Affected users have found a bunch of solutions
Source: Google
Android Auto is usually a massive improvement over the standard infotainment systems offered by vehicle manufacturers, as it brings relevant stuff from your phone to your dashboard and offers a solid selection of apps. But when things go awry, you may need to take your eyes off the road to fix them, and unfortunately, a large swath of Android Auto users are currently experiencing GPS disconnection issues.
Thoughout this past week, Auto users have spotted a “Searching for GPS” message randomly popping up on-screen while their car is in operation. Complaints in the Android Auto subreddit and support forum (via 9to5Google) indicate that the error usually appears when Google Maps’ location permissions are set to “Allow only while using the app,” and may also result in your GPS indicator being blocks away from your actual location. However, Maps is working perfectly fine when used on the phone, so it appears to be an issue with the way Android Auto is pulling its location data.
Those affected have discovered a few fixes which could save the day, though. If you’re only seeing this issue occasionally, start by disabling battery optimization for the Google Maps app on your phone. This ensures the app isn’t killed off after it becomes a background process when the screen is switched off. Another option is to go to Settings -> Location -> App location permissions on your phone, then select Google Maps and choose “Allow all the time.” This can be the solution if you’ve noticed that opening Maps fixes the “Searching for GPS” issue.
Since the issue appears to be limited to the combination of Android Auto and Google Maps, you might want to try Google’s other navigation app, Waze. It has a slightly different interface, but users are reporting that it still works flawlessly with Android Auto — plus, it shares a bunch of common features with Maps, so you’ll feel right at home. Google is yet to acknowledge the issue or provide a permanent fix, but the problem is still fairly recent. We just hope it gets fixed soon.
