Tech Desk 
Aug 14, 2025
Android Auto, Google’s smart driving companion app designed to make phone use in the car that much easier and safer. The app connects a phone to a car display, allowing the user to use navigation, read messages, control music apps like Spotify, and make hands-free calls.
However, some users are now experiencing issues that are making using the app frustrating.
Over the last few weeks, two major Android Auto bugs have emerged. The first is impacting Spotify users hard. A lot of users have highlighted that the Spotify widget on their Android Auto dashboard has a bug.
Many are complaining that instead of showing song information and reaction controls, it only says "Tap to Open", and that is even when music or podcasts are still playing.
In some instances, the car controls, like play or skip buttons, also stop working. This particular bug seems to have started in July, just as Spotify was pushing its new "Jam" feature.
Many users, including drivers of vehicles such as the Subaru Forester, are discussing this issue online, with numerous Reddit threads of similar complaints.
The second issue took place around the same time. Several users have observed that the display quality is a lot weaker than it was before.
Several have noted that Android Auto's display seems "washed out", in that those blacks are now displaying as greys and that the overall contrast has worsened.
While the Spotify bug will likely be fixed by an update to the Spotify app, this washed-out display problem will probably need a Google update to solve.
Furthermore, there’s no confirmed fix for either issue. Users haven’t reported specific Android Auto version numbers, so it’s unclear if this is a bad update or a change made on Google’s servers. For now, users will have to wait for updates from Google and Spotify.
