Vw touran infotainment system

17togo

I recently bought a 2019 touran. I've been trying to get my phone hooked up to the infotainment system to use Android auto with it, so I can have Google maps on the screen instead of the vw maps. Whenever I plug my phone into the USB port it says 'unable to read USB device'. But the phone charges with that port so I'm assuming the issue isn't with the connection.

The dealer I bought it from (not a VW dealer) said that there is an add-on you can buy for the voice control and other options on the system. But I'm wondering is this the cause of the USB reading issue too?!

drunkmonkey

Have you went into android auto on your phone and went through the connect a car process.

When you first connect I think it gives aan option for usb charging, android auto/data transfer. You need to select android auto. Your phone thinks it's only usb charging at the moment.

drunkmonkey

Try a different usb cable as well, some don't support data transfer only charging.

17togo

Yeah I went into the connection process but the first thing it says is to connect with a USB cable, after a couple of seconds a message comes up on the screen in the car that says it can't read the USB device'.

drunkmonkey

What phone is it..

drunkmonkey

I'd nearly bet it's the cable

Toots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451029#Comment_120451029

Same. OP you need to make sure you're using a cable that's capable of data transfer. Just a bog standard charger won't do it because all that does is draw power.

bazz26

Is the USB cable a charging only cable or data transfer and charging cable? Try a different cable that is the latter.

Tech_Head

Try the cable first. We had a 2016 Touran and the dealer gave us an awful runaround.

First, CarPlay or Android Auto were add ons that needed to be purchased separately. They became free at a certain point so not sure if your vehicle is covered.

Second, they had to change the USB port for one that was compatible - this took two attempts and several weeks with a hole left in the dash (yes, this was a main VW dealer). For the first attempt, they said they used the usb hardware / port for Android Auto which is different from a CarPlay port.

They damaged the wiring and we got rid of the car shortly afterwards. Won’t be dealing with a VW again as long as they remain the main dealers.

17togo

It's a Samsung a53. I was using the charging cable that came with it. I'll get a better cable and give that a go, thanks for the responses.

17togo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451117#Comment_120451117

Hopefully they had made it free by 2019! 😬

If I can't get it working myself I'll manage without it I suppose, not gonna risk going through what you had to!

drunkmonkey

If it's the one that came in the box should be fine for android auto, could be gone faulty though.

Try resetting the VW infotainment system, think just hold in the volume button until it switches back on, don't have the phone plugged in when doing it. Restart your phone before plugging it in again and clear the cache in the android auto app.

Use Waze instead of Google maps when it's all working, don't forget to use the report feature.

bazz26

It's also worth trying a different model phone. If you know someone with an iphone then see if carplay works using the same cable, that will elliminate things from the equation.

17togo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451200#Comment_120451200

I tried my work phone with the same cable. That's a galaxy note 5 (I think) new enough anyway. And same thing happened. That why I thought this might be an add on I have to to buy.

bazz26

Try a different cable then - a data cable. Rule out the cheap things first before looking at expensive things like paying a dealer to enable additional features.

It's also worth searching VW owner forums if it's a common problem or if there is a quick or easy solution before going down the dealer route.

17togo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451296#Comment_120451296

I've just tried a data cable, restarted the system and cleared the cache and still no joy. I'll try the vw forums to see if they've any different ideas.

Thanks for the responses anyway.

Tech_Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451866#Comment_120451866

Did some Googling and you may need VW app connect. I think they started giving it free of charge but again, ask them what it entails first.

https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/29565-app-connect/

Edit: This thread shows the product box I got when ours was finally sorted.

17togo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120451981#Comment_120451981

Ah yeah that sounds about right so. I can't get the app connect thing working either, I've done all the registration on the vw websites but it still won't work. I thought connecting through the phone would be a different process altogether.

I'll give a Volkswagen dealer a shout and see what they say. That forum is from 2018 so hopefully it doesn't cost the prices quoted there.

Thanks for that.