# Android Auto - newbie question



## Tmroz (Jun 18, 2017)

I'm considering buying a new Cruze and am intrigued by Android Auto. Looking thru the forum I see some good and not so good experiences.

One of the things I want to be able to do is listen to the car radio and navigate with Google maps at the same time. Does anyone know how easy it is to switch between them? Does the radio mute when navigation (or texts, or calls) wants to give directions? Sure wish there was a video on how all of this works together.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Android Auto is so hit and miss that I recommend you take your phone and a good quality USB cable to your dealership and see if you can get it to work.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> One of the things I want to be able to do is listen to the car radio and navigate with Google maps at the same time. Does anyone know how easy it is to switch between them? Does the radio mute when navigation (or texts, or calls) wants to give directions? Sure wish there was a video on how all of this works together.


They'll work simultaneously and it's relatively easy to switch between, like any other Android Auto system.

The music will go quieter as the navigation voice talks over it. Both volumes are separately adjustable in the Cruze.


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## Wirthy (Sep 21, 2013)

Tmroz said:


> I'm considering buying a new Cruze and am intrigued by Android Auto. Looking thru the forum I see some good and not so good experiences.
> 
> One of the things I want to be able to do is listen to the car radio and navigate with Google maps at the same time. Does anyone know how easy it is to switch between them? Does the radio mute when navigation (or texts, or calls) wants to give directions? Sure wish there was a video on how all of this works together.



I almost always have Android Auto active (usually on Google Maps) and listen to the radio simultaneously. Since Android Auto occupies the main screen, I set the info display on the instrument cluster (in front of steering wheel) to Audio, so I can navigate my XM Radio presets.

My one complaint is that the USB connection for Android Auto does not provide Fast Charging; it only offers regular charging. So, if I'm running Android Auto and Google Maps, the battery only maintains its level or maybe gains slightly during my commute.


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## Dngrsone (Jul 3, 2017)

What @Wirthy says: on the 2017 Cruze, you can navigate and listen to music at the same time. Moving between the two pages is simple, but if you are using a phone such as the Galaxy S7, then you'll want to have a charger handy because the interface won't do more than keep your battery level the same, if that.


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## chaimss (Jul 6, 2017)

obermd said:


> Android Auto is so hit and miss that I recommend you take your phone and a good quality USB cable to your dealership and see if you can get it to work.


It's interesting- I hear this too, but I've tried AA in about 5 cars now, and they've all worked for the short spins I've taken them on.


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## AZ2981 (Nov 2, 2017)

Just bought out 2017 Cruse hatchback. My wife and I both have the same model Android device with the same custom ROM. Mine is much more customized with personal settings. The wife was able to connect with Android Auto after phone automatically loaded the app and she clicked 2x for permissions. She was navigating, calling, and enjoying music in a matter of minutes. It took me longer to see that my phone wanted to install Android Auto. And I still am having trouble getting the phone to auto launch when connected, even though the app setting is enabled.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

AZ2981 said:


> Just bought out 2017 Cruse hatchback. My wife and I both have the same model Android device with the same custom ROM. Mine is much more customized with personal settings. The wife was able to connect with Android Auto after phone automatically loaded the app and she clicked 2x for permissions. She was navigating, calling, and enjoying music in a matter of minutes. It took me longer to see that my phone wanted to install Android Auto. And I still am having trouble getting the phone to auto launch when connected, even though the app setting is enabled.


Try deleting the device from the car and readding it. I have to do this every couple weeks. 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

Rant time... Android Auto isn't as great as it's made out to be... Google was a bit too restrictive in their 'avoid driver distraction'. Which is weird because they were by no means obligated to do so.

Everything revolves on a 6 tap limit. Some cars will remove that limit when you are in park, some won't. It's hit or miss and I'm not sure what the new Cruze does. The problem with the 6 tap is I've never actually seen it work the way it is suppose to. Every time I've seen people hit that limit they pretty much always just grab their phone and do whatever it is they were going to do.


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## Premier17 (May 20, 2017)

The Android auto annoys me a bit with my Google Pixel. When AA is active, my phone gets locked on the AA screen and I can't use the phone at all. But, through bluetooth the integration is terrible with my phone. It used to show the track being played on the bluetooth screen, etc. Ever since a few updates ago, I get no information on my bluetooth screen, and I also cannot control the phone at all with the radio controls.  Probably more an issue with the Pixel though, but Apple Carplay seems to be a bit better and snappier to use.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I like switching between apps/things much better on CarPlay (it ain’t quick with an iPhone 6 though). I like the Home screen and Google integration on AA better, as well as the choice of what app to use for navigation. 

It is massively annoying that you/a passenger can’t pick up the phone while it is plugged into USB though.


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## KenH (Aug 27, 2017)

Instead of AA… Google, Yuck! :hellno:. (They seem to be a little too interested in your personnal affairs.)
Try the "HERE WeGo" app :3tens:, much much better IMO, which has the added benefit of downloading maps by State to use offline. And yes, directions are conveyed over your music by BT or hardwire.

As a side note: It almost looks like Google stole parts of, (modeled), their app from the HERE WeGo guys.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

KenH said:


> Instead of AA… Google, Yuck! :hellno:. (They seem to be a little too interested in your personnal affairs.)
> Try the "HERE WeGo" app :3tens:, much much better IMO, which has the added benefit of downloading maps by State to use offline. And yes, directions are conveyed over your music by BT or hardwire.
> 
> As a side note: It almost looks like Google stole parts of, (modeled), their app from the HERE WeGo guys.


I don't think here we go is any different then any other gps app. We all can use ANY app and it'll broadcast Bluetooth or wire. Even google does that. AA makes it nice to use the radio screen so we don't have to look at our phones. The only option for gps using AA would be waze and google.


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## KenH (Aug 27, 2017)

Okay...I tried it on my 2014 without realizing the app was only compatable on 2016+ models.
Now we all know…


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## HondaTech2016 (Apr 20, 2017)

My one annoyance wirh AA is the fact that when I exit the car and get back in the connection is not picked back up. I have to unplug the phone and plug it back in to initialize the connection again. It's fine if I'm going away for awhile taking the phone with me, but short stops at the gas station or whatever makes it a tad annoying. Same with my Note 8 or my LG V20.

The inability to type addresses in while out of park got a small bit annoying until my dumb self realized I could just "OK Google" the address or name of the place I was looking for. That solved most of my issues. 

Not sure what the 6 tap thing is, I've skipped songs with the screen on Spotify, iHeart, and Google play (can also use paddles behind wheel) with no problems. As well as used the nav, and other features and never hit a tap limit. 

Another small annoyance I just remembered, unless it's a setting somewhere, the phone is useless when in AA mode. Unless you get a notification for an app ( messaging, email, Snapchat, etc.) you can't access anything on the phone without unplugging and losing connection first. Kinda annoying when I want to snap someone without them having sent me something first. Messaging works on screen but I'm not a big fan of voice text and haven't actually tried to see if you can text using the in dash screen (sure you can't). 

My 2 cents. Cable I use is a braided type I got at an AT&T store. I can't for the life of me remember the name but it works fine. Both the phones I mentioned above use usb-c. Which I've heard can be finicky with AA relating to the cables that will work.


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## mike_art03a (Jul 20, 2017)

I've haven't had too many issues with AA myself and my Galaxy S8, my old HTC One M9 was cranky as all get out though. But as others have stated, I've had the USB connection flake out on me for short stops. I've gotten into the habit of pausing music playback and returning to the car's home screen before killing the power. It seems to have minimized the issue.

That being said, I've had to completely reset my head unit once because it absolutely refused to recognize my phone over Bluetooth or the USB cable. So it might be a glitch with Chevy's operating system more than Android Auto.

And a tip if you're getting battery drain issues, go into the Android Auto app (disconnected from the car) and check the screen settings. For some reason, it defaults to being always on, I've changed it to use the phone's default settings and I've noticed a marked improvement in my battery performance. The drain is no longer present or minimal at best.


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## johnmo (Mar 2, 2017)

Snipesy said:


> Rant time... Android Auto isn't as great as it's made out to be... Google was a bit too restrictive in their 'avoid driver distraction'. Which is weird because they were by no means obligated to do so.
> 
> Everything revolves on a 6 tap limit. Some cars will remove that limit when you are in park, some won't. It's hit or miss and I'm not sure what the new Cruze does. The problem with the 6 tap is I've never actually seen it work the way it is suppose to. Every time I've seen people hit that limit they pretty much always just grab their phone and do whatever it is they were going to do.


This is my main beef with AA. I'm more dangerous trying to drive and figure out how to get around the 6 tap limit than I would be if it just let me get to what I know is there. Seems like I always run out of scroll taps about one shy of where I know I need to get to. The official idea is that you can use voice commands to get to anything, but that's really hit or miss with music apps. Voice command works pretty well with messaging and navigation apps.


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## 17Hatch6MT (Dec 28, 2015)

Snipesy said:


> Rant time... Android Auto isn't as great as it's made out to be... Google was a bit too restrictive in their 'avoid driver distraction'. Which is weird because they were by no means obligated to do so.
> 
> Everything revolves on a 6 tap limit. Some cars will remove that limit when you are in park, some won't. It's hit or miss and I'm not sure what the new Cruze does. The problem with the 6 tap is I've never actually seen it work the way it is suppose to. Every time I've seen people hit that limit they pretty much always just grab their phone and do whatever it is they were going to do.


AA wouldn't let me scroll through my music files, even when stopped. I de-activated it for that reason.


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