Bluetooth connectivity with Samsung S24 Ultra

[HoolaBaloola]

Hi all, hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I have a tech question I thought I'd try on here to see if anyone's cracked it, I have a Mercedes SLC 300 AMG Line which admittedly sees few miles each year, so I've rarely connected my phone to this or any other car (to date I've just used the built in SatNav and my music choice from a USB stick). However after experiencing the functionality available via the wife's old iPhone via Carplay I thought it was maybe time to hook my Samsung S24 Ultra up to the car, two things came out of this, firstly, it appears the car doesn't support Android Auto, although Android think it should, 2017 onwards it says - anyone know whether Android Auto should be supported or not? When I plug the phone in via USB, all it does is the obvious - charge - the phone is bang up to date as is Android Auto by the way.

The other thing I noted was since Android Auto wasn't playing ball via a cable, I thought I'd get the phone paired with the cars Bluetooth, but the Car doesn't find the phone on a search and the phone doesn't find the car either - "MB Bluetooth" was the last pairing on an older S21 Ultra Samsung phone. There seems to be quite a few issues connecting S24 Ultras to cars generally, having Googled the same, I've tried a few things I've found online, but nothing's sorted BT connectivity to the car. Has anyone cracked this challenge with an S24 Ultra?

 

[DSM10000]

Hi all, hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I have a tech question I thought I'd try on here to see if anyone's cracked it, I have a Mercedes SLC 300 AMG Line which admittedly sees few miles each year, so I've rarely connected my phone to this or any other car (to date I've just used the built in SatNav and my music choice from a USB stick). However after experiencing the functionality available via the wife's old iPhone via Carplay I thought it was maybe time to hook my Samsung S24 Ultra up to the car, two things came out of this, firstly, it appears the car doesn't support Android Auto, although Android think it should, 2017 onwards it says - anyone know whether Android Auto should be supported or not? When I plug the phone in via USB, all it does is the obvious - charge - the phone is bang up to date as is Android Auto by the way.

The other thing I noted was since Android Auto wasn't playing ball via a cable, I thought I'd get the phone paired with the cars Bluetooth, but the Car doesn't find the phone on a search and the phone doesn't find the car either - "MB Bluetooth" was the last pairing on an older S21 Ultra Samsung phone. There seems to be quite a few issues connecting S24 Ultras to cars generally, having Googled the same, I've tried a few things I've found online, but nothing's sorted BT connectivity to the car. Has anyone cracked this challenge with an S24 Ultra?

Possibly unhelpful but my S24 Ultra paired easily to the Range Rover and X1.

Have you tried deleting the S21 from the HU and trying again?

Also, ensure the S24 isn't currently connected to anything else nearby.

Android auto may need a software update on the Mercedes to support it, others with more knowledge should be along.

 

[HoolaBaloola]

Possibly unhelpful but my S24 Ultra paired easily to the Range Rover and X1.

Have you tried deleting the S21 from the HU and trying again?

Also, ensure the S24 isn't currently connected to anything else nearby.

Android auto may need a software update on the Mercedes to support it, others with more knowledge should be along.

Thanks for the reply DSM10000, yes been through those hoops, enabled Dev mode on the phone as well to try a Bluetooth setting (Disable) option in there suggested by Googling. Agreed Android Auto may need an update to what I think they call the 'COMMAND ONLINE' system in the car - although one may not be available now since they stopped making the SLC some years ago now.

I suspect (as someone who comes from an IT background) that it maybe a Bluetooth (BT) version issue, and the S24 (and maybe other phones) aren't allowing backward compatibility with systems that maybe limited to earlier BT versions. But I'm only guessing, I'm not BT expert by any stretch.

Having seen the functionality provided by Apple Carplay and one assumes Android Auto is essentially the same, it is without doubt the future of SatNav \ Car Comms, it's continually updated for free after all, rendering built in Nav pointless now.

 

[fabes]

You most likely will need a fairly expensive coding to retrofit AA to the car - circa £299

That's what I have been told for my 2016 Head unit that has wired Apple Car Play in the C207
I just use a old iPhone and cheap SIM

Bluetooth is fully backwards compatible so it could be system memory of HU being full (though I think you cleared that), or a nearby handset blocking the pairing (not the BT)

It was with the SLK when I set it all up this summer as the private seller hadn't deleted anything

 

[markjay]

Possibly unhelpful but my S24 Ultra paired easily to the Range Rover and X1.

Have you tried deleting the S21 from the HU and trying again?

Also, ensure the S24 isn't currently connected to anything else nearby.

Android auto may need a software update on the Mercedes to support it, others with more knowledge should be along.

As above - I am on my second S24 Ultra, and had no issues with connecting to my cars (Suzuki and Hyundai).

 

[Delderek]

I have an S24 (not ultra) running newest android 14 and it pairs perfectly to my 2016 c class w205.

 

[Trickythemerc]

Clearing the android cache cured my connection issue with my A35 and Pioneer HU.

 

[HoolaBaloola]

Thanks for replies all, I've managed to get the phone going, the answer was de-authorise my old phone in the car and then hook up this new one. I also got Android Auto going on it by plugging it into the USB port which was another objective. Ironically though I am considering changing my beloved SLC and going for a C300 C Class Coupe (or maybe convertible - but I'm not mad on convertibles that are fabric tops because of the wear an tear on them when they're not garaged, had them before on a couple of BMW 3 Series in the past). It'll stop everyone moaning about me only having 2 seats.