Android Auto missing signal strength icon bug gets attention from Google, Spotify sorting issue also under review

Update (April 24): The Android Auto team has finally picked up the Spotify sorting issue, and it is now under investigation. Hopefully, a fix will be available soon.

Original article continues:

Android Auto users have lately been dealing with a strange issue where the cellular signal strength icon simply vanishes from the dashboard, even though their phones continue working normally in the background. The problem drew wider attention in late March, with affected users noting that calls, data, and navigation still appear to function as expected, suggesting this is a visual bug rather than an actual connectivity failure.

Reports from users show the issue has affected more than just one setup. Multiple users say the signal indicator, along with labels like 4G, 5G, LTE, or roaming, disappeared after recent Android Auto updates. One user specifically mentioned seeing it on Android Auto version 16.5.661214-release, while others said the bug appeared on both beta and non-beta builds. A few users claimed temporary workarounds like clearing app data or downgrading to Android Auto 16.3, which points more to a software regression than anything wrong with the phone’s actual network connection.

That matches what I found as well. The missing icon does not appear to affect real-world connectivity, because it may be tied to Google’s ongoing work on refreshed Android Auto status bar icons that better align with Android 16’s newer visual language. That part remains speculation for now, but it would explain why the bug looks like a UI-side mishap rather than a broken mobile signal indicator.

More importantly, the issue is no longer just floating around in user forums without any sign of life from Google. A Community Specialist recently said the report had been forwarded to the team and that affected users had also been contacted over email for more information. That means the bug has at least crossed the line from a random user complaint to an issue Google is actively collecting details on, which is usually the first meaningful sign that something may eventually get fixed.

As for the current status, things still look mixed. Recent Reddit reports suggest some users have started seeing the signal icon return, reportedly alongside a newer-looking design, while others are still asking whether the issue has been fixed at all. In other words, this does not look like a clean, wide rollout of a proper fix yet. It may be coming back gradually for some users through a server-side change or a staged update, but there is not enough evidence yet to call the issue resolved across the board.

The signal icon bug is not the only Android Auto problem now under the spotlight. Google’s team is also looking into a separate Spotify-related issue, where users say Android Auto no longer respects Spotify sorting options beyond the default arrangement. The Android Auto team is asking affected users to reply with more information by email, which suggests this one is also being investigated, though there is still no public fix or ETA posted so far.

So for now, the situation looks like this: the missing signal strength icon appears to be a visual Android Auto bug, not an actual mobile network problem, and Google has at least acknowledged the reports privately through its community channels. Meanwhile, the Spotify sorting issue is sitting in the same waiting room of modern software misery, with users supplying details while the team looks into it. The team is also looking into an Android Auto physical control bug affecting Pixel users. Until Google pushes out something more concrete, these issues remain open.

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