Google is finally set to roll out a fix for Android Auto specifically to fix connection errors associated with AI-driven Assistant commands. For clarity, that’s the “This internet connection isn’t strong enough at the moment” and “This internet connection isn’t stable at the moment” errors users have been reporting when using Google Assistant. For some users, the error has appeared only when using specific commands while others see it all the time.
A Google representative was spotted responding to reports about the error, indicating that the fix should arrive sooner than later.
Exactly when is a fix for Android Auto Assistant set to arrive?
The underlying cause of the problem isn’t immediately made clear by Google. As noted above the errors appear to be random. Or, at the very least, the errors appear to vary depending on a variety of hardware and environmental factors from user to user. Typically, with errors like these, users are able to reset the app, uninstall and then reinstall the app, or clear cached data to stop problems. That hasn’t been the case here.
The problem does seem to be narrowed down to the Google app, rather than an issue with the Android Auto app though. That’s based on the fact that the representative’s response indicates that an update to that app will fix it.
Google isn’t providing an exact timeline for the fix either though. Instead, the Googler simply reports that the Assistant team has prepared a fix. And that it will be available in “upcoming version updates” specifically for the Google app. The company goes further to recommend always keeping that app up to date.
To update apps manually, users need to navigate to the Google Play Store before tapping on the three-dash menu. Tapping on the “My apps & games” option will load up the appropriate “Updates” page. Any apps that need to be updated will display there and users can individually update them. Conversely, tapping the “Update all” button updates all apps that have new versions.
This isn’t the first issue Android Auto has had
Issues with Assistant on Android Auto are nothing new. They have effectively been persistent in the months following the release of Android 10. That’s highlighted nowhere more prominently than with the release of a stand-alone app for Android 10 — dubbed Android Auto for phone screens — back in November of last year.
That app was intended to be a kind of stop-gap to fix problems associated with Android Auto on Android 10. At least until the release of Assistant Driving Mode. So it seems as though Google’s AI-powered Assistant has been at the heart of problems for some time now.
Perhaps as importantly, most of the reports stemming from Assistant in Android Auto trace back to handsets running Android 10. So the solution seems to have not been a complete fix. Instead, it appears to have introduced a new discrepancy between the Google app and Android Auto.
Whatever the underlying cause, that’s kept the Assistant unable to connect to the internet in some cases. With any luck, the new incoming fix won’t introduce further errors to make the experience worse.