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How to Manage Android Auto Notifications and Status Bar Settings

Android Auto’s car-screen status area is separate from your phone’s status bar. Learn how to open its notification center and adjust app alerts safely.
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Android Auto’s status area on the car display and your phone’s Android status bar are different things. The car-screen area shows the time, signal strength, battery status and a count of missed calls, messages or alerts; tap that count to open Android Auto’s notification center. To change which app alerts appear, adjust that app’s notification settings on your phone.

What the Android Auto status area shows

On the vehicle display, Android Auto’s status area is an information strip, not the same control surface as your phone’s notification settings. Google says it shows the time, signal strength and battery status. A numbered circle indicates the number of missed calls, messages or alerts waiting in the notification center. Tap the circle to open the center and review them. Google’s guide to Android Auto screens and apps describes these items.

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Change which app notifications appear

Use your Android phone to control an app’s notifications. Android lets you turn notifications or, on some devices, individual notification categories on or off. Depending on the phone and Android version, you may also be able to choose alerting or silent behavior and whether notifications can pop on screen. Menu labels and available options vary by device, so there is no single path that applies to every phone. Google’s Android notification instructions explain the general controls.

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  1. While parked, open your phone’s Settings and go to that app’s notification settings. The exact menu path and labels depend on the device.
  2. Check that notifications are enabled for the app, and enable the relevant category if your phone lists categories.
  3. If alerts are enabled but do not appear as banners, check whether the category is set to silent and whether “Pop on screen” is available and enabled.
  4. Return to Android Auto when safe and check whether the app’s alerts now appear as expected.

These settings govern notifications on the phone; they are not a way to remove Android Auto’s car-screen status area.

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Find or handle messages in Android Auto

Android Auto can display message notifications. You can use voice control to hear a message or select its notification. A message you missed or dismissed can still be available in a tile or in the notification center. For details, see Google’s instructions for sending and receiving messages with Android Auto.

Use voice controls where appropriate, and do not navigate settings or tap through menus while driving. Google’s setup guidance says to prepare Android Auto while the car is in park: Set up Android Auto.

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Can you hide notifications from the phone’s status bar?

Some Android phones offer an option to hide silent notifications from the phone’s status bar. That setting affects the phone’s display. Google documents the Android Auto car-screen status area separately, and does not say that this phone setting hides or changes it. To manage alerts in the car, use the notification controls for the relevant app on the phone instead.

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What “Show quick controls for apps” does

Android Auto’s “Show quick controls for apps” is a separate display setting. Google says enabling it on the phone can keep media controls and navigation directions visible while a full-screen app is open. It is not documented as a control for hiding notifications, so changing it should not be treated as a way to silence alerts.

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