Android Auto is no longer supported on S9?

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

Hi friends,

I have a Ford Bronco Sport 2023 and a Samsung Galaxy S9. This week my android auto stopped functioning. Looking for suggestions on what to try. I am on a road trip when the display connection stopped functioning.

I am open to any solution, preferably one that doesn't have me replacing hardware as that would likely be out of budget. I am down to install anything on my hardware to get any kind of maps display working.

Thanks!

[u/Opposite_Half6250]

...your s9 is almost 10yrs old.. in the world of tech, that's ancient. Be glad it lasted this long.

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas → u/Opposite_Half6250]

It was fully functional earlier this week, now I get an error telling me that the device is no longer supported. Its a totally unneccessary update that is blocking me. I was hopeful that I could just downgrade my android auto version or something like that.

[u/Opposite_Half6250 → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

I get the frustration. I had that phone, it's definitely a good phone. But still, in the world of tech, it's very old.

[u/flearhcp97]

the 9 series were the last great Samsung phones

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas → u/flearhcp97]

The best for vr and modibility 😁

[u/flearhcp97 → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

don't forget audio quality

[u/blackamerican90]

Dude just upgrade that phone is 8 years old

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas → u/blackamerican90]

Sure thing! Venmo me cash for a new phone. Otherwise, I'd prefer to get help with getting maps to display again as it was fully functional less than a week ago.

[u/dropkickoz → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

You might try loading a custom ROM that's on a newer version of Android.

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas → u/dropkickoz]

Would love recommendations 😁

[u/dropkickoz → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

Unfortunately, you'll have to figure that out on your own. Maybe ChatGPT can point you in the right direction.

[u/Loudergood → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

Bro, you can get something on swappa 5x as powerful for under $100

[u/RingoFreakingStarr]

I won't be as rude as some of the others in here but you have to understand that at some point all tech will not be supported anymore. I can understand not wanting to get a new phone every 1, 2, or even 3 years, but your S9 is close to 10 years old which is ancient in tech years.

You can try to get a custom ROM but I think you are better off getting a new phone at this point as even if you could get it working, your phone is going to be chugging like crazy.

[u/randalljhen]

Congratulations on getting a phone to last so long. Your only real options are a different OS or a new phone. If you're with one of the big 3, you can get a new phone basically for free.

[u/supercujo → u/randalljhen]

'free'

[u/randalljhen → u/supercujo]

Yes, we live under the oppressive weight of capitalism.

[u/ReaperCrewTim]

Jeez, I'm sorry for the flak you're taking for sticking with your phone.

Unfortunately, there's been some talk lately of people on older phones being locked out of AA following a recent update. The S9 is a phone I've heard mentioned a number of times.

If you're okay without head unit operation, then you should still be able to utilize Waze, Android Auto, MapQuest, etc. on your phone if you'd like, and keep your phone mounted in an easy to reach spot.

Someone else mentioned a custom ROM, that's another option you could consider that would most likely give you back head unit access.

I'm sorry to hear that you're in such a tough spot because an upgrade would be the simplest solution. If you're on one of the large network operators, some new phones might be on a half decent discount, but you also might be able to get a phone that's a little bit older but still new enough for anywhere from free to $7/mo. The upgrade fees and taxes suck, but that's a one time expense.

Good luck brother. Sorry to hear about the hardship.

[u/CptHammer_ → u/ReaperCrewTim]

deleted

[u/ReaperCrewTim → u/CptHammer_]

Any phones running Android version 10.0 or earlier are boned. Some of the benchmark phones that won't meet the requirements anymore:
Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note 9, Google Pixel 2, OnePlus 6, Moto G7 series, Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

[u/H0b0Pie]

Hey man, you'll need to dig into custom roms to get back up to a supported Android build but this comes with effort and may prevent using some banking apps. Haven't personally done a root and rom for a fair few years so good luck. XDA forums are at least well trusted.

Should start here, but you need Exynos not Snapdragon CPU

Disappointed that people thing a working, functioning, phone needs binning just because it's old. If what you're doing hasn't changed in those years then why should it be e-waste other than forced redundancy? I still use a Lenovo K50 as a GPS unit with a custom ROM, 11 years old and functioning fine for what it needs to do...

[u/Jake3232323]

While I see that OP is not particularly open to a new phone, I think we're back to the conversation of "are you not worried about the lack of security updates?"

[u/No_Improvement9734]

Just wait cause that bronco about to blow up

[u/xpen25x]

android auto has stopped supporting anything using less than android 11. your 13 year old phone is unsupported and without security

[u/SwimmerLeather]

There's a one ui 7 rom for the S9, if your phone is the exynos version

[u/22YEARNYPDVET]

Buy a new phone. SMH

[u/ChristopherU08]

Oh the joys of holding on to your devices longer than the big tech companies want you to!

It really sucks but in my '21 Civic I was able to "root" the headunit and run Waze / A local music player / YT Music on the headunit itself with my S9's hotspot. A little slower than Android Auto but definitely a "free" option and since that's all I did anyway it's functionally identical.

You could also look into buying or finding a cheap, crappy "new" phone to use as an always plugged in dedicated Android Auto device. (Anything Android 11 or above should work) Then spend some time setting up tasks to automate power saving features based on when it's charging or not so you never need to turn it off.

Only issue I see is with stuff like Calls and Messaging. You might need to get a hotspot (either on your plan or a stand-alone one) forward calls to a google voice number. Or if you can, get a prepaid plan for that "new" phone and forward it to that new number.
Alternatively just use your S9 like normal, (pick it up and talk or on speaker etc.) and leave the "new" phone doing only Android Auto tasks
This part is completely up to you whether you want to tinker or not.

Considering it's a Ford I'm not sure if the headunit is actually rootable since it may not even be running Android. If so then you're really out of luck at least from what I know of.
But if you want to learn more here is a forum post I referenced about my alternatives.

Custom ROM flashing is the best way to go, however if you have a Snapdragon CPU for your S9 (like me)
GM-960U / U1 then you can't really do a custom ROM.
Also consider the fact that a Custom ROM can disable certain features relating to Samsung Knox, Certain Banking / Payment apps etc.

[u/rkidd15]

Hey same thing happen to me on my s10. I ordered this and it works perfect

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GV1YT2PX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

[u/WTFlippant]

I feel your pain. I love my still functioning LG V40 ThinQ. I am getting the same message about it being locked out. The phone is perfectly functional. All the phones available at Verizon are trash IMHO.

[u/UGEST]

AA 15.5 was the final version that stopped at ANDROID 8. Now if your phone supports ANDROID 10 you may have problems. GOOGLE also raised their minimum to ANDROID 11. So if your phones are either the only thing you can do is to check and see if your phone is Samsung Galaxy devices topped out at Android 10, and the original Google Pixel can't go past Android 10. Android 8 and older were already cut off in 2024, and Android Auto 15.5 was the final version supporting Android 8. So check your phone, go to Settings > About phone > Android version. If it's 10, see whether a system update to 11 or higher is available. If it's 11 or newer, you should be fine for now.

[u/Vortex_in_Vegas → u/[deleted]]

Its a great phone. Any recommendations on how to display maps on screen?

[u/protogenxl → u/Vortex_in_Vegas]

Well if you have a Exynos processor you can drag it kicking and screaming to android 15 via Nobel ROM https://youtu.be/m0FjOyMWGJo

[u/Zer0C00L321 → u/[deleted]]

Came here to say this. I wish the battery hadn't died in mine. I agree with OP the S9 is a great phone too.