Android Auto is one of the leading means for connecting your smartphone to your car’s infotainment system in the United States, with Apple’s CarPlay being the major competitor. As of 2018, half of the cars sold had the option to use either, or both, of these software options. That number can only have increased.
These platforms allow drivers to use their smartphones in a much more accessible and sensible way while driving. It’s hard to find anyone that doesn’t agree that it’s a must-have.
Safety is a huge concern when it comes to Android Auto, so there are a lot of limitations that the developers have put in place for safety reasons. For instance, one of these is that you need to have the car’s parking brake enabled before you can setup. This prevents people who want to connect while driving, which can obviously be hazardous.
However, there are reasons why a user might need to know how to bypass Android Auto parking brake. Sometimes, this Android Auto parking brake feature may only get in the way, which is not something that anyone wants to deal with.
If you’ve been looking for an Android Auto parking brake bypass solution, you’ll find the answers here. Let’s get right into everything that you need to know.
Do you have a particular question about bypassing Android Auto parking break? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page.
Here's what we'll cover:
What is Android Auto parking brake?
The Android Auto parking brake refers to a safety feature built into the Android Auto interface that prevents it from being set up unless the parking brake is enabled.
This feature intends to make sure that drivers are in a safe place and stationary before they attempt to connect their Android smartphone to their vehicle.
This is a great feature to have, but the problem is that it gets in the way sometimes. For this reason, many people look for any Android Auto parking brake hack that they can use to get past this problem. I’ll talk about this more in the next section.
Why might you want to bypass it?
Even though I’m sure some people hold safety with little regard and simply want to be able to set up their Android Auto whenever the primary reason people want to bypass Android Auto parking brake is that it simply doesn’t work right!
Many people install the infotainment system head unit themselves, while some get it installed by a professional. When they try to connect to the system, they get told to put the parking brake on, even when it’s already on!
This is usually due to an issue with how the unit was wired. Many people neglect to connect the brake wire or fail to ground it properly. When this happens, the car cannot detect that the car is in a park when it actually is.
In some instances, the parking brake is simply broken, so the user can’t use it even when installed properly!
Understandably, very few people want to go through the hassle of taking out the head unit and rewiring it. That’s why they simply look for how to bypass Android Auto parking brake. But, to be honest, as long as it doesn’t compromise the safety, I understand the need.
How to bypass Android Auto parking brake in 3 steps?
The easiest way for you to bypass Android Auto parking brake will still require you to pull the head unit out anyway. However, this will save you a lot of trouble in the future without having to actually pull the parking brake.
This works by tricking the infotainment system into thinking that the car is always in the park. Follow these steps for my Android Auto parking brake hack:
- Look out for a green wire. It will typically have a label attached that shows that it is the brake wire.
- Ensure that the copper wiring at the end is exposed. About an inch of exposed wiring is good.
- Attach this to the chassis of the car. You can tap it in place. As long as it is grounded by the car, it will interpret it as the Android Auto parking brake is on!
It’s important to know that the above steps will work for some infotainment systems, but not all. This is because manufacturers know about this little trick and are trying to stop this Android Auto parking brake bypass from working. So they have the system lookout for an On, Off, On signal instead.
If attaching it directly to your chassis doesn’t work, the above is likely to be the case. Fortunately, suppose you’re a hands-on person. In that case, you can get around this with a cheap little bypass switch that is connected to the head unit and ground by using either three or four (for Alpine stereos) wires.
This will automatically mimic the On, Off, On signal the moment you turn on the vehicle, allowing you to bypass Android Auto parking brake without having to do anything!
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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