According to user complaints on Google‘s Android Auto forum, using “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” voice commands makes the bottom bar in Android Auto go blank instead of summoning Google Assistant. The digital assistant does come to life when tapping the manual button on the screen or pressing the steering wheel mic. There aren’t any other anomalies in the Assistant’s functionality. However, triggering it has become a pain and also distracting if you’re driving. Most affected users are blaming Android 13 for this problem. They say Assistant worked fine on Android Auto until they installed the new Android version. There’s a possibility that the culprit is the Google app or the Android Auto app itself. In fact, one user was able to get back voice activation for Assistant by uninstalling the latest update for the Google app. This does suggest that the problem lies there rather than in Android 13. Perhaps the big Android update may have caused the Google app to misbehave on Android Auto. Nonetheless, if you’re having similar Assistant issues on Android Auto, you can try installing the latest update for the Google app. To do that, go to the Google Play Store and search for Google. Then, tap the Uninstall button and confirm your decision. Also, uncheck the “Enable auto update” box from the three-dot menu in the top right corner. Restart your phone and see if it worked. If it did, you’ll want to avoid installing updates for the Google app until Google fixes the issue. The company says it is looking at the issue but doesn’t provide a timeline for the fix.
Android Auto has had many problems since the Android 13 update
This isn’t the only problem Android Auto users have reported since upgrading their phones to Android 13. Soon after the new Android version rolled out to Pixel phones, reports emerged that Android Auto has completely stopped working. For some, the app is working fine, but they can’t hear anything from Google Assistant. This thread on the Android Auto forum lists all known issues as well as issues that were fixed recently. If you’re having problems, you can check whether Google is looking at your problems and when a fix might arrive. We will also keep you posted with all the latest information about Android Auto.
