Privacy message on screen - new Golf 8

[JBR999]

Have you been able to connect any other phone successfully using the exact same cable? The reason I ask is that not all USB cables are created equal and there are surprisingly large number of third-party cables out there that are fine for charging a phone with (which is all 90% of people use them for) but absolutely bobbins for transferring data (one cable I tried on my old Mk7.5 made the head unit have an absolute fit). It might entail enlisting the help of friends/relatives but trying different phones with the same cable or different cables with the same phone might identify where the issue lies.

Speaking from my own experience then I couldn't connect my phone to the car upon handover either. That turned out to be a missing digital certificate on the head unit when one of the techs ran diagnostics, although if your wife's phone works OK then its probably not that.

Firstly, I'd like to say how grateful I am that so many people are willing to help with this problem.

Yes, the same USB cable has been used by both my wife and myself, and she's had no problems.
I'm sure the problem must lie with my phone and the only thing I can think of is that I have some setting on my phone which is causing problems... but what?

Unless you have an extremely frugal data allowance I wouldn't be constantly turning wifi off and on, and it would be dangerous to be fiddling with your phone or your head unit settings whilst driving in any case. The amount of background data the car will try and use isn't much at all in any case. Android Auto only works over USB (only Apple CarPlay supports wireless only) so battery usage whilst hotspotting won't be a consideration as your phone will be being charged from the cable.

No, there's no way I'd fiddle with my phone whilst driving (it's illegal anyway!).
What I meant was that I'd set up the map using WiFi before setting off and, perhaps on a long journey (I wouldn't need to do it for a short journey anyway), I'd stop and reconnect to WiFi to update the traffic information before resuming the journey.
Of course, if Google Maps doesn't need to download a lot of data whilst in use, I could leave WiFi (mobile data) on all the time. Perhaps I should check how much data it uses whilst in use.

Battery usage isn't a problem as I always leave the USB cable connected anyway when the phone is in use.

[bfr]

The only other thing I can suggest as a general thing to try is completely uninstalling the Android Auto app and reinstalling. Reboot your phone too in case something got in a funny state.

[JBR999]

The only other thing I can suggest as a general thing to try is completely uninstalling the Android Auto app and reinstalling. Reboot your phone too in case something got in a funny state.

Thank you.
My wife and I have just been out to the car and tried to pair my phone again, this time following exactly the same procedure she did with her phone. The car recognises my phone, but it cannot pair it to the car. One difference this time is that the two icons that appeared before next to my phone on the infotainment screen (phone and something else) have now been joined by icons for Mirror Link and Android Auto, so I suppose you could call that progress. Unfortunately, I still get the message that the car cannot connect to my phone.
I'm pretty sure that the problem lies in my phone and not the car.

Following your suggestion above, I have now uninstalled Android Auto from my phone and downloaded it again. I'll try it in the car again later when I have time. Thanks again.

[bfr]

Thank you.
My wife and I have just been out to the car and tried to pair my phone again, this time following exactly the same procedure she did with her phone. The car recognises my phone, but it cannot pair it to the car. One difference this time is that the two icons that appeared before next to my phone on the infotainment screen (phone and something else) have now been joined by icons for Mirror Link and Android Auto, so I suppose you could call that progress. Unfortunately, I still get the message that the car cannot connect to my phone.
I'm pretty sure that the problem lies in my phone and not the car.

Following your suggestion above, I have now uninstalled Android Auto from my phone and downloaded it again. I'll try it in the car again later when I have time. Thanks again.

When you get the icons up for MirrorLink and Android Auto is it possible to interact (i.e. press) them? IIRC then Samsung were one of the few phone makers who supported MirrorLink (which seems to be pretty much a dead standard now) so maybe you need to click on the Android Auto icon to make it choose that path?

[JBR999]

When you get the icons up for MirrorLink and Android Auto is it possible to interact (i.e. press) them? IIRC then Samsung were one of the few phone makers who supported MirrorLink (which seems to be pretty much a dead standard now) so maybe you need to click on the Android Auto icon to make it choose that path?

No. Sorry for the confusion. There have always been two large icons for Android Auto and Mirror Link on the screen, and I have always clicked the Android Auto one as I'd prefer to use that one.
The four smaller icons appear separately next to my S8, along with the same four next to my wife's S10, one above the other on the same screen. The four icons are, in line: Mirror Link, Android Auto, Phone and something else - may be music? Earlier, the Mirror Link and Android Auto icons didn't appear next to my S8, but did appear next to my wife's S10.
The fact that those two now appear (the same as my wife's) hopefully suggests that some sort of progress has been made.

I'll try to pair the phone again tomorrow.

Incidentally, I removed the Data Plug from the car, as suggested earlier and have also now uninstalled WeConnect and WeConnectGo from the phone in case they were interfering in some way.

[JBR999]

No. I have tried again to pair my Samsung Galaxy S8 to the car via Android Auto. Still the same 'cannot connect' message.
I am at a loss to think of anything else to try, so I must accept that for some reason my phone is not capable of connecting to the car.
Thank you everyone who has tried to help.
Sadly, I have had no suggestions at all on the Samsung forum.

[chromecheese]

Did you manage to get rid of this message? it's driving me mad on mine because i leave the screen switched off most of the time and it keeps that message on until i dismiss it manually every time i start the car!