the glovebox, under the plastic dash and centre console and then comes out into the tray so it’s as clean as possible setup but without any latency or battery drain issues. May be something to ponder if anyone else is still thinking about it! I will note I intended to fit the centre console tray before I thought about the cable so it may not be worth the price of the tray for others.

Yes, I think it is worth it. Fitted a Pionner AVIC-Z930DAB (requires double-DIN fascia kit) into my 2012 mk3.5 about 14 months ago with Herbert Richter universal holder on a Proclip 634416 which holds either of our phones nicely to the left of the head unit. The unit has two rear USB sockets: one is cabled to the glovebox with a256GB cruzer flash drive holding music, the second fly lead is charge-only routed to the cubby. Adding a flush-faced twin USB adaptor in the aux power socket under the head unit and a short coiled charging cable means on long journeys the phone in the cradle is constantly charging. As our phones are different it also allows for swapping the leads between USB type C or micro depending which one is in the cradle.

The AVIC units are expensive but the capacitive touch-screen is lovely to use (like most phone or tablet screens) and being motorised you can tilt it if there’s too much reflection. What you get is flexibility. Short trips = no bother plugging in, long trips = both phones are always charged even using AA and are always connected whichever option you choose. I baulked at the price but honestly, so glad after much agonising I bit the bullet. Good luck whatever you choose, it’s a tough decision.