How to disable Android Auto and keep it off

Android Auto is an excellent way to interact with your car. You can listen to music, get navigation, talk on the phone, and receive messages you can answer through voice. It’s nice because many cars now restrict some of those features. However, we understand that not everyone is a fan of the feature. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to turn Android Auto off.

How to uninstall or disable Android Auto on your phone

Disabling Android Auto isn’t as easy as it used to be. Google now bakes Android Auto support directly into the OS, making it a little trickier to uninstall or disable. It is still possible, though.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into Apps.
3. Select See all apps.
4. Find and select Android Auto.
5. Tap on Disable.
6. Confirm by hitting Disable app.

After that, Android Auto should stop working. Since Android Auto’s settings are in the Settings menu, you’ll also likely lose access to those. It’ll be like the app isn’t installed at all. To revert these changes, do the above process and enable the app instead of disabling it.

When you receive an Android update or updates for Android Auto, the feature may re-enable itself. You’ll have to repeat these steps if that’s the case.

How to unpair Android Auto from your car

Unpairing Android Auto from your car is a more intricate process. Each manufacturer has a different UI and menu structure; older cars may have different menus from newer cars. Most models will work with the tutorial below, but some car OEMs like to be cute and bury this in their settings. If that’s the case for your vehicle, you’ll need to Google how to do it for that car specifically.

1. Enter your car’s settings.
2. Find the Connections option. Most cars should have this.
3. Navigate until you find the Android Auto settings.
4. Disable smartphone integration or disable Android Auto directly, depending on your vehicle’s verbiage.

I have only tested this on a late-model Honda Accord and Kia Sportage, but the tutorial works for both cars with some small variations. The smartphone integration and Android Auto settings should only prevent Android Auto from running and shouldn’t disable Bluetooth functionality.

How do I stop Android Auto from starting automatically?

There is no native option in the Android Auto settings to disable the feature from automatically starting. Google leaves it up to car OEMs to include this option in the infotainment settings, and many manufacturers don’t. Google removed the ability to prevent automatic starting back in 2020, and thus, this is one of the most asked questions. There is a bypass method, though, and we’ll show it to you.

From your phone:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into Connected devices.
3. Select Connection preferences.
4. Hit Android Auto.
5. Tap on Start Android Auto automatically.
6. Hit If used the last drive.
7. Restart your phone.

Android Auto may still automatically start when you get into your car next. Exit out of Android Auto and go about your business. The next time you get back in your vehicle after that, the icon should pop up, but it shouldn’t automatically enter you into Android Auto.

From your car:

There’s an alternative practical solution — don’t use the data port in your car. Usually, a car has a USB port specifically for Android Auto, but other ports in the car typically offer charge-only functionality. You can also get a car charger that plugs into the 12V port in your car and bypass the data port entirely.

However, this method doesn’t work for wireless Android Auto. You’ll need to use the above If used on last drive solution, or disable wireless Android Auto entirely from your car.

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