Android Auto ‘GPS signal lost’ issue in Google Maps troubling users

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on Jan. 26, 2023) follows:

Android Auto users often come across different problems with the service. Recently, some users reported that Waze, a navigation service, keeps crashing for them.

And now, another navigation service is causing trouble for some users on the platform. Apparently, a section of Google Maps users is reporting (1, 2, 3) issues with GPS signals on Android Auto.

Users say that they’ve come across incidents where Google Maps abruptly loses its GPS and then shows ‘looking for GPS signal’.

GPS drops within a minute of android auto running / connecting. Works fine on phone / maps etc when android auto is not running. Pixel 6 pro, started soon after android auto updated very recently (Source)

I’ve been having this same issue, so in troubleshooting, yesterday I cleared the data for the Maps app and so far the GPS signal has not been lost. (Source)

Some old reports (1, 2) suggest that this issue has been bothering users for years and a recent update to Android Auto seems to have triggered it again for a section of users.

And despite being a persistent issue, Google hasn’t yet addressed it. And it keeps flaring up from time to time.

However, there are some potential workarounds you can try to fix this problem, at least on your end.

Workaround 1:

One of those affected has managed to fix it by changing some Google Maps settings. Hence, you can give it a shot and see if it does the trick.

Workaround 2:

Meanwhile, some have managed to fix it by turning off ‘Optimized battery usage’ in settings. So, if the aforementioned workaround didn’t help, then you can try this one out.

Furthermore, Google has some official troubleshooting steps in case you lose your GPS signal in Google Maps out of the blue. You can check them out here.

Rest assured, we will update this story as and when anything noteworthy comes up.

04:42 pm (IST): A Google community manager has confirmed that the GPS issue has been fixed in Google Maps version 11.66.

Moreover, one of those affected has also shares that the latest Google Maps update indeed fixes the problem.

06:10 pm (IST): According to some recent reports (1,2,3), the GPS connectivity issue appears to have popped up once again.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Android Auto section, so be sure to follow them as well.

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