Android Auto could soon stop working on millions of phones

Android Auto has already left several older versions of Android behind over the years, and another cutoff now appears to be approaching. Google dropped support for Android 8 Oreo and older devices in 2022, then moved the minimum to Android 9 Pie in 2024. Now, Android 10 users are starting to see warnings that their phones will soon stop working with Android Auto, suggesting Android 11 could become the next minimum requirement.

Several users with older phones have recently reported seeing a notification when connecting to their cars that reads, “Phone will no longer be supported,” followed by a warning that Android Auto will soon stop working because the device cannot update to the required Android version.

The reports include owners of phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact. These devices officially topped out at Android 10, meaning there may be no straightforward way to keep using Android Auto once Google enforces the apparent new requirement.

Google hasn’t announced this change yet, though, and its official support page hasn’t caught up with what users are seeing. At the time of writing, Google still says wired Android Auto requires Android 9 Pie or newer, while wireless Android Auto generally requires Android 11 or later.

That makes these new warnings particularly noteworthy because affected users say they’re appearing with wired Android Auto connections, potentially signaling that Google is preparing to bring the wired requirement in line with Android 11 as well.

There have already been signs that Android 10 is becoming increasingly difficult to support. Developers behind the Open Headunit project, for example, previously noted that newer Android Auto releases had disabled certain automatic wireless projection functionality on Android 10 and older devices.

For now, Google hasn’t provided an exact cutoff date. But if these warnings reflect an upcoming policy change, Android 10 users may eventually need an official Android 11 update, a reliable custom ROM, or a newer phone to keep Android Auto working.

We’ve reached out to Google for clarification on the apparent Android 11 requirement, including when the change will take effect, and we’ll update this article if we hear back.