I had my phone in the cup holder. I will try and move it around today. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Another possibility is the cell provider if your phone does not use ATT like the in car cell does. If you use ATT it definitely falls on the phone not getting as strong a signal as the car’s external antenna.

 

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S9+ as a mobile hotspot. I went for a short drive today to the ATT store. I placed my phone by the windshield. I didn't even make it to the end of the block when I lost signal. I restarted Amazon Music and took my RX on the freeway, about 10 mis. When I got to the ATT store, the salesman said that I shouldn't lose signal. Problem is most likely with the phone. I will try my wife's new phone and see if the problem goes away.

 

Ok, here is the last update. I drove around the neighborhood with my wife's new Samsung Galaxy S23 connected to hotspot. Drove by all of the area where I lost connection on my phone and it worked fine. No lost connections. Looks like it time to upgrade my phone. Thanks everyone for your feedback. That helped me troubleshoot my problem and to learn something new.

 

Alot of times on an older phone, maybe one that's been dropped a few times over its lifespan, one/some of the antenna connections which surround the body - actually come off and are no longer connected, its hard to really tell other than spotty reception. Get a good impact cushioning case for the new one.

 

Got a new Samsung Galaxy S23 today. So far, I have not had any dropped connections. The ML system sounds so good while steaming lossless music. I keep trying to find a reason to go for a drive somewhere so I can listen to music.

 

Seems like your detective work paid off. Good job.

 

This forum is a great resource. I did not solve this alone. I appreciate everyone's input.

 

I have a new twist. After all of the trouble I went through to stream Amazon Music, it has created a new problem for me. While using Wi-Fi hotspot you cannot access AA or use the voice commands. You need to disable Wi-Fi before doing anything else. This is a real pain. Anybody has any suggestions?

 

We've already talked about how hot spotting the car uses the WiFi and then doesn't allow wireless CarPlay/Android Auto to work. Try wired Android Auto. Not sure on voice commands though.

 

Yes, I was so blinded by wanting to stream uncompressed music that I forgot about AA. The voice command was new to me. Yeah, when I try to use voice command while in Wi-Fi, she will say that she is not available. If I turn wi-fi off, problem goes away. I will hard wire my phone and see what happens.
Thanks for the response.

 

Reading this page on Lexus' site makes me think that some voice commands should still work: https://support.lexus.com/s/article/...le-requi-10862

 

This is driving me nuts. The voice command is working now. I will have to play with it more.

 

Thanks for the link.

 

We never answered the question as to whether the car accepts an eSIM? Other than the canned AT&T data plan for the car, is there a way to enter an eSIM (or a physical SIM?) from your own carrier/plan to get the car online natively rather than hotspotting to your phone? Or is the Lexus/AT&T plan the only option?