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4 Android Auto settings I always change right away on a new phone

by Edward Harper

Given that Android Auto is a notable topic I cover at XDA, I often mess around with various settings and forget to revert them to how I actually use my phone with the in-car infotainment system. At the same time, I'm almost always testing different Android phones and frequently need to adjust a few specific settings before connecting a device to my car for the first time.

Whether I'm optimizing the experience, cutting down on distractions, or simply restoring my preferred setup, I always change these Android Auto settings right away on every Android device.

Start Android Auto automatically

Avoid that pesky lock screen


The Pixel 10 Pro in front of Android Auto running in the Ioniq 5

To ensure the smoothest possible initial connection to wired Android Auto, I always change my Pixel 10 Pro'sUSB Default Connection Behavior from Default to Always (you have to do this for every vehicle). With this setting on, Android Auto boots up immediately. On top of this, I also set my Android device to skip the lock screen and start music automatically when I connect it to Android Auto.

To do that, I follow these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Head to Connected Devices > Connection Preferences > Android Auto.
  3. Scroll down to the Startup subsection.
  4. Turn on Start Android Auto While Locked and Start Music Automatically.
  5. Next, tap on Start Android Auto Automatically and select Always.

Get rid of those pesky message notifications

When I'm behind the wheel, I want to concentrate on the road


Turning Android Auto message notifications off

When I'm driving, I want to have as few distractions around me as possible. With that in mind, one of the first settings I change on my Android device is turning off message notifications entirely. My passengers don't need to read or hear my texts, and I don't want to be distracted by them either.

To turn off text messages entirely, I follow these steps:

  1. I head to Settings > Connected Devices
  2. I then find Connection Preferences > Android Auto
  3. Lastly, I untoggle Show Message Notifications.

Customizing the launcher is key

Get rid of all those apps you don't need


Setting apps with the Android Auto launcher

Android Auto's launcher is an absolute mess of apps the first time you boot it up. I've covered this before at XDA, but one of the key ways to make the platform more efficient is to get rid of all those apps you don't actually use. For me, that list is very short and includes only Waze, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and the Hyundai app, along with Google Maps (which I can't uninstall).

  1. I navigate to Settings > Connected Devices.
  2. Next, I click on Connection Preferences.
  3. I then tap Android Auto > Customize Launcher.
  4. Now, untick any app you don't want to appear in Android Auto.

After cleaning up the launcher, I organize the icons in the launcher by dragging and dropping them around, sliding the apps I use the most, like Waze and Spotify, at the top of the list. You can do this by tapping the dotted part of the icon on the right side and sliding the app around.

Turn on Developer Settings

I don't use a lot of these features, but they often come in hand


Android Auto's Unknown Sources developer option

I mostly use Android Auto's Developer Settings for work-related stories, but there are several useful options there, including adjusting the resolution of your in-car display, snapping screenshots, clearing Android Auto entirely, and allowing sideloaded apps to be installed on my device, that I find very useful.

To take advantage of this, you also need Developer Settings enabled on your Android device, where you'll find the very useful option to change your Default USB Configuration to File Transfer. This is a bit of a silver bullet for solving Android Auto disconnection issues.

To turn on Developer Settings on my Pixel 10 Pro, I tap About Phone > Software Information > Build Number (tap it seven times). If you've done this correctly, you should get a notification that says Developer Mode Enabled.

Next, to turn on Android Auto's Developer Settings, I follow these steps:

  1. First, open Settings app.
  2. Head to Connected devices >Connection preferences >Android Auto.
  3. Scroll down to the About.
  4. Tap on Version ten times in a row (do this quickly).
  5. Tap the back button to go to the main Android Auto menu.
  6. Tap on the Three-Dot menu in the top-right corner of the screen, and then tap Developer settings.
  7. From here, you'll see more in-depth Android Auto options.

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