Learn how to install third-party applications on Android Auto. One of the tools that help a driver the most is the smartphone, as long as you have prepared it before the ride. This is vital to avoid any kind of accident, so if you do any of what we are going to tell you below, you must configure the device before at home or in the car before you start driving.
If you comply with these indications, read on to show you how to install third-party apps on Android Auto.
Compatible apps in Android Auto
The Mountain View put a few years ago an application with which you could transform your phone into a new on-board navigator.
You know its name if you are a user of the Android system, and it is none other than Android Auto.
If your car is compatible you can connect it to the car console and see on the touch screen all the data you need about your phone.
Of course, the application not only gave you an “easy mode” to use the phone while driving, something that improves with the use of the virtual assistant Google Assistant.
This is able to read some of the most basic apps you need during your drive such as Google Maps, WhatsApp, Waze, YouTube Music or Play Books audiobooks among many others.
But there are others that may not appear and for that reason, we will show you how to install third-party apps on Android Auto.
Find your APKs on Android Auto
You may have ever encountered the need to install an application in its testing phase on your smartphone.
There are several reasons for this, from wanting to try out the latest features in the app before anyone else, to needing to go back to a version where the current app was more stable and worked for you.
For that you will need an APK that works on your terminal, but you should know that it may not work in one part of your phone.
And if you try to use an APK on Android Auto you will not see it at first unless you follow the steps that we will discuss below.
You must take into account one thing and that is that on phones with Android 11 this function is already within the system, so you will not have to download the application from the Google Play Store unless you use it in screen mode.
If this is the case, we leave the app for you to download, although you must follow the steps as we said before:
- Go to “Settings” of Android Auto (from the app or from your phone).
- Go to Info > Version
- Press several times to activate the Developer Mode
- Then go to the three dots at the top of the screen
- Go to “Developer Settings
- Select the option “Allow unknown sources”.
This will allow all apps that are compatible with Android Auto to appear in the Android Auto menu when it starts up.
And not only that, they will work as the usual application does although you should know that depending on the version you have there will be more or less improvements.
That is, when downloading an APK this corresponds to a version, so it can be outdated and be subject to an attack if it is not properly optimized.
On the other hand, you may have to log in with your username and password within the application if required, so we recommend that you do this step before starting the march because if it does not work, you will have to use several retries when putting your credentials or, in the worst case, you will have to download the APK of another older version.
Now you just have to enjoy the third-party application that you have installed on Android Auto and wait for it to work properly because, as we say, it is an application in testing phase and if it does not work properly in the system it may restart automatically due to a stability error.