Android Auto is a feature that allows you to connect a mobile phone or tablet to an automobile via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or an USB connection.
Android Auto was introduced in late 2016 and is a cross-platform feature that works with any vehicle, due to its use of Bluetooth and USB connection. It does not work with gasoline powered vehicles, nor does it work with those without a standard USB port.
The vast majority of cars have at least one USB port so your car can connect an external device such as a phone or tablet.
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How Android Auto works
Once your car has connected to Android Auto, you can start interacting with it via your phone. There are several ways to interact with the app, all of which utilize your phone as a remote.
You can:
screen-share with the app via your phone
use the included thumb drive to download and install the app on your device, then use that to add a car. You’ll need to use that device to control the car as well.
Possible reasons for data usage
If your Android Auto device is connected to a cellular network, then it will use data. The device will display the data usage indicator while connected, and you can tap on it to see how much is used.
The indicator shows the following:
The number of data points being used (1-5 per minute).
The total amount of data used (5-15 gigabytes).
Autoplay
If you turn on the Auto feature, your phone will begin to load music while you drive. This is a nice feature that can save you time since you can listen to music while driving!
While it works well, there are some things that don’t work. For example, if your phone has an active LTE connection, then the app will not use data to play the music. Only Wi-Fi connections work with this app.
Also, if you have a good quality headset connected to your phone, then it won’t work due to interference from the auto play song feature. You must use a speaker or headphones that are of poor quality in order for this app to work well.
The auto play feature does not require any special settings in Android Auto either.
Using a Wi-Fi connection
Wi-Fi is an excellent connection technology that lets you access the Internet without a wired connection. With the right router and apps, you can turn your car into a home Wi-Fi zone!
Android Auto uses a data plan to function, so if you do not have a data plan, you will need to connect your vehicle using the included cellular signal. However, this does not matter as Android Auto uses only the Wi-Fi connection to download and install new apps!
You can easily set your vehicle to automatically connect to your phone over Wi-fi when parked, or when you enter your car it will be ready! Apps are also very easy to install as they just connect straight away via the web.
Confirming data usage on Android Auto
If your Android Auto device is connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can confirm how much data it is using by going to its menu and tapping on Data.
You can also do this via the device’s app on the car’s display. Once you see that, you can go into your phone’s app and check how much data it is using.
A useful feature of this is that you can choose not to receive push notifications for apps when Android Auto uses data. You can disable them directly in the app, however.
This way, only you will know that your device is using too much data while driving with Android Auto, and you can control whether or not you want to receive notifications for apps.
Check your app settings
If you have an Android app for your car, you should look into whether or not it uses data. If it does, your app may be collecting information about your location and usage to help promote it on and off the car.
This data may be used by other apps on your phone to determine where you are driving and what kind of vehicles you drive. This can add more features to the apps like parking services or NCAP ratings.
If this is the case for your app, it may be disabled in Android Auto’s settings. You will need to do a quick check to make sure however before offering the feature as a promotion.
As stated before, if this app does not use data, then there are no issues with Android Auto using cellular data.
Reboot your phone
If you are using your phone through the car Bluetooth connection, then you should also reboot your phone after making the connection. This is to ensure that your phone gets a new charge after the car re-syncs with your device.
Android Auto will not require a reboot if your phone has a charge, but does not connect until you do a sync with your device.
Many people run into this problem when they try to make an initial connection and their device says it is not connected.
Update your software
If you are using a newer version of Android or if you have updated your software since the device was released, then your Android Auto app needs to be updated too. The latest version of the app is 4.2!
Version 4.2 includes several bug fixes and improvements, making it a better experience for users. You can download it from the App Store or Google Play!
If you have earlier versions of the app, then go ahead and update! The latest will work fine on devices that have newer hardware, but users with older hardware may still enjoy it more if they update to the new version.