I fixed Android Auto's lag problems with 5 simple changes

It's been a little bit hot in the UK recently, and as a result, almost everything has ground to a halt.

That includes, tragically, my Android Auto, which has been seriously hampered by the rising mercury levels. Simply put, it's too darn hot, and my phone can't cope with it.

Android Auto slowed to a crawl, barely able to keep up with the demands of Google Maps and Pocket Casts at the same time. And I felt much the same.

Thankfully, a few small changes were all that was needed to make sure my Android Auto wasn't beat by the heat.

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By  Anu Joy

Bringing back wires

I've made much of the fact that I love wireless Android Auto, but, in the heat, I couldn't escape the thermodynamics.

Facts are facts, and wireless Android Auto requires my phone to work harder. And working harder means more heat, which has a bad compounding effect when it's already hot.

So, as much as I didn't want to do it, switching back to a cable was the right move.

As a quick note, it was also important to make sure it was a high-quality cable from a reputable brand. Better cables can transmit more data at once, which makes Android Auto faster again.

Blowing the AC right at my phone

The UK's housing stock may not have air conditioning, but my car does, and I'm going to take advantage of it.

As I've previously written, I use a Spigen Cryomax car holder, which keeps my phone wirelessly charged while cooling with a built-in fan.

But, since I'm now using a wire to connect to my car, it needs to be off.

So how's a phone to keep cool? Simple: turn on the AC and make sure it's pointing at my phone.

A car holder that connects to an air vent is perfect for this, as it keeps cold air blowing around your phone, keeping the body cool and whisking the heat away.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 Cryomax

Weight
151g
Compatible Devices
MagSafe and PixelSnap devices

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Turn off battery saver and optimization

This one's not so much about beating the heat, but it helps your phone stay quick.

As much as I love battery saver mode (it saves battery power, what's not to love?), it throttles my phone's processor. That limited power means it has to work harder at the high ends, and that's not good for keeping heat down.

So, if you're finding Android Auto a bit slow, switching off any battery saver modes you're using is a good start.

But there are also optimizations worth switching off.

Go to Settings > Apps > Android Auto, and find App battery usage. From there, tap the Allow background usage button and make sure it's on Unrestricted.

This stops Android from throttling the Android Auto app if it's pulling too much battery power.

As long as you're charging it, how much power it pulls doesn't matter, and it'll reduce any lag.

Clear the app cache

Since you're in your app settings, you might as well do this step now, too. I certainly did, and it helped a lot.

A full cache means your app has a lot of extra data to sift through at any time, and that can seriously slow everything down. So it's a good idea to clear it out now and again.

Back in your Android Auto app settings, choose Storage and cache, then tap Clear cache.

That's it, it's so simple, and it's a good way to help keep your app from slowing down.

Reduce animations

Animations are fun and flashy, but they're nothing but cosmetic and take up valuable processing power.

If your Android Auto app is struggling, you need to ask whether it's worth having animations running. Plus, they can be distracting.

You'll need to turn on your phone's Developer Options to do this, but after you've done that, go to Developer options and scroll down to the Drawing options. It's a long way down, so keep going until you see the Drawing heading.

You're looking for the three animation settings: Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale.

Toggle these down to the .5 setting, or turn them off entirely. This frees up system resources for more important stuff.

Android Auto needs a little help sometimes

Android Auto is great, but it's effectively an upscaled version of your phone screen, so a lot of data is being passed between your car's infotainment screen and phone.

So really, it's not surprising that it might struggle when temperatures peak, battery levels run low, or your phone is having an off day.

You might not need to use all the options I played with, but toggling a few of them should help your ailing Auto get through the day.