Android Auto's missing signal bars are finally making a proper comeback

If you have been driving blind to your phone’s cellular connectivity, relief is finally rolling out. Google appears to be widening the rollout of a fix that restores the missing network signal icon in Android Auto, addressing a frustrating bug that left drivers guessing whether their phone actually had reception.

Over the past few days, multiple users on Reddit have reported that the network icon is back on their in-car displays, as mysteriously as it disappeared in the first place. Drivers with different vehicle infotainment setups and phone models are seeing the familiar status indicator rejoin the battery and Wi-Fi icons in the status bar.

The glitch first surfaced several weeks ago, when an update quietly wiped out the cell signal indicator from the head unit interface. While all core navigation, calls, and audio streaming continued to function normally as long as mobile data was available, the lack of an on-screen indicator meant drivers had no quick way to tell if a buffering podcast or stalled route recalculation was due to a dead zone.

Google took its sweet time to acknowledge the behavior and noted that it had rolled out a fix for the issue. However, this fix was not widely available at the time. The fix now seems to be rolling out to more users.

Because Android Auto updates often roll out via a mix of APK version bumps and server-side flags, the return of the network icon might not depend solely on having the latest app version installed from the Play Store. However, being on the latest version helps. If you don’t see it yet, ensure Android Auto and Google Play Services are fully updated on your phone, though you may still have to wait a short while for Google to flip the switch for your account on the server side.

If history is any indication, this “wide fix” rollout could still take weeks to actually roll out widely, but some progress is still progress.