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Android Auto Apparently in a Coma on Some New Phones

The experience with Android Auto isn’t exactly the most flawless, but in most cases, users struggle with problems that break down certain features, such as voice commands.
Android Auto no longer showing up on new Xiaomi phones 6 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video
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What we have here, however, is a handful of reports indicating that Android Auto seems to be completely dead on a series of new phones, with no workarounds apparently bringing it back.

More specifically, customers who purchased brand-new Xiaomi phones running Android 11 can no longer launch Android Auto simply because the app behaves like it doesn’t even exist in some cars. Oddly enough, the app runs properly on other vehicles, so this seems to suggest a compatibility problem with certain head units.

At this point, it’s hard to say what exactly is happening, but users here on Google’s forums claim that all the workarounds they’ve turned to have until now proved completely useless.

Changing cables, clearing the cache and the data, updating phones to the latest software versions disabling certain features, and enabling the full Android Auto permissions are all attempts that have produced absolutely no difference for the impacted users.

Google is yet to start an investigation this time, but the first reports on this problem surfaced in early December, so it’s hard to tell if it’s caused by a new software update or not.

On the other hand, some users who are struggling with this awkward Android Auto behavior in their cars claim the app was running properly until recently. This indeed seems to suggest that one of the latest updates could be the culprit, but on the other hand, it’s hard to figure out why only new phones from Xiaomi are impacted.

Without an official patch, the only thing that’s still worth trying is a downgrade to an earlier version of Android Auto. If a recent update indeed broke down the app, then going back to a previous release could help figure this out and continue to use Android Auto until a full patch lands.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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