S22 ultra not displaying songs on Bluetooth stereo, music plays but no steering wheel controls S

[Oldskuldub]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

Samsung Galaxy S8,

Samsung Galaxy S22 ultra 

Operating System

S8 Android 9,

S22 ultra Android 12

My Question or Issue

My S8 works perfectly fine using Spotify through my Bluetooth car stereo. With my new S22 ultra, the sound will play but no display of what songs playing and steering wheel controls will not work. This is kind of a problem while I'm driving. I have to pick up my phone and hit skip on my phone to go to the next song. I followed previous instructions to clear the cache and program and reinstall it, this has not solved the problem. I even unpaired everything, still has same results....S8 works, S22 ultra does not.

S8 is running Spotify version 8.7.42.943.

S22 ultra is running Spotify version 8.7.58.460. 

2013 Subaru STI Sport Tech Limited, with the factory pioneer DVD stereo. Completely stock.

Is there a solution to this? Seems to be software related. Is there anyway I can get Spotify version 8.7.42.943 or equivalent installed on my brand new s22 ultra?

[Yordan]

Hi @Oldskuldub!

You can try changing the currently selected Bluetooth Codec on your phone to see if that does the trick. In order to do that, you need to have Developer mode enabled:

1. Go to your phone's Settings > About phone > Software information.
2. Tap on Build number continuously until you unlock Developer mode.

Once a Developer, you'll see a Developer options section under your phone's Settings. Tap on it and scroll to Bluetooth Audio Codec to change it. Experiment with different Codecs (SBC, AptX, LDAC, etc.) to see which one works best with your car.

Let us know how it goes. Cheers!

[Oldskuldub]

Unfortunately it won't let me choose HD audio therefore the Bluetooth codec can't be changed from SBC. I tried this when connecting to the car stereo with no luck. If I try just to a Bluetooth speaker, it allows me but not to the car audio deck. 

[Alex]

Hi there @Oldskuldub,

Thanks for the post and the info.

The functionality of the car head unit and steering wheel controls depends largely on the car stereo hardware and not so much on the Spotify app itself.

I'd suggest reaching out about this to the head unit manufacturer, since they can give you more info on what can be done so that the controls and music metadata work as expected with your hardware.

Alternatively, you can try connecting via USB cable to see if that works better.

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[Oldskuldub]

Okay. I just don't understand how it worked on my Samsung S8 for years and still works perfect today. But with my brand new Samsung S22 Ultra it does not work. Seems like a compatibility issue because I know it works with the S8. I may reach out to Samsung as the Pioneer DVD head unit is from 2013 and may not be supported anymore.

I know the steering wheel controls and data will display when I'm running my music through a microSD card. And everything works flawlessly as well with the S8 using Spotify app. But doesn't work with the s22 using Spotify.

Thank you for your time. I may reach out later if more information comes from Samsung.