Why does the Amazon app interfere with car air conditioning?

The driver recently gained massive popularity on TikTok after sharing that her Amazon app and vehicle features were reportedly related.

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For some time now, drivers have been paying attention to the fact that using certain applications may affect the operation of the car. For example, in 2020, a Redditor complained that opening the Amazon app on his phone while driving caused the music to stop. Now Tracy Huynh (@tracyhuynher), a nail specialist, is speaking out about a similar problem: Huynh found that opening the Amazon app on her phone caused the air conditioning in her Honda to stop working.

Huynh’s video of her plight has garnered over 24,100 views.

“Does anyone (another) car (do) this? Every time we click on the Amazon app, the air conditioning turns off,” Huynh said. “It’s so weird.”

Why are the two connected?

It turns out that the problem is not Honda’s.

“Ford does this too,” one commentator confirmed.

“My Audi does this,” said another.

Instead, various drivers will likely face this predicament because their Amazon app has access to their phone’s microphone. As a result, opening the app may stop the car’s air conditioning blower to minimize feedback.

According to an Apple user forum, Amazon has access to phone microphones, and some cars are programmed to turn off the air conditioning when the microphones are used. If your car has Amazon Alexa, one commenter on Huynha’s video noted that some car functions, such as loud music or air conditioning, may be temporarily turned down to prevent the microphone from picking up extraneous sounds.

“Any app that uses the microphone acts as if it’s a conversation and lowers the AC level so that the microphone can’t pick it up,” wrote another commenter on TikTok.

“Yes, all newer cars have this feature when the microphone is on,” a fourth commenter confirmed.

However, one Redditor who posted wr/CarPlay said this issue could be resolved by disabling the Amazon app’s access to audio. They explained the issue as follows: “This is happening because the Amazon app is using the audio system, possibly the microphone, speaker, or both. Just turn off the sound.”

As it turns out, air conditioning isn’t the only thing that can be affected by opening the Amazon app. Several other users on social media said that double-using the app while driving caused the music to turn off or CarPlay to temporarily stop working.

@tracyhuynher That’s very strange!!! #fyp #amazon ♬ original sound – Tracy Huynh

How can you fix this?

Yes. As the above Redditor said, this problem can be solved by simply fixing the app permissions.

To disable audio access, Amazon app users must first find Menu button in Amazon shopping app. Then go to Settings and click Right. Then you should see Permissions panel. Here you will find Microsoft section and then Shop with your voice. Toggle to enable or disable microphone permissions for Shop with your voicewe read in the replies on the Amazon website.

Drivers are complaining about the impact of the Amazon app on their cars

In the comments on Huynh’s video, many other users said that opening the Amazon app on their phone caused their car to crash.

“I have a 2023 BMW and it affects my Apple Carplay,” one woman wrote.

“My Kia does this when I call someone,” added another.

“He’s turning my music down,” added a third viewer.

Meanwhile, at least one viewer promoted a conspiracy indicating that something much more nefarious was at play.

“Bc Amazon is listening to you. They caught them and Google eavesdropped and sold your data,” he said.

Of course, even if your phone is spying on you, that’s probably not why Amazon is connected to your car’s ability to function properly. And luckily, there seems to be an easy way to get things back on track.

The Daily Dot reached out to Huynh via a comment on TikTok and via email with Amazon.

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