No Navigation Audio When Bluetooth Connected

[cwalker]

I want to be able to hear Google navigation directions on my Droid 4 (w/ICS) when it's in the docking station and when bluetooth is connected to my car so I can use the phone through my car and listen to the radio and satellite. Does anyone know how to make this happen? I looked at my bluetooth settings and couldn't find anything. Thanks for your help!

 

[wcjeep]

Is your car stereo A2DP capable? Navigation works no problem in my stock Honda, wife's Alpine stereo and my BlueAnt visor BT.

 

[FoxKat]

I want to be able to hear Google navigation directions on my Droid 4 (w/ICS) when it's in the docking station and when bluetooth is connected to my car so I can use the phone through my car and listen to the radio and satellite. Does anyone know how to make this happen? I looked at my bluetooth settings and couldn't find anything. Thanks for your help!

There is a known problem with the Motorola Vehicle Navigation Dock when used with the Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX, and quite possibly with the D4 (and even Droid M & MAXX HD), where if you insert the phone into the docking station and have Bluetooth sync'd with your car (yes, including A2DP compatible cars), the navigation doesn't play through the Bluetooth or the phone's internal speakers. This is due to a hardware or programming flaw.

Is your car stereo A2DP capable? Navigation works no problem in my stock Honda, wife's Alpine stereo and my BlueAnt visor BT.

What you are saying is true, as long as the phone isn't connected by the MicroUSB connector on the MOTOROLA Vehicle Navigation Dock. It's the Dock that is at the root of the problem.

The problem results from the docking station also having audio capability through the MicroUSB connection on the dock, which then sends audio down the Audio and Power Adapter cable and to the small pigtail female 3.5mm headphone jack coming off the standard USB plug (shown below on the far right). There is no known way to select from a menu, and tell the phone you want audio to go one way, phone calls to go another, and navigation to go yet another way.

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In my car, the factory installed audio system doesn't have an "accessory" jack (i.e. 3.5mm headphone jack), or a usb connector, and it is not A2DP compatible either, so the only thing my car will play through the audio is a Bluetooth phone call. If I want Music to go to the car, I have to use an FM transmitter, and when I do, then both the media audio AND the navigation sounds come through the stereo. This is the ONLY way to get navigation sounds to come to the car stereo when the phone is in the MOTOROLA Vehicle Navigation Dock. There is an indication from one technician that I spoke to at Motorola that this may have since been resolved with newer MOTOROLA Vehicle Navigation Docks, since he grabbed a RAZR and a Dock and tried them with me on the phone. His worked properly but mine didn't, but I can't get them to swap mine out for one that does work.

It makes no difference if I have my Bluetooth Jawbone Headset on and sync'd, I can still hear phone calls through the headset, but if either my Droid RAZR MAXX or my wife's Droid RAZR are in the Motorola Vehicle Navigation Dock, the navigation sounds do NOT come through either the Bluetooth headset OR the phone, and as you already know don't come through the car either. HOWEVER, if I lift the USB plug off the phone while it's in the dock, THEN the navigation sounds come either through the phone's speaker, or if I have my Jawbone Headset in, they come through the headset. If while it is giving navigation instructions I press down the connector in the dock, the sound stops in my headset or on the speaker.

THIS DOES NOT happen if you are using a non-Motorola dock, and/or are using a standard car power accessory adapter, this ONLY happens with the MOTOROLA Vehicle Navigation Dock. It also makes no difference if you use the cable with the pigtail or not...same results. I've complained about this to Motorola, and they've said there's nothing you can do about it. For me, it's an especially troublesome situation because my FM transmitter shuts itself down after 30 seconds of silence, so unless I'm playing music through the FM transmitter, I get hit with a blast of loud static from the dead FM Radio channel when the transmitter shuts down and I then have to turn down the volume to save my ears. Once the transmitter shuts down, it takes some 10 seconds or so to come back once it senses audio and by that time, any navigation instructions have already been completed.

This was a case of poor planning, beta testing, troubleshooting and support on the part of Motorola and Verizon. If anyone can report different results, I would be interested. Thanks.

 

[Benton]

Interesting experience, I think mine differs. I have two auto docks, both from Verizon (Motorola produced). Using Microsoft Sync (I dislike that product) in my car I set the BT in the car to BT Audio and my navigation instructions are beamed through my car's sound system loud and clear. If a phone call comes in during navigation it too is beamed through the car's sound system and when we hang up our conversation the sound system reverts back to navigation instructions. If I use my other car that does not have MS Sync I use a Bose Series 2 or Plantronics Voyager Pro+ earbud which have AD2P profile and works in the same manner as MS Sync but of course the sound goes through the ear bud and not the car's sound system. The age of my Nav docks is March and April which I think would be relatively old for production runs and would most likely have been first generation if there ever was a subsequent generation as possibly suggested from the technician spoken to above.

There are some differences in the application I use from what FoxKat mentioned above and this could have already been tested and proved out but in looking at the well detailed experience in that post and how it differs from mine in two different vehicles using two different docks I wonder if:

1. Are you using stock car chargers connected to the dock?
2. Is the car's charging system providing steady and not-too-ratty power to the charger?
3. Is the radio device working correctly with the D4?
4. Are you using stock ROM or other?

Since I have two working systems, let's try to narrow the fault(s) down, I think this should be something that can be resolved.

 

[cwalker]

OK, you smart people are over my head. What is A2DP and how do I find out if I have it? I have a 2012 Toyota Sienna with bluetooth. When I use the dock the cord goes into the dock (or I can take it out of the dock and plug it directly into my phone), and then plugs into my car charger outlet. I do have an USB outlet. If I have bluetooth 'on' on my phone I can't hear the audio out of my phone or through my car speakers. I will have to try using the phone navigation without being in the dock, or being plugged into the charging outlet, or not plugged into anything at all. Thank you so much for help!!

 

[dmwoods]

You can try the Pro version of an app named SoundAbout in the market. It allows splitting the media audio from the phone call audio. The Pro version supports Bluetooth.

 

[Benton]

I Google'd the issue you are having with the Sienna and found that just pairing the phone as a phone does not pair all profiles (I got lazy and didn't think of this since mine did on its own). There is a very useful YouTube instruction for Toyota Sienna systems on how to pair your phone as an audio player which is the format the navigation commands are sent via bluetooth. The YouTube video is titled "2011-2012 Toyota Sienna: Bluetooth Streaming Audio (non-Navigation)". Once you pair the phone in the audio profile you will be able to not only navigate with command but stream music from your storage or even on-line services like Pandora, etc. In my car (MS Sync) the pairing defaults to phone profile so I have to push the talk button and say "bluetooth audio" to initiate that profile operation and have the navigation commands or streaming music play from my phone through the car's sound system. Take a look at the YouTube video and give it a try, I think this has a good shot at resolving the issue.

 

[cwalker]

I downloaded the SoudAbout app and my husband figured it out this morning. I now can talk through the bluetooth in my car and hear the navigation directions through my phone. Thanks for telling me about the app!

 

[dmwoods]

I downloaded the SoudAbout app and my husband figured it out this morning. I now can talk through the bluetooth in my car and hear the navigation directions through my phone. Thanks for telling me about the app!

That's great!