I think you need to change your USB ports. Earlier builds came with older versions that didn't support Android Auto or Car Play. Luckily, it's super easy to do.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Ford-Controll...0548450&chn=ps

 

Ah okay. I thought it was just apple CarPlay. I will definitely try this.

 

Read the first post in this thread.
https://www.f150forum.com/f118/curre...mation-360660/

 

That was the very post that brought me to this forum. I bought the above USB port upgrade but all my research said this was only effecting apple devices. Will be forever grateful if this solves the issue.

 

You need the updated USB ports for both Car Play and Android Auto. My daughter had the exact same problem in her 2016 Escape, I bought the new ports and it fixed the problem.

 

Well damn. Thanks guys. Estimated delivery November 7th. I'll be back with an update.

 

Only needed new port for Apple Car play, I used my old port for android before changing it.

 

Usb ports are NOT the issue. That was an apple mfi certified accessory issue, Another way for them to make money. Definitely not needed for android auto.
Cables though are suspect here as some cables are for charging only and not for data. Ran into this a few time. Make sure the cable you are using works in a computer to actually see the phone data and not just charge it.

Do the usb ports work if you stick on a usb stick with some music on them? sync should still see them and let you play the music. I think i remember stories of a connector behind the usb coming loose.

Furthermore i never changed the usb ports on my '16 and use android auto every day and i too had to upgrade from 1.0 to 3.0

 

Are you sure your update to 3.0 worked? If Android auto doesn't show up in your settings menu, you might still be on 1.0.
Post a screenshot of your Version if you can.

 

From the SYNC 3 touchscreen, press the Settings icon in the Feature Bar, then press the General icon. On the next screen, select About SYNC (you may need to scroll to see it) and your SYNC 3 software version will appear at the top of the following screen.