The app is available on the Play Store, so start there if you want to update.
Even though Android Auto appears on your car’s infotainment screen, all of its features are powered directly by your smartphone. And like most things on your phone, it can receive regular updates over the Internet to fix bugs and add new features. We’ve seen Google add its Gemini voice assistant, widget support, and even overhaul the visual appearance of the platform to better match the modern Android identity of late.
While Android Auto should keep up to date in most cases, you can also update it manually if you’re having issues or planning a particular feature.
How do I update Android Auto and does it update automatically?
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The Google Play Store is responsible for keeping Android Auto up to date. Indeed, Android Auto is presented as a standard application rather than a main component of the system. The latter would mean only getting updates through major Android software updates.
In practical terms, this means that Android Auto should be updated automatically in the background, just like any other app on your phone. However, these updates can sometimes fail or be delayed indefinitely if your phone does not detect a Wi-Fi network. By default, the Play Store will not use cellular data to automatically update apps in the background.
Luckily, you can easily check if you’re using the latest version of the app by heading to the Play Store and searching for Android Auto. This is where you will see an option to manually update the app, as shown above. If you just see the Uninstall here it means you are already using the latest version available for your device. To check consistency, click the three-dot menu at the top right and make sure the Enable auto-update is selected.
If you’re using Android Auto on an older phone, remember that you need Android 9.0 or later to receive the latest updates. That said, Android 9.0 was released in 2018, so this isn’t an issue for most devices.
How to force an Android Auto update
If the Google Play Store doesn’t let you update Android Auto, you may already have the latest version installed. However, if you encounter any glitches or other issues, you can try resetting the app.
In your phone’s Settings app, go to Applications > See all apps > Android Auto > Storage and cache. Finally, tap Clear storage. This will reset any preferences you have saved in the Android Auto interface, but it will not delete any data stored in other apps like Google Maps or Spotify. Simply reconnect your phone to your car and check if the problem has been resolved.
If you’re still experiencing bugs, you can also go a step further and try the oldest version of Android Auto available on your phone. To do this, go to Applications > See all apps > Android Auto again, but this time, look for the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of your screen. You should see a Uninstall updates button here. Tap it and your phone will revert to the first version included with your phone.
You can try using this older version of Android Auto to get started. If it provides a more stable experience, you can temporarily disable automatic updates in the Play Store and hope that a future update will resolve the issue. You can also try updating to the latest version and check if the new installation offers any noticeable improvement.
