Widespread Bug in Android Auto Causes Lag and App Freezing

• Android Auto bug: extreme slowness & usability issues
• Triggered by Google Maps and music apps
• No workaround or official fix is available yet

There’s a recent problem with Android Auto that’s causing a lot of frustration for users. A bug has appeared, making the app extremely slow and practically impossible to use. Initially, it was thought that the bug was caused by a combination of Google Maps and music apps, but the exact nature of the issue is still a bit puzzling.

The trouble was first discovered in January of this year, and it seems to be affecting more and more people as they receive updates triggering the problem. Reports indicate that Android Auto versions 9.0 and newer are the ones affected, although the specific version responsible for the bug remains unknown.

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When users first open Android Auto, everything seems fine. However, once they launch Google Maps and a music app like Spotify or another audio player, things start to go downhill. The app becomes increasingly slow, and sometimes it even appears frozen. People have reported that all music apps, including Spotify, Musicolet, and YouTube Music, are affected. The issue seems to be triggered specifically when Google Maps is running, and there have been a few reports of lag with Waze as well, suggesting a possible connection to navigation apps or the GPS connection.

Interestingly, no matter which music app is being used, Android Auto becomes completely unusable. It responds to user input with significant delays that can last for several seconds. However, users have discovered that stopping the music playback in the audio app being used brings back the functionality of Android Auto. This suggests that audio apps might be involved in the bug, although it occurs with various music players as long as Google Maps is running.

Despite many users’ attempts, no workaround or solution has been found yet. People have tried clearing the cache and data, as well as reinstalling Android Auto, Spotify, and Google Maps, but nothing has worked. Unfortunately, the bug persists, and no official diagnosis or fix has been provided.

In January, a member of the Android Auto team asked affected users for additional information, like phone logs, but there have been no further updates since then. It’s possible that an investigation is currently underway, although no official confirmation has been given.

Fortunately, it seems that this bug has nothing to do with Coolwalk, a major update for Android Auto announced in January. Coolwalk has introduced some other issues, such as a freezing error affecting the lower part of the screen. It seems that Google is holding back on the complete rollout of Coolwalk as they work on improving its overall performance and reliability.

For now, users encountering this bug with Google Maps and Android Auto have no choice but to wait for Google to develop a fix.

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