It’s difficult to be an Android Auto user these days, as things that work just fine right now can end up completely broken a second later for absolutely no reason.
6 photosThis is what’s happening right now with YouTube audio, as users are struggling with a problem that makes it impossible to listen to anything due to a mysterious error showing up out of nowhere. More specifically, users who turned to Google’s forums to report the glitch explain in this thread that the YouTube audio just goes away completely after playing one video. In other words, you open one link, the audio is working fine, but when it comes to an end, the sound is completely lost. The only way to make it work, some users say, is to just play some audio in a different application, after which the sound in YouTube returns, once again until the next soundtrack comes to an end. Needless to say, watching YouTube while driving is strongly forbidden, and this is the reason the app doesn’t come with support for Android Auto in the first place. However, users can just load a video on their mobile devices and have the audio playing on Android Auto, therefore enjoying the soundtrack on their car’s speakers. Users who have a YouTube premium subscription are provided with even more advanced functionality, as they are allowed to lock their mobile devices without the playback being interrupted. Google has already confirmed it’s investigating all these reports, but for the time being, nobody knows for sure if this is a glitch in the YouTube app or in Android Auto. As a result, an estimate as to when a fix could be released isn’t yet available, so you’d better not hold your breath for it.
The only workaround right now seems to be a full reconnect of the mobile device to the head unit to continue the playback or to just play audio in a different app to restore the sound in YouTube as well.
Keyword: YouTube Audio Hit by Puzzling Error on Android Auto