Ten quick taps inside Android Auto’s About menu bypasses Google’s strict app restrictions and unlocks a buried dashboard designed specifically for developers.
Buried behind Android Auto’s About screen is a developer settings menu. While it isn’t new, it became essential for everyday drivers after Google pulled the wireless Android Auto toggle out of standard settings and tucked it away in this menu. If you want to force a wired connection or unlock third-party apps, this hidden control panel is where you have to go. Here is how to unlock it, what is hiding inside, and which other settings are actually worth touching.
How to Unlock Android Auto’s Developer Settings
It takes about ten seconds once you know where to look.
You can find the developer settings for Android Auto inside the Android Auto app’s own section, completely separate from your phone’s system-level Android Developer Options, and enabling one does not require or affect the other.
To access the menu, open your phone’s Settings app and navigate to the Android Auto configuration page: on a Google Pixel, head to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Android Auto > Additional settings in the app, while Samsung and OnePlus owners can go through Settings > Apps > Android Auto > Configure in Android Auto (or follow Google’s official Android Auto setup guide to reach Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Android Auto).
Scroll to the bottom of the Android Auto settings screen until you see the Version number, then tap it 10 times in quick succession. A pop-up will ask you to confirm — tap OK, and a new Developer settings option appears in the three-dot overflow menu.
To disable the menu later, tap the same three-dot overflow menu and select Quit developer mode.
Features that work everywhere
Both wired & wireless
Most options inside the hidden Developer Settings menu apply globally to your phone’s software, meaning they function the same whether you plug in via USB or stream your display wirelessly.
- “Unknown Sources” lets non-play store apps on your dash: By default, Android Auto only displays car-compatible apps downloaded directly from the Google Play Store. Toggling Unknown sources inside developer settings bypasses this restriction, letting Android Auto show side-loaded apps installed via third-party APKs. This is how community tools (like CarStream or Fermata Auto) can display on your car’s screen.
- Force video resolution overrides: Developer settings include a Video resolution manual override. Normally, your phone and head unit negotiate a safe display resolution automatically during their connection handshake. Manually forcing a higher resolution (such as 1080p or 720p) can force blurry head unit displays to render sharper text and crisp map lines. On the other hand, dropping it to 720p over wireless can reduce lag and choppy audio.
- Day/Night: Forces Android Auto’s theme instead of leaving it to the car. Choose Car-controlled (follows the vehicle’s light sensor), Phone-controlled (follows your phone’s dark mode schedule), or lock it permanently to Day or Night. Works the same over cable or wireless.
Enabling Unknown Sources lets you sideload non-Play Store apps to your dash, but keep in mind that strict category limits (media, messaging, and parked apps) still apply, unverified APKs bypass standard security checks, and third-party tools are prone to breaking whenever Android Auto updates.
Wireless Android Auto
How to Toggle the Hidden Wireless Switch
Certain developer controls strictly manage the underlying Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth discovery handshakes. When your phone is physically connected to your car via a USB data cable, these options are bypassed or completely ignored.
Wireless Android Auto Toggle: The wireless toggle used to sit right in Android Auto’s general system settings, but Google removed it from the main UI and relegated it entirely to this developer menu. Functionally, the feature works identically: wireless auto-connects as it always did. However, moving the switch here makes this developer menu practical for everyday users who want to force a wired-only mode to prevent frame drops, battery drain, or Wi-Fi interference on long drives, a common trade-off of wireless connections.
Wireless Projection / Adapter Syncing: Options governing background pairing for wireless head units or third-party wireless dongles remain completely inactive while a physical USB cable is connected.
Screenshots, Video, and Audio Logs
Further down the menu lie tools specifically intended for app developers debugging software inside car environments, like:
Share screenshot now: Takes a screen capture of the car display rather than your phone’s screen.
Save video: Records continuous video output of the head unit’s UI stream.
Save audio: Captures raw audio streams sent to the car speakers.
Of course, most of us should leave these features off. Running screen recording or audio logging in the background places a significant computational load on your phone. It causes severe battery drain, high device heat, and will quickly consume storage space with raw log files. Unless you are actively troubleshooting an app crash for a developer, you’ll want to leave these options unchecked.
Is Android Auto’s Developer Menu Worth Bothering With?
Toggles like this are fun to play with if you’re into techie stuff like I am. For most drivers, though, only two toggles in this menu actually matter: Wireless Android Auto (if you need to force a stable, wired connection) and Unknown sources (if you use custom sideloaded media utilities). There are plenty of other ways to refine your in-car experience in Android Auto, too. The remaining options in this hidden panel are debugging tools that offer little benefit for day-to-day driving.
If you prefer a clean setup, you can exit the menu at any time using the Quit developer mode command in the top-right three dot menu.