Android Auto has now become a standard for car infotainment systems. No doubt, it gives you great convenience to control your phone directly from the car's steering and touch display. You can play music, get navigation, send messages, ask Google Assistant, pick up calls, and more. Android Auto can mirror your phone's apps to your car's head unit so you can use them without distraction while driving.
Connecting Android Auto to your phone and car's infotainment system is a complicated endeavor, especially when you're doing it for the first time and you're not a tech-savvy person. There are a lot of problems that can occur during the setup process. Sometimes Android Auto doesn't work even if you follow the exact same steps as the instructions. This troubleshooting guide will help you fix all the problems related to Android Auto setup. let's get started!
1. Check If Your Car Stereo Is Compatible
Android Auto can only be connected if it is compatible with your car's infotainment system. This is the first thing you need to check if you are trying to pair your phone to a new car. Nowadays, most cars support both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality.
You can confirm this by checking your car manually or by asking your car manufacturer's customer support. If you installed a third-party infotainment system from the aftermarket, you can check the manufacturer's website to find out if your system supports Android Auto.
Google has also provided a list of compatible vehicles and stereos for Android Auto on Android's official website. You can check to see if your car manufacturer or aftermarket stereo is mentioned on the list.
2. Update Your Android Software
Having an Android phone isn't the only prerequisite for using Android Auto on your car's infotainment system. Your smartphone must be running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later. If you have an older Android phone with some older version, it won't connect to Android Auto.
For smartphones running Android 10 and lower, you'll need to manually install the Android Auto app on your device. If you have the latest Android version, Android Auto comes built-in to your system. To find out which Android version you're currently using, just go to Settings > About and here you'll find all the software information you need.
If your current Android version is less than 10, you can go to the Software Update section under Settings and check if a new software update is available for your device. If an update is available, download and install it immediately. After that, try to connect your phone to Android Auto again and hopefully you won't have any problems this time.
3. Disconnect and Reconnect
Sometimes Android Auto stops working for no reason. If you previously connected it to your smartphone and it was working fine, you can try disconnecting the connection between your device and the car's infotainment system and then reconnecting it from scratch.
Android Auto can be used in two ways, either via a wired USB cable or with a wireless Bluetooth connection. In the first case try reconnecting the USB cable. If you connected Android Auto wirelessly, unpair Bluetooth from your device. Just go to Settings > Bluetooth.
Select the name of your car's infotainment system and click the Forget device option. Do the same with the other end. Go to the Bluetooth setting on your car stereo and remove your phone from the list of paired devices. Once the connection is completely disabled, reconnect and check if Android Auto has been fixed.
4. Restart Your Device and Car Stereo
Sometimes troubleshooting just requires a simple restart of your device. You can apply it in this case as well. Simply, switch off your Android phone and restart it. Do the same with your car's infotainment system. As soon as both systems reboot, try connecting them again with the Android Auto app.
If you're lucky, this method will fix your problem and you'll be able to use Android Auto without any issues. You must have a question in your mind that how restarting can help you to deal with this problem. When you restart your phone, it fixes technical glitches in the system, including connection issues that may have prevented your device from connecting to another device.
5. Update Android Auto App
If the Android Auto app has suddenly stopped working, it could be possible that the app you are currently using has become obsolete and has compatibility issues with your device. In this case, you can update the Android Auto app to the latest version.
Simply, open Play Store and search for Android Auto. If a new app update is available, you will see an Update button on your screen. Tap on this button and let your device download and install the new app version. Once installed, try reconnecting your phone to the car stereo with the new Android Auto app installed. If all went well this should have fixed your problem.
6. Force Restart Android Auto App
Sometimes the Android Auto app needs a fresh restart. You can do this in two ways either by using the Force Stop feature available on the App Info page or by clearing the app cache and data from the storage settings. Simply go to your phone's settings and select Apps. Find and open the Android Auto app from the list. Alternatively, you can long press on the Android Auto app's icon from your app drawer and then select the App Info option.
Both methods will take you to the same page. Now there you have to tap on the Force Stop button. This will prevent the app from working in the background and the app will start afresh when you open it again. The second thing you need to do is to go to the Storage option on the App Info page and then tap on the Clear cache and Clear data button. By doing this, you will reset the Android Auto app to its default state as if it were new when you installed it for the first time.
7. Check USB Cable and Port
The problem could be with either your USB cable or the USB port that is causing your phone to not connect to Android Auto on your car's infotainment system. You may be using a local USB cable that is not up to the quality mark. It could also be that your car's USB port is not Android Auto-compatible or it is not working due to some technical issue.
You have to check all these things and find the exact reason which is causing your problem. With regards to USB cables, you should always use the best quality product from a branded company. We recommend that you use the same USB cable that came with your phone's packaging. Even if you are using a third-party USB cable, make sure it is certified and meets all quality standards.
8. Connect Android Auto Wirelessly
As we mentioned earlier, Android Auto can be connected in two ways, either via a wired USB cable or with a wireless Bluetooth connection. If you're unable to connect to it over a wired connection and your car's infotainment system supports wireless Android Auto, you can try that instead or vice versa.
To find out if your stereo supports Android Auto wirelessly, check your car's manual. If your car has an aftermarket stereo installed, you can check the manufacturer's website to find out if your particular model is wirelessly compatible. Select the appropriate method for connecting Android Auto, based on your car's compatibility.
9. Check Your Paired Car Settings
You can connect Android Auto to multiple cars. All your car details are saved in the Android Auto app under Paired Car Settings. You might be trying to connect to a different car or you may have accidentally added your car to the Rejected Cars list. To check this, open the Android Auto app and tap on the previously connected car option.
Now here you will see a list of cars that you have previously connected to your Android Auto. Make sure your car is not on the rejected cars list. If it is there, remove your car and try adding it again. The next thing you need to do is to confirm that the Add new cars option is enabled in Android Auto. It should be enabled by default, but if it isn't, turn it on.
If nothing works for you, the last resort is to remove all cars from your pairing list and then start afresh to reconnect with your car. To do this, tap the Menu (three-dot) button in the upper-right corner and then click the Forget All Cars option. Once your paired cars list is cleared, you can set up your car from scratch and hopefully, this will fix your Android Auto not working issue.
10. Update Your Car Stereo Firmware
Like smartphones and PCs, the information system of a car also runs on its own OS which needs to be updated from time to time. You might have an older version that is no longer compatible with the latest Android Auto app. If you have a company fitted head unit, it will have its own custom firmware. You can check the manual of your car or contact your nearest car dealer to know how to update it.
On the other hand, most of the aftermarket head units are based on Android OS and you can easily update them like you update your Android phone by going to Settings > Software Update. If you have any other non-Android OS on your car's infotainment system that you installed from the aftermarket, you can check the manufacturer's website to learn how to update its firmware. Updating the head unit OS should resolve the issue with Android Auto not working.
11. Try a different phone
If Android Auto still won't connect to your phone and car stereo, you can try a different smartphone. This is a great way to find out if the problem lies with the infotainment system of your Android device or car. If the other device is connecting properly without any issues, then it would be obvious that your Android phone is the main culprit that is causing the problem. On the other hand, if no other device also connects to Android Auto, then the problem lies on the end of your car's head unit. You can then focus on that particular tool for troubleshooting.
12. Contact Your Car Dealer
In case you have tried all the above solutions but nothing has worked then the last option is to contact your car dealer and let them look into the issue. There may be some technical issue (either software or hardware-based) with your car's infotainment system that is preventing you from connecting your car to Android Auto. In the end, only a technician can help you with this problem. If you have a third-party aftermarket head unit, you can contact the shop where you installed it in your car.
Following the above methods can help you fix the Android Auto not working problem easily and you will be able to get back your smartphone connected to your car’s infotainment system again. Let us know which method worked for you and what was causing the problem in your case. If you find this guide helpful, don’t forget to share it with your friends. You can ask your personal queries in the comments below. Stay tuned with our website for more interesting tutorials, troubleshooting, fixes, and articles.
