Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

91 Apple CarPlay or Android Auto complaints (blank MMI screen, no audio, does not connect, etc.)
91 16 63 2044024/2 July 26, 2016. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 91 number 16-42 dated May 6,
2016 for reasons listed below.
Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

A4

2017 - 2019

All

Audi smartphone interface

Q7

2017 - 2019

All

Audi smartphone interface

Condition
REVISION HISTORY
Revision

Date

Purpose

2

-

Revised Condition (Added Android Auto screen display issue)
Revised Technical Background (Added explanation of how system works)
Revised Service (Updated solution for issue of Android Auto not automatically
starting when the phone is connected to the USB port; added Android Auto screen
display issue)

1

5/6/2016

Initial publication

The customer may experience any of the following static or sporadic issues with the Audi smartphone interface
(ASI) system:
•

The MMI screen is blank after the phone is connected to the USB port.

•

The MMI screen freezes when Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is used.

•

Apple CarPlay or Android Auto does not automatically start when the phone is connected to the USB port.

•

The MMI sporadically displays an "Unlock Phone" message to allow ASI to be used.

•

The left thumbwheel button on the steering wheel cannot be used to start or end a phone call.

•

The Android Auto screen does not fill the complete area of the MMI display.

Technical Background
The Audi smartphone interface (ASI) was introduced to the MIB2 MMI system in model year 2017 Q7 and A4
vehicles. MIB2 MMI includes two different systems: the MIB2 High Scale without Audi connect and the MIB2 High
Navigation system with Audi connect. As with the older Audi music interface (AMI) system, the user experience
can vary (different features and functions) based on the customer's device type and device firmware connected to
the USB ports in the vehicle.

Page 1 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

How the system works
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both send video and audio to the MMI. The MMI displays the video signal on the
screen and plays the audio signal through the speakers. This relationship is similar to how a media device (DVD
player, Blu-ray player, AppleTV, etc.) connects to a home television. The MMI is the television and the smartphone
is the media device. But, the MMI can send requests to the smartphone because the MMI also functions like a
remote control. When the smartphone does not send a signal to the MMI, the customer may perceive this as a
problem with the MMI. But, the issue almost always lies with the smartphone because the phone is providing the
audio and video. It is important that the customer understands the relationship between the smartphone and MMI.

Apple CarPlay (Figure 1) Minimum Requirements
Device: Lightning-capable iPhones, starting with the iPhone 5 and including all
new versions of the iPhone (iPads are not supported).
Device Firmware: CarPlay is built into Apple's iOS, so having the latest update is
recommended because constant improvements in usability and stability are
introduced with updates to iOS. There are significant stability improvements with
the latest iOS firmware when compared to the early versions of iOS 8.X, which also
supported CarPlay.

Carplay
Figure 1. Apple CarP/ay icon.

Android Auto (Figure 2) Minimum Requirements
Device: Any Android Device with a USB connection and support for the official
Google Play Store. Amazon Fire and other Android phones using a proprietary
operating system that doesn't natively come with Google Services are not
supported.
Device Firmware: Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher is required, along with the
Android Auto app. Android 4.0 KitKat and lower are not supported. Unlike CarPlay,
the official Android Auto app must be separately downloaded from the Google Play
store.
Phones that are rooted and have a "Custom ROM" installed are not officially
supported. Phones where the Android Auto app is "side-loaded" by means outside
of the Google Play store are not supported.

Figure 2. Android Auto icon.

Production Solution
Not applicable.

Page 2 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

Service
Before proceeding, note that ASI (Audi smartphone interface) = Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Issue: The MMI screen goes blank after the phone is connected to the USB port, and ASI does not
function until the phone is disconnected from and reconnected to the USB port.
Cause: A known MMI software startup concern with iOS 9.X can cause this issue. If the customer's phone is
connected before the car is started, the issue can occur. Typically, the process can be repeated if the phone is
first connected to the USB port, then the vehicle is started within 1-2 seconds after the phone is connected. The
condition can be sporadic.
Solution: Ask the customer to connect the phone after the car is started and the transmission is still in the park
position. Inform the customer that an iOS software solution is not available at this time. However, Audi has
developed MMI software to help automatically reconnect the MMI to the iPhone when the iPhone
disconnects. Sign the customer up for Pending Service Solution (PSS) 2044130: PSS 91 MM/ screen goes blank
after iPhone is connected to USB port. After the customer is signed up for the PSS, the dealer will be notified
when the MMI software is available.

Issue: The MMI screen freezes when Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is used.
Cause: When the phone freezes or when a background app hangs, it can cause Android Auto to hang
(particularly if the app is supported in Android Auto).
Solution: Ask the customer to uninstall all non-essential apps and restart the phone. Repeat until the issue is
resolved.

Issue: Android Auto does not automatically start when the phone is connected to the USB port.
Cause: Some Android devices (including Samsung Galaxy/Note
devices) require the USB MTP mode to be manually enabled
after the device is connected to the USB port. This is a fault of
the device firmware.
Solution: Ask the customer to update the smartphone device
firmware. As of June 2016, Samsung has provided a firmware
update to fix this concern. If there is no firmware update
available, ask the customer to manually enable USB MTP mode
after connecting the device to the USB port of the vehicle .
•

For most Android devices, this can be done from the
notifications window from the top swipe-down menu (Figure
3).

•

Find the USB notification that indicates "Connected for
Charging".

•

Select this notification to bring up the USB connection
options.

•

Select the mode that connects as "MTP - Media Transport

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Figure 3. USB options in notification window.

Page 3 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

Protocol" (Figure 4).
Unfortunately, this process will need to done each time the
phone is connected to the vehicle or each time the vehicle is
restarted with the phone connected to the USB port. Ask the
customer to report the concern to the device manufacturer if the
firmware update did not resolve the concern.

Figure 4. Media Device (MTP) Selection

Issue: Apple CarPlay does not automatically start when the phone is connected to the USB port.
Cause: Some versions of iOS have known software bugs that
can cause the phone to freeze. If CarPlay does not start, ask the
customer to check the phone by unlocking the phone to confirm
that the top of the screen is blue and shows the CarPlay icon.
Solution: If the phone is not in a valid state with CarPlay
running, ask the customer to force a restart by holding down the
home and sleep/power buttons simultaneously (Figure 5) for at
least ten seconds until the Apple Logo appears. This will close
any misbehaving apps that may prevent the phone from being
restarted using the normal shutdown method. The customer
may want to consider uninstalling all non-essential apps.

Figure 5. Force iOS reset.

Issue: The MMI sporadically displays an "Unlock Phone" message to allow ASI to be used.
Cause: When a new iPhone is first connected to the ASI, iOS
provides a popup notification window to ask the user to allow the
Audi MMI to use the iPhone while the screen is locked (Figure
6). It is easy to miss this notification window, especially if the
phone is already unlocked when it is connected. If the customer
does not allow CarPlay to access the phone while it is locked,
the warning message will appear in the MMI every time the
phone is connected (Figure 7). The customer may subsequently
unlock the iPhone using the Touch ID/fingerprint sensor every
time without knowing there is an option to remove this step.

Allow CarPlay with "Display

Unit" while phone is locked?
Your contacts and other information

will appear on ttii:. oar':. dispfay without
unlocking your IPhone.

Not Now

Allow

Solution: Ask the customer to enable the Audi MMI to access
Figure 6. Allow CarP/ay when screen is locked.
CarPlay with the phone screen locked. To change this setting on
the iPhone, go to Settings»Genera/»CarP/ay»Audi MM/.

Page 4 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

Select the "(i)" next to "Audi MMI", then select "Allow CarPlay
while locked" (Figure 9).

Unlock your !Phone

to start ,CarP'lay
Cancel

Figure 7. Unlock iPhone message in MM/.
( General

CarPlay

If your car supports wireJess CarPlay, press and hold the
voice control button on your steering wheel to start
CarPlay setup.

MY CARS

CD

AUDIMIMI

Figure 8. AUDI MM/ CarP/ay Settings.
( CarPlay

AUDI MMI

Forget This Car

Allow CarP lay Whi le Locked

C)

Figure 9. Setting to "Allow CarP/ay While
Locked".

Page 5 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin

Audi

Issue: The left thumbwheel button on the steering wheel cannot be used to start or end a phone call.
Cause: When the Audi Smartphone Interface is being used, all phone controls are handled directly within
CarPlay/Android Auto. The left thumbwheel button on the steering wheel does not start or end calls.
Issue: The Android Auto screen does not fill the complete area of the MMI display.
Cause: There is an MMI software concern that prevents the
MMI display from showing the full widescreen mode of Android
Auto (Figure 10 and Figure 11).

Figure 10. Android Auto screen not in
wide screen.

Figure 11. Android Auto screen correctly using
wide screen.

Solution: Only vehicles built before calender week 07 /16 can have this concern. Inform the customer that a
solution is pending, and sign the customer up for Pending Service Solution (PSS) 2044860: 91 PSS Android Auto
display does not fill entire MM/ screen. After the customer is signed up for the PSS, the dealer will be notified
when the MMI software is available.

Warranty
This TSB is informational only and not applicable to any Audi warranty.

Additional Information
All parts and service references provided in this TSB (2044024) are subject to change and/or removal. Always
check with your Parts Department and service manuals for the latest information.

Page 6 of 6
© 2016 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights arc reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior
expressed written permission of the publisher.