Very similar to CarPlay, Google’s Android Auto provides a technique to give your automotive an Android-inspired interface that is powered by your smartphone. You will get widgets and entry to Android apps (together with Google’s personal software program, like Google Maps) and all you want is a automotive that helps it. However simply because your automotive helps Android Auto doesn’t imply will probably be ready to connect with your telephone wirelessly.
In these circumstances, the most suitable choice is to get an adapter or dongle to plug into your automotive that acts as an middleman between your smartphone and your automobile. By way of options, there is not a lot selection in what these adapters do, however there’s a ton of selection in how they appear and the way they work along with your automotive, in addition to whether or not they assist CarPlay. We have collected a number of Android Auto adapters within the checklist under, so proceed studying in the event you need assistance discovering one which works along with your automobile.
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AAWireless / Pocket-lint
AAWireless Wireless Android Auto Dongle
1. Best wireless Android Auto adapter overall
The AAWireless Wireless Android Auto Dongle is our overall favourite pick because of its compact, square body, and relatively simple setup over USB-C, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. AAWireless’ whole strategy is built around its companion app, which you use during initial setup and can later be used to theoretically update the firmware of the dongle over time to maintain compatibility.
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Ottocast / Pocket-lint
Ottocast U2-X Pro Android Auto & CarPlay Adapter
2. Best premium wireless Android Auto adapter
$106 $150 Save $44
If your family uses both Android and iPhone, paying a little bit more for the Ottocast U2-X Pro might be worth it. It’s another rectangle (this time with heat sinks and a button for resetting and switching phones) that can connect to your car over USB, but this time it supports Android Auto and CarPlay so you can choose which in-car operating system you use.
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AACPLAY / Pocket-lint
AACPLAY Android Auto Wireless Adapter
3. Best budget wireless Android Auto adapter
One of the most affordable options for connecting your Android phone to your car that we found, the AACPLAY Android Auto Wireless Adapter doesn’t do anything different from our top two picks. It can plug into your car over USB-C or USB-A, supports the necessary Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections to your phone, and includes a sticky gel pad so you can keep it from sliding around in your car.
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Motorola / Pocket-lint
Motorola MA1
4. Google-approved wireless Android Auto adapter
$70 $90 Save $20
Motorola’s MA1 Wireless Android Auto Car Adapter was the first of these dongles to get Google’s official support. It’s shaped a bit like a Google Chromecast and meets the fundamental necessities for connecting to your telephone wirelessly and automotive bodily, although solely makes use of a USB-A cable, which could restrict which vehicles it may well hook up with.
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CarlinKit / Pocket-lint
CarlinKit 5.0
5. Greatest compact Android Auto and CarPlay compatibility
The CarlinKit 5.0 Adapter is able to the identical two-in-one trick because the Ottocast, successfully letting you employ the dongle for wi-fi CarPlay or wi-fi Android Auto, however in a barely smaller bundle with choices for USB-C and USB-A connections to your automotive.
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HEI LANG / Pocket-lint
HEI LANG Android Auto Adapter
6. Puck-shaped Android Auto adapter
HEI LANG’s Android Auto Adapter is almost similar to the opposite dongles on this checklist in its puck-shaped design, capacity to plug in with USB-C or USB-A, and use Bluetooth and 5 GHz Wi-Fi to wi-fi stream Android Auto content material out of your telephone to your automotive’s show. You possibly can even use your automotive’s current buttons, knobs, and touchscreens to navigate the Android Auto interface.
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Carsifi / Pocket-lint
Carsifi Wi-fi Android Auto Adapter
7. Devoted button for switching telephones
If you happen to share your automotive and plan on connecting it to a number of totally different Android telephones, Carsifi’s Wi-fi Android Auto Adapter has a devoted button for switching Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections between telephones. It plugs in to supported vehicles over USB-C or A, and can work along with your automotive’s current controls.
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Teeran / Pocket-lint
Teeran Android Auto Wi-fi Adapter
8. Ships with a separate USB-A adapter
$56 $90 Save $34
The Teeran Android Auto Wi-fi Adapter is steadily discounted, and simply as succesful as the opposite adapters on this checklist. It might probably plug into your automotive over USB-C, but in addition ships with a USB-A adapter if you could join it to an older port in an older automotive. Like our different picks, in the event you use wi-fi Android Auto with the Teeran adapter, throughout automotive controls will nonetheless work.
How do I do know if my telephone and automotive are appropriate with Android Auto?
Google has published a list of all of the automotive manufacturers and particular automotive fashions that assist Android Auto. These cowl automobiles from Acura, BMW, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and extra. By way of telephones that assist wi-fi Android Auto, Google’s standards is a bit more sophisticated.
Your telephone has to have an lively knowledge plan (as in, cell service) and assist 5 GHz Wi-Fi for wi-fi Android Auto to be a risk in any respect. From there Google breaks down compatibility like this:
- Any Android telephone operating Android 11.0 or later helps wi-fi Android Auto.
- Google or Samsung telephones operating Android 10.0 assist wi-fi Android Auto.
- A Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, or Observe 9 operating Android 9.0 helps wi-fi Android Auto.
In case your telephone does not match a type of descriptions it will not work with Android Auto, wi-fi or not.
What ought to I search for in a wi-fi Android Auto adapter?
The largest issues to think about when buying a wi-fi Android Auto adapter are the connector it makes use of to plug into your automotive (newer fashions are likely to favor USB-C, whereas older fashions use USB-A) and the strategy you will must reset or replace the dongle if one thing goes incorrect. A number of the fashions we selected use companion apps to permit for future updates, making certain your adapters stay appropriate along with your automotive and Android typically. Others embrace devoted buttons for resetting the dongles. It’s also possible to merely unplug them and restart your automotive. Whichever technique you select, having a technique to repair points in case one thing goes incorrect is necessary.
