Photo: Google
The voice command support in Android Auto is a double-edged sword; there’s no doubt about it. On one hand, it’s extremely handy, as it helps reduce the distraction behind the wheel because you can control everything with your voice. But on the other hand, it fails to work properly in the most frustrating and sometimes amusing ways.
This time, the behavior that some Android Auto users are struggling with concerns phone calls.
Google Assistant in Android Auto works pretty much in the same way it does on an Android phone. Users say the wake-up command and then instruct the assistant to call someone by saying their name in the address book.
But according to Android Auto users, Google Assistant is now calling a completely different person that’s not even in the address book.
“My wife's name is Sally (only Sally in my contacts), and every time I press the button on the steering wheel and say 'Call Sally', it replies 'Calling Sally Beauty', which is a supply store for beauticians,” one user explains.
Others claim Android Auto is calling law firms, gardeners, and bodybuilders, all for a reason that is impossible to determine unless Google starts looking into it.
Probably the worst thing is that a confirmation that Android Auto is dialing does not exist. In other words, once Google Assistant is instructed to call someone, it’s not waiting for confirmation, so the dialing automatically starts without even checking if the name is correct.
At this point, no generic workaround seems to bring things back to normal, so it remains to be seen how fast Google ends up fixing this new problem. For the time being, however, using voice commands isn’t necessarily the best idea if you’re hitting this error, so the best way to make a new call is to pull over and turn to the old-fashioned touch input on the head unit for the whole thing.
Google Assistant in Android Auto works pretty much in the same way it does on an Android phone. Users say the wake-up command and then instruct the assistant to call someone by saying their name in the address book.
But according to Android Auto users, Google Assistant is now calling a completely different person that’s not even in the address book.
“My wife's name is Sally (only Sally in my contacts), and every time I press the button on the steering wheel and say 'Call Sally', it replies 'Calling Sally Beauty', which is a supply store for beauticians,” one user explains.
Others claim Android Auto is calling law firms, gardeners, and bodybuilders, all for a reason that is impossible to determine unless Google starts looking into it.
Probably the worst thing is that a confirmation that Android Auto is dialing does not exist. In other words, once Google Assistant is instructed to call someone, it’s not waiting for confirmation, so the dialing automatically starts without even checking if the name is correct.
At this point, no generic workaround seems to bring things back to normal, so it remains to be seen how fast Google ends up fixing this new problem. For the time being, however, using voice commands isn’t necessarily the best idea if you’re hitting this error, so the best way to make a new call is to pull over and turn to the old-fashioned touch input on the head unit for the whole thing.
Google News