Android Auto bug on Android 12 has sent notifications haywire

There's a new Android Auto bug that's causing problems on the in-car infotainment system. A Google-acknowledged glitch has reportedly broken notifications on Android Auto when the smartphone in question is running Android 12 OS.

For the first time in a long while, Android 12 actually feels like a whole new smartphone experience on some of the best Android phones. Users have rushed to install it, alongside the new features that come bundled in with the user-friendly software. Often, though, installing new software can cause bugs and the latest of which now seems to be affecting alerts when using Android Auto and Android 12.

For those not in the know, Android Auto puts some of the best Android phones' apps and features directly onto the best Android Auto head unit dashboards. Many cars' complex infotainment systems are replaced with a familiar, easy-to-use interface that many motorists prefer. But according to a recent run of posts on the Google Support forums, things aren't so easy-to-use at the minute if this latest frustrating technical problem is anything to go by. 

First spotted by the folks at Auto Evolution, several Android 12 adopters note that alerts and notifications for things like messages are failing to appear on the Android Auto head units when mobile devices are connected to them. Android Auto users are no stranger to notification issues: voice command notifications recently collapsed on the infotainment system, whilst we've also seen Google Maps alerts misbehaving in recent weeks. However, this is the first time that the new Android 12 mobile operating system has been implicated as the root cause of the issue.

Google on the case

As with all these reports, it's a lot better when Google has acknowledged that there's actually an issue, and, thankfully, the firm already has done, noting that it's "aware and investigating this issue." The bug is occurring at the OS level, so there’s "not much users can do to restore notifications on Android Auto in their cars," according to Auto Evolution.

Downgrading back to Android 11 is one possible fix, though it would mean missing out on new improvements and updates arriving in Android 12, which users will benefit from once this issue has been resolved. In our opinion, it's worth hanging on until Google rolls out a fix – though it hasn't provided any time estimates as to when that could be, so you may have to a wait a little longer yet.