Android 13 update seems to be partially breaking Google Assistant on Android Auto

Ben Schoon | Dec 29 2022 - 7:43 am PT

There’s a growing number of Android Auto users who have noticed that Google Assistant is at least partially broken following the update to Android 13.

Over the past few months, Android Auto has been rapidly rolling out to many Android devices. After Google kicked things off on its Pixel phones, Samsung has been leading the charge since with dozens of updates available on flagship phones and more affordable devices alike. OnePlus and several other brands have also been pushing the update forward.

When Pixel phones initially picked up Android 13, a limited number of users reported that the update had broken the ability to launch Android Auto.

Luckily, this wider issue isn’t breaking the experience entirely. Rather, Android 13 seems to be partially breaking Google Assistant on Android Auto. The main issue seems to stem from using “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” commands. Some of those affected see the bottom bar in Android Auto simply go blank as pictured below. Using a manual button to trigger Assistant seems to be working for some folks, but for others it still won’t process any commands.

The issue has been reported on a Google support thread from users on various different Android phones from Sony, Redmi, Samsung, and Pixel phones too. For many, the issue didn’t appear until the arrival of Android 13, but there’s a chance the underlying issue is caused by a Google app update as well, given that some Pixel phones are affected despite having Android 13 for some time now. Some users on Reddit noticed the problem after installing Android Auto 8.5.6.

Another issue that seems to possibly be related is some users reporting that Android Auto suddenly isn’t reading messages out loud. There are very few reports of this issue so far, but it’s another issue that has cropped up from time to time in the past.

Hopefully both of these issues will be patched up sooner than later.