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Google Restarts Android Auto Bug Investigation After Original Fix Proves Useless

Things in the Android Auto world tend to break down for no clear reason, and users who purchased the current-generation Samsung Galaxy S flagship certainly know this very well.
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Photo: Florin Profir/autoevolution
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Launched in February last year, Samsung Galaxy S22 was obviously a high-end device that was supposed to deliver a top-notch experience from one end to another. Including on Android Auto, that is, though buyers ended up figuring out this wasn’t necessarily true the hard way.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra failed to work properly with Android Auto from the very beginning, with the first reports showing up on Google’s forums shortly after the device started shipping on February 22. Most customers complained of the same thing: Android Auto no longer started properly, with the app eventually stuck with a black screen on the media receiver in the cabin.

All the other Samsung devices on the market worked just fine, so it was pretty clear that the Galaxy S22 Ultra was the culprit. All the typical workarounds failed to produce an improvement, so everybody called for Google to begin an investigation and ship a fix.

The search company managed to figure out what was happening and delivered a fix in August. Users were told to update to Android Auto 7.7 or newer to get the app up and running with a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Despite the patch, however, the Android Auto struggle continued on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Owners were still encountering the same problem, and posts signaling the black screen error just kept coming. The new versions of Android Auto and the software updates released by Samsung itself didn’t include additional fixes, so Galaxy S22 Ultra buyers are still unable to run the app.

The numerous posts that reported the issue these days convinced Google to restart the investigation. The company is now explaining that it’s reaching out to users to request more information, as it’s once again looking into the whole thing and trying to develop a fix.

It’s too early to tell if and when a new fix could go live, but for the time being, it looks like Google isn’t necessarily in a rush to bring Android Auto up and running on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

This isn’t exactly surprising. Samsung is already getting ready to launch the Galaxy S23 series, with an Unpacked event due on February 1 supposed to witness the unveiling of the new-generation devices. The shipping is projected to begin later next month as well.

It remains to be seen if the new Samsung flagship is able to run Android Auto flawlessly, but for now, the Galaxy S22 Ultra still doesn’t seem to play nice with the app and nobody knows precisely what’s happening. Not even Google, that is.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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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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