If the cellular signal icon has been disappearing from your Android Auto screen, the bug is real and Google has now acknowledged it. A Google representative said in a Reddit comment, reported by 9to5Google, that a fix is already rolling out. The icon has been vanishing intermittently for several weeks.
What’s been breaking
The corner of the Android Auto display normally carries four small indicators. Those are battery status, the time, your notification count, and cellular signal strength. The first three have been behaving. The signal icon is the one that keeps dropping out.
It is a small thing until you are somewhere with patchy coverage. At that point the signal indicator is the fastest way to tell whether a navigation stall is the app’s fault or your network’s. Losing it turns a three-second glance into guesswork.
What Google said
The acknowledgement came through a Reddit comment rather than a formal Google statement. As relayed by 9to5Google, the representative wrote:
We’re aware of reports about the missing cellular signal, and we’re actually currently rolling out a fix that should hopefully address this issue! The fix isn’t widely available yet, though, so it may take some time to reach your device – if you want to receive it sooner, though, you can enroll in the Android Auto beta
That last suggestion has a catch. The Android Auto beta program is currently full, so signing up is not actually an option for most people reading this. The practical route is to wait for the stable channel.
Which Android Auto version to look for
Android Auto 17.8 appears to deliver the fix, at least in part, and is rolling out on the stable channel now. That qualifier matters. A partial fix means some users may still see the icon drop out after updating.
Rollouts of this kind arrive in waves, so an update showing up for someone else does not mean it is ready for your device. Beyond the beta, Google’s comment offers no faster route.
A familiar pattern
This follows two other Android Auto fixes we covered recently. The disconnect bug was fixed in version 17.4 in August, and the missing speedometer got a fix in September. Different faults each time, all in the same corner of the in-car experience.
If you are tracking Android Auto’s rougher edges, two related stories are worth a look. One is Pixel 11 owners reporting Google Maps glitches on Android Auto. The other is the possible end of Android Auto support for Android 10 phones.
Source: 9to5Google
