Related
Name: AudiobookMark
I was frustrated by the lack of built-in support for mp3-based audiobooks so I wrote this app. It lets you load as many audiobooks as you have memory for. It remembers where you are in each file of each book (and of course, which file you are listening to for each book).
It has standard transport keys plus the ability to enter HH:MM:SS to skip directly to.
Download Link: social.zune.net/redirect?type=phoneApp&id=b1cab14b-e91d-e011-9264-00237de2db9e
Is this a free app?
Its a 0.99 app, with a free trial that basically let's you use it without limitation, but pops up a message box occasionally...
Can you add support for a sleep timer? So you need to shake the phone every 15 mins or it will pause the audio book.
That sounds like a useful addition. Let me think through how best to implement it, and I'll try to add it in with "run under locked screen" update I'm working on...
elmstrom said:
Can you add support for a sleep timer? So you need to shake the phone every 15 mins or it will pause the audio book.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also really like this.
Hey dbroome, this sounds like it has the potential to be an awesome app. I'm so used to the Mortplayer audiobook app on Android and really enjoy using it (great alternative to music btw).
So by mention of "remembers where you are" you mean bookmarks are automatically placed for us? I ask because a cool feature of the mortplayer app was the bookmark feature where you can tag certain spots on demand and go back to wherever you tagged. I hope you go far with this app, it really does sound promising.
The UI looks good too!
I had not heard of Mortplayer, I'll have to check it out, though I don't have an Android device to be able to get a good look at it.
You are correct in that the app places the bookmark for you. It basically remembers where you were in each file.
How do you use the "tag different places in a file" type feature in your audiobook listening? I generally am just listening to novels, and don't have any real need to jump to various spots in the same file.
The reason I ask is that I'd like to implement features users would use, but don't want to overly complicate it with feature bloat.
As an update, I have implemented and am testing three new features. Once I make sure it is working as expected, I'll submit the update to the marketplace:
1) Configurable port on the loader (8001 might not be convenient for everyone. Should have thought of this before)
2) Run under locked screen. Now you can lock the screen to save battery power
3) Configureable sleep timer (with optional shake to reset).
I hope to submit it in the next day or so...
Thanks / Volume / File Corruption
First I love the app. I have been writing down my numbers until this app came along. Thank you dbroome.
Second, I noticed the volume is weaker than the default music player; has any one else notice this?
Third, I received a file corruption error message saying it couldn't determine the file lengths and displays all .MP3s as being 00:00:00 in running time. The files didn't play, but after a reboot they started too but still display the zero length; anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks!
Also needs skip forward/skip back button that just goes 30 sec back/fprward. The current skip to a location is not usable when driving.
Bonus points for a ui redesign with bigger buttons.
Additional bonus points for a fast play (i.e. play back at 150% speed with no pitch shift).
For me to purchase, I need:
Play under lock screen
Uploader program to work (changing ports might help)
In order to determine the length of the mp3, the player has to actually open the file and then close it. The Zune software interferes with the player opening the file after upload, and as such you have to unplug the phone from the computer after uploading before closing the "I'm done" pop up box. I'm guessing that the 0-length issue might have been due to that. Try deleting that book and re-loading it to the phone, making sure to unplug the phone before continuing (or, alternatively, using the SDK's WPConnect.exe which doesn't interfere with the media being opened).
It might be useful to add a "determine durations" type button on the load screen that would let you try to determine them again at a later time instead of re-loading them. What do you think?
30 second skip could definitely be useful. I'll see if I can find a good way to incorporate it in the next update.
I really want fast play as well. Unfortunately the MediaElement player I have to use to be able to set positions doesn't support it. I'll definitely be watching the updates as they come out for supporting that.
I'm dreadful at UI stuff, but I have a friend who I can probably rope into giving it some love.
Play under lock and the configureable port are in the next update, which I will finish testing and submit tonight...
Cool. Bought it as an encourgement.
For UI ideas look at audiobook player 2. It is much easier to use while driving.
Suggestions
Your [skip to a time] section shouldn't be on the main page, but off a toolbar option.
Your play/pause button should swap between play/pause depending on state rather than changing the background colour.
Use images rather than text in the buttons [|<] [<<] etc
v1.1 has been approved and should show up in the marketplace shortly. This adds a sleep timer (with optional shake to reset), play under lock, and configureable port on the loader and phone.
Next update will hopefully be a ui re-do, possibly adding the "skip xx seconds" idea.
Downloaded the update for the app, re-uploaded the audio book, followed instructions on the pop up (after upload completed) and the software recognized the full lengths. Very nice! Thanks dbroome!! The mp3s seem to have uploaded a little quicker too or is it this just me?
FYI, using a colon within the name of a book crashes the app (at least it does for me).
Good find. I'll correct that.
Waiting on a friend with some design skills. If he doesn't come back to me soon, I'll go looking for free images to include on the buttons and do a general usability re-skin of the ui...
Is this the correct website: http://davidbroome.com/AudiobookMark
I am just getting Bad Request (Invalid Hostname) when I try to goto it. Also the volume seems low on my Samsung Focus. Good work though, I am going to buy it.
Thanks!
The website had a temporary issue and should be resolved.
I'm looking into the lower volume and should have at least an answer soon if not a fix...
it's a very nice little app and I'm using it now for a few weeks.
But I've found when you have to many audiobooks or when the aaudio-files are very big (about 6 MB's) the program can't determine the length of the audio-files any longer...
Maybe we can get an update for that?
The only time I have been able to load an audio file the program could not determine the length of was when I forgot to unplug the phone from the Zune software when prompted. I have tested files up to 50 mb. Of course, it could be file dependent. Did the file play even after the length failed to update?
Fortunately I am almost done with the next update that includes code to re-check for the length of files if it fails the first time. I need to finish the "Load from DropBox" functionality that I am implementing and then I can submit it. Hopefully this week!
Yes - I can start the player and I can play the file even when it says the length is 00:00:00.
This morning I've transferred some 300 MB audiobook-files to my HD7. After that I disconnected the device and it started "determining length of..." and it immediately started playing the first file (10.7 MBs) but even after 20 minutes it just couldn't find the length of the first audio-file so I stopped the program.
So i wanted to discuss installing NULL but not everything in Aroma to get a Stock look and feel but benefits of some NULL advantages.
if this type thread already exist i didnt see it.
my reason for this is although i can read and follow directions the NULL setup to replicate what i like about stock takes a lot of work with widgets etc.. to get clock face and all the stock look and feel i like.
here is a post by mmick over here that i am quoting to show the setup i am liking and asking others to give some input:
mmick said:
I confess that I searched about Xposed Framework and Gravity Box and... I also did not understand fully what they are or what they do! (perhaps I am getting too old )
AFAIK, generally they allow you to change some items/properties from the ROM and installed APKs...without physically changing the ROMs/APKs. (please someone correct me, and please get something more in detail).
Though I did not make use of it on my Gear, as I just want a "middle tunning", so I installed Null_ ROM just with GAPPs and keyboard, everything else stayed (like Samsung´s Launcher, key settings and default "wipe movement" settings).
What did I install to make full use of what I make BUT without making Gear slow:
- K9 Email app (veeeery small and light. It also enables "share to Email" option on default Camera app)
- Opera mini (for what you could search on Gear, it works extremely well and fast. It also compresses internet data, which is excelent as Gear´s BT connection is rather slow, and it also saves some 3G Data)
- Amazon app (imperative to compare prices)
- Idealo app (I live in Germany, fantastic to compare prices. It is also a light app)
- Button Savior for ROOT devices (Sometimes, like in Amazon app, you do not see the "settings" button. With Button savior, you can turn whenever you want "onscreen buttons", like "back" "settings" "home", etc. If you buy the PRO version, is even better!)
- Google Translate (it works extremely well).
- Bluetooth Settings shortcut (this is a free app, it allows you to directly go to BT Settings, and enable BT Internet Teethering. I tried the app "Bluetooth Auto Connect" but it does have too many options and too big for Gear IMHO. This BT shortcut does the trick and it uses only a couple of Kb)
- gReader (with Dark theme: it saves battery on AMOLED devices!)
PS: if you set on each E-mail, RSS, Amazon, etc "Auto-Sync Off", "Notifications Off", "Push off",etc it will save you a lot of battery and will make your Gear faster.
That´s it. In the moment my Gear has Playstore, etc etc and works as fast as before, battery life is so good as the original but with much more functions. Gear WAS dumb, now with Null_´s ROMs it is SMART
With Null_16 I get: 1 full Day playing around too much (vacations day); 2 full Days (normal working day where I use it each hour to do some stuff, talk around 15 min /day through the Gear, Emails, etc); 3 full Days (when I´m busy and I just see the time, and a couple of pictures / Google Translate / check couple e-mails); 4 full Days (when I just check the clock and to see some Notifications). PS: At night (for 8h) I turn the Gear off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This Threader is a Spin-off of the original: [Android 4.1+] Headunit for Android Auto - 160117 - Self Mode+ other fixes, x86, 720p by the late :crying: @mikereidis.
App links: https://www.b3itlabs.com/prod.php?id=1
PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
Previous XDA Lab purchases can be downloaded using: https://www.b3itlabs.com/download.php
Last edited: 20/04/2023
Version 7.X Released
- It has braking changes for WiFi, this is mainly due to recent Android SDK limits, like toggling WiFi, BT, getting Mac address and others. Therefore WiFi connection now does need a helper app on the phone.
- Dropped GLES20 as too many issues reported by different bad implementations
- Resolution is now automatically detected based on the cars screen.
- SelfMode (running on phone screen) works without the need of activating developer options in Android Auto.
Last edited: 07/02/2021
Version 6.3 Beta 1 released
- Re-wrote whole rendering process to use GLES20, in simple terms video render should use GPU
- Much better scaling approach
- Added support for native AA Wireless. This will only work on the units where the BT is accessible from the Android, as many of those android powered Chinese units, have a separate BT board. For devices which supports this, no headunit server or no WiFi Launcher is needed.
- Changed key mapping, user can now define their own buttons as they wish.
Last edited: 21/06/2020
Version 5.2 released
- Removed WiFi Direct
- Improved menu UI CREDIT and THANKS TO @sebaw
- Updated margin setting
- Added option to record audio using BT mic (motorcycle helmets)
- Added button to reconnect WiFi connection ( phone and unit depended won't work on all units, please read app forum for how to connect)
- Option to disable touchscreen
- Removed brightness adjustment (some users experienced problems adjusting brightness after using previous version, sadly they need to do a factory reset of the unit, and update to current version)
Version 5 released
- New UI CREDIT and THANKS TO @sebaw
- New over-scan approach allowing any resolution units to work properly (including portrait mode)
- New mic source (should help with speech recognition)
- Added option to keep status bar (user request)
- Added welcome setup
- Added possibility to use old USB driver (android built in one) in case you cannot get it connected with the new version
- Added option for Gain control on mic
- Added option to keep Wifi off (for USB use)
- Changed Wifi Direct implementation (you will need to install the Wifi Launcher for HUR on the phone to use Wifi Direct)
- Removed option to stretch full screen as this is not needed any more (it will always be full screen)
- Fixed Incoming mode not setting password for some devices
- Fixed app crash when Wifi toggled during app running
- Fixed night icon colors for devices running 4.x
- Fixed app freeze if permissions denied
- Fixed app crash after device unplugged when using native android USB driver.
- Fixed day/night calculation if share GPS turned off
- Code cleanup
- Other bug fixes.
Also a big THANK YOU to @ppietak for helping with code cleanup and bug fixes!
Version 4.5 released
- Fixes for USB shuttering
- New USB driver
- Fixes for reverse camera not resuming on some units
- Added support for incoming connection listener (automating Wifi) - Experimental, read below how to connect
Version 4.4 Released
Change log
Fixed broken touchscreen
Changes on WideScreen mode and HD
Fixes for Rotary
Potential fix for black screen for second connection over Wifi
Left/Right hand driving position option (for widescreen)
Buffer setting for mic (could help when Assistant does not hear what you're saying)
Enjoy XDA Ad Free and check out:
Version 4.3 Released
Change log
Fixed double skip on Spotify when using SWC
No more decoder workaround needed (updated code for video playback)
Added support for rotary (arrow keys can be used for non-touch input)
Enhanced mic input (mic sampling rate can be adjusted in settings for better compatibility)
Added intent: "gb.xxy.hr.WifiP2P" for Wifi-Direct start
Added app color scheme (dark menu for night)
Mapped Key N to open Maps (N=Navigation)
Mapped Key L to open Multimedia (L = Listen)
Changed USB code, hoping to help those who suffered for USB disconnection problems
Fixed a serious bug in share GPS code
For some rooted android headunits the app can now disable the default call screen being overlayed when HUR is running (only if HUR is set as the navigation app!) This will require ROOT
Version 4.1 Released
Change log
Removed Google Play Services dependencies
Honda compatibility fixes
Some other small bug fixes
Version 4.0 Released
How to use the app?
USB Mode
Plug in the USB to your device (in case of tablet use an OTG cable), when prompted make sure you allow HUR to be the default app for the action and you check the always box.
If you are running the app on a device with Android 7.0 or higher, you might need to pull down the notification bar and select the connected USB device before the app starts (this is device dependent)
If the app does not start automatically when you plug in your phone, you can always open HUR, tap the USB button and select the phone from the list.
Wifi Mode
READ SECOND POST
Self Mode (when Android Auto and HUR are running on the same device)
Open HUR and press the self mode button. (you need to make sure Android Auto, Google Play Service, Google maps, Google Text To Speech is also installed on the device and it's up to date)
FAQ / Troubleshoot
All I get is a black screen
- If you are using an Android powered headunit (Joying, Xtrons, etc) look for a setting on your device which allows Video Playback during drive
- Try changing HUR settings and enable Software decoding
What does the "Share GPS" do?
- Share GPS actually forwards the GPS data of your device to the phone, so phone will need to do less work, comes really handy if you have an Android powered headunit, with external GPS antenna, however, if you using a tablet which is built into the dashboard, it's possible that you want to turn off this feature, because your phone will have a more accurate GPS fix.
What is the Sink Audio
- This option enabled HUR to work as a speaker for your phone. If you disable this option, all the sounds will be outputted on your phone speaker (or if your phone is connected to a Bluetooth device, then they will be played back on that)
My carrier doesn't provide data allowance for Wifi, what can I do?
Wifi data used between phone and tablet is classed as intranet not internet so it won't count against your data usage, but do be careful if you have auto-updates enabled on the device running HUR those updates will be downloaded over the phone's Wifi hotspot and that will incur data costs.
I have audio-sink enabled but phone calls are coming from the phone speaker. Why?
Android Auto is designed to sink all the audio over USB (Wifi) except phone calls where it will ALWAYS use a Bluetooth headset, if none is connected it will just flip the phone to speaker mode.
Are any hardware keys supported?
Volume Up
Volume Down
Media Next
Media Prev
Media Play
Media Stop
Media Rewind
Phone answer key (In case of incoming call it will answer the call, in case of not being on a call it will take you to the dial pad
F key - Same as Phone Key
M Key - Mic
H Key - Takes you to home screen
What about intents?
gb.xxy.hr.playpause Same as pressing the Play/Pause media button.
gb.xxy.hr.next Same as pressing the Next media button.
gb.xxy.hr.prev Same as pressing the Prev media button.
gb.xxy.hr.mic Triggers microphone input.
gb.xxy.hr.phone Same as pressing the dial key (answer phone call when ringing, takes you to dialer screen otherwise).
gb.xxy.hr.day Enables day theme.
gb.xxy.hr.night Enables night theme.
gb.xxy.hr.togglenight Switches between day and night theme.
I need more help.
- Feel free to ask a question on this thread, or you can always drop me an email to [email protected]
How do I collect a bug report / logcat
1. Enabling Developer Mode
1. Open Settings > About phone.
2. Scroll down to the Build number.
3. Tap the Build number 7 times in quick succession until "You're now a developer" appears.
4. Return to the Settings menu and select Developer options.
5. At the top of the screen, make sure 'Developer options' is set to On (green).
6. Scroll down to Debugging and enable both USB debugging and Bug Report Shortcut on (green).
7. Tab on Logger buffer sizes: Default setting is 256K. Select 16M to help capture more information for debugging. Of note, it can affect the apps performance especially with lower spec phone, so change it back after you have finished submitting bug reports.
2. Capturing a Bug Report
It's very important to do this right after you experience the issue again, so your device can log at least one occurrence of the issue.
1. Hold the Power button down until the menu appears.
2. Select Take bug report. and wait for the device to capture the bug report.
3. Tap the 'Bug report captured' notification when it appears.
4. Share the bug report. (I recommend to email it to yourself.)
5. Download the bug report to your computer.
6. Send the bug report by email to [email protected]
IF YOU UPGRADED TO ANDROID AUTO 2.X
Dial Pad is broken - Workaround available:
- Open AA -> About -> 3 dot menu -> Developer settings -> Application mode -> change to developer. This will bring back the Dial screen.
Version 3.0 Released
Changelog:
- Move USB functions from C to Java
- USB popup numbers limited to 2 and they should remain saved
- App will only start on a phone manufacturer vendor
- App is now running in multi-thread for better performance
- Much enhanced Wifi speed
- Better USB stability
- Should work on RK3188 units as well
- App runs as service so can be run in the background as well
- While running in background supports notification control for media
- While running in background on units running 5.0+ and above you will enjoy Heads-Up notifications for navigation
- Ability to rename the "Headunit" to your own prefered string.
- Fixed Wifi-Direct so can connect over Wifi-Direct as well, but not all devices seems to work
- Moved string to XML so translation to other languages should be implemented in the future
- Fixes some memory leaks
- Supports custom hardware keys
Version 2.5a Released
- Fix for USB close bug in 2.5
Version 2.5 Released - Attention contain BUG
- Left/Right button goes into endless loop
- Added support for ARM64
- Changed car name from Emil to Headunit
- Added mirror output support for HUD display.
Version 2.4 Released
- Improved performance (Wifi should be on par with USB now, even with Audio transport enabled)
- Improved touch sync (no accidental long touches and other strange occasional bugs)
- Option to share the GPS with the phone (reduce battery usage footprint on phone)
- Final fixes for Day/Night calculation and theme switching
- Auto volume adjust fixes (on supported ROM, the volume adjuster is hidden from the user)
- Software decoding works with Audio as well.
Version 2.3 Released
- Improvements and fixes for auto volume adjust
- Improvements and fixes for hardware key input
- Wifi speed improvements (should be able to run smoothly even with transport sound enabled)
- Tweaks for SelfMode (home and recent app button can be used to gracefully exit the app)
And the biggest change:
- Unlimited Browsing support - This is experimental and hacky it's possible that Google will close the loophole at some point but for the time being it works.
Version 2.2 Released - With some major changes
- Fixes for Communication Error 2 received with Play Service 10.X
- New Self mode
- Corrected channels order
- Unlimited browsing working when car is parked (only for Android Auto 1.6)
- Totally changed the Day/Night toggle logic, now the calculations are done inside the headunit app and updated each 10 minutes, so if you're driving all day the sunset/sunrise should be correct. even if you are 500 miles more to the north or west or whatever.
- Added Auto adjust volume option (works for bluetooth audio as well).
- Changed all the key mapping, and using real keys instead of simulated touches:
Supported hardware keys:
Volume Up
Volume Down
Media Next
Media Prev
Media Play
Media Stop
Media Rewind
Phone answer key (In case of incoming call it will answer the call, in case of not being on a call it will take you to the dial pad
F key - Same as Phone Key
D key - Changes to Day theme
N Key - Changes to Night theme
M Key - Mic
H Key - Takes you to home screen
The following keys are still usable but they are based on simulated touches:
Up Arrow = Scroll Up
Down Arrow = Scroll Down
Left Arrow = Moves to next Left tab
Right Arrow - Moves to next right tab
Version 2.0 Released
Changelog:
- Fixed calculated night mode
- Added support for Software decoding (should work now with any device) - If you have problems running HUR, go to settings and enable Software decoding. Do not use software decoding with audio transport, the audio playback will suffer a lot, consider streaming the audio from the phone to a A2DP directly or using a cable to connect the phone Jack to the stereo AUX, or if your phone is rooted you might want to consider Wifi Audio streaming app, it's too much to ask from the Software decoder to do both Audio and Video, unless you have a very strong CPU, but if that is the case I'm pretty confident that the Hardware decoding will work on the device.
- Added option for letterbox display (prevent distortion of stretch)
- Added option to start the app when connected to Wifi
Software Decoding
- Based on the feedback although it works, I'm not recommending this app for those with Joying or any other Rockchip (RK3188, RK3066) powered headunit. Feel free to use the trial and decide yourself, but it appears to be painfully slow on those devices.
Version 1.5 Released - Key features
- Stable Wifi connection
- Added support for Android 7.0 (Self mode as well)
- Self mode running in stable and usable way
- Connecting USB cable will start app automatically (even if phone is running Android 6.0 or 7.0)
- Supports keyboard shortcuts:
M = Start the Mic
N = Navigation Tab
P = Phone Tab
H = Home Tab
E = Entertainment Tab
UP Arrow = Scroll Up
Down Arrow = Scroll Down
Left Arrow = Moves to next Left tab
Right Arrow - Moves to next right tab
S = Play/Pause button (only works in Entertainment tab)
F = Next track (only works in Entertainment tab)
R = Prev Track (only works in Entertainment tab)
- Uses light sensor (if available) for toggling Day/Night theme.
If you are updating from version older than 1.2 please read:
You won't be able to install it over the old one (Key signature changed!), so please uninstall the previous version before updating, HOWEVER if you were upgraded for free from Mike's version, please follow this steps:
1) On XDA Labs, click the download Stable
2) When prompted to install select Cancel
3) Open a file explorer and go to Storage -> Android -> com.xda.labs -> files
4) Locate the newly download APK and copy it somewhere else.
5) Uninstall the old version
6) Install the APK which you just copied.
If you miss any of the steps, just reinstall the old version you received from me by email and try again, let me know if you are stuck.
App requirements:
- Android 4.1 or higher
- H264 Hardware decoding!
How to use the app: (Please read this steps before asking for help)
1) USB OTG
- Plug in the OTG cable to your tablet, connect your phone, done!
2) Self mode (for AA 2.0) - See Video
- Start Android Auto, Go to About, if you are not a developer yet press the "Android Auto" header 10 times, from the 3 dotted menu select "Start Head Unit Serve"
- Exit Android Auto
- Start HUR and select Self
3) Wifi
- From the phone create a Wifi hotspot
- Start Android Auto, Go to About, if you are not a developer yet press the "Android Auto" header 10 times, from the 3 dotted menu select "Start Head Unit Serve"
- Connect your tablet to the newly created Wifi hotspot
- Start the Headunit Reloaded app
- HTC ATTENTION! If your phone is a HTC, please change the default IP address to: 192.168.1.1
- Select Wifi
4) Wifi Direct (not supported by all phones/tables)
- Start Headunit Reloaded on the tablet
- Select Wifi Direct
- On the phone go to Settings -> Wifi -> Advanced -> Wifi Direct, join the group. (Do not try to connect as to a normal Wifi it will not work!)
- On the phone start Android Auto, Go to About, if you are not a developer yet press the "Android Auto" header 10 times, from the 3 dotted menu select "Start Head Unit Serve"
Other important notes:
Software Decoding
- Based on the feedback although it works, I'm not recommending this app for those with Joying or any other Rockchip (RK3188, RK3066) powered headunit. Feel free to use the trial and decide yourself, but it appears to be painfully slow on those devices.
To exit the app
If you are connected with USB, just unplug the USB cable, DO NOT use the exit from the menu. If you are running Wifi, Wifi Direct or Self mode, ALWAYS use the exit button from the left drawer menu!
Audio transport option
Will forward (sink) all the audio from the phone to the tablet if enabled, EXCEPT phone call audio, that will go trough the phone speakers or Bluetooth Handsfree if connected. If you wish to stream all the audio from the phone directly to your A2DP bluetooth, then simply disable the Transport Audio option.
Day/Night toggle
The device running the Headunit Reloaded app will be responsible for changing the theme. You can chose between using the light sensor of the device to toggle between day and night mode, or you can use calculated sunset sunrise mode, or even force it to one theme only. If you have previously installed AA Helper to your phone, please uninstall it!
Auto Start on Wifi
This option will launch HUR whenever you are connected to a Wifi (specific Wifi can be named)
Auto increase volume on speed
The logic behind is a very simple approach, every time the speed increases it will send a vol + key to the phone and every time the speed decrease it will send a vol - to the phone. This requires the device running HUR to have a GPS receiver.
OLD STUFF:
Version 1.3 (Wishlist version) - Released
- Added option for easy car mode toggling. (Car mode can be disabled if not using Self mode - avoid conflict with other Car apps)
- Auto Hide status + action bar while running the app no need to use the Hide option from menu
- App will automatically close when Wifi connection is lost
Version 1.2b - Released
- Buffer overflow protection - Special Thanks to invis-zz from GitHub (https://github.com/invisi-zz) - This should random crashes while using the app.
- Removed Send Log feature (it was classed as backdoor/trojan and Google was blocking the app on playstore)
- Updated OpenSSL library to 1.0.1t (used OpenSSL contained vulnerabilities and Play store blocked the app)
- Managed to get the app on PlayStore (wonder if it will stay...) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
Signature Key changed!!!!
I had to update the APK signature key (I'm trying my luck with Play Store), this means if you try to install the new version you won't be able to install it over the old one, so please uninstall the previous version before updating, HOWEVER if you were upgraded for free from Mike's version, please follow this steps:
1) On XDA Labs, click the download Stable
2) When prompted to install select Cancel
3) Open a file explorer and go to Storage -> Android -> com.xda.labs -> files
4) Locate the newly download APK and copy it somewhere else.
5) Uninstall the old version
6) Install the APK which you just copied.
If you miss any of the steps, just reinstall the old version you received from me by email and try again, let me know if you are stuck.
Version 1.1 Stable - Released
Jumping the version number due to significant amount of changes:
Removed Day/Night/Auto mode (see bottom of this post for a better solution.)
Added new setting for 720p Video - Fully working now (even on Wifi)
Changed Self mode start sequence (if the phone is rooted it will start automatically and then go back to HU), if your device is not rooted, please use the following sequence to start Self mode:
Start HU app
Select Self mode
When AA opens select Start Developer Server
Added support for hardware keys (simulating touches), so if your tablet is integrated with the car remote you can control AA from the remote.
Hardware keys as follow:
M = Start the Mic
N = Navigation Tab
P = Phone Tab
H = Home Tab
E = Entertainment Tab
UP Arrow = Scroll Up
Down Arrow = Scroll Down
Left Arrow = Moves to next Left tab
Right Arrow - Moves to next right tab
S = Play/Pause button (only works in Entertainment tab)
F = Next track (only works in Entertainment tab)
R = Prev Track (only works in Entertainment tab)
Some other minor tweaks, to improve stability and make Self mode connect 9 out of 10 times.
Fully integrated x86 native binaries
Declared app as CAR HOME, for those using SelfMode it is crucial, that when you get prompted which should be the default CAR HOME app (Android Auto or HU) you select HU!!! - This is needed to be able to bring back the HU on top after a successful connection is established. AA is trying to override everything..... and to block the user out of his phone as soon as it's connected to the car.
Transport Audio option will affect USB connections as well (You can keep the audio on your phone/bluetooth, when connected with the OTG cable)
Version 1.03b released - Beta
- You will find it in XDA Labs (under the Beta version)
- Fixes Wifi/Self mode for some devices which didn't connect before
- Increased stream buffer size to match the DesktopHeadUnit app (128Kb vs 64Kb)
Version 1.02 release
- Fixed wifi not connecting on some device only after numerous attempts (see explanation below if interested)
The issue looks to be related to the timing, on some occasions and on some devices the phone either sends the SSL data too soon, either too late, either to slow and because the TCP socket is set to non-blocking mode, it can end up in a missed packet in the initial Handshake. I have tweaked this now, so the TCP socket will connect in non-blocking mode, but will switch to blocking mode and wait for full message after a successful connection and once the SSL Handshake is out of the way it will revert back to non-blocking mode, uhhh event reading this makes me dizzy
This however could make the initial startup slightly slower than it was.
- Corrected AutoStart option (Working properly now)
- Fixed USB device overlapping Settings text on the drawer menu
- Added "Send Log" function to be used if there are problems for easier debugging.
Version 1.01 released
- Potential Wifi disconnect fix (see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=68078605&postcount=16 for details)
- AutoStart option added to the menu
Very sadly Mike passed away this year and his software stopped working after a Google Update, he left us a slightly outdated GPLv3 version of the software at: https://github.com/mikereidis/headunit which I have used to rebuild (or ty to) rebuild up to his latest build with some additional small modifications as well as fixing the issue caused by Google.
The forked version can be found on: https://github.com/borconi/headunit if anybody is intersted.
Since the app released by him isn't working any longer I have created the new version of it and slightly re-name it just to avoid any confusion.
I take almost no credit in this app, except for some minor changes, and finding the fix for what Google have broke (changed), which was a painful task.
I'm not a developer as such, and this app would never have existed if it wasn't for @mikereidis, however I have spent now several weeks studying the app and understanding how it's working and I plan to continue with the maintenance/development of the app.
I have published the app on XDA Labs under the new name: "Headunit Reloaded Android Auto" and it is now available for purchase. As I have stated previously I'm intending to support all of Mike's customers, so if you have purchased Mike's application before, please email me a proof of purchase to [email protected] and you can have a free copy of the spin-off app.
How to use (Self / Wifi ) ?
1) Self mode.
See instructions in version 1.1
2) Wifi Mode
Start AA on your phone, tap the header 20 times till you become a developer, once that is completed from the menu select Start Head Unit server. Now start tethering on the phone, connect the tablet to the newly created wifi hotspot, start HU on your tablet and select Wifi. This will make the HU app try to connect to the default Android gateway (192.168.43.1), if you need to change this, use the Settings menu from the HU option list. If HU doesn't start on first, do try a few more times, first setup sometimes proves tricky. If this is the first time you connect your phone to the a HU, please make sure you answer all the questions on the phone.
3) Wifi p2p
This is not supported by all devices and might not work for your device, plus sometimes it can be slightly buggy. Start WifiP2p on the tablet from the HU. On the phone go to Wifi Direct (this is usually found in Advanced Wifi settings settings - DON'T TRY TO CONNECT LIKE TO A NORMAL WIFI and look for a new available connection. If you can see one tap to join. Once you joined the network, give it about 30 seconds or so, then open the AA on the phone and start the head unit developer server (same as describe it above). If you're lucky it will work instantly, if not you might need to play around with it.
Other Options:
Possibility to toggle the Audio mirroring when using a Wifi connection. By disabling the Audio mirroring, you will keep all the audio on your phone rather than on the tablet (or on the handsfree) if the phone is connected to the handsfree. This will improve the performance greatly, since audio will use up a significant quantity of Wifi bandwidth when communicating between the 2 device.
USB OTG connection.
Have remained unchanged and it will work same way it did till now, see original threader for details.
I will monitor both Threads and will do my best to help and support everybody.
Well done! Thanks so much for your hard work Emil.
*Purchased
Also cloned and starting to build it as am having issues with my Joying head unit showing black screen after connecting (Test shows a black screen also).
looking forward to getting this running.
Syphe said:
*Purchased
Also cloned and starting to build it as am having issues with my Joying head unit showing black screen after connecting (Test shows a black screen also).
looking forward to getting this running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of Android is your unit running? I haven't heard of any with less than lollipop being able to run this so far, h.264 decoding is absent or poorly implemented.
Edit....see the bottom of this post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=68010519&postcount=1449
Wifi Mode - Starting with HUR 7.X
Braking changes with version 7.X
Only for phones running Android 9 or higher, if you still use Android 8 phone, you won't be able to connect over WiFi. Device running HUR, can have any version of Android.
Phone Setup:
Install Wifi Launcher for HUR on the phone ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.borconi.emil.wifilauncherforhur&hl=en_US )
Make sure you give the app all the permissions, including draw over other apps, otherwise it cannot start Android Auto from the background!
Open the app and select the car's BT adaptor from the list (make sure phone is NOT connected to the car's BT, but BT is enabled!)
If you want your phone to create the hotspot, turn on the option to Enable hotspot (this will probably not work if you are on Version in the USA due to carrier limitations!), likewise if you want your car to create the hotspot or you want to use an incar wifi module, leave this option turned off.
Only turn on the legacy option if HUR specifically instruct you so.
Car/Headunit setup:
Connect to the phones hotspot or if you are using an incar WiFi connect to that network. Alternatively if you want HUR to create the hotspot and connect your phone to it, enable the option in HUR settings.
Open HUR
As soon as the 2 devices are on the same network, HUR will fire up on your car screen.
Emil Borconi said:
Hi Syphe.
The core of the app is the same as the original, and the app does require a hardware H264 decoding supported by the OS. Till now we are not aware of any chinese HU which support this. Please contact me by email and I'll refund your purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to post a "demo" version with just Mike's test mode that plays an H.264 screencap of AAuto running. Would be a good requirement-diagnostic app to have on hand, wouldn't take much time to bake - and it wouldn't have to track source either...
Just be sure to have it display a message popup saying that this is only a requirement check app, not an interactive demo. Something that informs users that its sole purpose is to make sure the decoders work. Maybe call it "Headunit Decoder Requirement Check.apk"
Christopher Price said:
You might want to post a "demo" version with just Mike's test mode that plays an H.264 screencap of AAuto running. Would be a good requirement-diagnostic app to have on hand, wouldn't take much time to bake - and it wouldn't have to track source either...
Just be sure to have it display a message popup saying that this is only a requirement check app, not an interactive demo. Something that informs users that its sole purpose is to make sure the decoders work. Maybe call it "Headunit Decoder Requirement Check.apk"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I thought about that myself.... will probably create a small check app in the near future (just need to catch up with all my other work now, which has been pushed behind to get this done)
bugger, thought it was quite promising when everything started to connect itself
I've been building my own app to do simple notification mirroring over a wifi tether, but this would have been much easier haha.
Does anyone know if there is a problem with xda labs on marshmallow or something? I've been trying to download this head unit app for the past week (was trying the old one and now this new one) and every time I click the pay now button for PayPal it just hangs there saying "Contacting PayPal". Is there maybe some other way to purchase the app? Any help would be appreciated, I really want to try this app out!
kevster0522 said:
Does anyone know if there is a problem with xda labs on marshmallow or something? I've been trying to download this head unit app for the past week (was trying the old one and now this new one) and every time I click the pay now button for PayPal it just hangs there saying "Contacting PayPal". Is there maybe some other way to purchase the app? Any help would be appreciated, I really want to try this app out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
Yeah the XDA labs app can sometimes play funny, if your having any kind of issues feel free to contact me directly be email, on [email protected]
Hi Emil,
I had a chance to play with your new version. I got it to work, however it was not simple and I have a few issues.
I'm using it in WiFi mode. My Android TV stick(5.1.1) runs HeadUnit app and is connecting to my phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge) that runs WiFi hotspot option.
The problem is that I need to click WiFi (in the menu of HU) many times for it to connect to my phone. It can take 5 to 15 clicks on Wifi option in HU for the phone to connect.
Is it the same for you? Any idea what can be the problem?
Also, I'd like to automate it somehow. I'm not using USB, so I'd like the HU app to be always ready for WiFi connection. Is it possible?
Thank you!
P.S.: I have some other issues/comments as well, but I'll keep them for later
fmark said:
Hi Emil,
I had a chance to play with your new version. I got it to work, however it was not simple and I have a few issues.
I'm using it in WiFi mode. My Android TV stick(5.1.1) runs HeadUnit app and is connecting to my phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge) that runs WiFi hotspot option.
The problem is that I need to click WiFi (in the menu of HU) many times for it to connect to my phone. It can take 5 to 15 clicks on Wifi option in HU for the phone to connect.
Is it the same for you? Any idea what can be the problem?
Also, I'd like to automate it somehow. I'm not using USB, so I'd like the HU app to be always ready for WiFi connection. Is it possible?
Thank you!
P.S.: I have some other issues/comments as well, but I'll keep them for later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mark.
No it's connecting usually on the first attempt (sometimes on the second) but most of the cases it's first one. Yes I do plan to add a setting for Auto-Start mode in the settings which will make the app start in (Self / Wifi / wifip2p) as selected.
Does your phone have 3g/4g connection while tethering? The change which broke everything im Google Play service 9.2 is actually running a certificate check against google server, so without an internet connection to it won't start.
I had once or twice problem with the wifi myself (I got a debug message saying no route to the ip, meaning the Routing table on the tablet (stick in your case) got something wrong) a simple restarted did cleared the problem.
Please do report back if the problem persist and I'll send you a debug enabled app so I can get an understanding of what is going on, however probably that won't happen before Wednesday, looking forward to a long weekend.... of field work that is..
Emil Borconi said:
Hi Mark.
No it's connecting usually on the first attempt (sometimes on the second) but most of the cases it's first one. Yes I do plan to add a setting for Auto-Start mode in the settings which will make the app start in (Self / Wifi / wifip2p) as selected.
Does your phone have 3g/4g connection while tethering? The change which broke everything im Google Play service 9.2 is actually running a certificate check against google server, so without an internet connection to it won't start.
I had once or twice problem with the wifi myself (I got a debug message saying no route to the ip, meaning the Routing table on the tablet (stick in your case) got something wrong) a simple restarted did cleared the problem.
Please do report back if the problem persist and I'll send you a debug enabled app so I can get an understanding of what is going on, however probably that won't happen before Wednesday, looking forward to a long weekend.... of field work that is..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my phone has 4G connection while tethering.
Lets try the debug output. Could you please send me the .apk with debug messaging? I'm curious to see what is going on when it fails to connect.
Thank you!
Im interested too because isnt working on my s4 and nexus7 2012
wpostma said:
Im interested too because isnt working on my s4 and nexus7 2012
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Need much more information to help. What S4 firmware, carrier, and Android version are you running? What Nexus 7 firmware? Are you trying to connect over Wi-Fi or USB?
Christopher Price said:
Need much more information to help. What S4 firmware, carrier, and Android version are you running? What Nexus 7 firmware? Are you trying to connect over Wi-Fi or USB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be about the Wifi connection, I had some connectivity issues over Wifi myself the last day, but they were fully random, at a first look they point to the TCP socket.... I'm investigating this.
I got some Wifi disconnected myself but it is very random, it can occur after 1-2 minutes or after 3-4 hours... so testing potential FIX for the issue isn't going to be easily. At the first investigation it looks to be something related with the pooling/keeping connection alive. I have tweaked this and made a new build, currently running for about 20 mins and looks OK, but as said the disconnect can occur randomly at any point.
The worst part is that the logs do not give any hint on what could be the cause of this, neither on the HU part, neither on the AA side, they only mention a broken PIPE bu no hint on what can be the cause...
I'm guessing you've already tried, but running a 0 byte ping in the background every few seconds to keep the pipe open?
Christopher Price said:
I'm guessing you've already tried, but running a 0 byte ping in the background every few seconds to keep the pipe open?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
setting socket to keppalive looks to sort the problem, I'm trying to figure out failing handshake at the moment. On TCP sometimes the handshake fails, trying a few more times passes..., handshake over usb always passes....
Looking at the code and notes Mike seems to struggle with it as well in the past...
When trying wifip2p, I can see the wifi connection from the tablet on my phone but when I try to connect to it, it wants a password. How do I know what this is?
skitty said:
When trying wifip2p, I can see the wifi connection from the tablet on my phone but when I try to connect to it, it wants a password. How do I know what this is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Emil Helped me with this problem. You don't actually connect through your wifi networks menu, use Wi-Fi Direct instead. Found here: wifi networks menu > 3-dot menu > Advanced > Wi-Fi Direct
Greetings everyone,
https://youtu.be/T9aKmLTujik
What you see above is a "Control Panel" for my own Galaxy S7 Edge. I host this on my own website.
This means it can be seen and accessed from anywhere in the world, on any browser and/or device.
For privacy and security, I will implement a login system in the near future.
It has a couple of neat features, but since they are written in Dutch I will translate them to English:
Information:
Check battery level/percentage and check if your phone is being charged or not
Warns the user from the control panel if the battery is low.
Warns the user from the control panel to pull out the plug out of charging when it is fully charged
Check if your phone is in a light or dark place. I have optimized the light sensor as best as I could, The results are pretty accurate
Clipboard of your current copied content on your phone
Shows the phone model and the date and time of the last update sent from your phone
Check if Bluetooth is enabled or not
Check if Wifi is enabled or not
Show the current WiFi name, Wifi Speed, Wifi Channel & Wifi Signal Strength
Show the current Data Carrier / Mobile Signal strength (Weak, Normal, Strong)
Shows the current Call Volume percentage
Shows the current Media Volume percentage
Check if the screen of the phone is turned on or off
Check if GPS is enabled or not ( There is also a Live Google Maps on the right side, showing where the phone is right now )
Checks if the phone in call / calling / or getting called. ( in other words, it shows the user is busy with a phone conversation )
Checks if the user is browsing on the internet on the phone or not. ( It will check if a browser is open, needs more adjustments for more accurate readings )
I am surprised at the speed of the operations.
It takes a total of 3 to 4 seconds after clicking on "take a picture" button to take a picture from the front-camera and Upload it to my google drive.
It also removes the picture from my phone after it has been uploaded. WIth combination of SMS control this can be a great anti-theft option.
The "Record Audio" function works great too. after clicking on it on the control panel, it starts recording audio, waits 10 seconds ( records for 10 seconds ), stops recording audio and then uploads it to a special folder in my Google Drive.
The "Send SMS" function is very fast. after clicking on it, it will take about 1.5 seconds to send the SMS from your phone.
For now, the number to send the SMS to is hardcoded, but I will make it a variable so that it will be possible to type in the number on your web control panel and send the SMS to the number from your browser.
The "LOCK your phone" function immediately lock your phone remotely, even when your screen is turned off. You can unlock it with the code that has been set up in the Tasker Event.
Clicking on the Wifi, Bluetooth & GPS icon will toggle them( on / off )
Clicking on the Phone (screen) Icon, Will toggle the phone screen ( turns it on and off )
Clicking on the Clipboard icon will copy all the content to your own clipboard.
Not only the text but the icons also change dynamically.
Grey icons represent a false variable (turned off / dark / not in call & etc ) and the blue icons represent the true variables.
For example, in the screenshot above, Bluetooth is turned off and wifi is turned on.
When the battery gets at 15% or less, the icon will turn red and green when it's fully charged (100%) and the user will get an alert box warning with a notification sound straight from the browser about the low battery / full charge . ( Sound and notification can be turned off if you wish).
I have wrote a script with AJAX (Asynchronous JavasScript and XML) to do all of this in Real-time and without page-reloads. AJAX refreshes the page information every second (or whatever the user wants) without reloading the page.
The controls in this control panel are in many cases and in my experience a lot faster than Android Device Manager or other apps like Cerberus and Airdroid.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- On Tasker, I have used Taskers own variables but also created my own variables to be created/changed on certain triggers.
For example, when the lx level ( light sensor ) gets low, it will set a variable to "false" as boolean, meaning there is not enough light == it is dark.
- Next I use this variable in my HTTP POST Request URL to a very simple PHP script on my website I wrote..
The HTTP POST Request URL will post to my PHP Script.
My PHP script grabs the URL, strips certain parts of it, turns it into PHP variables and then sends it to my MySQL database ( all on my own hosting).
- I again use the wonderful Tasker to do all of this this every 2 seconds.
You can get (almost) real-time information about your phone if it's set to be updated every 1 second.
This will not be very heavy on the database so it's possible.
- I then made another webpage containing another simple PHP script that grabs all the variables ( those we saved in previous steps) from my Database and echo's (shows) it on the screen.
This is the very same page you see on the screenshot, This is the Control Panel.
In the last step, all we have to do is visit the webpage on my website.
It will show the control panel as seen in the screenshot. You will also be able to control your phone from here.
I am making a simple login function where users can login.
this means a single database can hold more than 1 user if you wish to.
This will also protect others to see/control your phone from the web as they will need login credentials.
My script will then grab the corresponding variables of your phone when you login, using your ID and checking it on my database.
I know this may sound complicated for a lot of you who think that this is too much work, but I am planning to finish this and make it a some kind of a Open-Source thing available to every android and (rooted) tasker user.
All you need is:
- My Tasker project files ( all you need to do is import it to your own Android )
- Your own webhosting with MySQL database and PHP.
There are TONS of FREE online webhosting that will offer exact this. I'd love to post all the links here, but i'm not sure if it will be seen as advertising, so let me know.
- My PHP script(s), all you need to is simply upload it to your own website.
- My MySQL database configuration file - After importing this single file, the whole database will be created automatically on your website. ( using MySQL on your hosting )
After that, and when my Login function is complete, you could create an account for your self and/or others where they can login from anywhere in the world, on any browser or device and check their phone status and control their phone in Real-Time.
Sicariux said:
Greetings everyone,
i63.tinypic.com/20jsimh.png
What you see above is a "Control Panel" for my own Galaxy S7 Edge. I host this on my own website.
This means it can be seen and accessed from anywhere in the world, on any browser and/or device.
For privacy and security, I will implement a login system in the near future.
It has a couple of neat features, but since they are written in Dutch I will translate them to English:
Information:
Check battery level/percentage and check if your phone is being charged or not
Warns the user from the control panel if the battery is low.
Warns the user from the control panel to pull out the plug out of charging when it is fully charged
Check if your phone is in a light or dark place. I have optimized the light sensor as best as I could, The results are pretty accurate
Clipboard of your current copied content on your phone
Shows the phone model and the date and time of the last update sent from your phone
Check if Bluetooth is enabled or not
Check if Wifi is enabled or not
Show the current WiFi name, Wifi Speed, Wifi Channel & Wifi Signal Strength
Show the current Data Carrier / Mobile Signal strength (Weak, Normal, Strong)
Shows the current Call Volume percentage
Shows the current Media Volume percentage
Check if the screen of the phone is turned on or off
Check if GPS is enabled or not ( There is also a Live Google Maps on the right side, showing where the phone is right now )
Checks if the phone in call / calling / or getting called. ( in other words, it shows the user is busy with a phone conversation )
if the user is browsing on the internet on the phone or not. ( It will check if a browser is open, needs more adjustments for more accurate readings )
I am surprised at the speed of the operations.
It takes a total of 3 to 4 seconds after clicking on "take a picture" button to take a picture from the front-camera and Upload it to my google drive.
It also removes the picture from my phone after it has been uploaded. WIth combination of SMS control this can be a great anti-theft option.
The "Record Audio" function works great too. after clicking on it on the control panel, it starts recording audio, waits 10 seconds ( records for 10 seconds ), stops recording audio and then uploads it to a special folder in my Google Drive.
The "Send SMS" function is very fast. after clicking on it, it will take about 1.5 seconds to send the SMS from your phone.
For now, the number to send the SMS to is hardcoded, but I will make it a variable so that it will be possible to type in the number on your web control panel and send the SMS to the number from your browser.
The "LOCK your phone" function immediately lock your phone remotely, even when your screen is turned off. You can unlock it with the code that has been set up in the Tasker Event.
Clicking on the Wifi, Bluetooth & GPS icon will toggle them( on / off )
Clicking on the Phone (screen) Icon, Will toggle the phone screen ( turns it on and off )
Clicking on the Clipboard icon will copy all the content to your own clipboard.
Not only the text but the icons also change dynamically.
Grey icons represent a false variable (turned off / dark / not in call & etc ) and the blue icons represent the true variables.
For example, in the screenshot above, Bluetooth is turned off and wifi is turned on.
When the battery gets at 15% or less, the icon will turn red and green when it's fully charged (100%) and the user will get an alert box warning with a notification sound straight from the browser about the low battery / full charge . ( Sound and notification can be turned off if you wish).
I have wrote a script with AJAX (Asynchronous JavasScript and XML) to do all of this in Real-time and without page-reloads. AJAX refreshes the page information every second (or whatever the user wants) without reloading the page.
The controls in this control panel are in many cases and in my experience a lot faster than Android Device Manager or other apps like Cerberus and Airdroid.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- On Tasker, I have used Taskers own variables but also created my own variables to be created/changed on certain triggers.
For example, when the lx level ( light sensor ) gets low, it will set a variable to "false" as boolean, meaning there is not enough light == it is dark.
- Next I use this variable in my HTTP POST Request URL to a very simple PHP script on my website I wrote..
The HTTP POST Request URL will post to my PHP Script.
My PHP script grabs the URL, strips certain parts of it, turns it into PHP variables and then sends it to my MySQL database ( all on my own hosting).
- I again use the wonderful Tasker to do all of this this every 2 seconds.
You can get (almost) real-time information about your phone if it's set to be updated every 1 second.
This will not be very heavy on the database so it's possible.
- I then made another webpage containing another simple PHP script that grabs all the variables ( those we saved in previous steps) from my Database and echo's (shows) it on the screen.
This is the very same page you see on the screenshot, This is the Control Panel.
In the last step, all we have to do is visit the webpage on my website.
It will show the control panel as seen in the screenshot. You will also be able to control your phone from here.
I am making a simple login function where users can login.
this means a single database can hold more than 1 user if you wish to.
This will also protect others to see/control your phone from the web as they will need login credentials.
My script will then grab the corresponding variables of your phone when you login, using your ID and checking it on my database.
I know this may sound complicated for a lot of you who think that this is too much work, but I am planning to finish this and make it a some kind of a Open-Source thing available to every android and (rooted) tasker user.
All you need is:
- My Tasker project files ( all you need to do is import it to your own Android )
- Your own webhosting with MySQL database and PHP.
There are TONS of FREE online webhosting that will offer exact this. I'd love to post all the links here, but i'm not sure if it will be seen as advertising, so let me know.
- My PHP script(s), all you need to is simply upload it to your own website.
- My MySQL database configuration file - After importing this single file, the whole database will be created automatically on your website. ( using MySQL on your hosting )
After that, and when my Login function is complete, you could create an account for your self and/or others where they can login from anywhere in the world, on any browser or device and check their phone status and control their phone in Real-Time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like a great project.
Checks if the user is browsing on the internet on the phone or not. ( It will check if a browser is open, needs more adjustments for more accurate readings )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about checking the network traffic to know whether the user is browsing or not?
I know this may sound complicated for a lot of you who think that this is too much work, but I am planning to finish this and make it a some kind of a Open-Source thing available to every android and (rooted) tasker user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even Open Source? That rocks.
XDA's Tasker subforum isn't that popular. You might wanna post your project on reddit too, where the Tasker community is way bigger and more popular:
https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/. Let us know if you'll post it there too.
I'm looking forward for this project. Personally, I don't think I would use this as I don't think I really need it (although it doesn't hurt to have an anti-theft), but I'd like to see how it is done, if you're gonna make it Open Source.
Good luck!
Hi and thanks for your reply!
What about checking the network traffic to know whether the user is browsing or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean any random network traffic? in that case, a simple incoming whatsapp message could trigger the browser variable and set it to "true".
I will try reddit ... I have tried posting it in the official Tasker forums, but the my post is still awaiting moderator approval after a long time.
Since i've posted this thread, I've created new functions already like video recording (microphone audio included) the phone screen for 10 seconds and upload it to google drive.
I haven't seen this option on any other anti-theft yet. In a case of emergency, you could literally watch the thief do things on your phone and also hear him talking.
Since it's going be to open-source, it's highly customizable. You could change the icons, add new functions, remove functions , change the styling to your own wishes and improve the "web app" overall.
For those interested, Since the first post, I've added more options and starts looking good
https://youtu.be/T9aKmLTujik
For rooted users, you could make an add-on app that the user puts in the /system partition and, in case of factory reset, installs Tasker and restores it's data.
That way, the user has a chance of finding their phone even if the thief performs a factory/hard reset.
EDIT: Are your files available? I can't seem to find them.
Vagelis1608 said:
For rooted users, you could make an add-on app that the user puts in the /system partition and, in case of factory reset, installs Tasker and restores it's data.
That way, the user has a chance of finding their phone even if the thief performs a factory/hard reset.
EDIT: Are your files available? I can't seem to find them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the new Android versions, this is not a reliable thing anymore. This is the same reason Cerberus App stopped offering a special APK that could be installed in the /system by flashing it.
Also, it would be very difficult to have an add-on app install Tasker, AutoRemote, FolderSync and other plugins it needs automatically and configure them too.
I haven't made my files available yet. I am still perfecting it and awaiting community tips and input to expand the app more before releasing the source-files.
Beta 1.0 released
I will like to start saying a very big thank you to @bggold who asked me to consider this in the first place
While there isn't any way to use the nice Google Assistant voice, and it's still rough around the edges, this demonstrates how we can use Android Auto in a multi-lingual environment as well as how to read out and reply emails.
The concept is very simple, instead of relaying on Android Auto to read out the notifications I have created a small app which mimics that behaviour, with some extras:
1) It try to do a language detection for each test, and use the appropriate TextToSpeech
2) It allows the user to select which app notification does he/she want's to read
3) If the content is really long (like a lengthy email) the app will prompt the user if it want's to go ahead with the message readout or not
4) If notification supports quick-reply the app will prompt the user for a reply (in the same language as the the original message)
Planning to support a lot of languages but there I will need user input, I have translated the basic strings to around 70 languages using Google translator, but I can tell it's not quite right (I can see with the languages I do speak)
Best part, app won't be affected by 3rd party restriction at all and it won't require root either, however I'm pretty sure Google will not allow it on the PlayStore
Beta version available now on XDA Labs.
App will be payable, however current beta is free so grab a copy while you can
To use the app you will need to enable unknown sources in Android Auto, simply open Android Auto, go to About, tap the "About Android Auto" header 10 times till you become a developer, then from the 3 dotted right menu select developer options and enable "Unknown sources"
Emil Borconi said:
Beta 1.0 released
I will like to start saying a very big thank you to @bggold who asked me to consider this in the first place
While there isn't any way to use the nice Google Assistant voice, and it's still rough around the edges, this demonstrates how we can use Android Auto in a multi-lingual environment as well as how to read out and reply emails.
The concept is very simple, instead of relaying on Android Auto to read out the notifications I have created a small app which mimics that behaviour, with some extras:
1) It try to do a language detection for each test, and use the appropriate TextToSpeech
2) It allows the user to select which app notification does he/she want's to read
3) If the content is really long (like a lengthy email) the app will prompt the user if it want's to go ahead with the message readout or not
4) If notification supports quick-reply the app will prompt the user for a reply (in the same language as the the original message)
Planning to support a lot of languages but there I will need user input, I have translated the basic strings to around 70 languages using Google translator, but I can tell it's not quite right (I can see with the languages I do speak)
Best part, app won't be affected by 3rd party restriction at all and it won't require root either, however I'm pretty sure Google will not allow it on the PlayStore
Beta version available now on XDA Labs.
App will be payable, however current beta is free so grab a copy while you can
To use the app you will need to enable unknown sources in Android Auto, simply open Android Auto, go to About, tap the "About Android Auto" header 10 times till you become a developer, then from the 3 dotted right menu select developer options and enable "Unknown sources"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for making this app!
After first start it asked for notification permission and then it was gone to build the list of installed apps/services - endless...
So I've forced close the app after minutes, went to app info/permissions, and enabled unselected permissions for it.
After that the app works now, as it should!
I'll test the functionality today while using AA in my car.
Regards bitstra
bitstra said:
Thanks for making this app!
After first start it asked for notification permission and then it was gone to build the list of installed apps/services - endless...
So I've forced close the app after minutes, went to app info/permissions, and enabled unselected permissions for it.
After that the app works now, as it should!
I'll test the functionality today while using AA in my car.
Regards bitstra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. It was 3 am )) updating the app now.
This is exactly what I needed. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to work. Using Samsung S9 plus running Oreo. Gave read permission to the app, enabled developer settings on Android Auto, enabled unknown sources, enabled whatsapp and Gmail.
Whatsapp notifications haven't changed and it continues to read the foreign text in English. Gmail notifications don't pop up at all.
Any suggestions?
yavuzyay said:
This is exactly what I needed. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to work. Using Samsung S9 plus running Oreo. Gave read permission to the app, enabled developer settings on Android Auto, enabled unknown sources, enabled whatsapp and Gmail.
Whatsapp notifications haven't changed and it continues to read the foreign text in English. Gmail notifications don't pop up at all.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you saw but there is a new release. It fixes this issue. Just remember to reboot after updating.
Unfortunately I have the same problem as @yavuzyay. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge with Android 7.0 and Carnotifier Beta v3.
Thanks to @yavuzyay for bugreport and Turkish language input.
I have identified the problem where the app was crashing in case you where using AA on the phone only, and this has been now fixed.
@CeldeSuS - Are you phone only or are you using AA on the car? If phone only, download the new beta 1.4
Emil Borconi said:
@CeldeSuS - Are you phone only or are you using AA on the car? If phone only, download the new beta 1.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using AA on the car (Alpine X802D-U head unit). I'll try the new beta anyway and report back.
Awesome. Works perfectly.
V4 work fine with SM960F(android 8.0) & RLink1 !
Great job!
Very good stuff!
I use it with the now playing feature - basically phone picks up music on the radio,.detects the song and artist and throws a notification. This app picks that up and shows it as a notification on the car screen! I have disabled read out. So it stays as a simple notification.
Quick question - haven't been able to try it - if I set zero seconds as the duration, will it leave the notification forever?
Tested but not working as expected. Line is an application which doesn't support Android Auto.
Positive: Yes, Car Notifier shows there is a message on Line.
Negative: Can't do anything, it won't read the message, the notification stays in grey color and nothing happens when I click on the message.
Cheers
Tom
tom1807 said:
Tested but not working as expected. Line is an application which doesn't support Android Auto.
Positive: Yes, Car Notifier shows there is a message on Line.
Negative: Can't do anything, it won't read the message, the notification stays in grey color and nothing happens when I click on the message.
Cheers
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't click the notification to have it read at this time. If you want them read to you enable the read option.
"Read out notifications" is enabled in the settings, my Honda headunit is hacked and I have root access, so I don't think this is related to that.
Cheers
Tom
tom1807 said:
"Read out notifications" is enabled in the settings, my Honda headunit is hacked and I have root access, so I don't think this is related to that.
Cheers
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you have but have you checked all the permissions?
CarNotifier asks only permissions to Microphone and Phone, both are granted.
Wondering now whether it has something to do with the new Android Auto v3.8.584554 where some on Reddit claim, that notification is broken
Cheers
Tom
Edit: Maybe the the new AA version interferes with CarNotifier, because AA can show now also message preview
More edit: My friend tested on the Samsung S7 (I have a OnePlus 3T). Also on his mobile nothing happens with Line.
Can't read out and nothing happens in AA when click on it
Is there an app for Speed cams like in your obd2aa app, to have only the speed cam notification?
tom1807 said:
CarNotifier asks only permissions to Microphone and Phone, both are granted.
Wondering now whether it has something to do with the new Android Auto v3.8.584554 where some on Reddit claim, that notification is broken
Cheers
Tom
Edit: Maybe the the new AA version interferes with CarNotifier, because AA can show now also message preview
More edit: My friend tested on the Samsung S7 (I have a OnePlus 3T). Also on his mobile nothing happens with Line.
Can't read out and nothing happens in AA when click on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running the new aa and it is working. Get Emil a bug report right after it happens.
The only thing you can do at this time is swip away the notifications. Clicking them will not do anything.
Thanks
After more testing, I do believe the culprit is Line. Gmail works as expected, Facebook also (just for test).
However, Line refuses, which is actually the reason to install the program in the first place.
Probably one of the few programs which won't work.
Great program though.
Cheers
Tom
Hi guys.
I'm finally back in the UK and in front of my PC, I've also managed to tied up quiet a few of my loose ends and I have no big project starting this year. I will dedicated the last 2 weeks of this years to the following:
1) Looking into fixing some of the FC for obd2aa, also try to find a solution for non-standard PIDs
2) Get AA GateWay to Beta/Stable version (most work needs to be done on this app)
3) Fix some issues and FC with HUR (including Waze sound cut off).
4) Get the carNotifier to a stable version.
January and February are again fully booked so I will focus on stability rather then adding new features especially because obd2aa and HUR and fairly mature apps with most of the functions already covered.
For some reason I'm not really getting any notifications from XDA and being a lot on the road I don't visit the site too often lately, therefore I will kindly ask you if you need support, please email me directly to [email protected].