How to take screenshots

Last updated May 27, 2023 by Marina Meyer

Modern user interfaces are designed to make it easier for humans and machines to interact, but it’s not always easy to describe what’s on the screen. Whether it’s explaining a problem you’re having or helping someone, a screenshot usually makes it easier to get the right message across.

While taking a screenshot on an Android phone is easy, it’s not so easy when using Android Auto. However, you can pick it up without much difficulty. This is how it is done on any Android phone.

Enable developer options

Before you can take a screenshot in Android Auto, you need to enable developer options on your phone. This step gives you access to additional options that are not usually available by default.

• Connect your Android phone to your car, either wirelessly or with a cable.
• Once connected, go to your phone’s Android Auto settings. For Samsung phones, go to Settings > Connected devices > Android Auto. For Pixel phones, go to Connected devices > Call settings > Android Auto. If you are not sure where the settings are, the easiest way is to go to your phone settings and search for Android Auto.
• In the Android Auto menu, scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Build number 10 times.
• If prompted, tap OK to enable Developer Options.
• It’s best not to change other settings unless you know what you’re doing. So make sure you only access this menu to save a screenshot.

Take a screenshot

To take a screenshot in Android Auto, you have to go through some menus on your phone, which you shouldn’t do while driving. It is best to stop the car before following these instructions:

• Go to Android Auto settings as shown above.
• Click on the full menu (⋮) in the upper-right corner of the screen and click on Developer Options.
• Click “Share screenshot now” to take a screenshot and share it with most of the apps installed on your phone.

You have to share the screenshot immediately after taking it as there is no option to save it locally. This is annoying, but an easy way to bypass this limitation is to save screenshots to your Google Drive account. Whichever option you prefer, it’s best not to tap Always at the bottom of the screen, as this means you’ll always share Android Auto screenshots through the same app once you select it.

Pictures are often better than words

Although Android Auto can be cumbersome at times and doesn’t necessarily provide the most intuitive way to take and share screenshots, it still provides this option. Pictures often make it easier to explain something, and screenshots are much clearer than a picture of your screen. Despite these limitations, there’s still a lot to like about Android Auto. The most remarkable feature compared to CarPlay is probably the ability to download and install a large number of apps.