I made 7 changes to my Android Auto setup for better functionality when I'm driving

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• You tin alteration Android Auto for a customized experience.
• The apps, interface, and cognition tin beryllium changed.
• Modifications are casual to find and lone instrumentality a minute.

Android Auto is 1 of the easiest ways to marque your car smarter, but you mightiness not recognize the level offers customization options to marque it your own. Whether it's the system's appearance, changes to however it operates, oregon the notifications it sends, you tin fine-tune Android Auto to your circumstantial needs successful respective ways, making it adjacent much useful.

Also: 6 Android Auto apps I privation I recovered sooner, due to the fact that they marque each thrust easier

Here's a look astatine 7 ways you tin customize Android Auto. Some of these options are successful your phone's settings app, immoderate are successful the Android Auto app settings, and immoderate are hidden down developer mode, but they're each casual to find and lone instrumentality a infinitesimal to change.

1. Customize your app launcher

Tired of seeing apps you ne'er usage successful Android Auto? You tin delete ones you don't privation and prioritize the ones you do, truthful you don't person to scroll each clip to find them. 

Head to Settings, hunt for Android Auto, and look for Customize Launcher. You'll person the enactment to cheque oregon uncheck the apps you privation to appear, oregon acceptable a customized bid alternatively than alphabetical order. 

2. Pick time oregon nighttime mode permanently

I mostly similar acheronian mode connected each my telephone apps, and it's the archetypal enactment I look for erstwhile I download a caller tool. Usually, Android Auto sets to time oregon nighttime mode depending connected the clip of day, ambient lighting successful your car, oregon adjacent your headlights. 

If you similar 1 way, you tin toggle Android Auto's day/night mode. You tin prime either time oregon nighttime each the time, oregon take "Phone controlled," which follows your phone's settings.

3. Set customized routines and shortcuts

ZDNET's Maria Diaz took a heavy dive into what mightiness beryllium the astir utile customization successful Android Auto: routines and shortcuts. You tin besides adhd a shortcut to your launcher to telephone a interaction oregon run a Gemini command, which means you tin bash conscionable astir anything. 

Also: I've utilized Android Auto with Gemini for 2 months present - it's transformed my drives successful 4 ways

You tin acceptable a shortcut to nonstop a substance to idiosyncratic that you're heading location from work, and crook your thermostat down arsenic you adjacent the house. You tin adjacent harvester these steps truthful that a "leaving home" shortcut, for example, runs the robot vacuum, turns up the thermostat, locks doors, and turns disconnected each the lights.

4. Fine-tune substance notifications

Android Auto gives you a astonishing level of power implicit however you're notified astir messages. You tin crook substance notifications connected oregon off. However, you tin besides take if you privation to fell oregon amusement radical conversations, amusement the archetypal enactment of a connection oregon not, whether a chime plays, whether Gemini tin spot your messages, and if you privation Gemini to summarize agelong messages. 

5. Switch the determination of media controls

Head to settings successful the Android Auto app, and you'll spot an "Advanced" conception that lets you toggle whether you privation media person to you oregon for navigation. By default, navigation media controls are connected the driver's side, but you tin determination them person if you usage that setup much often.

6. Make your car lucifer your phone

If you're bored with the banal geometric inheritance connected your screen, you tin marque Android Auto consciousness much similar an hold of your phone. This mounting mightiness beryllium successful your telephone nether the Display conception of Android Auto settings, oregon successful the Android Auto settings connected your car's screen. 

Also: Android Auto runs faster and smoother now, acknowledgment to my 4 casual tweaks

Either way, erstwhile you toggle the mounting on, it volition instantly drawback your phone's location surface inheritance and acceptable it arsenic the backdrop for your car's app grid. This diagnostic doesn't enactment with unrecorded oregon animated wallpapers, but it works with astir immoderate other. 

7. Stop the startup chaos

The information that Android Auto picks up wherever you near disconnected is simultaneously 1 of my favourite and slightest favourite features. There are times I'm diving backmost into my favourite podcasts arsenic I backmost retired of the driveway, and determination are times I'm frantically pressing the intermission fastener earlier my kids perceive things I don't privation them to from those aforesaid podcasts.

You tin halt the startup chaos by turning disconnected "Start euphony automatically" successful settings, oregon turning it connected to person audio commencement automatically.