Audi MMI Phone Ringtone Missing or Silent - SOLUTION (Maybe)

[Tigger]

Hi All,

Skip down to TL:DR if you're impatient....

The title of the post sounds a bit grandiose, I grant you, but I am hoping the various Search Engines out there will pick it up and guide people here.

I recently updated my MMI MIB2 ("Modular Infotainment Baukasten v2", aka MMI 4G), which is the Infotainment system in my 2017 A6, to version K3663 so that I can have Android Auto (and/or the Apple flavoured 'CarPlay' variant) and also update the SatNav to more modern maps... Coincidentally I also changed my Mobile Phone from an old Sony to a more modern Samsung...

I have always absolutely loved the deep, bass-ridden 'Voice' notification 'Ringtone' in the MMI system that - when your Mobile Phone is ringing - announces "You... Have an incoming call..." but all of a sudden, after the software update, it is gone! Dismay! Panic! Grief and mourning! I was gutted.

After some searching I found that more modern phones now play out their own Ringtone over the Bluetooth Phone Connection, rather than letting the connected accessory (Ear Buds, Speaker, or in this case - Car) play you its own Ringtone sounds - and if this is the case then the Audi MMI system either hides all the 'Ringtone' settings, or states they are "Not supported by mobile device".

But fear not my Audi compatriots - solutions are at hand...

TL:DR

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If you are happy with your Phone's OWN Ringtone playing out over your car's speakers, but you hear nothing but silence when your phone is ringing, then the chances are that the default volume (Zero!) has not been adjusted since you last paired the current mobile device... Simply arrange for someone to call you on your phone with the car all powered up and paired, then using the Car volume controls (on the centre console or steering wheel) turn up the volume whilst the phone is still ringing until you hear your lovely ringtone reverberating throughout the car. Joy! Problem solved! The setting will be remembered for that phone, regardless as to the settings on the actual phone (if you mute your phone sounds the car will still play out your ringtone when you get a call).

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If, like me, you want to hear Audi's Ringtone notification sounds AND you own a Samsung then the following should resolve the issue for you... Pair your phone with the car as normal... Make arrangements to receive a call, as above, and turn up the volume to ensure you hear something - the phone's own Ringtone, probably...

Now, on your Samsung phone go to Settings --> Connections --> Bluetooth --> Advanced (using the three dots in the top-right corner of the 'Bluetooth' screen) and look for the setting named "Ringtone Sync" - if it is there then turn that sucker OFF!

Next, go back to the 'Bluetooth' screen and switch it off, count to 5, and back on again. You will have to 'Connect' the phone again using the controls on the car and the phone - it will still be paired, just needs to be connected.

Finally, on your car's MMI system go to Phone --> Settings --> Volume and you should find that the Ringtone selection and Ringtone Volume settings have reappeared! Simply select the ringtone you desire, and the volume at which you'd like to hear it, and then arrange one final test of being called on your phone to hear your desired choice of Audi Ringtone massage your ears and bring that smile back to your face.

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If you don't own a Samsung then I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you... The equivalent of Samsung's "Ringtone Sync" setting is most likely on your phone somewhere - I ask that others who know their non-Samsung phones better to add in the comments below how they turned off that setting for themselves so that we finally have one central repository as to how to fix this annoying situation. (It took me three days of searching, reading, and experimentation to find this myself)

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And hey, if you found this useful then maybe you should join the forum here and ask or answer your own questions for each other! This is, after all, the best Audi Owners Forum I've found to date...

All the best,

Tigger

[Steve Q]

Thanks for the write up 🙂