My phone loses far too much battery when I use wireless Android Auto, and it’s frustrating because I still need it once I get out of the car. You expect navigation and music streaming to use some power, but a drive shouldn’t leave you worrying about when you’ll charge your phone next.
Plugging it in is an obvious option, although that takes away much of the convenience of connecting wirelessly in the first place. I started looking at the phone settings that contribute to that drain and ended up turning off three features. These are settings you can leave enabled for years without much thought, but disabling them has significantly reduced battery drain during my drives.
I switched from 5G to LTE
That has had the biggest impact on battery performance
You don’t need 5G to stream music or get traffic updates on Google Maps. A decent LTE connection handles both comfortably, and the extra download speed does very little for those tasks. I’m happy to use 5G when there’s a reason, but keeping it enabled during a drive makes less sense when battery life is already a problem.
5G can consume more power than LTE, although the difference depends on your phone and the network you’re connected to. Some 5G networks require your phone to maintain an LTE connection alongside 5G, which increases power consumption. Samsung specifically acknowledges this as a reason for increased battery drain and heat. That doesn’t mean every 5G connection is inefficient, but it gives you a practical reason to try LTE before changing anything else.
I switched my phone to a network mode without 5G. Look for Network Mode or Preferred Network Type in your phone’s settings, then select an option that includes LTE or 4G without 5G. The available choices depend on your phone and carrier.
Turning off 5G makes sense for me personally, because I’m usually at home, in a café, or in a workspace, and I almost always use Wi-Fi in all of these places. The only time I use my mobile network is when I’m driving, and I don’t need to download anything or stream video that requires fast internet then. I need navigation, and LTE handles that well. If you use your mobile network more than Wi-Fi, turning the setting on and off every time you drive could be a hassle, but the whole process takes only a few seconds. One workaround is to use an automation app that switches to 4G when Android Auto connects and back to 5G when it disconnects. It only takes a few minutes to set up.
To switch to LTE on my Samsung phone, I went to Settings > Connections > Mobile networks > Network mode > LTE preferred.
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Turn off 3D buildings in Google Maps
Small change and you don’t lose anything
Google Maps can display buildings in 3D during navigation, giving you a more detailed view of the area you’re driving through. It’s a nice addition, especially when recognizable buildings help you get your bearings, but I’m mostly looking at the route and the next turn. I don’t need building shapes on every drive.
I have noticed that turning off 3D buildings reduces heat and the battery the app consumes. When parked, open Google Maps on your Android Auto display, go into its settings, and look for the 3D buildings toggle. I wouldn’t attribute the entire battery improvement to this one change, but it’s an easy feature to give up because it adds little to what I need from navigation. I’d rather keep the map simple and save battery for the rest of the day.
To turn off 3D buildings, I opened Google Maps on the car’s Android Auto display > Settings (gear icon) > 3D buildings and switched the toggle off.
Stop mobile streaming and use downloads
Can really help save battery if you can pull this off
This one is more of a change in how you use your phone, but downloading music and maps before a long drive lets you switch off mobile data for the journey. If you already know where you’re going and what you want to listen to, there’s little reason to keep downloading that content along the way.
Download the map area covering your route and destination, along with your music playlists or podcasts, before leaving home. Make sure the downloads finish and are available offline. You can then use them through wireless Android Auto with mobile data off, keeping Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled to connect to your car.
You do give up a few things. Google Maps won’t provide live traffic information or traffic-based alternative routes offline, so this approach makes more sense on a long highway drive than a city commute where congestion determines which road you take.
Plus, internet-based messages and notifications won’t arrive until you reconnect, although regular calls and SMS still work as long as you have cellular coverage. I think those are reasonable sacrifices when the goal is to save battery on a long drive. You can always turn mobile data back on when you need traffic updates or want to check your messages at a stop, then switch it off again once you’re done.
To download a map, I opened Google Maps > Profile picture > Offline maps > Select your own map, adjusted the area to cover my entire route, and tapped Download.
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