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Old Bug Makes Android Auto Think You’re Driving on Another Street

A bug affecting a significant number of Android Auto users causes navigation apps to constantly lose GPS tracking, eventually positioning cars in random places, sometimes on a different street.
The bug is yet to be fixed in the latest Android Auto updates 1 photo
Photo: Google
The issue isn’t necessarily new, but it’s yet to receive a fix, and the latest versions of Android Auto don’t seem to improve GPS positioning in any way.

The first reports of Android Auto struggling with GPS tracking were posted on Google’s support forums in the spring of 2019, at which point it was believed that only Google Maps was affected.

Later the same year, however, other users confirmed that while Google Maps was primarily impacted by this problem, other navigation apps also struggled with GPS tracking, including Google-owned Waze as well.

The phone brand or the car model doesn’t seem to make any difference, and judging from the latest reports posted by users hitting the same bug in 2020, the latest versions of Android Auto don’t include any fixes in this regard.

There’s not much you can do to correct this problem, but one thing that has previously worked for me whenever I encountered GPS tracking issues in Android Auto was to quickly switch from one navigation app to another. For example, if you’re using Waze and the app provides incorrect positioning, switch to Google Maps and then go back to Waze from your car unit on Android Auto.

This could resolve the problem temporarily, and other users add that disabling battery optimizations and energy saving systems could also help in some rare cases.

Resetting phones, removing and re-installing Android Auto, Google Maps, and Waze, clearing cache, and toggling airplane mode on and off are some of the workarounds others have tried, but to no avail. For the time being, Google is yet to acknowledge these problems, so it remains to be seen if a fix comes in the next Android Auto update due later this month.
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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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