4 ways I keep my phone cool while using Android Auto on long road trips

Published Aug 6, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT Dhruv Bhutani has been writing about consumer technology since 2008, offering deep insights into the personal technology landscape through features and opinion pieces. He writes for XDA-Developers, where he focuses on topics like productivity, networking, self-hosting, and more. Over the years, his work has also appeared in leading publications such as Android Police, Android Authority, CNET, PCMag, and more. Outside of his professional work, Dhruv is an avid fan of horror media spanning films and literature, enjoys fitness activities, collects vinyl records, and plays the guitar. I love Android Auto for its simplicity and the everyday convenience of having everything I need right there on my car's infotainment system. At the same time, I'm acutely aware of how much it asks of the phone. Between handling navigation, connecting the phone to the car, streaming music, and wireless charging, it's basically 4 tasks at once. Add to that a hot summer's day like the 100-plus Fahrenheit I routinely experience where I live, and it's a recipe for a toasty phone. I've run into the issue enough times that I've come up with my own checklist of things to do when setting off on a long drive. The best part is that you don't need any additional accessories or cooling gadgets to keep your phone running cool. All it takes is changing these four habits before you start driving. Mount your phone in front of the air vent Cool air goes a long way Sometimes the biggest changes are the easiest ones, and this is as easy as they come. Instead of laying it down on the armrest or seat next to you, get an affordable vent mount and place your phone there. As tempting as it is to leave your phone in the center console once Android Auto connects, and I used to do exactly that, the surfaces of your car can be surprisingly warm. Additionally, these hard plastics don't do much to help your phone dissipate heat. Keeping the phone in front of an AC vent gives it a constant stream of cool air while Android Auto is running. You don't need to blast the AC either. Just keep it to a comfortable setting and let the cool air handle dissipating heat from the surface of your phone. Take the case off before a long drive Let your phone breathe Phone cases are non-negotiable for me. However, the only time I make an exception is when I'm setting off on a road trip. The fact is that thick rubber and silicone cases aren't doing your phone's heat dissipation any favors. In fact, they are probably just trapping the heat. While that's rarely an issue in everyday use when all you're doing is texting or taking calls, it's far from ideal on a long drive with the screen cranked up and all the aforementioned background tasks. I tend to pop off the case and keep it safely aside. That alone helps the phone cool down a bit. Combined with placing the phone in a mount in front of the air conditioning vent, I've found that my phone stays much cooler than it usually would. Even when it does warm up, not being caged in a thick case means it cools down much faster. Skip the wireless charging A cable keeps Android Auto cooler and more reliable As convenient as it is, and I do use wireless charging wherever possible, when combined with Android Auto, it is the fastest way to get your phone uncomfortably warm. Look, there's simply no way to use wireless charging without heating your phone. Heat is a natural byproduct of using induction for charging instead of a cable. Add to that the load of running connections over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular for data and all the apps on your phone, and it's no surprise that your phone charges slowly and stays warm. Do your phone a favor and plug it in instead. A wired connection isn't just more stable and usually faster, but it also takes away a source of heat generation. In fact, you can further reduce the stress on your phone by not just eliminating wireless charging, but using that same cable for wired Android Auto. You'll observe a much more stable connection, less battery drain, and a cooler phone to boot. Keep your phone out of direct sunlight Even air conditioning can't offset hours of direct sunlight This one's a no-brainer, but you should avoid keeping your electronics in direct sunlight. A phone running Android Auto and all the added connections that come with it? Doubly so. Even if you've got air conditioning turned up, direct sunlight can raise the surface temperature of your phone by a surprising degree. Go ahead, try it out. Even with Android Auto disconnected, a phone placed on your dashboard on a sunny day will get uncomfortably warm real quick. Turn on the Android Auto connection, and it gets positively toasty. I've started paying a lot more attention to where I keep my phone as I drive around the city. Even with the case off and the phone on an AC mount, I try to make sure it is tilted away from direct sunlight. Four small changes can make a huge difference I use Android Auto practically every time I drive. I can't imagine a life without the conveniences of navigation, music and hands-free communication on the car's screen. And all of that is precisely why I care so much about keeping my phone running cool. Removing the case, plugging in a USB cable to avoid wireless charging, mounting the phone on a vent, and tilting it away from sunlight barely require any effort and go a long way toward eliminating overheating issues you might be facing. While you can't change how much stress Android Auto puts on your phone, you can certainly make it easier for your phone to handle it with these changes to your usage habits.