There’s a lot to love about Android Auto. However, since the platform is designed for in-car use, any bugs or functionality issues can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you plan to use navigation on your journey. One such bug has been plaguing Android Auto users for a while now. Thankfully, it now looks like a fix is rolling out.
In response to growing online complaints about the glitchy Android Auto experience, a Google Community Specialist has confirmed that a bug fix is available in version 17.4 or newer of the Android Auto app (via 9to5Google).
For some background, multiple user reports on Reddit and Google’s support forum describe instances of Android Auto either freezing while operating or disconnecting altogether.
Complaints spanned across a variety of car models and smartphones, with both wireless and wired Android Auto setups seemingly being affected. However, the bug didn’t appear to affect all Android Auto users.
This follows an Android Auto bug that Google fixed in June with a Play Services update, which also addressed connection problems. However, it’s unclear whether the two cases are related.
In any case, if you’ve been among the many who have faced issues over the past few months, head over to the Play Store to download the version 17.4 update of Android Auto.
Given Android Auto’s long history of bugs, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if another issue pops up sometime in the near future. Still, people who use Android Auto frequentlycan breathe easy for now, knowing random freezing or connection issues won’t appear, at least for the time being.
While not fixing bugs, the Android Auto team is busy rolling out new features to the platform or expanding the scope of existing ones. Last month, Google Maps’ Immersive View and Speedometer features made their way to more Android Auto users after initially being limited to a small group on the Maps and Android Auto beta releases.
Also last month, we saw evidence of a revamped media player interface for the platform, adding a new blurred background in the colors of the album art. However, it was noted at the time that the changes appeared only when the player was in split-view during navigation, and not in full-screen mode. These changes haven’t widely rolled out yet, suggesting it’s still a work in progress.
