Android Auto Drops Support for Android 9 and Android 10 Phones

A gradual process

The move did not come out of nowhere. Google ended support for Android 6 in 2022 and for Android 8.0 two years later, leaving Android 9 as the floor for the past two years. Users were warned at the start of last month, when notifications about the coming end of support began appearing on some devices. At that point, however, the official help pages still listed the old requirements.

The documentation has now been updated. According to Android Authority and the first affected drivers on forums, the app has also physically stopped working on the retired versions.

What affected drivers can do

Options are limited. The first is to check whether an official update to a newer Android version is still waiting in the phone's settings, though for devices this old that is unlikely. The second is to replace the phone with a newer model.

The broader reason is security. Devices that no longer receive updates accumulate vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit, and Google and other companies prefer not to support such systems. System and hardware requirements for many services keep rising for the same reason, so older phones and software versions are gradually cut off.