Android Auto not working? Here’s what to check first

Android Auto is a cool way to extend your smartphone to your car’s infotainment screen. Maps, messages and more are accessible once you connect your phone to your car. The experience is designed to be seamless, provided your phone and car are actually compatible.

What happens if Android Auto isn’t working? Well, assuming a rare bug isn’t the cause, fixing a faulty Android Auto connection to your car is a pretty simple process. You don’t need a ton of technical knowledge to fix the problem, as one of the most common fixes will likely be all you need to get it working again.

The weak link between your smartphone and your car is the connection, wireless or wired. For wired users, you can start troubleshooting by checking that your cable is properly connected and free of any damage. If there are no visible problems, the cable or port may still be burned: switch it to another USB port or turn off the cable to replace it. You don’t want to use a cheap USB cable designed to charge this job, because you’ll need one that supports data transfers over USB. This Google guide recommends that you use a cable shorter than six feet and also ditch all cable extensions.

If you’re using Android Auto wirelessly, you’ll need to make sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on. If so and it looks like you’re connected, disconnect – you want to force it to manually reconnect to your car.

This also means making sure your car is in the right app or menu for Android Auto to connect and become visible, which may involve selecting it on your car’s infotainment screen. If you think the problem is with the car, you can always rule out this possibility by using another Android phone if you have a spare.

You’ve already checked the cable (or your wireless connection) and everything looks fine. If so, you’ll need to try the three R’s: restart your phone, remove the connection completely, and reconnect as if it were new. It’s probably rare that you restart your phone, but doing so clears all running processes from your phone’s memory, giving you a new list.

Once you’ve rebooted, you’ll want to remove the connection and re-associate it as if it were new. The Android settings menu may vary, but the steps will look like this: open Settings > Connected devices > Android Auto (or just search for Android Auto in your settings search bar). From there, tap on your car and select Forget to delete it. Once done, simply tap Connect a vehicle again to connect it to your car from scratch, making sure you are in the correct menu on your car’s infotainment screen to allow you to do this.

While you’re in the same menu, make sure to configure your Android Auto settings for seamless connections. You’ll want to automatically start Android Auto for your car, and you may want to configure it to allow Android Auto when your phone’s screen is locked, although this depends on your privacy preferences.

At this point, any issues preventing Android Auto from working will require further investigation. You can clear the Android Auto app cache on your phone to try to remove any conflicting settings or files.

How to access this menu may vary between Android models, but for most users you can press Settings > Applications and search Android Auto in the list. Select it once you find it tap Force stop for good measure, then press Storage. You can then press Clear cache to delete all available cache or, if you want to reset it completely, you can press Clear dataAlso.

Once this is done, you may need to log in manually again, and possibly even set it up as a new connection before your apps start mirroring on your car’s screen again.

If Android Auto still doesn’t work after these steps, check that your phone is up to date. You’ll want to install any updates available for Android itself and for Google Play Services to install new bug fixes and feature updates.

Also having trouble getting Android Auto to work wirelessly? Well, go wired, just to be safe, and vice versa. You can rule out Android Auto itself being a problem in some way if it’s a connection issue between one of the two methods. Your car may only support a wired connection, but third-party wireless Android Auto adapters exist as a workaround if you’re determined to stay wireless.

Android Auto needs certain permissions to work properly. If not, you can always check in the Applications menu. For example, if you want him to access your contacts to send messages or make calls, you will need to allow him to do so in the Permissions section.

Are you using a VPN? This is unfortunately a problem for Android Auto, as VPNs are known to interfere with the connection between your car. If it’s essential, use split tunneling in your VPN app to ensure that Android Auto completely bypasses your VPN connection so it doesn’t interfere.

Other minor issues, such as your phone running in battery saver mode, are also worth checking (and turning off) to rule out. If all else fails, remember to try using a different phone. Not permanently, but just to see if the problem is specific to your handset, or if it’s your car that has the problem. Oh, and check that your car is actually compatible with Android Auto, just to be safe.