Still, the wireless connection is far from flawless. I’ve had plenty of beat drops and audiobooks ruined by a temporarily lost connection, which nearly made me give up on the wireless version of Android Auto in favor of a wired alternative.
That is, until I discovered a single setting that cut down on lost connections substantially: unrestricted battery usage.
I optimized Android Auto for long drives, and now I can’t go back
A few tweaks made long road trips less chaotic
Unrestricted Android Auto
Don’t let your battery break your connection
Android Auto comes with a lot of settings, and it can be hard to determine which ones have the biggest impact on your experience.
After a lost connection ruined yet another enjoyable in-car sing-along, I did some digging for something that could solve this consistent frustration, eventually discovering the App battery usage setting.
More specifically, I found that I can set Android Auto to unrestricted battery usage, which allows it to run in the background without regard for my battery life.
This immediately solved the problem. Apparently, my smartphone had been hampering Android Auto whenever it became too much of a drain on my battery, resulting in a dropped connection that spoiled an otherwise delightful driving experience.
Granted, there was some noticeable battery drain as a result of the change.
As someone who works from home regularly with a Google Pixel 10 Pro, battery life isn’t much of an issue anymore.
However, if you don’t have the luxury of a modern smartphone or an accessible charger throughout the day, the additional battery drain could put a strain on your usage.
How to enable Unrestricted battery usage
When optimized just isn’t good enough
You won’t have to be in your car to change this Android Auto setting. All you need is your Android phone and the ability to navigate a lengthy settings menu.
For starters, go to the Settings menu and select Apps. Select See all apps, and you shouldn’t need to scroll too far to find Android Auto, because the list is alphabetized.
When you’re there, scroll down until you see the App battery usage option and give it a click. You’ll see a toggle option to Allow background usage, which needs to be turned on.
Don’t stop there, though! After toggling on the setting, you’ll also want to click the setting. This will give you the option between Optimized, which allows the app to run in the background based on your usage, and Unrestricted, which allows the app to run regardless of battery usage.
Other ways to improve Android Auto
A few settings can really change your experience
While the battery usage setting will do the most to help you avoid lost connections, Android Auto provides several settings and actions that could improve your overall experience.
- Start automatically. Android Auto allows you to enable a variety of Start automatically settings, so you can access the infotainment system the moment you enter your car.
- Customize launcher. You can edit the apps available in Android Auto with the Customize launcher setting, and reorder them to access your favorites faster.
- Taskbar widgets. Enabling the taskbar widget adds a small bar at the bottom of your Android Auto screen to more effectively access other apps.
- Clear the cache. If Android Auto is lagging, it never hurts to clear the cache to declutter the system and speed things up.
If you really want to get granular with your Android Auto improvements, you can enable Developer mode by heading to the additional settings, scrolling to the bottom, clicking the Version data 10 times, and then tapping the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
Developer mode on Android Auto allows you to change even more, including collecting GPS data and changing the video resolution.
Make Android Auto work for you
It’s your car, after all
Like your smartphone, Android Auto provides many features and settings that are not enabled by default.
If you aren’t investigating these options, you are doing yourself a disservice, as just one or two could completely change how much you enjoy getting in the driver’s seat of your car.
Whether it’s your daily commute or the occasional trip out of town, we implore you to do a bit of digging to find out if there are any settings that make your life easier.
Customizing Android Auto could be the difference between an enjoyable car ride and a panicky lane change.
