I’m encountering a frustrating issue trying to connect an OBD2 dongle to my Android 10-inch car radio. Despite my efforts, I haven’t been successful in establishing a connection, and I’m seeking assistance.
The car radio, purchased online, came with minimal support from the seller, typical of some online retailers. I’ve delved into the Bluetooth settings of the Android unit, accessing hidden menus to adjust pairing codes and disable auto-connect, hoping to manually manage the pairing process. I even changed the default pairing code from “0000” to “1234” and disabled auto-connect to ensure manual code entry prompts appear.
However, during the pairing attempt, the code entry prompt disappears prematurely, immediately displaying a “code incorrect” message. This happens even if I try to enter the code rapidly or even if I just click “ok” as quickly as possible, suggesting the issue isn’t with the code itself but with the pairing process within the Android radio. To eliminate potential input issues with the on-screen keyboard, I even tested with a USB keyboard, but the problem persisted.
To illustrate the problem, I recorded a video demonstrating the pairing failure (as shown below).
Does anyone have insights into why this might be happening? Is there a specific app required for OBD2 dongle pairing on these Android car radios? It seems unnecessarily complicated to use OBD2 features with these devices, especially considering their phone and tablet-like functionality. Many users expect seamless OBD2 integration in car Android systems. This difficulty in configuration feels counterintuitive and hinders the usability of the system. It raises concerns about the user-friendliness of Android in car environments.
It’s worth noting that the OBD2 dongles I’m using – a KONNWEI KW902 and a vgate iCar Pro OBD2 Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) – work flawlessly with smartphones, tablets, and laptops using various OBD2 applications like DDT4ALL, indicating the dongles themselves are not the source of the problem.
Any suggestions or guidance on resolving this OBD2 dongle pairing issue with my Android car radio would be greatly appreciated.
