Photo: Google
We’ve known for a while that phone calls don’t always work exactly as expected on Android Auto, and Google itself has acknowledged several issues in this regard.
Most recently, the search giant confirmed that the next Android Auto version would bring a fix for phone calls no longer working after the update to Android 11.
But a new similar glitch seems to be hitting a smaller set of users, though this time, it’s not yet clear if Android Auto is the one to blame or the culprit is the head unit powering the entire experience.
More specifically, some users complain on Google’s forums that their phone calls lose the audio in the middle of the conversation when Android Auto is running on the screen. This happens exactly five minutes after the call is started, and the only workaround is to just switch to Bluetooth during this whole time and disable Android Auto.
“I have a Note10+ that I connect via USB to an Alpine ILX-W650 for Android Auto. Everything works great until I make a call that lasts more than 5 minutes. Once I hit the 5-minute mark, I can't hear nor can the other side, but on the screen it all looks like it's still connected. If I make a call through just Bluetooth, it works just fine,” someone explains.
Others have confirmed the same behavior in their cars, and they were also using an Alpine ILX-W650 head unit to power Android Auto, which seems to suggest that the stereo might actually be the culprit this time.
Android Auto issues with the Alpine ILX-W650 aren’t new, and a few weeks ago, users discovered another problem with the very same head unit. This time, it was a random disconnect that occurred all of a sudden when this stereo was powering Android Auto, though users who hit this glitch claimed that the whole thing returned to normal when they bought a new cable.
It’s not yet known if replacing cables also addresses the phone call problem on the Alpine ILX-W650.
But a new similar glitch seems to be hitting a smaller set of users, though this time, it’s not yet clear if Android Auto is the one to blame or the culprit is the head unit powering the entire experience.
More specifically, some users complain on Google’s forums that their phone calls lose the audio in the middle of the conversation when Android Auto is running on the screen. This happens exactly five minutes after the call is started, and the only workaround is to just switch to Bluetooth during this whole time and disable Android Auto.
“I have a Note10+ that I connect via USB to an Alpine ILX-W650 for Android Auto. Everything works great until I make a call that lasts more than 5 minutes. Once I hit the 5-minute mark, I can't hear nor can the other side, but on the screen it all looks like it's still connected. If I make a call through just Bluetooth, it works just fine,” someone explains.
Others have confirmed the same behavior in their cars, and they were also using an Alpine ILX-W650 head unit to power Android Auto, which seems to suggest that the stereo might actually be the culprit this time.
Android Auto issues with the Alpine ILX-W650 aren’t new, and a few weeks ago, users discovered another problem with the very same head unit. This time, it was a random disconnect that occurred all of a sudden when this stereo was powering Android Auto, though users who hit this glitch claimed that the whole thing returned to normal when they bought a new cable.
It’s not yet known if replacing cables also addresses the phone call problem on the Alpine ILX-W650.
Google News