The OP stated that the issue didn’t occur with the tech’s phone, which means the head unit is capable of playing it correctly. This is where my experiences come into play.
I recently posted on these same forums about my irregular and problematic Android Auto experiences with my phone and my 2020 Ascent Limited. I especially opined after an update right after Christmas. Reliability was terrible and I was searching for any help. (Terrible playback from audio services, text playback was non-existent, and speech recognition was awful … when all of these things worked fairly well previously.)
Anyway, I gave up on trying to find a solution and dealt with it. But what I failed to mention in my post was that I had a Samsung Galaxy S8+ (circa 2017) running android 9 (Pie). This is relevant because my carrier was only providing security updates for my phone, but not any Operating System updates.
Three weeks ago I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and it’s CRAZY how much better Android Auto is! I can connect my phone (same cable as before) and will be showing Waze and playing my Spotify podcast in less than 4 seconds (literally). Previously, it was an act of magic for the first connection to work! Voice commands? Flawless! I am actually stoked with it. And, no, I didn’t do anything to the head unit!
The S21 is running Android 11 (which is the latest release) … but for iPhone folks that means nothing … but maybe not! What it really means is to make sure your device is updated as much as possible (Android / iOS) and not to expect too much from older devices. The key part here is that your phone is essentially a computer, but the systems and applications you use are layered processes on that device.
Even though your Spotify / Amazon Music / Youtube APP is up to date, that app is simply a layer of processing on your phone’s operating system (Android / iOS) which is also a layer of processing on the physical resources of your phone (processor, ram, etc.).
Anyway, I had amazing results when my phone device upgraded. Night and day! If the tech didn’t have any issues, maybe you could compare and contrast those details. Of course, this isn’t reason enough to upgrade phones, but may help explain expectations versus reality, and if your device is a little older … maybe that is a cause.
