I support different types of streams in the app. When a transition between streams happens while on the Now Playing screen, Android Auto closes the screen.

I migrated the app from legacy ExoPlayer to Media3. In the app, users can select a live radio station from a menu. Android Auto navigates to the Now Playing screen and plays the live stream. At this point, if the user presses the pause or rewind buttons, the app switches to a replay stream of the currently playing show.

The replay stream has a different URL, meaning it's a separate stream from the live one. I want the user to remain on the Now Playing screen as the transition from live to replay stream happens. However, Android Auto closes the Now Playing screen and shows the menu again.

There is no issue with the playback state or metadata. The Now Playing icon remains visible, and clicking it reopens the Now Playing screen with the correct media item and state.

The problem is, I don’t want Android Auto to close the Now Playing screen in the first place.

Any idea what might be causing this?