As many of us learned the hard way, the experience with Android Auto depends on lots of things, but even those who stick with a perfectly working setup can occasionally come across new bugs.
This is the case of some users who turned to Google’s forums to report a bug that’s breaking down Android Auto after the latest updates.
More specifically, these users claim that Android Auto only loads on their phones, but it doesn’t show up on the head unit in their cars. In other words, Android Auto appears to be working correctly at first, only that it’s nowhere to be seen on the head unit, therefore users can’t launch apps or start the navigation.
“I have tried different cables. They all do the same, the start the AA app on my phone (Pixel 3a) but it doesn't show up on my car screen. When I use my wife’s phone (Huawei) it will start immediately on the car screen and works just fine. My car is only 2 weeks old, so its update to the latest version,” one user explained on the Google forums.
Google acknowledged the problem and started the investigation in early September, but no other information has been provided since then.
A member of the Android Auto team, however, is now trying to reach out to users to see if the issue has been fixed by version 5.8, so there’s a chance that this last update finally resolves the problem, allowing the app to load correctly on the head unit.
Android Auto 5.8 also comes with several other major improvements, including the under the hood code for wallpaper support. This feature is likely to debut in an upcoming update, essentially allowing users to change the background of Android Auto with one of the eight pre-loaded photos that Google has included in the app. The company, however, has remained tight-lipped on wallpaper support in Android Auto so far.
More specifically, these users claim that Android Auto only loads on their phones, but it doesn’t show up on the head unit in their cars. In other words, Android Auto appears to be working correctly at first, only that it’s nowhere to be seen on the head unit, therefore users can’t launch apps or start the navigation.
“I have tried different cables. They all do the same, the start the AA app on my phone (Pixel 3a) but it doesn't show up on my car screen. When I use my wife’s phone (Huawei) it will start immediately on the car screen and works just fine. My car is only 2 weeks old, so its update to the latest version,” one user explained on the Google forums.
Google acknowledged the problem and started the investigation in early September, but no other information has been provided since then.
A member of the Android Auto team, however, is now trying to reach out to users to see if the issue has been fixed by version 5.8, so there’s a chance that this last update finally resolves the problem, allowing the app to load correctly on the head unit.
Android Auto 5.8 also comes with several other major improvements, including the under the hood code for wallpaper support. This feature is likely to debut in an upcoming update, essentially allowing users to change the background of Android Auto with one of the eight pre-loaded photos that Google has included in the app. The company, however, has remained tight-lipped on wallpaper support in Android Auto so far.