Note 8 disconnecting Gear S3 when connected to car

[convergent]

I've noticed a problem with my Note 8 and Gear S3 when I get in the car. For some reason when I plug into the car for Android Auto, it disconnects the Gear. I think it's connecting to the car by Bluetooth also even though I told it to unpair with the car head unit. The odd thing is that it can be connected to both. If I disconnect the cable to get control of the Note 8 it will connect to the Gear and then they are both connected. Anyone else run into this? Any idea how to troubleshoot it?

The reason this is a problem is that the watch intercepts calls when it's disconnected ted from the phone.

 

[koigirl]

I've noticed a problem with my Note 8 and Gear S3 when I get in the car. For some reason when I plug into the car for Android Auto, it disconnects the Gear. I think it's connecting to the car by Bluetooth also even though I told it to unpair with the car head unit. The odd thing is that it can be connected to both. If I disconnect the cable to get control of the Note 8 it will connect to the Gear and then they are both connected. Anyone else run into this? Any idea how to troubleshoot it?

The reason this is a problem is that the watch intercepts calls when it's disconnected ted from the phone.

Yep I have this same thing going on with my Bluetooth. I couldn’t figure out why calls are periodically coming across on my watch and not my phone. I googled the issue and someone suggested it’s a Bluetooth issue. If you toggle Bluetooth off and back on on your phone, the watch reconnects. ThIs works, but it only fixes the symptom and doesn’t address the problem of why it does it in the first place. This happens only periodically for me - I know it’s one of our SUV’s triggering it - we have a Subaru and a BMW x but I haven’t nailed down which Bluetooth is causing the interference.

 

[convergent]

Yep I have this same thing going on with my Bluetooth. I couldn’t figure out why calls are periodically coming across on my watch and not my phone. I googled the issue and someone suggested it’s a Bluetooth issue. If you toggle Bluetooth off and back on on your phone, the watch reconnects. ThIs works, but it only fixes the symptom and doesn’t address the problem of why it does it in the first place. This happens only periodically for me - I know it’s one of our SUV’s triggering it - we have a Subaru and a BMW x but I haven’t nailed down which Bluetooth is causing the interference.

Is it doing it on Android Auto for you or just Bluetooth? Thinking it's just Bluetooth, I've tried to get it to forget my truck and delete it in Bluetooth settings and it still reconnects. I don't think it was doing this when I first got it, it not positive.

On what site did you find the other person suggesting a fix?

 

[koigirl]

Is it doing it on Android Auto for you or just Bluetooth? Thinking it's just Bluetooth, I've tried to get it to forget my truck and delete it in Bluetooth settings and it still reconnects. I don't think it was doing this when I first got it, it not positive.

On what site did you find the other person suggesting a fix?

I think it was a discussion on Android Central or Reddit. I had just googled a description of the problem bc I was puzzled that calls were going straight to the S3 and bypassing my phone. After reading this discussion, I went into Gear app and realized my watch had disconnected from my phone. Toggling Bluetooth off/on on the phone solved the issue. Samsung has Starlink but I have not been using it and just using Bluetooth both in my BMW and the Subaru. I believe it's a Bluetooth issue although it appears that it links correctly with the watch and car via Bluetooth simultaneously most of the time. Please lemme know if you find a solution that identifies/addresses the underlying Bluetooth issue.

 

[convergent]

I think it was a discussion on Android Central or Reddit. I had just googled a description of the problem bc I was puzzled that calls were going straight to the S3 and bypassing my phone. After reading this discussion, I went into Gear app and realized my watch had disconnected from my phone. Toggling Bluetooth off/on on the phone solved the issue. Samsung has Starlink but I have not been using it and just using Bluetooth both in my BMW and the Subaru. I believe it's a Bluetooth issue although it appears that it links correctly with the watch and car via Bluetooth simultaneously most of the time. Please lemme know if you find a solution that identifies/addresses the underlying Bluetooth issue.

I'll report back here when I figure it out.

 

[convergent]

OK, this has been solved. The order of things was the issue.

When getting in the car, you need to let Bluetooth connect, before you plug in the cable for Android Auto.
When you get to your destination, you need to disconnect the cable before you turn off the car... or turn off the receiver. Bluetooth needs to be first in and last out with the car, or the cable connect will cause it to disconnect the Gear S3.

This explains why it was intermittent, because I'm sure the order varied each trip. I've done it the right way a few times and works every time.

I also discovered something I missed before. I didn't think you could use other Android apps on the phone why Android Auto is running. That's not true. You can bring up Recent Apps and switch between them while connected to Android Auto. So the trick is to make sure you have anything you might want to use running before you connect the cable. This was a con on my list compared to CarPlay that has now been removed.