Your Complete Guide to Setting up Android Auto
There have been a steady series of improvements to Android Auto over the years, and for the most part, it’s now a polished and reliable way to access your phone from your car’s dashboard while you’re on the road – assuming your car is the head unit, of course. Android Auto compatible.
Just like with Android on your phone , there are different ways to customize Android Auto to make it look and work the way you want. You’ll want to be able to work with the interface as quickly and intuitively as possible – not least for security reasons – and so it makes sense to customize everything the way you like.
Whether you’re just getting started with Android Auto or have been using it for years, I’ll walk you through the different customization options available. (I’m assuming you’ve already gone through the initial connection and setup process.)
Set up Android Auto on your phone
You don’t have to be on the go to get started setting up Android Auto: open Settings on your phone, then tap Connected devices , Connection settings , and Android Auto . There are a lot of settings here, but we’re going to focus on the ones that customize how Android Auto looks and works.
The first option you should select is “Customize launcher ”. The next screen allows you to decide which apps will appear in the app drawer on your car’s dashboard. The list will list all the apps on your phone that also work on Android Auto, so select the ones you want in your car and deselect the ones you don’t need.
It’s a convenient way to declutter your Android Auto screen by showing only the apps you actually want to use on the go, rather than every single app on your Android Auto-enabled phone. Note that you can also use the Add Shortcut to Launcher option to add a custom link to a Google Assistant contact or action.
After selecting an application, you can pay attention to other settings in the Android Auto menu. Tap “Day/Night Mode” for Maps to choose how the Google Maps interface changes (or stays the same) depending on the time of day, and use the “Start music automatically ” toggle to determine whether the audio will start playing from your last used media file. app as soon as Android Auto connects.
The Driver Seat Position and Change Layout options let you customize some basic settings for Android Auto’s on-screen appearance: whether you want the sidebar to be on the left or right, and whether you want the media control widget or navigation widget to be closer to that side , the driver is enabled.
You’ll also notice a few toggles that control how notifications work in Android Auto, if you want them to show up at all. For example, you can display the first line of your incoming messages on the screen—this is useful for quickly checking the urgency of messages you receive while you’re on the road, but it might not be something you want to turn on if you have passengers in the car. .
The taskbar widget switcher is interesting: if it’s turned on, quick controls (like play buttons for music apps like Spotify) will remain on the display at the bottom of the screen. If you prefer to access these controls from a widget or from full-screen apps, you can disable the taskbar.
Set up Android Auto in your car
When you’re in a car with Android Auto connected, there are a few more setup tricks you need to know. Open the Launcher (click the nine-dot button in the corner if it’s not already visible), then select Settings to start making changes.
Many of the settings here, including notification settings and day/night mode in Google Maps, mirror those you can access on your phone, so you can change them in the car, too. One option that isn’t available on your phone is Wallpaper —tap it to change the background of the Android Auto interface.
You have several different wallpapers to choose from (unfortunately it is not possible to use one of your own images). The image you select does not affect the interface you’ll use while driving, but it does appear on the app launcher and menu screens.
It’s worth keeping in mind that all the options discussed here apply to your phone, not your car. This means that if someone else is using Android Auto in the same car, they will be able to set their own customization options, including which apps are displayed, background wallpapers, etc.