Photo: Google
In theory, using a Google smartphone running a Google operating system to launch a Google application should be a smooth ride. Still, as some people discovered the hard way, such a thing doesn’t exist in the Android Auto world.
And it’s all because not even the Google Pixel 5 guarantees a flawless experience on Android Auto, despite this model currently being the latest and greatest Android smartphone from the Mountain View-based tech giant.
There are lots of users complaining of such issues on Google’s forums, and many of them claim the Google Pixel 5 causes Android Auto to malfunction in various ways, sometimes disconnecting in the middle of the drive.
“When I plugged in my Pixel 5, the pairing worked well and Android Auto started. However, I immediately began seeing crashes. The phone will disconnect, leaving Android Auto, and then boot it back up and return to it in 5 seconds. Sometimes, it'll crash and I need to disconnect and reconnect the cable for it to restart,” one user explains.
Others explain the crashes only occur at random times for no clear reason, and there are moments when Android Auto proves to be as stable as it gets. In other words, Android Auto sometimes runs flawlessly with the exact setup that causes massive drops on other occasions.
“Weirdly, sometimes it works perfectly for the whole trip and other times it disconnects nearly constantly. I always use the same car and the same cable, so I have to assume that the phone is at fault - maybe a software issue, since it's so inconsistent?” someone says.
At the time of writing, Google is yet to acknowledge these problems, but one user suggests unpairing all Bluetooth devices and then re-pairing the phone, and the car head unit is what could bring things back to normal. Of course, all apps must be fully up-to-date, including Android Auto and the Google app powering the Google Assistant experience.
There are lots of users complaining of such issues on Google’s forums, and many of them claim the Google Pixel 5 causes Android Auto to malfunction in various ways, sometimes disconnecting in the middle of the drive.
“When I plugged in my Pixel 5, the pairing worked well and Android Auto started. However, I immediately began seeing crashes. The phone will disconnect, leaving Android Auto, and then boot it back up and return to it in 5 seconds. Sometimes, it'll crash and I need to disconnect and reconnect the cable for it to restart,” one user explains.
Others explain the crashes only occur at random times for no clear reason, and there are moments when Android Auto proves to be as stable as it gets. In other words, Android Auto sometimes runs flawlessly with the exact setup that causes massive drops on other occasions.
“Weirdly, sometimes it works perfectly for the whole trip and other times it disconnects nearly constantly. I always use the same car and the same cable, so I have to assume that the phone is at fault - maybe a software issue, since it's so inconsistent?” someone says.
At the time of writing, Google is yet to acknowledge these problems, but one user suggests unpairing all Bluetooth devices and then re-pairing the phone, and the car head unit is what could bring things back to normal. Of course, all apps must be fully up-to-date, including Android Auto and the Google app powering the Google Assistant experience.
Google News