Aha Radio Reviews

by Mattathayde

I had to get this to connect to my new Subaru. At first AhaRadio , while clunky, mostly did its job. I could download software updates for the vehicle and all that. Then of course I keep getting the alert that “software update failed”. AhaRadio has signed out after only a few hours, ok fine. Try to sign in again using google, locks back to AhaRadio and it just hangs with a spinning gear. Force out of AhaRadio and try to go to forgot password which takes me to a black screen that never loads.

Ok maybe I need to go to their website and reset my password that way... oh look the site says the server stopped responding when I clink on most of the links including logging or reset password.

I guess I need to try reaching out to their tech support which I assume will tell me to reset my password using their broken app...

by Luckyjw

Forces itself unto the foreground constantly, behaves erratically, and if you have a Subaru, you have no choice but to use it. If you turn on auto updates for your car, it checks and notifies you every 5 min with a screen that has to be dismissed. It complains it needs a connection to the internet even though it is connected to my phone AND my car has internet service. Needs serious updating but seems it is only minor updates once a year!! If you can avoid it, do!

by Niclaughter

The title says it all. AhaRadio is absolute garbage, takes over your phone and makes AhaRadio the focus, even if you are stopped at a red light and using your phone safely. Also, blocks the display in your car by telling you the software is up-to-date several times over every time you plug your phone in. It is more dangerous of an app then if you are to just try using your phone while you drive.

by Captain AppleBoy

The ONLY reason I downloaded this was to update the “radio” in my Soobaroo, which has the worst map system ever constructed, but it wouldn’t even check, much less update the software. Then it insisted on access to my personal information, and then wanted me to create an account on their website, which seems to be nothing but a portal for selling content that I don’t want. Subaru seriously screwed its customers by installing such crap in their cars.

by Shinka RX8

AhaRadio IMMEDIATELY and pretty much irrevocably takes over your phone the moment you plug into your car interface. it does not go away, even after you kill it. you MUST DELETE IT to keep it from coming back on, while plugged into your car. Do not believe the lies that you MUST use AhaRadio to update your car. you do not. you can download the updates to a USB drive and install that way as well.

The developer deserves nothing less than to forever suffer from an unwipeable dump. you know what i mean. that dump you have which some how manages to take about 10 full minutes to get your bum clean, and you end up using what seems like half the roll. yea, well this dev gets no relief... the unwipeable dump, because that’s that AhaRadio is worth, scat that you can’t get rid of.

by Gavininny

Like most people here I only downloaded it to update my car radio/ent system. Tried to keep it for a while in the hope that is had some value added role. Nope. Just a garbage app that has no value in a modern entertainment system dominated by Car Play (or AndroidAuto). Would of been happy to leave installed except it constantly popped over whatever was on my phone screen. Annoying any time, insane making when you are using the phone for route guidance as a second CarPlay screen in IOS 13 (Waze).

by Toadfish S.

Installed when I got my Subaru, expecting to use for software and map updates. Well, those don’t work, endless “download failed, retry?” WITH NO “No” BUTTON!

Then it makes my PHONE unusable in the car. Launches every time I connect the cable, and won’t go away! Quit, it just comes back. Swipe it out of the way, start doing something else… it comes back to the front.

Uninstalled. Now I can use my phone and car again. Ridiculously poor app, not worth the price! And it’s FREE!

by Qwickening

My 2020 Subaru Ascent is super glitchy with regards to Carplay. It got into a state where Carplay completely didn't work. So I did a factory reset and then tried to re-update the head unit software. When I couldn't quite get the download to work over wifi (because my car was too far from my wifi router) I tried AhaRadio.

(expletive expletive expletive) - AhaRadio is trash. Not only did it freeze up my car and my phone, but after the fact, it still "takes over" my car when plugged in.

Definitely going to uninstall and kill AhaRadio with fire.

I ended up driving my car closer to my house to do the update. 🤣😂

Don't install this and -imho- don't buy a subaru until they get a decent modern software stack. (Don't even get me started on the battery replacements and electrical issues.)

by NYcab

I’m only using AhaRadio to update my Subaru firmware. However, now it’s almost impossible to sign in: Facebook would refuse due to privacy issue and Google would just hang. If you use AhaRadio password and forgot, it would show only a blank page forcing you to go back and register a new ID and password. Once in, it would constantly bump other apps, always require location service to be on and pop up about software being up to date. Really annoying.

by Lowrider001

Love a Subaru wrx but hate AhaRadio.. will be listening to my own music on my phone and as soon as I hit a WiFi signal I’ve connected to before aha auto opens and starts playing random stuff as I have never used it before to listen to music as I have apple CarPlay in my car and have apple radio on my phone. I drive past a couple of WiFi spots I’ve connected to before so it happens frequently and then I have to use my phone to stop it. Why is Subaru using an app that is a worse experience then there sound system already is.

by Musical Hack

The only reason I have Aha is because it allows for OTA updates on my factory Subaru StarLink radio. I find that it auto launches every time I connect my phone despite the fact that I have already selected CarPlay for infotainment. If my car goes over a bump, I touch my phone screen, or an app updates, Aha relaunches and stops what I wanted my phone to be doing. This makes AhaRadio so annoying that I can’t stand allowing it on my phone. Developers MUST fix this issue. I removed Aha for 6 months and the auto launch issues stopped. It is inherent in YOUR app.

by Gmanzero

Radio station selection is poor and often broadcasters that you add suddenly become unavailable. Lots of buggy behavior with my Mazda. Sometimes app won’t sync with car and I have to manually launch, close and then relaunch on my iPhone to sync. It will hang on occasion and cause the car infotainment center to lock up until restart of the car or turning off phone. If anything AhaRadio causes more distraction when driving. Doesn’t buffer well if short loss of signal. I have other streaming apps that do even during lengthy signal outages. AhaRadio is just plain horrible

by Ilikeponies <3

It’s like a virus!!! I cannot delete AhaRadio from my phone! Would give it -100 stars if I could. Seriously so annoying. Thought I needed AhaRadio to use the radio in my 2021 Forester (you don’t need it, btw) and now I cannot remove AhaRadio. It does not give me the option to delete it, no matter what route I try. I have an iPhone 8. I will be going to the Apple store tomorrow to see if they can remove it. If not, I’ll have to reset my phone just to get rid of this stupid app!! Also notice, they don’t have any sort of privacy statement available saying they won’t steal or sell your data.

by Winwdc

I only downloaded AhaRadio because Subaru and Starlink (another worthless company) requires AhaRadio in order to get software updates to your car’s console. Why you need this worthless app when they can push updates over the air makes no sense. The fact that you will NOT be able to actually update your Subaru using this method (something Subaru instructs you to do) makes AhaRadio completely useless. Whoever runs AhaRadio and whoever at Subaru is responsible for the whole idiotic setup for updating the console should be placed on a little boat and sent out to sea during a category 5 hurricane.

by Troc17

So, I downloaded AhaRadio for our 2018 Toyota C-HR. It won’t let me sign up using email, so I tried to sign up/in through my Facebook account, and it sat and timed out stating no Internet connection. I then tried sign up/in through my Google account with no success and same result. I know I have internet connection because every other app on my phone works along with I can Google stuff on Safari with no issues. It is sad that Aha has no updates or fixes for AhaRadio which is totally junk. I wish Toyota would upgrade this to the Entune app or Apple Car Play. There is no solution or suggestion for the problem.

by Dr.How

I had high hopes. First, I wanted to use this as the cell based Ascent update tool. As listed multiple places in the various manuals. But, so far no dice. Yes, Signal is 4-5 bars LTE. Using iPhone 6S.

Glitchy on the rest of features, like another reviewer mention related to their iPhone X and the Ascent. I was saddened to hear their response from their dealer and their own experience with multiple Subaru.

This is hurting Subaru reputation. SOA better show some interest. Get out of their black hole cones of silence. I have other vehicles with systems that integrate better to their approved apps, or their home brew features. Sync3 and Genesis work well IMO with the apps they suggest for the phone.

by Haroldsjs

I’ve used AhaRadio a few times! I have an iPhone 8+, which I use with my 2019 Outback. The car is a delight! AhaRadio is whatever the opposite of “delight” is! I read many of the reviews of Aha, and didn’t find a one which could be construed as complimentary. Even if you have a primordial level of reading comprehension.

I’m surprised that Subaru permits it’s good name to be associated with such a low level app. I’m also surprised that Apple doesn’t block AhaRadio from download for its users. I thought one of the benefits of AhaRadio Store was to insure that the apps offered have a certain level of quality. AhaRadio has no level of anything which could be called “quality”!

by Pegleggirl369

It did what I needed it for: check for and install the latest software but there doesn’t seem to be any way to shut it off until needed. I downloaded it in order to update the software in my 2018 Outback and deleted it a week later. Every 1 to 5 minutes it would take over the display in order to inform me - AGAIN - that my software is up to date, it wanted to connect - AGAIN - or was running instead of AhaRadio I actually wanted running AGAIN. In software circles an app that allows you to control its priority is referred to as a “nice” app. This is not a “nice” app. What an embarrassment.

by Terry Hanson

Pros works well with Subaru. I wish I could use it more but see cons. Easy to add podcasts you don’t see. Also decent support for radio stations. I really would love to use AhaRadio more.

Cons - 1) a lot of time streams don’t start, I think it has to do with walking to car being on WiFi the switching to cellular. If you fiddle around stations some it can start to work 2) a lot of the feeds quit working, might not be aha fault but works on Apple podcast app.

by Jms010

When it works, it works well. I have an iphone 7, using it on a ‘18 Toyota 86 and some songs will play over and over unless i skip the manually. Or i have to close AhaRadio on my iphone while my phone is plugged in to the car for it to work almost every time i start up my car. I like the amount of stations and features, it just needs to work consistently.

by Cannella67

I have aha in my 2015 Scion. Did everything “ by the book,” which means that I downloaded AhaRadio , created faves etc. each time I get in car I turn on Bluetooth and then open aha on phone and in car and get the error that it failed to sync. This program is supposed to decrease distracted driving. Well, if I had continued to play around with it, I would have most definitely been distracted. I gave up on it.

by ABNRAS

Supposed to integrate with system and update. I only have it for that purpose as Pandora a much better option for music anyway. The Update interface is very glitchy. About every 2-3 days, I crank the car and it just tells me every 30 seconds that my system is up to date with a screen pop up. The. You have to hit OK on it every time. Very annoying. Very disappointing.

by Dhjimmyjam

Maybe this is a fabulous app in reality, but neither Aha nor Subaru provide helpful guidance for what turns out to be a not-very-intuitive app/auto interface. My Subaru keeps telling me to use the Aha app on my iPhone 6s to update AhaRadio in the car, but nothing happens when I follow their rudimentary “instructions.” I’ll delete AhaRadio from my iPhone, and see if I can find a way to delete it from the car. Don’t need it, won’t use it.

by Benny Blonco

As much as I wanted AhaRadio to work with my Toyota CHR, it’s been pure garbage. So much improvements needed and for one getting it to launch should be the first start. Don’t know why Toyota even chose this as their app for their cars but I can say I won’t buy another Toyota if it has AhaRadio. Mind you I owned a new 2018 RAV4 and AhaRadio never worked correctly in that car. I traded my car in and bought the new model 2018 CH-R and still AhaRadio still no good. Are the developers even doing anything as far as fixing the issues?

by Dnkil23

As others have said, this is a terrible app. It comes on automatically whenever you start Car Play (iPhone 8 and X) and you can’t shut it off. It takes over whatever you have playing; e.g., radio, Waze etc. I finally figured out that is you quickly turn off the screen it won’t dominate the other apps. This thing is garbage.

by Renee1930vy

I downloaded AhaRadio because it’s on my new car. Now that cars don’t have CD players, Thanks millennials!
AhaRadio has high potential but the stations play the same TWO SONGS in one hour after another.
Song comes on skip, listen to a full song, then the song you had previously skipped will play. Not worth it....

by Benthere&back

AhaRadio works really well in my 2013 Outback, most of the time. I can put the music on hold and restart in the house or when I return to the car. However it quits working quite often and AhaRadio needs to be closed and restarted to resume play. I thought it might be the Subaru app but the same thing happens when it’s used in the house Bluetooth system. So the Aha app is the culprit.

by DCinCT88

App did a great job of updating my 2019 Subaru Outback software. But it continuously hi-jacked the infotainment system and started streaming a station. This occurred despite stopping AhaRadio and selecting what I wanted to listen to... AhaRadio would stop my selection and start streaming again!!! I ultimately had to uninstall AhaRadio . Please fix!

by Jlkphd

One review referred to the aha app overtaking another playing on a 2018 Subaru Outback. Same problem. Suggest you turn off only background refresh in the settings app section of ios. Seems to work. Harmon does have a software issue here. They also have an amplifier hardware issue on this car requiring replacement