On paper, wi-fi Android Auto is sort of a dream come true. You hop within the automobile, rev ‘er up, and your telephone’s apps and providers magically seem in your infotainment system. Inside seconds, you’re listening to your music, receiving turn-by-turn navigation directions, and delivering voice instructions for texting, telephone calls, and extra. It’s like we’re residing sooner or later!

In fact, that’s solely on paper. In the actual world, utilizing Android Auto wirelessly could be such a problem that you just may need to bounce again to utilizing it wired — and even drop it altogether.

I just lately bought a new-to-me automobile — a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek — which comes with Android Auto as commonplace. It solely helps wired connections natively, however I used to be capable of receive a Motorola MA1 dongle that brings wi-fi assist to any Android Auto car. After utilizing this setup for a couple of weeks now, I’m critically questioning whether or not or not Google totally thought out its rollout of wi-fi assist. It merely doesn’t really feel prepared for primetime.

For instance the issues I’ve confronted, I’m going to focus rather a lot on one in all Google’s personal providers: Maps. Absolutely, if something ought to work effectively with a wi-fi Auto system, it could be Maps, proper?

Getting began? Find out how to join Android Auto to your automobile

As any Android Auto person will know, you’ll be able to’t use the telephone model of Google Maps when you are utilizing the Android Auto model. Whether or not you’re utilizing it wired or wirelessly, Maps turns into solely accessible through your automobile’s show when you’re linked. For those who attempt to open Maps in your telephone whereas engaged with Auto, the app merely doesn’t open.

The Auto model of Maps, nevertheless, is extremely watered down when in comparison with the complete telephone app. Trying to find restaurant menus is inconceivable, for instance, and doing granular searches for particular locations isn’t simple both. “Malls which might be inside 25 miles of me and open at 6:00 PM,” as an example, could be troublesome to navigate in your automobile’s show. Since you’ll be able to’t use your telephone to determine these items out, you simply…can’t?

It’s apparent why Google limits the telephone model of Maps on this manner. The entire level of Android Auto is to pressure you to depart your telephone alone and give attention to the street. Nevertheless, there are quite common conditions that Google doesn’t appear to keep in mind with this limitation. One is apparent: what in case you are parked? Utilizing the telephone model of Maps whereas parked is totally protected, however Maps nonetheless gained’t work in your telephone whilst you’re linked. And it’s not like Android Auto doesn’t know you’re parked. It should know as a result of it turns Android Auto’s keyboard on or off relying on whether or not or not the automobile is in movement.

Extra complaints: Android Auto is so dangerous it made me swap again to the iPhone

One well beyond that is to show your automobile off. Within the case of my Crosstrek, nevertheless, you don’t disconnect wirelessly from Auto by turning off the automobile alone. As a result of the automobile assumes you’ll nonetheless need to take heed to music or whatnot whereas parked, Android Auto stays engaged till you open the driver-side door and take the important thing out of the ignition.

So, in different phrases, to make use of the telephone model of Maps whereas within the automobile and linked to wi-fi Android Auto, I must park, flip off the car, open the door, take out my key, shut the door, after which look forward to Auto to totally disengage. Then I determine what I would like from Maps, restart the automobile, look forward to my telephone to reconnect, after which go on my manner. How handy!

Nevertheless, if I used Android Auto with a cable, this may not be as important of an issue. I may simply unplug and use Maps on my telephone to my coronary heart’s content material. I may even do this whereas driving! I wouldn’t, after all, however that brings us to a different enormous problem that comes up when utilizing Auto wirelessly.

The Crosstrek is a shared car between my companion and me. I’m the driving force most instances, however there are many instances she drives it as an alternative. It’s solely logical that she would additionally join her personal telephone wirelessly to Android Auto.

This creates an explosion of much more issues. The primary is big; there’s no solution to management who will get precedence for wi-fi Android Auto. Theoretically, when there are two telephones current, Auto ought to prioritize connecting to whichever telephone was most just lately linked. Nevertheless, we’ve got seen this fail quite a few instances.

Continued studying: Find out how to replace Android Auto

I’ve heard that some techniques assist you to set a precedence listing for the automobile’s Bluetooth connections and Auto defaults to this listing. For instance, if Telephone A seems on the high of the BT listing, Auto will all the time go for this telephone first. If it’s not there, then it goes for Telephone B and so forth. This doesn’t look like the case with the Crosstrek, and whether it is it definitely isn’t constant. I couldn’t discover any documentation on-line from Google to say if this could work this manner or not.

Even when we may management the precedence, that wouldn’t change the truth that there isn’t a direct solution to change who’s linked after the actual fact. If I’m driving and wish entry to my telephone however her telephone auto-connects first, there isn’t a solution to inform Android Auto to drop that connection and transfer over to mine. As an alternative, she would wish to terminate her personal connection after which look forward to my telephone to attach. This workaround is extremely inconvenient, first off, but in addition woefully sluggish. As soon as Auto realizes she’s “gone,” it could actually take a number of minutes for it to then auto-connect to my telephone. Generally it doesn’t join in any respect! When that occurs, we really need to show the automobile off, open the automobile door, shut it, restart the automobile, and look forward to Auto to hook up with my telephone. How is that this OK, Google?

Let’s return to Maps for a second. With one other particular person within the automobile, the issues I described within the earlier part would appear to be solved, proper? My companion can use her telephone’s Maps to seek out that mall inside 25 miles and open at 6:00 PM for us after which I can use Auto to navigate there. Sadly, this is also a clunky expertise. There’s no manner for her to ship me the knowledge, for instance. She will share a location or route with me from inside Maps, however that share goes to e mail, which is inaccessible via Auto. She will’t even textual content me a hyperlink as a result of Android Auto doesn’t acknowledge URLs in messages.

The one workaround for that is to choose up the telephone and discover the hyperlink, whether or not it’s in an e mail or a textual content. When she’s within the automobile, that is high-quality, since she will do it safely from the passenger’s seat. You possibly can guess how I would wish to do that if she wasn’t within the automobile (trace: by breaking the regulation).

In fact, Google doesn’t need us to do that in any respect. I’m certain it could say she or I ought to simply inform Android Auto to navigate to the mall utilizing a voice command. That sounds good, however what if we want a selected route? What if we’ve got a number of stops? What if Maps has bother discovering the particular mall to which we need to go? It will be a lot simpler to set all this up in Maps forward of time after which ship it to Android Auto.

Crazily sufficient, even a wired connection wouldn’t assist us right here. Let’s say we had been linked with a cable. My companion may disconnect my telephone after which use the complete model of Maps to create a selected path to the mall with a number of stops. Nevertheless, when she plugs it again in, that might all disappear as a result of Android Auto’s model of the app is its personal factor. As soon as once more, how is that this even remotely OK, Google?

I spent a bunch of time chatting with of us and lurking in varied subreddits attempting to determine how greatest to method these issues. Time and time once more, I noticed the identical recommendation: simply use Waze. Utilizing Waze in your automobile’s show frees up Maps from dominance by Android Auto. For those who’re utilizing Waze — which, to be clear, can be owned by Google — you (or your passenger) can nonetheless use Maps in your linked telephone. On this scenario, I can park and go away the automobile working whereas I exploit Maps to determine the place to go. As soon as I determine it out, I can have Waze do the navigation. I nonetheless can’t ship a number of stops or customized routes, however a minimum of I can get issues performed sooner and extra effectively.

In fact, this doesn’t repair the opposite wi-fi Android Auto issues, akin to not having the ability to management who’s linked. Nevertheless, it’s one of the best various we’ve discovered to this point.

Isn’t that one thing? The least-terrible manner to make use of the navigation inside wi-fi Auto is to not use Google Maps, one of many firm’s star merchandise.

Extra on this: Android Auto issues and methods to repair them

Regardless, my companion and I are beginning to assume that going again to a wired connection for Android Auto will likely be higher. We could have direct management over who’s linked and, if we use Waze, we gained’t face as many points with Google Maps. We will solely hope that Google really figures these items out quickly so we will expertise Android Auto the way in which Google thinks it could actually present.