A new Android Auto issue has recently emerged- device overheating or excessive battery drain when wirelessly connected to Android Auto. Apart from getting their phones warm pretty quickly, some users are also having their batteries drain at an alarming rate, while others are facing a slow charging rate. Android Auto issues are happening on many phones worldwide after the recent Android Auto update have been reported by users on social media. Android Auto overheating and battery drain issue is quite widespread and not just an isolated issue with a few devices.
The Android Auto issues surfacing after Android 13 update is not something new. They were reported when one moved from Android 11 to Android 12 and now it’s not an unexpected shock that with Android 13, lot many working features have broken on Android Auto post its update.
Android Auto has been a godsend for many drivers in the past few years. It’s an app that connects the phone to the car via a USB cable or wirelessly and projects certain features of the device on the vehicle’s display, enabling users to control those phone functionalities with voice commands. The app also gives users access to their music library and allows them to play music directly from their phone through their car music system.
This article will cover specifically overheat issues post Android Auto update and if there are any workarounds to it.
What are Android Auto update issues?
Issues of Battery drain after Android Auto update have become very commonly reported. Users who are on the road for a major part of their day, find that they cano longer use Android Auto because it is brutally killing the battery life of their device. Unfortunately fro most of them the car doesn’t produce enough power to run Android Auto and charge the phone. It drains faster than it charges.
Android Auto update overheats Android Phone when streaming music
As this user reported, his Pixel 6 with the latest Android 13 version was running fine with normal temperature and good battery life until he decided to plug the device into his car and play music by Android Auto, which made his phone get uncomfortably warm. Additionally, the app used a lot of battery power, making his device drain the charge at an accelerated speed than he had experienced before.
Another user who has encountered the same Android Auto overheating issue with his two Samsung flagships, S20 and S20 FE, commented to confirm this situation in the same post.
Android Auto overheating issue when connected via wireless mode
However, while others did not confirm whether they were using Android Auto with USB or via wireless mode, this user specifically faced the problem when his device was connected via Bluetooth.
Google Maps drain battery when using Android Auto
Users who are using Google Maps on Android Auto are finding it difficult to maintain the battery consumption to normal. One can disable it or disable always in the background and limit it to only when using app for the time being till Google rolls out another stable update.
Google Maps makes the phone super hot in both USB and wireless modes with Android Auto
Coming to another post, here the user noticed the temperature of his Samsung S21 plus rise to 50°C when using Google Maps. Needless to say, the phone is worryingly hot with that number, particularly if it regularly hits that threshold when running Google Maps using AA.
A user affirmed this issue, saying that he is experiencing the dreaded Android Auto overheating bug with his Galaxy S9 by commenting in the post. His device got shockingly warm, activated the device’s in-built protection mode, and finally froze, requiring him to perform a force restart. The user started noticing this problem just recently a week ago, strengthening our belief that it’s rather a bug and not a mere handling or hardware issue. It appears that Maps is using phone’s GPS instead of the car’s due to issues post Android Auto update.
Android Auto makes the device excessive hot to use and charge
Here the user complained about his wireless charging issue when using Android Auto in wireless mode and charging the device at the same time. The phone took around 30 minutes to increase the battery by only 6% before stopping charging. Clearly, the phone was draining more after Android Auto update(when connected through Bluetooth) than it was able to get juiced up by wireless charging.
What can be the possible reasons behind the Android Auto overheating issue?
The first hypothesis we came up with is that the Android Auto overheating problem might stem from the car’s use of the phone’s GPS during navigation by Google Maps instead of utilizing the vehicle’s in-built GPS system. When connected through Android Auto, the car should use its own GPS; that’s how it should work, and being unable to do so definitely indicates a AA bug.
We also thought that the car could be of an older model which does not come with an in-built GPS, or even if it does, the system might not work for whatever reasons, forcing the app to use the phone’s GPS.
Having said that, devices that are getting scary hot when running a relatively low power-consuming app like a music player (as some users experienced) without any active session of Google Maps running on the phone suggests the Android Auto overheating issue is rather related to the Android Auto update itself and not the vehicle or the device.
How to fix Android Auto causing phones to overheat?
So far, we have not found a surefire solution to this Android Auto overheating problem, but there are several things you can try out to save your phone from the heating issue.
Use AA by connecting through a USB
When used wirelessly, Android Auto update eats up relatively more power to function, making the device warmer and draining charge faster. So, use your USB cable instead and give up the wireless benefits until Google releases a fix to solve this Android Auto overheating bug.
A user found that replacing with a new usb-c cord for car and seemed to fix the AndroidAuto update issue. Check out another one shared by a user!
Another possible solution is to stop using Google Maps via Android Auto altogether. Don’t worry, though; we know the navigation is the most crucial AA feature that makes it such a useful tool for drivers who love their music and don’t want to take their eyes off the road. We recommend using Waze, a Google Maps alternative, for the time being. It’s definitely not as extensive as Google Maps, but it will get the job done.
Keep the phone mounted on the car’s AC vent
This is a workaround and not a permanent solution but mounting the device on the vehicle’s air-conditioner vent can help keep the phone cool and solve the Android Auto update overheating problem temporarily.
Avoid direct sunlight
All smartphones heat up when exposed to direct sunlight. If you are driving in full sun, be wary of holding your phone against the dashboard and make sure to put it in some cool and dark place, for example, your glovebox.
Buy an iPhone
Users who own both an Android and an iPhone from experience confirm that Apple phone usually stays at 100% without a problem, while the Google phone slowly loses charge over several hours. For absolutely no charging problems, go with the iPhone.
Did Google roll out an update to resolve Android Auto issue?
Although Google has not acknowledged the issue and a fix for the Android Auto update overheating problem is nowhere in sight. Considering that this is a widespread problem and affects many people worldwide, chances are high that Google already knows about it, and the company is working on a fix.
Unfortunately, we can’t give you any concrete information regarding the release date of the new update with the fixed Android Auto overheating bug. If you would like to stay updated on Android Auto update, feel free to check PhonesWiki’s page frequently.
