Android Auto interference

[Tim the pool man]

Hope this is the right place for these queries, don't think I've ventured in this sub forum before!

I'm a tech novice (in that I use it regularly but have no knowledge or desire to know the background stuff)

My work van (2024 Transit) is the first vehicle I've owned with Android Auto. Great as I regularly need to make or receive calls while driving between jobs.

Over the 12 months I've owned it AA has become more intrusive and interferes with stuff I don't want it to :grr:

It starts Spotify on my phone every time I start the van, even though I had previously closed Spotify on my phone!! I've now deleted Spotify from my phone which is bloody annoying as I have a paid subscription!

Even more infuriating, last week or so it changes Waze on my phone screen (!!) to show turn by turn instructions instead of the map!! Phone works fine when not connected but as soon as I start the van the screen changes...
I have now disabled AA entirely, but have consequently lost other functionality (listening to recorded messages on my phone when connected etc)

Any advice please?

It just confirms my belief that tech companies employ graduates full of "ideas" who actually have ZERO idea what the end user actually wants from the tech! (another thread to follow about my new laptop auto updating and changing all my settings so that nothing works properly!!!)

[Tim the pool man]

Perhaps there's a better sub forum for this question, any ideas?

[Tim the pool man]

Hmmm... perhaps *nobody* actually understands Android Auto and you've all disabled it like I have?

Frustrating that a simple link between my phone and audio system has been made so complicated that it's basically unusable!!

[Gnits]

I don't have it so can't help, but you aren't alone in this, the last few years have seen a general uptick in the amount of 'ensh*tification'.
Possibly driven my middlemanagement striving for 'Continual Service Improvement' and needing to add new things to a perfectly good product, you know, for 'our' benefit.

[Tim the pool man]

Gnits said:

I don't have it so can't help, but you aren't alone in this, the last few years have seen a general uptick in the amount of 'ensh*tification'.
Possibly driven my middlemanagement striving for 'Continual Service Improvement' and needing to add new things to a perfectly good product, you know, for 'our' benefit.

Thanks for your reply, I was starting to think I was in an empty room here!

I know exactly what you mean. In my industry I'm constantly frustrated by manufacturers finding ways to make simple things complicated and more expensive. Obvious example is salt water chlorinators. Their function is simple, a timer system to run the pump and chlorinator at scheduled times, salt water passing through an electrolytic cell to generate free chlorine. Virtually set and forget. Now they're adding WiFi and "apps" to control them! I ask my customers if an extra grand or more is really worth it so they can pull their phone out at work and loudly announce that they're "checking on their pool"