![]() If the light is solid, yet you're not getting a connection, it's hard to understand what to do. For instance, flashing green means the device is trying to connect, and a solid light means it has. The LED is the only indication that something might be wrong, but even then, it's not a tell. I also bring up software and troubleshooting because it's hard to know what to do to fix anything that might come up, or even if the MA1 is responsible. Losing that connection means the MA1 is running blind. You may never run into any problems, and resetting it might never be an issue, but as a piece of advice, I would try the reset process first before unpairing it from your phone, in case you're troubleshooting anything. It's one of the potential pitfalls of a device that, while singularly focused, doesn't have an easy way to interface with it when something doesn't seem right. I didn't try factory resetting the second one, but it otherwise functioned without any connectivity problems. I bring this up because the original MA1 Motorola sent me failed to factory reset properly, so they sent a replacement owing to the original possibly being defective. To do so, you have to put it back to factory settings through a series of button presses where the LED changes color to indicate its status. Bluetooth pairings don't make the transition, even if you are migrating from one phone directly to another, which means you have to pair the MA1 all over again. One of my concerns with the MA1 is what happens when it's time to switch phones or vehicles. I could always plug in through a 12V socket charger if I wanted to charge the phone faster. It was pretty negligible, and even at lower battery levels, I was fine. I mostly tested it with the Pixel 6 Pro, and at worst, the MA1 just sipped a little power over the course of a drive. It's not a perfect transition, mind you, and I'll get to that, but general usability left a lot to like.Įven better was that the wireless connection didn't kill my phone's battery. The interface was just as responsive, steering wheel controls work the same way, and so do voice commands. What's even better is that, despite the slower startup, the rest of the Android Auto experience doesn't feel any different. Get a third-party dock, and you've got a pretty slick setup inside the cabin. Using the MA1 alters that reality in a big way, including if your car doesn't have a wireless charging pad. ![]() There are plenty out there that have them - yet also force you to plug in to use Android Auto, which charges the phone at the same time anyway. That is one of the pain points the MA1 can solve, which is to make a wireless charger actually useful, especially if you're driving a vehicle that includes it. I can leave the phone in my pocket, and losing a little battery life is worth it for the convenience.(Image credit: Ted Kritsonis / Android Central) For me, the MA1 is a great addition to the AA experience. Most of my driving consists of short trips, so I spend less than 30 minutes in the car at a time. That means your phone will burn through battery at a rate of 10-20% per hour (depending on your phone's capacity). If you go to all the trouble of getting the MA1, you probably don't want to plug the phone into a charger-that would defeat the purpose. The primary drawback to the MA1 is battery life. I've seen Assistant hang a few times while using the MA1, but I can't say for certain it's the dongle's fault. The most concerning part of the experience is Assistant, which doesn't even work very well over a cable. I have not had any disconnections, and there were only a few hiccups, all almost imperceptible. Using wireless AA in my car feels remarkably like using it wired. ![]() I'm sure running through an external dongle introduces latency, but the good news is that, for once, Android Auto's general sluggishness helps by hiding that shortcoming. ![]() ![]() The 5GHz Wi-Fi connection with the MA1 has more than enough bandwidth to project the AA interface-my phone reported a link speed of about 400Mbps. ![]()
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