When there is doubts if a USB cable is broken or not, the most common thing is to go crazy trying different cables, changing the power adapter and also being suspicious of the mobile or device with which you are testing. Well, after the launch of Android Auto 7.4 a few days ago, it has already been seen that the Android Auto 7.5 beta incorporates a novelty regarding the tedious issue of cables.
There is no official confirmation about when this new version of Android Auto will arrive, but if we look at the duration of its latest betas we can guess that it will arrive in a approximately one month. Until then you will only be able to access this new system while in beta, although it must also be said here that not all users seem to have it enabled (at least for the moment).
Android Auto 7.5 as an ally to detect problems with the USB cable
Although there is a way to connect to Android Auto wirelessly, the most common and comfortable in many cases is still to do it via cable. And it is precisely when connecting to the vehicle when you can access the new diagnostic system that Google has incorporated to tell us if the cable is broken or there is another problem.
And it is that, the most frequent when there are Android Auto recognition failures is that it is the cable itself that is damaged. Once you have your Android mobile connected to the car, you must enter “Connection help” in the Android Auto panel to access the new tool. Then you will see that it does not have too much mystery, having only to disconnect and reconnect the cable to start diagnosis.
Google’s system will be able to detect various failures and will also offer you various recommendations to solve it.
This system will be able to differentiate between multiple faults like you are using a charging cable instead of a data cable or that the problem is with the port you have connected it to. This last point is also important, since there are some vehicles that have several USB ports, but not all of them are used to connect the mobile to Android Auto, with some being used exclusively for recharging the device’s battery.
The interesting part comes when the diagnostic tool check cable quality. This is done by analyzing your connection, checking if it tends to disconnect frequently, denoting that the cable is of poor quality or that it is damaged. However, it is also possible that the cable is incompatible and will show up in this new system.
If the diagnostic tool has concluded that your cable is of poor quality, you will have to be the one to make the decision to try any other or buy another that does not cause problems. Regarding the system, it exposes several recommendations such as using a cable less than a meter long, using the original cable that came with your mobile or if it is from another manufacturer, make sure that they comply with the USB IF standards.