Android Auto has been around for over a decade and is an incredible solution for safely staying connected to your phone while driving. Most cars support a wired Android Auto connection, so make sure you have the best cables for work. Wireless Android Auto is increasingly common in many new car models, not just premium ones. Additionally, Google continues to update Auto with new features such as support for Google meeting on Android Auto.
While it works great out of the box, there are a few settings that I always tweak every time I use a new phone with my car. These are simple toggle switches that can make a big difference when using Android Auto on a daily basis, and all of them can be done through your phone. Here are my top five settings and adjustments I recommend making if you’re just setting it up.
Prevent music from playing automatically when connected
One of the most annoying default settings of Android Auto is that your music will automatically start playing as soon as your phone connects to your car. It can be very jarring at night if you had the volume all the way up the last time you used the car. It can also be downright embarrassing, depending on who’s in the car with you, and your secret guilty pleasure music starts blasting. Maintain your dignity by simply turning off this switch.
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On your phone, go to Settingsand search Android Auto. In the settings menu, scroll down to Start-up submenu and disable Start music automatically. That’s all. Now, the next time you connect your phone, your music will be in pause state.
Minimize app notification distractions
By default, most messaging apps and some multimedia apps (YouTube MusicSpotify) installed on your phone will appear in the Android Auto app drawer. Any notifications from these apps will also appear on your screen as alerts. When driving, the last thing you want is spam alerts from insurance companies distracting you from the road. There are two ways to turn off notifications.
To minimize audible pings, head to the Android Auto settings menu, scroll down to Messaging submenu and simply disable Play message ring. This will at least stop the audible alerts, but still show you incoming messages. If you want to stop this as well, you can simply disable the first submenu item called Show message notifications.
Another way to do this is to disable unwanted apps from the app drawer so that those notifications are automatically removed. From the same settings menu on your phone, scroll up to Customize launcherand simply uncheck the apps you don’t want to use with Android Auto.
Prevent Android Auto from starting automatically
One of the best things about Android Auto is that it starts up smoothly when you start your car, but not everyone may want to set it up this way. Android Auto drains the battery faster when connected wirelessly to your car’s head unit, and you may not always need it if you prefer to tune the radio or don’t need maps for shorter trips.
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated setting for this in Android Auto at the moment. None of the selectable options in the Start Android Auto automatically The menu allows you to do this. A workaround that has proven to work for me is deactivate the lever Start Android Auto while locked.
By doing so, your phone will still connect to your car via Bluetooth (for calls), but Android Auto will not start, as long as your phone is locked. If you need to enable Android Auto in the middle of your drive, you should see a notification on your phone saying “Android Auto is available” and tapping it should launch. You can also enable it manually through your car’s dashboard.
Create shortcuts for frequent tasks
You can give voice commands to Google Assistant to call a contact or find places along your route. If you are one of the lucky ones, you probably already have Gemini on Android Autowhich is far superior in terms of understanding instructions. However, there will be times when Assistant simply cannot understand what you are asking it to do due to wind noise if you are driving with the window down or with noisy children in the back seat. In times like these, it’s good to have shortcuts already set up for frequently used actions.
In the Android Auto settings on your phone, tap Customize launcherand then play Add a shortcut to the Launcher. You can set shortcuts for “Call a contact” either “A wizard action.“ The first one is self-explanatory as it basically allows you to create a one-touch call shortcut for a contact. The latter is where it gets interesting, as it allows you to create any command you would normally give the Assistant, such as “find all nearby gas stations.” You can then tag it and even test it (Android Auto must be active for this) before saving it.
Once you create these shortcuts, you can go back and reorder them at the top of the list so they are the first icons you see when you open the app drawer in Android Auto. Now, your favorite contacts and most used actions are just a tap away.
Enable quick controls
In the same Android Auto settings menu, enable the toggle called Taskbar widgets. What this does is allow you to control music playback from the taskbar, even if you have another app like Maps open in full screen. By default, the taskbar will show you other apps, but doing so means your passenger can’t pause or skip a track if you have another app in full-screen mode.
These are some very simple but important settings that you can make in Android Auto for safer and more enjoyable driving. Do you have any essential tips that are missing here? I’d love to know in the comments.
The best of Google so far
Google Pixel 10 Pro is the best way to experience Android, the way Google intended. Additionally, you get two exclusive features for Android Auto called Call Screen and Call Notes, which have started rolling out.
