- Android Auto’s missing cellular signal bars are starting to return for some users.
- The fix appears in Android Auto version 17.8.1638, which is currently a beta build.
- Availability is still inconsistent, so stable users may have to wait a little longer.
When you’re driving through a patchy coverage area, those tiny signal bars on the Android Auto dashboard can be surprisingly useful. A quick glance at the dashboard tells you whether your connection is holding up before a call starts breaking up. But for some Android Auto users, that glance has been useless for months because the cellular signal indicator simply disappeared. Now, Android Auto version 17.8.1638 appears to be bringing it back.
The issue surfaced earlier this year, with users reporting that Android Auto had stopped showing their phone’s cellular signal strength. As we noted at the time, the bug was mostly cosmetic, as calls, mobile data, and navigation continued working normally. That didn’t make it any less annoying for drivers who rely on the indicator to know when they’re heading into a dead zone.
