Wireless Android Auto requires both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi working together. Bluetooth handles the initial handshake between phone and car and routes hands-free calls via the Hands-Free Protocol. It's energy-efficient for background scanning and pairing, but tops out at 2-3 Mbps — insufficient for streaming maps, audio, and touch inputs.

Once paired, the phone connects to a 5GHz Wi-Fi Direct network for the heavy lifting. This provides bandwidth for the UI, high-quality streaming audio, GPS data, touch inputs, and voice commands. Google's developer documentation mandates 5GHz Wi-Fi because standard Bluetooth lacks bandwidth for continuous video projection. Phones without 5GHz support can't run wireless Android Auto.

For cars with only wired support, dongles like Carlinkit, AAWireless, and Motorola MA1 bridge the gap. They plug into USB, pair via Bluetooth, then switch to 5GHz Wi-Fi Direct, translating the stream into a USB signal the car recognizes as wired.

Downsides include battery drain from maintaining Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS simultaneously, potential latency with dongles, and hardware requirements: Android 11+ with 5G capabilities. The dual-connection approach works smoothly because each technology handles what it's best suited for.