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Google Quietly Fixes Major Android Auto Bug, Waze Now Working Correctly

While Waze is a Google-owned app, and this should theoretically guarantee enhanced stability on Android Auto, users often find out the hard way this is not at all the case.
Waze on Android Auto 6 photos
Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution
Android Auto Coolwalk interfaceAndroid Auto Coolwalk interfaceAndroid Auto Coolwalk interfaceAndroid Auto Coolwalk interfaceAndroid Auto Coolwalk interface
Not a long time, for example, many people came across a bug that made it impossible to run Waze on Android Auto. The navigation app was launching with a black screen instead of the map, and despite all the workarounds that users have been trying, no solution is known to exist.

The black screen is a long-time glitch on Android Auto, and it gradually affected many other applications running on the platform. Google Maps also struggled with a black screen at one point, and so did Spotify, with app updates eventually bringing things back to normal for everybody.

Discovered in the summer of 2022, the Waze problem has obviously been around for quite some time. At one point, users came across a solution that did restore the navigation app: going back to Android Auto 7.7 brought things back to normal.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work long, as Google eventually enforced the update to newer versions of Android Auto (this is something the company occasionally does, as it wants to focus on the latest app releases and new features). In other words, Android Auto 7.7 ended up being blocked and requested an update to continue to run.

But at the same time, the aforementioned workaround also confirmed that Android Auto was the one to blame for the whole thing. So at least, Google knew where to look for a fix.

The search company quietly resolved the glitch with the most recent Android Auto and Waze updates, though for the time being, only beta users are getting the fix. The beta builds of Android Auto 8.8 and Waze 4.91 bring things back to normal, with no black screen whatsoever.

For the time being, given the new versions are still in the beta development stage, only testers can try them out, but it’s all just a matter of time until Google ships the updates to production devices as well.

If you’re comfortable with sideloading the latest builds on your device, you can always download the APK installers for the new versions as well. If you’re not, then the new updates should go live for everybody in just a few weeks.

An official announcement doesn’t exist just yet, probably as Google still wants to see if the implemented fixes address the black screen in Waze for everybody.

Waze 4.91 beta also comes with another major update. The navigation app now supports the Coolwalk redesign on Android Auto, as it can run in the dedicated navigation card in the split-view screen. Coolwalk is currently shipping to Android Auto users out there in stages, with the rollout controlled by Google with a server-side approach.
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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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