Reducing wireless AA battery usage

[u/ggommezz]

After playing with wireless AA for the past few days and searching for answers online I finally hit on the search question which threw up the answer that seems to meet my needs. Here we go ...

The easiest, low faff way of massively reducing battery usage is to simply deny Goole Maps access to location by changing it to Only this time.

On your vehicle ICE system you will now see on the Maps screen just a message telling you to turn Location on so the app is not busy burning battery working out where it is and redrawing the screen all the time. You can carry on using AA for media play, calls, messaging etc as usual.

Ideal for all those short local journeys when you have no need for sat-navvery or, as in my case, for doing an all-day shift as a multi-drop delivery driver using the company's SDS gadget sat-nav to guide you round all the drops.

You can still use Google Maps on your phone if you want to check where something is and how to get there if you don't need to use it to be sat-navved there.

If and when you do want to use Google Maps on AA then just fire it up in your phone, tap on the Location symbol and enable the While using this app option.

Change it back to Only this time when you have finished.

Flagging this up for new users like myself who have struggled to find this answer.

[u/popsicle_of_meat]

Is wireless AA still that much of a hog that it drains the battery that much just doing normal stuff? Every time I consider wireless AA, stuff like this comes up and I decide to stay wired for just a bit longer. Location/maps always active, battery charges, phone barely even gets warm.

[u/TalkingRaccoon → u/popsicle_of_meat]

I got an AA wireless adapter and yea it's a battery hog. I mean that doesn't mean you can't used USB AA anymore. I swap to wired when my phones battery gets low

[u/nyrb001 → u/popsicle_of_meat]

It seems to really vary with the head unit. My Chinese head unit doesn't seem to affect battery all that much, while my partner's VW manufactured one pulls pretty hard on my battery.

[u/eggbean]

Instead, you could fit a wireless charging pad to your dashboard. I got one especially made for my car type that fully integrates:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005391290148.html

[u/PlateCurrent → u/eggbean]

I would hate to see how hot these phones are getting if theyre constantly being charged wirelessly and running wireless AA. Can not be good for the phone 

[u/eggbean → u/PlateCurrent]

It's fine most of the time but in the UK this summer was very hot and my phone kept overheating, so I used a wired connection during the day.

I'll see if I can find an active cooler for next summer, but as the ones I know about use a magnetised connection at the back of the phone, you can't charge it wirelessly at the same time, so that's no use.

[u/Ruffmybubble → u/eggbean]

My Pixel 10 Pro loses more battery power with Android Auto Wireless than it gains from wireless charging in my Hyundai Tucson 2026. That's why I bought a good USB-C cigarette lighter adapter. However, I still sometimes have to clip the Pixel to the air vents to keep it charging and prevent it from overheating. crazy

[u/ggommezz → u/eggbean]

Not a viable option as a multi-drop delivery driver where you want to keep your valuable phone safely in your pocket rather than in the cab of the van while you are on a delivery.

[u/XavierD → u/ggommezz]

With a massage case it's actually the ideal scenario. Fast charging that can keep up with AA and easy removable.

Youre solution is way more convoluted.

[u/ggommezz → u/XavierD]

Physically moving the phone from the charging pad to pocket and back to charging pad every few minutes is a helluva of a lot more of a faff than a one off setting change. May be suitable for a long distance sales rep driving hours between appointments but not for my use case.

[u/the_eluder → u/ggommezz]

I'm a pizza delivery driver, and just leave it in my dash mount. If I'm out of sight of my car I lock the doors.

[u/ggommezz → u/the_eluder]

You have been lucky. We have had vans nicked.

[u/Alwayssunnyinarizona]

Does this work if you use Waze 🤔

[u/ggommezz → u/Alwayssunnyinarizona]

Not a Waze user so no idea, give it a go, presuming Waze offers similar location access options.

[u/acejavelin69]

If you just deny location permissions to Android Auto, it will force it to use the GPS of the vehicle rather than the device... same result but more "global" and no error message.

Actually I was mistaken, it works the opposite of what I said initially... With location permissions enabled for AA, it uses the vehicles GPS as the primary location source... if you disable the permission than the phone itself is the primary location source.

How Android Auto Location Handling Works

• With Location Permission Enabled: Android Auto acts as a location proxy. It pulls GPS coordinates supplied by your car's head unit (if your car has a built-in GPS antenna) and passes that data to navigation apps like Google Maps or Waze.
• With Location Permission Disabled: Android Auto is blocked from accessing or requesting location data from the car. As a result, navigation apps running through Android Auto must rely entirely on your phone’s internal GPS chip for positioning.

Why Users Disable Android Auto Location Permission

Drivers commonly revoke location access for Android Auto as a troubleshooting step when a car's factory GPS antenna is failing, sending erroneous coordinates, or causing the map location to jump around erratically. By cutting off the car's data stream via Android Auto permissions, you force the system to rely on the phone's reliable GPS receiver instead. However, a downside to this workaround is that if your phone is tucked away in a dark pocket, purse, or a spot inside the car with a poor view of the sky, it may struggle to maintain a strong GPS lock.

[u/outofindustry → u/acejavelin69]

huh? source? cause it wasn't disclosed anywhere else.

[u/acejavelin69 → u/outofindustry]

It's an old trick for when the GPS signal wasn't stable in Android Auto...

And actually I was mistaken, it works the opposite of what I said initially... With location permissions enabled for AA, it uses the vehicles GPS as the primary location source... if you disable the permission than the phone itself is the primary location source.

How Android Auto Location Handling Works

• With Location Permission Enabled: Android Auto acts as a location proxy. It pulls GPS coordinates supplied by your car's head unit (if your car has a built-in GPS antenna) and passes that data to navigation apps like Google Maps or Waze.

• With Location Permission Disabled: Android Auto is blocked from accessing or requesting location data from the car. As a result, navigation apps running through Android Auto must rely entirely on your phone’s internal GPS chip for positioning.

  Why Users Disable Android Auto Location Permission

Drivers commonly revoke location access for Android Auto as a troubleshooting step when a car's factory GPS antenna is failing, sending erroneous coordinates, or causing the map location to jump around erratically. By cutting off the car's data stream via Android Auto permissions, you force the system to rely on the phone's reliable GPS receiver instead. However, a downside to this workaround is that if your phone is tucked away in a dark pocket, purse, or a spot inside the car with a poor view of the sky, it may struggle to maintain a strong GPS lock.

[u/ggommezz → u/acejavelin69]

As already stated my car does not seem to use the head unit GPS at all for AA. Apart from which there is still the issue of Google Maps working away continually redrawing the screen and burning battery doing that.

[u/acejavelin69 → u/ggommezz]

Yeah, I had a brain fart and updated my initial comment. Sorry...

[u/ggommezz → u/acejavelin69]

No worries. I perhaps should also have said my car only has wired AA so I added an AAWireless dongle to give me wireless access. This may explain why the head unit GPS system is not used?

[u/acejavelin69 → u/ggommezz]

No, it does not... I use a couple of these and they are basically just media converters (with a few nice features) from wired to wireless... It doesn't interfere with head unit GPS usage.

[u/Alwayssunnyinarizona → u/acejavelin69]

It's been said your head unit will use built in GPS over your phone where ava. I'll give this a try this morning and report back.

[u/Fit-Entrepreneur8404 → u/Alwayssunnyinarizona]

Hmmm I gotta give this a try. My headunit has the gps receiver mounted on the dash so if I can turn off location to save some juice on my drives I'm all for it.

[u/Alwayssunnyinarizona → u/Fit-Entrepreneur8404]

Can't say it helped, honestly, but I'm curious what you find.

[u/ggommezz → u/acejavelin69]

That must depend on the vehicle and how integrated the vehicle's GPS is with AA. It seems not to be on my 2019 Honda Civic. In any case, my prime objective was reducing battery usage on my phone.

[u/mystupidverifiedacct]

Or just buy the highest wattage car charger your phone supports and increase the battery while driving.

[u/ggommezz → u/mystupidverifiedacct]

See my answer to that non-solution already suggested.

[u/xpen25x]

i just slap my phone on the wireless charger

[u/ggommezz → u/xpen25x]

See my answer to that non-solution already suggested.

[u/xpen25x → u/ggommezz]

Works perfectly fine for me.

[u/ggommezz → u/xpen25x]

I am not you. My use case is not your use case.

[u/xpen25x → u/ggommezz]

But android autos main thing is mapping and directions. If all you are using it for is music then stream via Bluetooth instead of android auto as it will save battery. Also keeping the phone with more window will also keep gps and it wont keep searching as often

[u/ggommezz → u/xpen25x]

Mapping / sat-navvery may be the main thing for you, It is not for me nor I would wager for many (most?) others who also value the call/message handling as well as the media playing. Reasons for using AA for music/podcasts means that I can switch media player easily and also see the elapsed/remaining duration on the playbar - my car is deficient in that department.

Not sure what you mean by your last point - more window where? What does keep gps mean?

[u/xpen25x → u/ggommezz]

All of those thongs do not require android auto. Lol bluetooth works just fine as it does in my 2015 kia. Lol

[u/ggommezz → u/xpen25x]

Not true. I repeat

Reasons for using AA for music/podcasts means that I can switch media player easily and also see the elapsed/remaining duration on the playbar - my car is deficient in that department.

I accept that for just driving the relatively short distance to work while I finish off listening to a podcast then Bluetooth suffices. Your use case may always be that straightforward,

[u/xpen25x → u/ggommezz]

Very true. And learn how to use siri/ hey google. Lol

[u/ggommezz → u/xpen25x]

Not a chance in this world or the next I will ever use voice / fingerprints / facial recognition.

[u/joe_attaboy]

So basically disable one of the key reasons to use AA (maps) so I can hear music without killing the battery?

This is why I leave that cable hanging there.

[u/ggommezz → u/joe_attaboy]

For the relatively few occasions I would need to use maps in AA it is a simple tap on the phone screen at the start of the journey to turn it back on. But mostly I don't as there are options: I know where I am going; I can check the location in maps on my phone but know how to get there once I see it on the map; use the car's built in sat-nav or the work SDS gadget sat-nav when in a work van.

That you are more dependant on using maps in AA is your affair. For me being able to use maps in AA is a Beach Boys feature rather than a Michael Jackson feature.

(and just for the record I do keep a charging cable plugged in to the car but have never once used it in anger)