[Android Auto] Back button not working. Bricking the app.

[dsis42]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

Google Pixel 10, 2018 Acura TLX

Operating System

Android 16

My Question or Issue

For the past week or so, the Spotify app while using Android Auto in my 2018 Acura TLX has not been working correctly. The problem seemed to stem from the physical "back" button I have in my car's infotainment system, that is supposed to be able to go back in AA since it isn't a touch screen. However, about a week or two ago, the back button stopped working (only in Spotify; all other apps accept it as normal), and it would also bog down the entire system, and not allow me to go to any app I select on the bottom row of apps.

It's not like it freezes up AA entirely, because I can still move the infotainment navigation wheel to move the cursor around on the bottom row where you open up the apps or go to three pane view. It just freezes Spotify and keeps it full screen, which essentially bricks the entire system. The music keeps playing, but if I want to go open Maps or any other apps, then I have to disconnect and reconnect AA to essentially restart it to get Spotify off the screen. This problem only seems to come when using the back button, whether that be my car's physical "back" button or even just navigating with Spotify's AA app's back button in the upper left of the screen. Anytime I try to go back, it bricks the entire system, and I can't interact with the app or any other apps until restarting AA.

Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone know a solution to this?

[butchersong]

This is likely an Android issue especially if you're on android 16.  I can reproduce it in audible and similar apps as well as spotify.  Essentially they didn't accurately test events like back button and it is just broken until some update occurs.  Possibly some change at the app level would avoid it but it was hosed by Google.  I can pop in my older phones running android 15 and they're fine. Well, except that spotify loses some state info and jumps to top of play lists on back but that's been an issue forever.

[dsis42]

Great, thank you for your insight and for testing!

[dculo]

Same problem, you described it perfectly. 2023 Mazda CX-30 and a Pixel 10 as well. Been happening a few weeks

[Maria]

Hey there folks,

Thanks for reaching out on the Community!

As we're seeing a few reports in this thread, we'd like to look into things a bit further with you. It would be great if you could send us the following details (if you haven't already):

• The make, model & OS version of your device.
• Current Spotify version.
• Does this only happen with Spotify or with other apps as well?
• Any troubleshooting steps you've tried. For example, updating the app, a clean reinstall, updating the operating system, etc.

These details will help us with the investigation 🙂

We'll keep an eye out for your replies!

@dsis42 @butchersong @dculo 

[dsis42]

Hi Maria, I'm using a Google Pixel 10 Pro running Android 16. My car is a 2018 Acura TLX if that matters. I'm running Spotify beta version 9.1.38.1610. To my knowledge, it's only doing this with Spotify in Android Auto, but someone else on the thread mentioned it happening in Audible, so I wonder if it's just an issue with any music/audio app.

[butchersong]

Phone: Pixel 10 pro xl

Phone vers: Android 16 build CP1A.260305.018

Spotify vers: 9.1.34.2060

Car: Mazda 3 2026

Many cars lack a touch screen and Mazda is one of these.  There is a rotary dial and physical back button.  When the back button is pressed (I think it is for the app a KEYCODE_BACK event) this causes app to be unresponsive and usually close/relaunch.  

I see same issue in audible and i think it might have something to do with android 16 new ah, preemtive back animations or something. 

It's really kind of a safety issue. I dont know how many people are using the rotary dial instead atm to scroll across widgets to get "back" option on the screen which works but it's a bad idea in a car 🙂

Again, i blame google for this. I got the phone in march and i suspect their march update which had some stuff in it around these areas / features at same time was to blame but...never had a chance to confirm behavior before the march update.

[Dessi]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the info you've provided!

We've passed it on to the respective team backstage so they can have a look and investigate further. We'll let you know as soon as we have any news to share, but make sure you always keep your apps up-to-date so you don't miss out on a potential fix!

@dculo, can you confirm if you're also running Android 16 on your mobile device and share your current Spotify version so we can share this info with the team?

We're always here in case you have any questions.

[dculo]

Yes, using Android 16 and Spotify version is 9.1.36.1948. As mentioned earlier in this thread this could be an android issue, as my when my wife plugs her iPhone into my car to use apple car play, the back button works just fine in Spotify. 

[Dessi]

Hey @dculo,

Thanks for confirming, I'll let the team know! It could really turn out to be related to the OS version if it doesn't happen with an iPhone, we'll post an update here once we have more info.

The Community is always here in case you need any help.

[Keeganid3n]

Same issue for me. 

Android 16 - 5 April 2026

Android Auto Version 16.5.661214-release

Spotify Version 9.1.40.1486

Mazda 3 (2019) 

[Novy]

Hi folks, 

Thanks for the patience while we looked into this. 

This issue is being investigated by the Android Auto team directly in Google's support community, so we'd suggest adding your feedback to Google's bug report here to stay on top of any updates.

The Community will be here if anything else comes up.