Seek Button Stopped Working for Bluetooth Audio / Android

Discussion in 'Prime Audio, Electronics, and Infotainment' started by allicatrules, Jun 28, 2021.

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  1. allicatrules

    allicatrules New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2021
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Hi Everyone,

    I have a 2018 Toyota Prius Prime Premium. Up until recently, the bluetooth audio was working great. I have a Pixel 2 and it's connected to the bluetooth for almost 7 months with no issues. However, just recently a new problem emerged that I cannot seem to figure out.

    The seek buttons on the left hand side of the steering wheel, which normally allow me to skip the track I'm on and proceed to the next, is no longer working. BUT it's very specific. If when I first turn the car on and am sitting in my garage, I manually connect Spotify and play music (meaning I press play physically on my phone with my finger) then the seek button and all audio controls from my steering wheel/dash work. I am able to control the music on my phone with the car, no issue. If, however, I use verbal commands to have google assistant play music (something I do often to go hands free in the car) then NONE of the music controls work. The music will play, and the bluetooth will recognize the phone//song, but the seek buttons and the play/pause button on the dash stop working.

    It's such a weird issue, but so annoying! I have tried forgetting the device from my phone and reconnecting, restarting both my car and the phone etc - still no luck.

    Has this happened to anyone?
     
    #1 allicatrules, Jun 28, 2021
  2. illumiN8i

    illumiN8i Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2018
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    Location:
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Try setting "Bluetooth AVRCP Version" to 1.3 in Developer options on your Pixel phone.
     
    #2 illumiN8i, Jul 22, 2021
  3. speedwagon

    speedwagon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2016
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    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    What illumiN8i has said. Newer Android versions default to Bluetooth AVRCP 1.4, which kinda works but kinda doesn't - the buttons don't act as they should, sometimes they work, most of the time they don't. Setting it to 1.3 makes all buttons work properly for me.

    Go into Settings -> About phone, find "Build number" section and keep tapping it until it says that you are now a developer. You should see a new menu option show up: Settings -> System -> [Advanced] -> Developer options. Inside Developer options menu you should see "Bluetooth AVRCP version". Set that to 1.3. That's it. Disable and enable back Bluetooth so that your phone re-connects to the car and everything should work now. You can hide the developer options menu with a toggle at the top of Developer options section if you don't want it to be shown, or you can leave it be.
     
    #3 speedwagon, Dec 15, 2021
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