Best Android Auto makes it simple and secure to use your phone’s music, navigation, and other features while driving. Thanks to Google Assistant, it has a tonne of compatible applications and simple instructions.
You should be aware of a few simple adjustments to personalize Android Auto and improve it if you want to take use of the feature further. Let’s examine some useful Android Auto settings that you may modify to improve it.
Google Assistant Driving Mode compared. Android Auto
We should make a difference between two related Android services before moving on to the most important Android Auto settings. Google has long supported Android Auto on phones and on screens that work with cars. Google, however, stopped supporting Android Auto for phone displays in late 2021.
Instead, if you want Android Auto-like functionality on your car’s screen, you’ll need to utilise Google Assistant’s Driving Mode. You could notice a popup to “Try Driving Mode” at the top when you launch the Android Auto software on your phone. To activate it, you may also say “OK Google, start Driving Mode.” For extra assistance, go to our tutorial to Android’s Driving Mode.
While Driving Mode and the original Android Auto interface for your phone are similar, there are minor variations between the two. Because of this, we’ll explain below when anything just relates to Android Auto (on the screen in your car). To modify the choices listed below, you may still use the Android Auto app on your phone.
1. Make Android Auto run in dark or light mode
Depending on your car’s settings, Android Auto’s display in your car alternates between bright and dark modes by default. Android Auto will switch to night mode when your car detects darkness and automatically switches on the headlights.
With a simple setup, you may decide whether Android Auto’s navigation applications always run in day or night mode. Open the Android Auto app on your phone to get to it; as Android Auto doesn’t yet operate on phone displays, it will take you directly to the settings menu. Choose Automatic, Day, or Night in the Day/Night mode for maps field here.
You should use Google Maps techniques in the main app if you want to modify additional Google Maps settings for Android Auto.
You may compel the bright or dark theme to be used across Android Auto by going to the developer settings in Android Auto. A secret menu with additional settings is also there in Android Auto, just like it is with the regular Android developer options.
You may find the Version section by scrolling to the bottom of the preferences page for Android Auto. In order to see a popup to activate developer options, tap this repeatedly. You can now access Android Auto developer mode if you agree to this.
Open the three-dot menu in the upper right of the screen and select Developer settings to display these settings. You have a number of new options here. One of them is helpful to regular users even though the most of them aren’t. You may select Car-controlled, Phone-controlled, Day, or Night as the theme for Android Auto by tapping Day/Night.
As previously indicated, Car-controlled will modify the Android Auto theme according to the lighting outdoors. It goes without saying that Day and Night will always be in bright and dark modes, respectively.
Phone-controlled will adhere to the theming settings on your phone. For instance, if you configure your phone to go into night mode at sunset, Android Auto will do the same. If, for example, you’re driving through a tunnel and don’t want Android Auto to briefly enter dark mode, you may use this option.
Look at the Video Resolution when you’re in the Android Auto developer settings. Changing this setting might improve the quality of Android Auto’s display, depending on the head unit in your car.
2. Set Google Assistant’s Driving Mode
Make sure Google Assistant Driving Mode is configured correctly if you wish to utilise Android Auto on your phone’s display. Start Driving Mode simply telling Google, “OK Google, start Driving Mode,” to modify its settings. When it opens, touch Settings first, then the Menu icon in the bottom right corner.
Show driving-friendly texts and Allow incoming calls while driving are two simple settings that you’ll find. To access the other options for Driving Mode, hit More settings after these.
You have a few alternatives for more convenient access to Driving Mode. To start the mode automatically when you start a trip to a location, turn on When navigating in Google Maps. Launch driving mode under When linked to the car’s Bluetooth is another option. A different option is to have the service ask users before launching.
Ask before launching is the last selection under once driving is recognised. Using its motion sensors, your phone can recognise whether you’re in a car, at which time you’ll receive a prompt to turn on the mode. Remember that this might attempt to enable Android Auto while you are a passenger in a vehicle.
3. In Android Auto, automatically resume media
Every time you get in the car, you have to manually resume your music, podcast, or other media, which is annoying, especially if you make a lot of short stops. This nuisance can be eliminated with a simple Android Auto setup change.
Activate the Start music automatically setting on the Android Auto settings page. Whatever you were listening to before you stopped driving will now automatically continue playback when you turn on your car.
4. Allow weather displays on Android Auto
The weather is always available through Google Assistant, but having it shown on your screen is more practical. To achieve this, turn on the Weather slider in Android Auto’s settings.
The status bar at the top of the Android Auto screen will now show the current temperature and weather. It was generated using weather information from your phone’s location, so it may not match the temperature display in your car (which senses the temperature instead of getting data from the internet).
5. Manage Android’s Auto Notification Settings
You may view alerts from approved applications with Android Auto, but it’s crucial that they don’t divert your attention while you’re driving. You may change the toggles for these in Android Auto if you’d prefer not to get message notifications to keep your eyes on the road.
Locate the Notifications area by scrolling down on the Android Auto settings page. The Show message notifications and Show group message notifications sliders are located here; the former is for individual messages, while the latter is for any discussions involving three or more individuals.
If you don’t want warnings to sound, you may disable Show conversation chime, which is a smart idea because they might compete with your music or other media. Finally, if you’re stopped when new message alerts come, the Show first line of conversations slider will display one line of discussion notifications. Use with caution as it may cause you to get even more distracted while driving.
Start Android Auto While Locked, step six
Android Auto may not launch if your phone is locked when you connect to your car, depending on your phone and the particulars of your vehicle. Enable the Start Android Auto when locked slider in the options menu if you want to use Android Auto as soon as you attach your smartphone, even if it’s locked.
Because somebody might utilise Android Auto without going via your lock screen, this somewhat lessens the security of the function. However, if you frequently use Android Auto, the convenience of being able to launch the top Android Auto applications immediately is probably worthwhile.
7. Upgrade the Android Auto Launcher with Shortcuts
We’ve looked at how to rearrange and customise the icons that display on your car’s launcher in our list of the best Android Auto tips. You might have forgotten that the launcher allows you to set shortcuts for the Google Assistant, though. To achieve this, select Customize Launcher > Add a shortcut to the launcher from inside the Android Auto app.
To add a one-tap option to call anyone of your choosing, select Call a contact. Even more beneficial is using an Assistant action. It enables you to design tappable icons for Google Assistant commands. This is handy if you want to execute a command without speaking it out loud or if you don’t want to wake up a sleeping child, for example.
Just add a name to the activity and input an Assistant Command, such as “Read my mails.” If you’re linked to Android Auto, you may click Test Command to see how it functions.
