Google is drawing yet another line in the sand for Android Auto users with older phones. The company has officially bumped up the minimum Android version required for wired Android Auto connections to Android 11, so devices on Android 9 and Android 10 will no longer be supported.
If you visit the official Android Auto support page on Google, you’ll now see the update, which previously required Android 9 Pie at a minimum. That means Android 11 is the new baseline for anyone trying to connect their phone to a compatible car via USB. An active data plan is also required.
Not that this should be a complete surprise. Google has been slowly phasing out support for older versions of Android, removing Android 6 in 2022 and Android 8 in 2024. This latest change follows warnings that started appearing in October 2026, informing some Android 10 users their phones would soon stop working with Android Auto.
Some older phones are still running Android Auto just fine
Nevertheless, Android Auto 18.1, the latest version of the app, continues to support Android 10, according to 9to5Google. That means the transition is not necessarily being enforced across every device just yet. But the new Google documentation makes it clear that long-term, it’s not going to change.
Android Auto uses a phone’s software and services to bring navigation, calls, messaging, and media controls to a vehicle’s infotainment display. Raising minimum requirements keeps Google compatible, but it also means people with perfectly usable older phones are stuck with an unnecessary hardware expense.
The reaction from affected drivers suggests this change might be more of a nuisance than a normal software cutoff. On Reddit, one user who owns a Galaxy Note 9 said that they received Google's warning message every time they started the car, but Android Auto still worked fine in their 2023 Kia Rio. Others aren’t overly excited about swapping out their phones, particularly when their current hardware is still up to the task for their daily activities.
Some have even tried installing older versions of Android Auto to circumvent the restriction, but at least one Galaxy S9 owner reported that rolling back to releases as old as version 1.0.x didn't help. Others suspect that Google Play Services is enforcing the restriction regardless of which version of the app you have. And some drivers are looking to use cheap, newer phones just for Android Auto instead of replacing their main devices.
Some commenters point out that Google shouldn’t intentionally break functionality that still works. Others say that older versions of Android that no longer receive security patches can leave users exposed to vulnerabilities. In any case, if you're still using an older Galaxy or Sony phone in your car, your familiar dashboard experience could be on borrowed time.
