Photo: autoevolution
Google Maps is one of the most popular driving companions because it’s very often pretty accurate and helps find more convenient routes to a user-defined destination, all while also offering support for Android Auto and CarPlay.
But as some users discover occasionally, not everything in Google Maps is working exactly as expected, with some features suddenly broken down for no clear reason.
In the case of Android Auto, for example, one Google Maps feature that started acting up was the route indicator on the map, which somehow went missing all of a sudden earlier this year. In other words, while the navigation was still working correctly and users still received the audio and the visual guidance in Google Maps, the route was no longer marked on the map with the typical blue line that shows which way you’re supposed to go.
Google rapidly resolved the problem and shipped a fix only a few weeks later, so right now, the route should show up properly on Google Maps and Android Auto.
And yet, it looks like the same glitch is now hitting CarPlay as well. Several users have reported a problem, and I can confirm it too, causing Google Maps to no longer display the route when the app runs on an iPhone connected to a head unit and running CarPlay.
As you can see in the screenshot here, the visual guidance continues to be available, only that the route is no longer marked on the map.
The generic workarounds don’t seem to make any difference, so you can disconnect the iPhone and reboot it as many times you want because this error still shows up again sooner or later. In my case, simply reconnecting the iPhone fixes the whole thing for a few minutes, but of course, this isn’t a convenient workaround anyway given I need to pull over for the whole thing.
Google hasn’t acknowledged the CarPlay glitch just yet, so it remains to be seen when a fix is supposed to land.
In the case of Android Auto, for example, one Google Maps feature that started acting up was the route indicator on the map, which somehow went missing all of a sudden earlier this year. In other words, while the navigation was still working correctly and users still received the audio and the visual guidance in Google Maps, the route was no longer marked on the map with the typical blue line that shows which way you’re supposed to go.
Google rapidly resolved the problem and shipped a fix only a few weeks later, so right now, the route should show up properly on Google Maps and Android Auto.
And yet, it looks like the same glitch is now hitting CarPlay as well. Several users have reported a problem, and I can confirm it too, causing Google Maps to no longer display the route when the app runs on an iPhone connected to a head unit and running CarPlay.
As you can see in the screenshot here, the visual guidance continues to be available, only that the route is no longer marked on the map.
The generic workarounds don’t seem to make any difference, so you can disconnect the iPhone and reboot it as many times you want because this error still shows up again sooner or later. In my case, simply reconnecting the iPhone fixes the whole thing for a few minutes, but of course, this isn’t a convenient workaround anyway given I need to pull over for the whole thing.
Google hasn’t acknowledged the CarPlay glitch just yet, so it remains to be seen when a fix is supposed to land.
Google News