In theory, when the connection between the mobile device and the head unit is correctly established and Android Auto is running properly, users should see a notification on their phones to inform the app is “connected to your car.”
This is an indication Android Auto is working exactly as it’s supposed to work. But most recently, some people started seeing a second message that looks uncanny, to say the least.
This second message reads “Looking for Android Auto,” and it comes in addition to the one mentioned above. In other words, while Android Auto is running on the head unit with absolutely no error, the mobile device still claims it’s searching for Android Auto.
The message is rather strange, especially because the users who ended up struggling with it claim the app doesn’t seem to be malfunctioning in any way. On the other hand, getting rid of the message looks impossible, as it doesn’t go away after restarting the mobile device or reconnecting the phone to the car.
While at first glance users can just continue running Android Auto normally without even caring about this message, some say this mysterious search for Android Auto causes overheating and battery drain.
For the time being, no workaround is known to exist, and Google is obviously yet to acknowledge this unexpected behavior. It doesn’t seem to be limited to just a specific phone model or brand, as Android Auto users here on Google’s forums claim the whole thing happens on Samsung devices and Google Pixels.
Without an official statement from Google, the only option for users struggling with this problem is to try the generic workarounds, which include clearing the cache and data and downgrading to an earlier version of Android Auto. Obviously, there’s a chance these wouldn’t make any difference, but given the search giant has so far remained tight-lipped, they are probably worth a shot anyway.
This second message reads “Looking for Android Auto,” and it comes in addition to the one mentioned above. In other words, while Android Auto is running on the head unit with absolutely no error, the mobile device still claims it’s searching for Android Auto.
The message is rather strange, especially because the users who ended up struggling with it claim the app doesn’t seem to be malfunctioning in any way. On the other hand, getting rid of the message looks impossible, as it doesn’t go away after restarting the mobile device or reconnecting the phone to the car.
While at first glance users can just continue running Android Auto normally without even caring about this message, some say this mysterious search for Android Auto causes overheating and battery drain.
For the time being, no workaround is known to exist, and Google is obviously yet to acknowledge this unexpected behavior. It doesn’t seem to be limited to just a specific phone model or brand, as Android Auto users here on Google’s forums claim the whole thing happens on Samsung devices and Google Pixels.
Without an official statement from Google, the only option for users struggling with this problem is to try the generic workarounds, which include clearing the cache and data and downgrading to an earlier version of Android Auto. Obviously, there’s a chance these wouldn’t make any difference, but given the search giant has so far remained tight-lipped, they are probably worth a shot anyway.