{"id":295973,"date":"2026-02-13T12:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/295973\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:23:11","slug":"google-quietly-fixed-a-big-annoyance-with-androids-driving-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/295973\/","title":{"rendered":"Google quietly fixed a big annoyance with Android&#8217;s Driving Mode"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  title=\"Android 16 driving mode\"  alt=\"Android 16 driving mode\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Android-16-driving-mode.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Tushar Mehta \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>TL;DR<\/p>\n<p>Google is quietly fixing an issue with automatic DND using Driving mode.<br \/>\nGoogle is reviving the feature to automatically turn on DND only when the phone is connected to the headunit via Bluetooth.<br \/>\nPreviously, the mode would misfire for other passengers in the vehicle when their phones detected motion.<\/p>\n<p>Modes on Android can help limit distracting notifications based on different scenarios. Whether you want to lock into a flow state with Focus mode or simply wind down with only essential notifications from your loved ones, modes let you selectively restrict certain aspects rather than use a blanket Do Not Disturb. Likewise, Android has a Driving mode that automatically suppresses alerts when you\u2019re driving. The best part is that it can activate automatically when it detects that you are driving. Recent changes to the Driving mode meant it would also automatically fire up for passengers, but Google appears to have fixed that recently.<\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, you could use one of the following ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/pixel-driving-mode-3216257\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">activate Driving mode on Android<\/a>: when the phone is connected to Bluetooth, the phone\u2019s sensors detect motion, or both. However, Google quietly removed the option to trigger it by Bluetooth sometime in the recent years. Therefore, for users with Driving mode enabled, it could automatically activate when the phone detected the vehicle was moving, even if the device wasn\u2019t connected to the car\u2019s dashboard. As expected, this meant users would often miss critical calls or notifications, even when they weren\u2019t driving.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, Google appears to have revived the option to activate the mode only when the phone is connected via Bluetooth.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/andauth.co\/AAGooglePreferredSource\" class=\"e_2m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re already seeing the option across a variety of Android devices. While the options are consistent, the interface on Pixel devices uses the Material 3 Expressive UI, which is not available on other devices, such as the OnePlus 13R, which we used to verify the rollout.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Android driving mode DND 2\"  alt=\"Android driving mode DND 2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Android-driving-mode-DND-2.jpg\"\/><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Android driving mode DND while driving\"  alt=\"Android driving mode DND while driving\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Android-driving-mode-DND-while-driving.jpg\"\/><img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Android Driving Mode DND Expressive\"  alt=\"Android Driving Mode DND Expressive\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Android-Driving-Mode-DND-Expressive.jpg\"\/>UI with Material 3 Expressive<img class=\"e_Gh\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Android Driving Mode DND\"  alt=\"Android Driving Mode DND\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Android-Driving-Mode-DND.jpg\"\/>UI without Material 3 Expressive<\/p>\n<p>While the feature\u2019s description mentions \u201cvehicle Bluetooth,\u201d we\u2019re unsure whether it causes any issues with older cars that may have generic or aftermarket head units. Notably, Samsung\u2019s implementation also gives you the option to specifically turn on Driving mode only when the device is connected via Android Auto, and it would have been a good addition for all Android devices, too. I hope Google is taking notes.<\/p>\n<p>The feature is available in version 26.05.32 of Google Play Services. You can check for the latest version and update the app from its <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.google.android.gms&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Google Play Store page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To activate the feature, you can head to Settings &gt; Modes &gt; Driving and turn on the toggle for While driving. Then tap the option again to choose between the two available options.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tushar Mehta \/ Android Authority TL;DR Google is quietly fixing an issue with automatic DND using Driving mode.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2723,1711,61,60,202,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-295973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-mobile","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}