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A new Android Auto version is now available for download with under-the-hood changes, and because Google itself doesn’t provide any release notes for these updates, it’s up to each and every one of us to figure out what’s new.
One of the most highly-anticipated fixes that users hoped Google would include in this new Android Auto version concerns voice commands, as this feature has been broken for several weeks already.
Voice commands in Android Auto are particularly important because they allow users to perform a series of tasks hands-free, thus reducing driver distraction behind the wheel.
The voice command support is powered by Google Assistant, which is offered built-in, but as many users discovered lately, using them no longer works simply because the Assistant itself fails to respond to voice input.
Google, however, confirmed this was a bug they were investigating, and earlier this month, a Community Manager said the whole thing was caused by a bug in Google Assistant, not in Android Auto. In other words, this is also the reason the latest Android Auto doesn’t fix the issue, as what we need to restore voice commands is an update for the Google app powering the Assistant.
“The team is working hard to investigate and we may reach out at a later time when we need more data,” Google Assistant Community Manager said in early March.
Some users, however, discovered that fixing the bug on their own is actually possible by simply removing all updates for the Google app. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the most convenient workaround, but for some it does the magic and fixes the voice commands issue, at least temporarily.
At the time of writing, there’s still no word as to when the voice command support is supposed to be fixed, so users coming across this issue have no other option than to try out the unofficial workarounds available online.
Voice commands in Android Auto are particularly important because they allow users to perform a series of tasks hands-free, thus reducing driver distraction behind the wheel.
The voice command support is powered by Google Assistant, which is offered built-in, but as many users discovered lately, using them no longer works simply because the Assistant itself fails to respond to voice input.
Google, however, confirmed this was a bug they were investigating, and earlier this month, a Community Manager said the whole thing was caused by a bug in Google Assistant, not in Android Auto. In other words, this is also the reason the latest Android Auto doesn’t fix the issue, as what we need to restore voice commands is an update for the Google app powering the Assistant.
“The team is working hard to investigate and we may reach out at a later time when we need more data,” Google Assistant Community Manager said in early March.
Some users, however, discovered that fixing the bug on their own is actually possible by simply removing all updates for the Google app. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the most convenient workaround, but for some it does the magic and fixes the voice commands issue, at least temporarily.
At the time of writing, there’s still no word as to when the voice command support is supposed to be fixed, so users coming across this issue have no other option than to try out the unofficial workarounds available online.
Google News