Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Owners of several Pixel and Samsung phones have reported that they cannot properly use Bluetooth audio in their cars.
- The issue predominantly affects phones in the Pixel 7, 8, and 9 series across the stable and beta channels, though a few Samsung users are affected too.
- The issue has apparently existed for over a year, and Google has acknowledged it, but hasn’t fixed it.
The Google Pixel devices are intended to be a role model for the ideal Android experience. Ironically, however, these devices, including the premium ones, suffer from far more bugs than most other popular Android devices. While most of them, thankfully, get fixed in a matter of weeks, there has been one protracted bug that hasn’t been resolved in over a year. And it’s driving people up the wall.
For months now, owners of several Google Pixel phones have been experiencing issues connecting to the head unit in their cars. According to several reports, Pixel phones don’t automatically connect to the car’s units immediately and require users to do it manually. For some, manual connections also fail, and the workaround they have figured out is to turn the media audio toggle on and off in the Bluetooth settings for their specific car’s head unit.
Have you had trouble connecting your Android phone to the car’s Bluetooth?
6 votes
One of our readers, Steven Smith, tipped us about the issue. But apparently, they’re not the only one suffering from it. Dozens of Pixel users have confirmed at various social forums, including these Reddit threads, that they have been facing the same issues in their vehicles.
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The issue has lingered since at least November 2024 and has also been recorded, and acknowledged by Google, in the Android issues tracker. Despite that, it remains to trouble users after several monthly updates, and even including the Android 16 update.
The issue spans several Pixel phones and affects users of the Pixel 7, 8, and even the newer 9 series. However, one user, LegitimateAd577, added that a One UI update broke audio connectivity on their Galaxy S22+. Meanwhile, several others have complained about connectivity issues on their Galaxy S25 following the Android 16 update on Samsung’s community forums.
It’s apparently more widespread than we thought
Some replies to the Reddit thread we linked above also say the issue went away with one of the updates (Android 15 QPR2 in the case of Reddit user amenotef), but returned when they switched to Android 16 beta earlier this year. The issue is not limited to beta users and has even impacted those running stable Android on their phones.
The user also claims that the issue likely affects cars from Japanese manufacturers, such as Mazda, Toyota, and Honda Acura, but we don’t have the means to verify that. Meanwhile, Google’s engineering team has been notified of the issue, and it has been working to rectify it, as per the response received by our original tipster, Steven Smith.
The chances that it gets rectified before engineers return from their Christmas and New Year breaks are low. Still, we hope it gets fixed in the coming months rather than being carried over to the upcoming Android 17 Developer Preview.
Do you have the same issue on your Android device? Make sure you vote in the survey above, and share your phone model, along with the firmware version, in the comments.
Thanks Steven for the tip!
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