6.2" Starlink worse than $8 Bluetooth speaker?!?!

[motrek]

Just bought my new 2018 BRZ last Saturday. Been having headaches with the Bluetooth since then but today it drove me bats**t insane.

As a preface, I've used my phone with a bunch of Bluetooth audio stuff. I own Bluetooth headphones, a Bluetooth portable speaker, and a Bluetooth hockey-puck-shaped receiver for my old car. They all work fine, and basically function as if they were plugged into my iPhone's 3.5mm aux port. But, you know, wireless.

This Starlink head unit? Not as much.

- First of all, it takes 15-25 seconds to connect, after I start the car. How is that acceptable when every other Bluetooth device takes 2 seconds? That means if I want to queue up something on my phone to play in the car, I have to sit there just waiting for the damn thing to connect for AGES before I can hit play and drive away.

- Second, after it connects, it seems to automatically try to play whatever I was last playing on my phone. Or it just gives up and plays the first damn song in my library by alphabetical order. Why? If I want to play something from my phone, I'll initiate playback from my phone, just like with every other Bluetooth device I've ever used.

- Of course, once it starts automatically playing, it displays the volume indicator at the bottom of the screen such that it obstructs the play/pause button for 4-5 seconds. WTF.

So up until this point, here's the scenario. I get in my new car. I want to play something (usually a podcast) on the stereo via Bluetooth. Wait 5-10 seconds. The head unit isn't connecting so I decide f**k it and start driving away. Then, as I'm halfway down the road, the head unit FINALLY connects and then starts playing god-knows-what automatically. Which I have to listen to and can't turn off because the f**king button is obscured on-screen. This whole situation is already f**king unacceptable.

But it gets worse. Today I was going to go for a longer drive to a destination I'm unfamiliar with. So I put on a podcast via the stereo and also run my turn-by-turn navigation app. As I've done for the last 4-5 years in my BMW via my $20 Bluetooth receiver plugged into the aux port.

THE SUBARU HEAD UNIT SOMEHOW AUTOMATICALLY MUTES THE TURN-BY-TURN DIRECTIONS. WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. F**K.

So now I'm driving along, listening to my podcast, and it cuts out whenever Google Maps tells me to do something. The screen literally says "MUTE" at the bottom. I don't even know how the head unit can tell that the phone is trying to read me some directions but it seems like somebody at Subaru has actively put a lot of work into inconveniencing me and trying to make me so angry that I might have a seizure.

Am I not understanding something here? Is this how things are supposed to work with this car? Is my brand new car stereo supposed to be unspeakably worse than an $8 Bluetooth speaker that I can buy in the checkout line of my grocery store? I don't even understand what's going on. I can't be the only person thinking this?? Am I doing something wrong here somehow??

[NCtoBRZ]

It's not you, the factory head unit really is that terrible. It is slow, connects at random with BT and sounds like garbage. The only real solution is to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit, which will fix all of those problems. I bought my BRZ planning from day one to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit because I wanted Android Auto (which wasn't available as a factory option for the 2017 model) and I could tell even on the test drive that the factory 6.2" system was garbage.

[motrek]

Originally Posted by NCtoBRZ

It's not you, the factory head unit really is that terrible. It is slow, connects at random with BT and sounds like garbage. The only real solution is to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit, which will fix all of those problems. I bought my BRZ planning from day one to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit because I wanted Android Auto (which wasn't available as a factory option for the 2017 model) and I could tell even on the test drive that the factory 6.2" system was garbage.

Yeah might go that route.

At this point, I've found a workaround... I usually listen to podcasts in my car... so after I start the car, I start playing the podcast I want on my phone and rewind it 90 seconds... when the car finally connects to my phone, it's playing what I want and I haven't missed any content (usually)...

It's an embarrassment that I have to do this, but it's working. (Except that it still mutes turn-by-turn directions. But at least I can listen to my podcasts.)

I contacted Subaru support about this and am in an email conversation with them. Ideally they would release a firmware update to their device to fix these problems but I'm not holding my breath obviously.

[Leonardo]

The base HU in the 13' is way worse.

[HKz]

shoulda gone with the civic

[motrek]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

The base HU in the 13' is way worse.

What's super annoying (other than the head unit being horrible) is that I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is.

Every Bluetooth audio device that doesn't have a screen works exactly as you would expect/hope. Earbuds, headphones, portable speakers, etc. etc.

The car's head unit has a screen and tries to be too smart by half. It wants to display the name of the track you're playing, the album art, the other songs in the current playlist, etc. This presumably requires the head unit to interface with the phone via a different Bluetooth profile and that's causing all the problems.

If the head unit just went the simpler route of just connecting and playing audio, I'm sure it would be fine.

So what kills me is that there isn't a button to do exactly this in the UI somewhere. It seems like it would be super easy to add via firmware, maybe have it be a setting somewhere, or hell, even an easter egg that they could tell customers about if they complained...

As a software developer myself, I'm pretty sure I could sort all of this out if they gave me access to the source code and a couple weeks. But of course that's never going to happen.

[motrek]

Originally Posted by HKz

shoulda gone with the civic

Yes, yes, if I want to listen to a podcast in my BRZ then I'm not "getting it."

I should just drive the car to the closest track and leave the keys in it and Uber home.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by motrek

What's super annoying (other than the head unit being horrible) is that I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is.

Every Bluetooth audio device that doesn't have a screen works exactly as you would expect/hope. Earbuds, headphones, portable speakers, etc. etc.

The car's head unit has a screen and tries to be too smart by half. It wants to display the name of the track you're playing, the album art, the other songs in the current playlist, etc. This presumably requires the head unit to interface with the phone via a different Bluetooth profile and that's causing all the problems.

If the head unit just went the simpler route of just connecting and playing audio, I'm sure it would be fine.

So what kills me is that there isn't a button to do exactly this in the UI somewhere. It seems like it would be super easy to add via firmware, maybe have it be a setting somewhere, or hell, even an easter egg that they could tell customers about if they complained...

As a software developer myself, I'm pretty sure I could sort all of this out if they gave me access to the source code and a couple weeks. But of course that's never going to happen.

IMO, Bluetooth sounds terrible. I have a headphone-in cord that I use on my new Sony head unit for music. ( I suppose that a pod cast would sound the same though) The sony is my third head unit. I replaced the stock unit with a DVD Pioneer screen that I never used.


The Sound is MUCH better from my new sony compared to either of the older units.


A software developer; you must have listened to your career counselor.

[8RZ]

Talk about your #firstworldproblems.

[Dadhawk]

There is a delay at start-up, but I think you are forgetting that most of the devices you are talking about working better are single function devices. They are remote speakers. The headunit allows control of the device which means there is more handshaking going on, etc. Also as it starts up it is potentially connecting to GPS, looking for satellites, etc.

In my several vehicles I have higher end Kenwood and Pioneer units in most. They basically all have some delay when you start the car, and all of them try to automatically play the last thing you were playing. The integration varies between the models but there is some "pain point" in every one.

That said, the '14 Scion Pioneer I have in my 86 probably is the worst of them in terms of connectivity. Overall, I think the headunit is underpowered (CPU wise) and that is the primary issue. Oddly enough it is the one where the voice recognition seems to work the best though.

[HKz]

Originally Posted by motrek

Yes, yes, if I want to listen to a podcast in my BRZ then I'm not "getting it."

I should just drive the car to the closest track and leave the keys in it and Uber home.

well yes it does appear you aren't getting it if the headunit is already this aggravating this early in the relationship lol. in that whole thread we warned you this car is literally about driving, most everything else is pretty shitty even compared to a typical compact/midsize sedan as toyota and subaru spent the bare minimum for non driving related features. either way, it is very simple and affordable to replace the headunit...

[motrek]

Originally Posted by HKz

well yes it does appear you aren't getting it if the headunit is already this aggravating this early in the relationship lol. in that whole thread we warned you this car is literally about driving, most everything else is pretty shitty even compared to a typical compact/midsize sedan as toyota and subaru spent the bare minimum for non driving related features. either way, it is very simple and affordable to replace the headunit...

This has literally nothing to do with how much they spent on the unit or what corners they cut. They didn't save a single dollar or man-hour of work by having the head unit be s**tty. I can get an $8 portable bluetooth speaker at the supermarket that works better, and that includes the speaker driver and a battery. The software in this head unit is simply poorly designed and it would take them minimal effort to sort it out if they were so inclined.

[motrek]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

There is a delay at start-up, but I think you are forgetting that most of the devices you are talking about working better are single function devices. They are remote speakers. The headunit allows control of the device which means there is more handshaking going on, etc. Also as it starts up it is potentially connecting to GPS, looking for satellites, etc.

In my several vehicles I have higher end Kenwood and Pioneer units in most. They basically all have some delay when you start the car, and all of them try to automatically play the last thing you were playing. The integration varies between the models but there is some "pain point" in every one.
...

Yeah, that's a shame. Designed correctly, embedded versions of Linux can boot in 1-2 seconds and then a head unit based on Linux could recognize that it should just function as a Bluetooth receiver (if it was set to that mode the last time it was used) and start doing that. Initializing all the other features could be done afterwards, in parallel, in the background.

Thanks for letting me know that other head units are also kinda s**tty these days. I was worried about that possibly being the case if I tried to solve the problem by buying another head unit.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by motrek

Thanks for letting me know that other head units are also kinda s**tty these days.

I wouldn't go that far, but they all have their quarks. For example the Pioneer 4200NEX I have in my Suburban starts playing Bluetooth almost the instant you turn on the car, but it takes it "forever" (probably 15 seconds) to get to the point where you can enter a waypoint in the GPS. The Kenwood in MomHawk's Mustang is the opposite. Mapping comes up quickly but Bluetooth takes a few seconds.

I agree that would make the most sense is for it to focus on whatever you were using last, first.

Overall The 4200NEX seems to be the best all around of the three or four I have except for it's insistence on a playa' 70's disco color schemes and interface. It has a control app for your phone where your corider can enter things into the GPS, and it updates maps through your phone.