Turn off Android Auto

[recDNA]

Is it possible to turn off wireless Android Auto from the phone then turn it back on for navigation?

I have wireless Android Auto in my car and it works fine so far.

The thing is I only want it when navigating. If I ask Google Assistant a question Android Auto turns on and it takes several layers of my car to shut off Android Auto.

Even when I get my car home screen the radio buttons don't work until I go into a mode menu and scroll up to Bluetooth connection rather than Android Auto.

For the most part I only want Bluetooth functionality then full Android Auto ONLY if I am navigating.

Is there any way to shut it off and turn it on in the phone? It's a real pita in the car menus

Suggestions welcome?

 

[spARTacus]

Is it possible to turn off wireless Android Auto from the phone then turn it back on for navigation?

I have wireless Android Auto in my car and it works fine so far.

The thing is I only want it when navigating. If I ask Google Assistant a question Android Auto turns on and it takes several layers of my car to shut off Android Auto.

Even when I get my car home screen the radio buttons don't work until I go into a mode menu and scroll up to Bluetooth connection rather than Android Auto.

For the most part I only want Bluetooth functionality then full Android Auto ONLY if I am navigating.

Is there any way to shut it off and turn it on in the phone? It's a real pita in the car menus

Suggestions welcome?

I am pretty sure you can control the automatic aspect of connecting or not from in the phone, but then you'd have to turn it on when you want to use it, and probably then have to go through several layers in the phone at that point in time.

Maybe try to find the setting in your vehicle's head unit for it to not automatically connect, for you to have to manually initiate the connection. My car's head unit settings allows for control of Bluetooth Connections and for control of "Phone Projection" (Android Auto and Apple Car Play) separately. I can let the car/phone always automatically connect for Bluetooth (phone hands free and audio media) while never automatically connect for Android Auto. Then, I'd just need to manually connect for Android Auto when I want to. However, it seems to prefer to always be connected, and several steps of nusance required (and almost what seems to be competition between Bluetooth and Phone Projection) if I don't just let it do what it wants to always do for auto connect of Android Auto when I start the car.

I think there should also be a way to not let Google Assistant make use of Android Auto, but then you'd probably not have that available for when you need it for navigation.

For me, I can still make use of Google Assistant from my phone when connected to Android Auto by starting Google Assistant from my phone, not from Android Auto, and things not get messed up, while then later also using Google Assistant through Android Auto for navigation (for destination searches, for example).

 

[recDNA]

I am pretty sure you can control the automatic aspect of connecting or not from in the phone, but then you'd have to turn it on when you want to use it, and probably then have to go through several layers in the phone at that point in time.

Maybe try to find the setting in your vehicle's head unit for it to not automatically connect, for you to have to manually initiate the connection. My car's head unit settings allows for control of Bluetooth Connections and for control of "Phone Projection" (Android Auto and Apple Car Play) separately. I can let the car/phone always automatically connect for Bluetooth (phone hands free and audio media) while never automatically connect for Android Auto. Then, I'd just need to manually connect for Android Auto when I want to. However, it seems to prefer to always be connected, and several steps of nusance required (and almost what seems to be competition between Bluetooth and Phone Projection) if I don't just let it do what it wants to always do for auto connect of Android Auto when I start the car.

I think there should also be a way to not let Google Assistant make use of Android Auto, but then you'd probably not have that available for when you need it for navigation.

For me, I can still make use of Google Assistant from my phone when connected to Android Auto by starting Google Assistant from my phone, not from Android Auto, and things not get messed up, while then later also using Google Assistant through Android Auto for navigation (for destination searches, for example).

I can't find anything in my head unit to make wireless AA an option I can turn on and off.

With AA on if I click on microphone Icon in my car it automatically listens for Google Assistant commands whereas I would rather control the car with that button like, "turn up ambient lighting" or whatever.

For GA I could just say Hey Google! I don't need to interfere with voice commands for the car itself.

Dealership knows zero about AA except how to turn it on initially. I finally disabled AA in my phone to access car radio and car commands through mmicrophone. It's too bad.

 

[Laura Knotek]

What head unit do you have?

 

[spARTacus]

...With AA on if I click on microphone Icon in my car it automatically listens for Google Assistant commands whereas I would rather control the car with that button like, "turn up ambient lighting" or whatever...

Not sure how well that will work (as I think you might be finding out). I guess it depends on your vehicle and it's head unit and how interconnected that is to the rest of your vehicle for also controlling other vehicle things. For higher end vehicles, maybe lots of things like that are possible.

For my vehicle, the steering wheel "command button" basically only triggers to start using google assistant through the AA head unit with my phone, for only whatever google assistant can do from my phone with AA (or, for Siri if an Apple device is connected through AppleCarPlay). Or, if a device is not AA/CarPlay connected, then the "command button" is basically only a trigger for whatever Bluetooth commands are built into the vehicle's Bluetooth interface module as a handsfree accessory. For my vehicle, it's either one or the other not both, the headunit seems to always prioritize for AA/Carplay if a device is AA/CarPlay connected (even if the device is also Bluetooth connected), and there aren't any actual vehicle functions I can control.

Overall, the headunit for me is pretty much a dumb screen / HMI, almost like a limited remote desktop device into my phone. I actually don't mind it like that. I'd prefer most of the upgradable functions be in my control via the phone as opposed to having to do updates through the dealerships for a several thousand dollars another "smart device" in the vehicle. I find the dealerships are all mainly clueless about most of this stuff right now, even if they seem to act/talk with any authority.