Android does not have a setting that opens an app when the phone starts. If you open the same apps after every restart — a navigation app in the car, a launcher on a kiosk tablet, a music app on a head unit — an auto-start app can do it for you.
Why it doesn't happen on its own
Since Android 10, apps are not allowed to open screens from the background on their own. An app that should open others after a reboot therefore needs the "Display over other apps" permission, and it can only start them once the phone has been unlocked for the first time.
Set it up with AutoStart+
AutoStart+ (our app) opens the apps you pick after every restart, as soon as you unlock the phone. It needs no root.
- Install AutoStart+ from Google Play and open it.
- Tap Add apps and choose the apps you want to open after a reboot. Drag the rows to set which one opens first.
- Allow "Display over other apps" when asked — without it Android blocks the launch.
- Tap Test it now to see what will happen, without restarting the phone.
- Restart the phone and unlock it: your apps open in the order you set.
Car head units and devices that sleep
Many Android head units don't really reboot — they go to sleep when the car is off. AutoStart+ has a Car Mode that opens your apps again every time the screen wakes up.
