Android Auto Using the Phone Instead of Car Speakers: Everything You Need to Know

Thanks to the way it was developed, Android Auto is supposed to reduce the distraction behind the wheel when handling phone calls, no matter if we’re talking about making a new call or answering one.

The Google Assistant integration makes the whole thing as straightforward and convenient as possible, as you can control everything using nothing but the power of your voice. A simple voice command allows users to answer a phone call or dial a new number in a matter of seconds, all without even taking their eyes off the road.

Unfortunately, while everything sounds great on paper, it’s not really that awesome in reality. This is because bugs in Android Auto tend to ruin the entire experience, and this is precisely what’s happening right now for some Android Auto users.

More precisely, for a reason that seems much harder than anticipated to be determined, Android Auto uses the phone instead of the car’s speakers whenever a phone is active. In other words, instead of using the hardware that’s placed in your car, the phone call is routed to the mobile device’s speaker.

The thing is, this behavior isn’t exactly new. First reported in March this year, the bug eventually proved to be quite spread, with several other users confirming the same struggle in their cars.

“I recently got the Samsung S22 Ultra. So far AA works great except for the phone calls, incoming or outgoing. Even though AA recognizes a call in progress (i.e. shows call graphics on screen, lowers music volume, etc.) the call sound goes to my phone rather than the car speakers. All other sounds such as Maps, Assistant, music, etc. All work as they should,” someone explains on the forums.

Now here’s what Google says about this long-time Android Auto glitch.

The company first acknowledged the problem shortly after the first users reported it, and after originally asking for more information from the impacted Android Auto adopters, it started an investigation that took several months to complete. It was all because the Android Auto team couldn’t reproduce the issue and needed more logs from users.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to reproduce the issue. It would be great if you could send us a bug report from your phone. Bug reports will help our engineers understand what's going on and to diagnose the root cause of the issue. We'll send an email with the instructions on how to capture a bug report. Please reply directly to the email with your information,” a Google Community Specialist said.

The fix eventually landed in November when Google finally confirmed the patch. However, it wasn’t necessarily the good news that users expected.

First of all, owners of a Google Pixel phone could get the fix by simply updating their devices to the latest software version. Second of all, those who owned a device from another brand were told to reach out to the manufacturer for a fix.

Needless to say, the latter option involves waiting even longer for the fix, not to mention that some phone makers might not necessarily be very committed to improving the experience on Android Auto.

Unsurprisingly, users haven’t necessarily received this announcement very well. Some claim that the issue still occurs, even after installing the most recent updates. And what’s worse is that the Android Auto experience is substantially broken, not only on the Google Pixel but also on other high-end models from other brands, including Samsung. And right now, nobody knows precisely when a fix could actually go live for Android Auto users.