Android: Unable to connect Pandora in various vehicles after 2208.1

[TannerPandora]

Pandora Update: 10/6/22

I'd like to again thank everyone for posting their trouble with connecting Android devices to Pandora in the car. We understand how frustrating this experience can be and wanted you to know that we're working hard to resolve this issue.

If you're new to this thread and experience an issue connecting to Pandora with your Android, feel free to post. Your information will be passed along to our engineering ticket.

Updates will continue to be posted in this thread as they are given to the Community Team.

In the meantime, these steps may help to connect to your vehicle:

• First, make sure your phone is not connected to your vehicle via Bluetooth.
• Then, launch Pandora on your phone before starting you car.
• Once Pandora is playing, then connect to your vehicle via Bluetooth.

Thank you all for your continued patience.

Use your mobile device only when conditions allow and as permitted by applicable law.

---

Pandora Update: 9/20/22

Hi everyone! Thanks for posting your experience to community.

Since many of you are having trouble on various Android phones and in different vehicles I've gone ahead and merged all related posts into one thread to help stay organized with updates and information.

If you're new to this thread, please note that this is for Android users who are unable to connect to Pandora in their vehicle or in-vehicle device with version 2208.1 or later.

An internal ticket has been created and our engineering teams are investigating. Updates will be made in this thread as they are made available to us.

We appreciate your continued patience while we look into this.

Use your mobile device only when conditions allow and as permitted by applicable law.

[dabruns]

The short answer is yes, something indeed did change. Android version 12 was released.
As previously pointed out in this tread, Pandora had to make some changes to their app to make it work with the new security requirements of Android 12. But this change now made it incompatible with all earlier versions of Android in regard to connecting with the Pandora feature is many car audio systems.
Pandora’s engineers could have written code to deal with different the versions of Android, but chose not to. Or, they could have released different new app for going forward and leaving the old one available for those with older phones (Android 11 and earlier), but chose not to.
There you have it.

[1Michele]

Just started getting error message. 

Galaxy S21+ 5G

Sm-G9964

Car2010 Toyota corolla 

Error: Cannot connect to Pandora. Please check your network connection and try again. 

Tried:

Rebooting phone

Cleared Pandora cache 

Uninstalled Bluetooth connection from both car and phone 

Uninstalled Pandora and reinstalled Pandora 

Still getting same error message. 

Pandora will play one song in car while phone is connected to Wi-Fi  once the connection is lost it will not continue to play. It gives the connection error message every time. 

This is a recent issue. Never had this problem before. 

[debmeg2003]

WOW!! So you just confirmed that it's not just affecting older versions of Galaxy (Android) phones, seeing as you have a Galaxy S21+ 5G. Your car is a 2010. So not and "old" car. I have a 2015 Buick Encore and a Galaxy (Android) 9S, an older phone but newer car. What gives? Since my issue started in August 2022 I have not read or seeing ANY acceptable reasons why they can't get it right. Only excuses (security...what?) or crickets (from the Pandora Team). Listening to Pandora in my car, as I use to be able to, made my driving experience(s) a little more tolerable. So VERY disappointed that it hasn't been figured out. 

[billyga]

If you read the ABOUT info that accompanies the app in the Play Store you will not find any claim that the app supports the Pandora utility on our radios. If you read the 4th paragraph from the text I copied below, you can see that Pandora now supports Android Auto where all control of the app is verbal:

Get instant access to your favorite artists, albums, playlists, and podcasts

Pandora gives you a personalized listening experience that continually evolves with your tastes.

Create stations from your favorite songs, artists or genres, search or browse to find recommended stations for your mood or activity, and discover podcasts that speak to you. Download today and get instant access to your favorite artists and podcasts, while staying up to date on the most recent singles and releases. From rap and pop to rock and country, play your favorite artists and stay up to date on today’s top hits and releases. Start streaming all of the current global hits and enjoy your own personalized music experience.

Take Pandora with you wherever you go with Android Auto for your daily commute or your next road trip. Enjoy your own personalized music or podcast experience from anywhere on the world’s most powerful music discovery platform. The new voice mode lets you search, play, pause, skip adjust volume & thumb up music with a simple voice command. Start streaming your favorite artist, song, genre, or podcast instantly today for free in your car.

Enjoy everything Pandora has to offer right from the convenience of your wrist, with Google’s Wear OS. With a quick tap, you can control media playback such as play/pause, replay, skip, thumbs, and more. No phone necessary.

With Podcasts on Pandora, find your favorites and listen to personalized recommendations that actually make sense. Just search on your mobile phone or tablet and play to start listening, then tap + to add to your collection. Find something new by simply browse and tap recommended podcasts to find over 1,400 podcasts, including SiriusXM shows, on-demand whether you're on Pandora Premium, Plus or Radio.

[DP1955]

It happened to me in late 2022. The only way I can listen to pandora is to switch from bluetooth audio source to auxiliary on my 2015 tahoe and use a cable from phone to the jack in the console. I have to plug it in after pandora starts playing music otherwise it won't pass to the car stereo. PITA but I get to listen to pandora.

[SAS18]

I have posted in this thread previously about how to delete the current version of Pandora from your phone and install an older version.  In my case, 2203.1 works well with my 2018 Subaru Outback.  But yesterday OnePlus sent out an update to Android 12.  I first tested Pandora with the old 2203.1 version to see if the Android upgrade broke anything, and I was happy to see that it still worked fine.  (In fact, it fixed one minor issue that I had with the display not switching from "Loading Pandora" to the Pandora music app on my car's display screen.  I had to switch to the radio and back to Pandora to see the app.)  

So I had no reason to upgrade to the current, 2302.1 version of Pandora on my phone, but I couldn't help myself.  I figured if the problems were related to Android 12, I could update to the latest version and allow auto updates so that I would always have the "latest and greatest" features.  Unfortunately, even with Android 12 on my phone, the app did not work reliably.  Sometimes it would connect, but most times it would not.  When the next version of the app is released from Pandora, I'll probably test again, but for now I'm back to 2203.1.

[EPA18]

An older version works for me as well however Pandora automatically updates the program to the newest version.  I have not yet found a way to prevent that, and a representative from Pandora told me it was impossible to prevent it, so I'm not sure how you are able to keep 2203.1 on your phone without having it automatically update to the latest version.

[SAS18]

I posted about this earlier in this thread; it's an easy change to the settings in the PlayStore.  Go to the Pandora app, and click on the Pandora icon.  This will bring up a page like the one in the screenshot below.  Click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner.  It will bring up the menu you see in that screenshot.  Now make sure that the box next to "Enable auto update" is not checked.  That's it.  Now the app will not be updated unless you choose to do so.

[CharlieD]

Thanks for the update on OnePlus and Android 12. I seem to recall that
the nearby devices permission was not set by default so you might want
to check that. I also have a One Plus 8 but it is the verizon branded
version. Don't know when and if VZW will update it. Last week I got an
AAWireless Android Auto dongle from Amazon. Works great in my 2017
Honda CRV. Had to enable the GM fix in the AAWireless app (go figure!
GM fix for a Honda!) so I could disable the bypass mode and get all the
features of the dongle. Lots more info in
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidAuto/ if anyone is interested.

[SAS18]

I had the permission set for nearby devices, but there still seemed to be a problem with the newest version of the Pandora app and my stock Subaru head unit.  My head unit has AndroidAuto, and throughout all of this nonsense with Pandora, I have never had any issues playing Pandora via AndroidAuto.  On longer trips, I typically use Google Maps via AndroidAuto, so I connect my phone and listen to Pandora that way.  But when I hop in the car for a short trip to the store, or wherever, my phone is in my pocket and it's convenient to just use the Pandora app on the headset via Bluetooth.

[EPA18]

Thank you!  I did not see that before.

And where again are the older versions of Pandora?  I now am going to download a prior version again.

[SAS18]

https://apkcombo.com/pandora/com.pandora.android/download/phone-2203.1-apk

I will reiterate something I've said here before - I cannot vouch for the safety of this download. I haven't had any problems arise from using it and no one else has reported any, but I don't have any relationship with the site, and at any point in time the file could be infected with malware.  So you do this at your own risk.

[starbucksride]

I can not connect to pandora app on my Kenwood (DDX6906S) head unit. Connect thru a Samsung Galaxy. 

[Fhb]

What version of Android are you running on your phone?  The latest version of Pandora app to operate properly requires Android 12. 

[SAS18]

I now am able to use the latest version of Pandora in my 2018 Outback!  I posted earlier that even after my phone was upgraded to Android 12, I still was having problems and went back to version 2203.1.  I upgraded yeserday to 2203.2 and now the Pandora Android app works with my stock Subaru head unit.

[Cicero1978]

2014 buick enclave for 2 weeks all I had to do is press source then select pandora without even touching my phone now it will on connect with Bluetooth 

It is also telling me that there is a communication issue

[blogik]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android v 10. I have a 2021 Mazda CX30. All was fine until a Pandora update. The Pandora version is 2303.1. Now I'm getting the "Cannot find the Pandora app on the phone" message. The Mazda dealership is stumped. It works fine with the tech person's Apple phone. Grr...

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app. I have removed my phone and reconnected it. I always have Pandora running before starting the car. So for now I use the BT audio function. I am not pleased about this at all. I pay for Pandora so I don't have to listen to radio. But this is ridiculous. Expecting me to go through Android Auto is a joke.

Pandora- this has been an issue for months! You need to correct this issue.

[dabruns]

Sorry to say but, as previously mentioned here, your Android phone must be on Android 12 or later to work on any recent versions of the Pandora App. Otherwise, your car's Pandora equipped sound system will not be able to connect to your phone's Pandora App anymore.

Yes, Bluetooth still works thru your car's Bluetooth connection. Just not thru the built-in Pandora feature.

[rrouleau12]

This seems to be still hosed. Have a 2015 Mazda 6 and have had zero issues connecting my Pixel 5 to the car for years. Now, it simply will not connect. I can only get audio now if I select "bluetooth" on the cars menu now. This gives up some of the on screen options in the car when going in this direction. Station Menu, thumbs up/ down, etc. are gone.

Any recommendation?

[rrouleau12]

I am also running android 13.