Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have an old model car and needed a reliable car communication device. Works great!

Bought this for my daughter for her new-to-her 2008 car. She said it works great with her radio.

Pro: Bluetooth, AUX, or FM Two chargers Hands free calling Alexa skills Con: Static buzz with aux and fm even with ground loop isolator Navigation only opens up google map, still need to confirm and start it on phone No spotify or your music Need the Raov app to be running I usually love Alexa, and have five different Echo devices controlling my home, but Alexa isn’t best assistant in the car. I find that the best thing the Roav Viva does is allow me to use my phone hands free in any car so I can use the better Google Assistant or Siri and have Alexa on the sidelines. In the short time I’ve had it, I’d either have to relaunch the Roav app, loose connection, long delay in responses, or have Alexa not responding correctly. Worst is that it has a constant hissing which is annoying. Amazon has launched it’s Echo Auto so maybe that’ll be better. SETTING UP AND BUILD IMPRESSION: Setting up was easy, albeit a bit annoying since it keeps telling me to download, log in, and set up my Alexa features, which I already did. I did have an issue with it not working unless the phone was awake and the app in the foreground, but was solved after a reinstall. You can use it with Bluetooth, AUX, or the built in FM transmitter. You need to have the Roav app running (either launch it each time you get in your car or set it to auto launch) and with location set to always active otherwise Alexa may not work properly. For instance I asked for direction Best Buy, which answered correctly, but a few minutes later she would reply that she didn’t know that location even though I’m right next to it. The build is surprisingly lightweight. It’s about 2 in. x 1.5 in, so it does take a bit of space and the two USB ports are at the bottom. It barely fit in my Honda CRV. The button feels a bit flimsy and hollow. WHAT IT CAN DO: You can do most of the things an Echo device can do, except drop in. You can order stuff, control your smart home, add your shopping list, etc. I would tell Alexa to turn on lights and my TV as I get home. It can hear my commands over music without issues. You can stream Amazon Music or Audible, just keep in mind your data cap if you don’t have unlimited. Spotify is not supported nor is the ability to play your own music. You can ask for directions, but all that does is it will launch the map of your choice (either Google, Apple, or Waze) and you still have to reach for your phone to start the navigation. I find it easier to skip that step and ask Siri or Google to find a place. You can do hands free calling but to do so you need to have the contact set in your Alexa app. Again I end up using my phone’s assistant to make calls. The sound quality isn’t the best because of the constant hissing. WHY THE LOW SCORE? The biggest issue I have is the static hissing. With the AUX or FM transmitter, it does it as soon as it powered on, even when I used a Ground Loop Isolator. It makes the sound quality very lackluster and I’m forced to keep the volume low. This is the only device that does this. This alone will probably make me not want to use it anymore. Then there’s the issue with dependability. This is probably more of an Alexa issue rather than the Roav, but it often doesn’t work correctly. Sometimes it would say the connection is lost or it’ll take a good 30 seconds before responding. Other times Alexa will respond incorrectly, especially for location. There’s also been a few times the Roav app didn’t connect to the Viva and I had to unplug the Viva, and relaunch the app. CONCLUSION If there wasn’t that hiss, I would have given this maybe a 4 star. Is Alexa the best in your car? No. But with this, I can use my phone hands free in any car, either with Alexa or with my phone’s assistant. I like that I can ask questions, directions, control my home, and listen to Audible without having to touch my phone. Having other Alexa skills and two USB charger is a plus.

This a most have device in your car or truck for safety and amusement. Nice to have in all your cars or trucks.

I bought a chrome book. The sales person was very good, knowledgeable and patient.

I needed a new charger. Plain and simple. The old Rocketfish charger I had in my car that is not made any more was way outdated, to the point where my USB-C phones recognized it as a “slow charger”. Step in Anker. I did not get this for the bells and whistles. I had utilized my share of FM transmitter Bluetooth devices. They were always annoying to turn on and keep charged. The sound quality was subpar as well, typically. With my lack of success, I just assumed I would lay down big bucks and get a Bluetooth enabled radio at some point. The Anker changed my mind. First and foremost, it satisfied my charging needs with two ports that I assume are fast chargers, with the speed at which it charges. Secondly, the FM transmitter works pretty darn good. You’re never going to get high quality from an FM transmitter, but this one is admirable. The app could use for some equalizer additions (bass, mids, treble, loudness, etc). And for some reason the sound from the Anker is way quieter than my other inputs. But it does the job. It should be noted that when downloading the app for this device, make sure you download the correct one. I’m sure it said it somewhere in the limited directions, but there are I think three different Anker apps. Maybe it was just me…. I am a little disappointed in devices like this linking themselves to one smart application (ie. Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant). While I could still use Google Assistant, it would have been much nicer to use it as an integrated platform on this device. This is my first product from Anker. Although the device doesn’t have the finished/polished production that would reach 5 stars, I would continue to research the company again for other purchases.

I would like to recommend this item for everyone who wants to have a nice item

I know this would go over very well with my wife. Oh, i love it too. Its Always ready. No issues. Thanks

Excellent product. no problem setting it up. Works just like alexa at home. great audio no hiss at all

It’s makes a really fuzzy noise it’s impossible to get rid of it .

Threw out my old Bluetooth and I just love this one. Great connection.

Good quality hear calls crisp and clear would buy this product again

I had some trouble finding something that would work in a Mini Cooper and this was perfect!

Setup was easy, quality is very good. Got it for my grandma, she finds it easy to use as well.

Made my out of date radio a smart car. Was a little pricier but worth w

So far so good. My son enjoyed his Christmas gift. He loved it.

I have a echo dot at home and this is just as easy. Love having my music whenever I want.

First of all, I should say that I have an iphone, which makes using this thing impossible. Since there's a lot of competition between Siri and any other voice command apps, I cannot simply command the Roav app to start up. I must manually start it the old fashioned way. If I temporarily shut off my iphone bluetooth and put it back on again, the Roav app has to reinstall the bluetooth vehicle charger all over again, and the charger part does not work if the bluetooth is not connected. Such a stupid part of the design! Phone calls I can't even use it for because the person on the other end of the line can't hear me at all so I wind up just using speakerphone. Once the charger is connected, however, the sound through the bluetooth playing music through my phone is awesome. Probably the only positive thing I have to say about this thing. Wish I hadn't wasted money on it.

Awesome for charging and playing my You Tube music!

Great addition to our traveling fun! Thankful to have it!