This week has proven challenging for Google Maps users, as the music controls within the navigation interface unexpectedly vanished over the weekend. Typically, these controls allow users to play, pause, and skip tracks from their favorite music streaming apps. However, they were noticeably absent, along with the corresponding settings.
Initially, many users worried that this helpful feature had been permanently removed. Fortunately, Google clarified that the missing controls were due to a bug, assuring users that they were “actively working to fix an issue that was affecting media playback controls on Google Maps.”
As of Thursday, the media playback controls have officially returned. Andrew Martonik, the Operations Manager at Android Police, noticed their reappearance in Google Maps, and we have confirmed this update on various devices running versions 25.28.04 and 25.30.00.
It appears that the fix was delivered through a server-side update, affecting the same versions that experienced the bug earlier in the week. However, some issues may still persist. In our testing, we discovered that while in navigation mode, the media controls do not show up on the collapsed card at the bottom of the screen.
Users must tap or swipe up on the card to expand it, after which they can access the play, pause, and skip functions. Additionally, the relevant settings have returned, now located under Settings → Navigation → Show media playback controls and Settings → Navigation → Default media app. It’s worth mentioning that during this Android outage, iOS users of Google Maps were not impacted, as they continued to enjoy the music controls seamlessly.
Now, Android users are back on track and can confidently engage with Google Maps without feeling excluded.
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