I have a 2016 Octavia SEL estate - of course - with an amudsen Infotainment system. Can't work out how to listen to Iplayer radio - now called Sounds - running from my phone on it. Don't have Android Auto or Apple car play enabled as too mean to pay the 130 quid for the activation. Just want to listen to previous episodes of George Elliot's Middlemarch. Any help much appreciated. Knowing how popular the Octavia estates are on this forum confident that someone can help me out
I don't have a 2016 Octavia but I do have a 2015 Civic, and to do stuff like that I just pair my phone to the car via Bluetooth, then the car looks like a giant pair of headphones on wheels to the phone.
Can run spotify from my phone to the infotainment system via bluetooth but not Iplayer radio running on my phone.
That's *very* odd. To the phone the car is just a speaker. Maybe the Sounds app is trying to be clever and letting you pick the output? Is there an 'devices' button somewhere to pick where the audio is going?
Ummm, can't you just attach the phone via the USB socket and select USB as a source? Then just play BBC sounds on the phone.
Also, I didn't know you had to activate android auto - I presume you've checked but are you sure you don't mean the other Skoda box of tricks that involves the car connecting to the web via your phone?
Don’t have Android Auto or Apple car play enabled as too mean to pay the 130 quid for the activation.
I thought it was only BMW who made owners cough up a fee to use CarPlay? A Sportage I took to Bristol earlier this week would let me link my phone if I could be bothered, with no cost, it’s built in to the system.
Ummm, can’t you just attach the phone via the USB socket and select USB as a source? Then just play BBC sounds on the phone.
This. If I have to take a car off site, I can’t be arsed to phaff around syncing my phone via BT or CarPlay, if available I just connect my phone to the car via a USB > Lightning cable to keep the phone charged while using the satnav and either use the car radio, then the voice directions come over the top while the radio fades slightly, or I’ll select the phone via USB and play music via the satnav app.
Pretty sure Sounds would play through the car’s infotainment system so long as it’s been selected on the phone and is actually playing - once the correct source is selected on the car, it’s should pass through just like music from the phone’s player.
youshouldknowbetter
Member
Can run spotify from my phone to the infotainment system via bluetooth but not Iplayer radio running on my phone.
You sure, you just need the phone attached as a generic media device I would’ve thought, then it’ll just play whatever audio should be coming out of the speaker (you can even listen to YouTube for example)
It works on mine either via Bluetooth or through usb connection. Once I've selected it on the phone, then press the "media" option on the infotainment screen and it comes up on there with buttons to play/pause etc'. Mine's an 18 plate though and I've not messed with any settings which might affect it.
Sounds App does have some idiosyncrasies, so can you revert to iPlayer Radio (is this still possible)?
That might be easier / better than Sounds.
I had a similar vintage (66) yeti and paid up to get Android Auto and Car Play.
In retrospect, was worth it.
YMMV.
Can't test is as my Octavia is sitting in a workshop awaiting £6,500 worth of replacemnt engine to be fitted...
...but it should be as simple as bringing up what you want to play in Sounds app, pressing "Available Devices", then "AirPlay and Bluetooth", then it brings up the standard iOS window to select the output - where you would select the bluetooth connection to the car.
Though actually you talk about Android Auto and VarPlay so not sure whether you are looking for advice for an iPhone or Android.
Does your head unit have the mirrorlink function? If so i think it’s a simple firmware hack to update it with CarPlay/droid auto. Check the VCDS forums and YouTube videos of dubious provenance.
If not then you’re restricted to streaming over USB or A2DB. I do this in my abarth which doesn’t have car play. BBC sounds, as crippled by offshore development as it it, doesn’t have a problem with this: head unit just sees it as an iPod and phone just sees it as an audio destination. In fact I have to run an app specifically to block A2DB (why I can’t flick a switch and disable this is beyond me) as the USB iPod integration is almost as good as car play.