Tutorial: How to setup wireless Android Auto on non-Google phones

If you have recently bought a car, chances are that yours came with an infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. While Apple has been allowing users to connect wirelessly to Apple CarPlay since iOS 9, Google has been lacking behind as the company doesn’t allow non-Google devices to connect wirelessly to infotainment systems.

However, in the past couple of weeks, Google might have silently updated the app to allow non-Google devices as well. The change was first discovered by /u/dingonugget who posted the steps on /r/AndroidAuto subreddit. According to dingonugget, Google has enabled the support for non-Google phones on Android Auto app but it’s hidden inside the Development Settings.

To get it to work, you will need an aftermarket infotainment system as no OEM currently supports wireless connection. Moreover, the feature currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. You should also have the latest Google Play Services beta running on Android 9.0 as it doesn’t work on Android 8.0. If you satisfy all the conditions, then here’s how you can get it to work on your device.

• Enable Development Settings in Android Auto app. To do this open the app and head to Settings>Version.
• Once there, tap on “version” 10 times to enable Development Settings.
• Enter Development Settings.
• Select “show wireless projection option.”
• Reboot your phone.
• Follow your head unit’s instructions on connecting to it wirelessly.

Since the feature is not officially supported, there’s a chance that it may not work on your unit. Unfortunately, there’s no way to force it to work at the moment so you will have to use a wire to connect your phone. Google should release the feature to the public version of the app soon. That said, the feature is only available in three countries at the moment so if you’re living somewhere else then you will have to wait until Google rolls it out worldwide.