Android Auto not "bundled with OS" error when trying to connect to a vehicle

Question

I installed Android Auto from the Play Store the same as everyone else. However, when I tried to connect Android Auto to my vehicle, it says

Android Auto encountered an error

Communication error 22 - Android Auto was not preinstalled on this device. Android Auto must be bundled with your operating system to work correctly. Please contact your phone manufacturer for assistance.

Also, Android Auto works fine on every other Android phone I connect to my car, just having trouble with this one.

Why does it give me this error? How can I circumvent this to use Android Auto?

Answer 1

It means that Android Auto needs to be installed as a system app to work correctly.

Some Google-certified ROMs may already bundle the Android Auto app as a system app, thus it will work out of the box. However, for phones that don't have Android Auto preinstalled, the choices are:

• Install the app from Play Store, and then Convert installed app to system app (need root, specific guide on XDA Devs)

  Additional info:

  • Package name: com.google.android.projection.gearhead
  • Location: /system/priv-app

• Flash GApps package bundled with Android Auto (e.g. OpenGApps Pico package) (need custom recovery)

Caution: both approaches require an unlocked bootloader. If this is the first time, then the process will force the user to do a factory reset, thus potentially losing all the data on the phone if not already backed up.