Database Develop

[APK] Bluetooth Launch v2.0.1 Beta (11/19/2010)

So this started in the Cognition thread, but I figure it probably is useful for other ROMs and people.
So are you like me? You've hooked up your bluetooth mic, and pressed the voice action button and your phone looks at you stupidly? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way you could start Google Voice Actions or possibly Vlingo's Recognize and Execute?
Here's the thing, currently Google Voice Actions and Vlingo can't hear over the bluetooth mic. Still, this will launch the voice app, and allow you to speak through your phone's mic.
I've considered creating a version where you can select any app; however, unless there's some demand for a feature like that I don't want to go through that kind of pain and suffering.
Feedback is appreciated.
Oh and finally, this is a very early version, so you won't find it on the app market or such. If I have time, I'll polish it up, but for now, this is good enough to fix the issue for most people.
If you find this useful, please let me know. There's no reason to polish something no one needs/uses.
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1.5 Beta
So this is a little rough around the edges but it is functional. The first load will be slow, but application names are cached after that load. Still need to indicate what the user has selected in the past as well as sort the list.
2.0 Beta
Fixed the rough edges, nice radio buttons in the list. Sorted alphabetically. Oh and TheYar suggested waking up the phone to run the action. Not only is it doing that, but it'll bypass the screen lock.
Now some are saying, but wait isn't that a bad thing? Well yes and no. First the screen lock comes back when the action is complete, or bluetooth launch closes. Second, bluetooth headsets must be paired first to get access, so a thief would have to know to grab your headset and phone to get into your phone. The risk is low but not 0, so in the next version, you'll have a way to turn that feature on or off.
2.0.1 Beta
As TheYar pointed out, there's a bug where you may have to hit the bluetooth button twice. This is a bug in the underlying framework and there's nothing my app can do about that. That said, I added a vibrate on launch feature to this new version. No other changes were made.
Change Log:
11/19/10: 2.0.1 Beta Vibrate on launch
11/18/10: 2.0 Beta Choices shown, remembered in the list, sorted alphabetically (so learn your ABC's) and phone wake, lock screen disable.
11/17/10: 1.5 Beta Select any activity, better icon
11/12/10: 1.1.1 Updated some text, added icon
11/11/10: 1.1 Added Settings and Vlingo
11/10/10: 1.0 Initial Revision

Reserved for OP

Sweet!
Unfortunately it doesn't do anything for me, running Cog 2.3.3. I've turned my headset on/off, BT on/off, no response to button.
Pressing "Confirm Selection" doesn't do anything either, should it?
Update - Rebooting makes it work, stupid me...THANKS!

pkley said:
Sweet!
Unfortunately it doesn't do anything for me, running Cog 2.3.3. I've turned my headset on/off, BT on/off, no response to button.
Pressing "Confirm Selection" doesn't do anything either, should it?
Update - Rebooting makes it work, stupid me...THANKS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confirm selection saves the settings. I should change the name, thanks.
It shouldn't require a reboot, but there may have been something subtle going on that a reboot fixed.

Updated!
Added some polish. Launcher icon + text changes to make things more clear.

I think it would be handy if there was some text to confirm that the settings were set.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

ggonzalez7777 said:
I think it would be handy if there was some text to confirm that the settings were set.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I understand what you're asking for, I think the text at the bottom is just that. I'll see if I can re-word it to be more clear.

Coming Soon
So I had some time to play with things over the weekend, I'll be releasing a new versions soon.
Features will include:
Selecting the activity you want to launch
Better icon (not washed out)

This app works very well. You did a great job man.

Teaser
Got this working today, takes way too long to load right now, and only shows the names right now.

Hooray. I am happy to report that I can now use my BlueAnt T1 to control the Google Voice Commands. Awesome! Even though it passes the audio to the phone my headset still thinks my phone does not support it. But it works well enough for now till I can get an updated firware on my T1 headset.
I'm using Cognition.v2.2.Beta7.UCJI6 at the moment.

Beta Version Up
New version up, calling it beta because of the rough edges.
Enjoy!

Updated to the new 1.5 BETA. I switched back to my Plantronics Voyager 855 until I can update the firmware on my T1. The beta works. Thanks again for releasing this.

Wow this is great. I've been wanting to voice dial on my Captivate ever since I got it and this is the first time I've been able to do it.
I've noticed that often it doesn't respond until the second time I try to activate it. Maybe this is just a delay, not sure.
Any thoughts on how this could function when the screen is locked? Google voice actions are pretty powerful, so I doubt that full voice action functionality would be possible from a locked device. But maybe someone has some 2.2 source from another platform that includes how a call might be initiated over BT even when the screen is locked?
Thanks for this app. Loving it.

TheYar said:
Wow this is great. I've been wanting to voice dial on my Captivate ever since I got it and this is the first time I've been able to do it.
I've noticed that often it doesn't respond until the second time I try to activate it. Maybe this is just a delay, not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears to be a bug in the handling of bluetooth with the system, I can reproduce it without my app. Basically it appears that the system isn't releasing the bluetooth handle in a reasonable way, as my headphones that do bluetooth to both an iPod and a phone at the same time won't start playing again. I wish I could fix this.
TheYar said:
Any thoughts on how this could function when the screen is locked? Google voice actions are pretty powerful, so I doubt that full voice action functionality would be possible from a locked device. But maybe someone has some 2.2 source from another platform that includes how a call might be initiated over BT even when the screen is locked?
Thanks for this app. Loving it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a good idea. Look for it in a few minutes.

I just got done adding 1.5 to another DG ROM zip and decided to check here before flashing it. I'm am so psyched!!
Since you seem to be greased lightning on feedback and improvements, I'll throw another one out there - voice feedback into the headset speaker to let you know it is ready. I know that this functionality might better sit with the launched app (and sometimes does), but perhaps a configurable option to detect when the launched app has launched at least, and then react by saying "ready" or such in my ear. Then I'd care even less than I already do about the handle release problem with the bluetooth stack.
As for the lock screen bypass... yeah. I'm a security pro myself, but I agree that the risk there is low and acceptable, compared to the risk I face trying to security-unlock my screen while driving. Watch out though, people tend to freak out on this issue. The press went wild when the Droid opted for default Voice Action access through the lock screen, referring to it as a major security bug and design flaw. Of course, in that case it was accessible even without a headset, just a long-press of the search.
Let me know when this hits market and charge money for it, or at least offer a donation. Gladly pay. Considering this is the first time I've been able to accurately bluetooth dial since 6 years and three phones ago, you are officially a genius.

TheYar said:
I just got done adding 1.5 to another DG ROM zip and decided to check here before flashing it. I'm am so psyched!!
Since you seem to be greased lightning on feedback and improvements, I'll throw another one out there - voice feedback into the headset speaker to let you know it is ready. I know that this functionality might better sit with the launched app (and sometimes does), but perhaps a configurable option to detect when the launched app has launched at least, and then react by saying "ready" or such in my ear. Then I'd care even less than I already do about the handle release problem with the bluetooth stack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your previous comment came in at just the right time to add an extra piece to the development cycle. The feature was easy, so I got it in. That said, playing through the bluetooth device appears to be a hard thing, I'll see what I can do about this. The easier thing to do, which I'm going to put in place soon, is to simply vibrate the phone, so that'll be the first step.
TheYar said:
As for the lock screen bypass... yeah. I'm a security pro myself, but I agree that the risk there is low and acceptable, compared to the risk I face trying to security-unlock my screen while driving. Watch out though, people tend to freak out on this issue. The press went wild when the Droid opted for default Voice Action access through the lock screen, referring to it as a major security bug and design flaw. Of course, in that case it was accessible even without a headset, just a long-press of the search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I want the user to explicitly configure if they want this behavior. I'll look at adding a menu with settings. I want to get that done before I add in playing though the headset.
TheYar said:
Let me know when this hits market and charge money for it, or at least offer a donation. Gladly pay. Considering this is the first time I've been able to accurately bluetooth dial since 6 years and three phones ago, you are officially a genius.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, this is my first app, so I haven't paid the fee for developers to the app store. This is relatively simple, but I may put in a paypal link for development supplies. You know the standard: sex, drugs (beer), rock and roll.
I don't want to tip my hand for the other ideas I'm going to work on, but once this is mostly complete, I'm going to start on my next couple of apps, which I'm affectionately calling "Ring Rules" and "When I Get Home" right now. Those will likely have free and paid versions in the app store. (Assuming I get enough time to write them.)

Word, vibrate on launch. Dug. My handset is usually in a cradle or empty seat or sliding around the floorboard somewhere, so I might not get to use it much. But definitely a worthy X.X.1 enhancement. Looking forward to the other two apps you tease there; if my guesses are correct then they would both be of value to me.
On the lock-screen bypass: definitely, making it configurable would be preferable and snazzy. But on the old Windows Mobile Voice Command, this was configurable and disabled by default and it still got a good bit of bad feedback as a security bug. My 2 cents would be to make the setting work like the USB debugging setting in a stock ROM. Enabling it requires you to acknowledge a pop-up that warns and explains the risk. This might limit the number of armchair professional comments you get in the Market that are all caps and scream about how your app has security bugs and allows people to hack androids and steal all the datums and megahurtz off of them.

Hey thanks for this app, used voice dialing and commands all of the time on my Tilt with WinMo 6.0, only real downside of Android is not implementing this feature in an easy to use format IMO. I'm still figuring out vlingo but I can finally use my BlueAnt ST3 the way I used to, or almost anyway. Thanks again.

I started with yur earlier version that did Google Voice only, then the one that you could choose between GV and Vlingo.
Just installed latest version, and getting FCs.
I don't know if it is because I am selecting wrong COM item under (I've tried several under Vlingo, and get double vibrate, then FC each time) the app, or this application itself. But bringing up a long list of all the different components of various programs makes it immensely more difficult to get an operational program.
Going back to earlier version for now.
[EDIT]
I was able to get it to work with Google Voice, but never did with Vlingo.
I now realize that 3 vibes is normal. I'd prefer an option to turn that off.

[DIY] Moded dash to flush mount my Nexus 5 in my car

This is more of a "look what I did" then a "do it yourself" but by all means you could do this yourself. Just don't do all of the unnecessary steps I took and just jump to the last section where I got my Nexus 5.
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I wanted my phone mounted in my car but not on the window. I couldn't find a decent dock that would give me what I wanted to I made my own.
Now this is actually the third phone I mounted in my Tib so the mount was an evolution of sorts.
The first phone I mounted was a Samsung Galaxy S2 and in short this is what I did,
- got bezel frame from the wrecking yard as to not mess with the original.
- made a mould of the back of the phone with fibreglass (this step was not needed)
- removed the digital clock and cut a large rectangle hole as to accept the mould.
- trimmed the mould to fit
- epoxied in place
- installed a micro USB port to charge phone when docked
- used body filler (Bondo) to fill gaps and blend
- primmer and paint
This worked great for about 6 months until I wanted a new phone. Then I bought a Nexus 4. This is what i did to fit the new phone as it was bigger.
- added more Bondo around the mould from the inside of bezel
- used Dremel to open the mould to accept new phone. This was very tedious.
- more Bondo to clean it up and new paint.
This would have been OK but I only had the Nexus 4 for 2 months before the Nexus 5 came out. Well i had to have it. So while I started repeated the above steps that I did to make the Nexus 4 fit, i had an amazing idea that never downed on me with the previous 2 phones. This idea was genius. This is what i did and I could have done this from the start.
- I picked up a thin hard case custom fit for the phone. (Fibreglass.... what was I thinking?)
- Trimmed one side with Dremel so phone would hold snug but be easy to remove
- glued the new case into the existing mess that I had created.
- Ordered a QI Wireless charger so I could charge my phone without cables.
- cut a hole in the fibreglass so I could mount the QI charger flush to the case.
- reassembled and viola.
Now I have a Bluetooth Kenwood stereo that I can make handsfree phone calls, Stream music from the internet from my phone to my stereo wirelessly, Navigate with voice activated commands, watch movies (not while driving). and just about what ever else you could do with a modern smartphone phone. Charge my phone wirelessly while driving (GPS kills the battery fast). It's like having all of the options of a new luxury car, without the $$$
Here is some more photos.
You can see the fibreglass from my first install. That is the QI wireless charger in the centre. I just connect it to a USB charger from behind.
This is my 06 Tib. Sweet eh? It is in almost mint shape
edit: I see that many people want a copy of the old Google Maps that I am using. Here is a link to download it.
http://www.4shared.com/mobile/vXXEBp01ba/Maps_6144.html

thanks buddy. nice idea to put on. Genius!

Nice work!!!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Wooow
أرسلت بواسطة SM-N9005

kevjef420 said:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that an old version of Maps you're using?? My gripe with using my magnetized charger is that it interferes with the compass and the current Maps app doesn't have the old navigation mode that just follows you around without the need to input a destination address. I can't have it set to facing my direction because it uses the compass and most of the time it's completely backwards.

Scotty_Two said:
Is that an old version of Maps you're using?? My gripe with using my magnetized charger is that it interferes with the compass and the current Maps app doesn't have the old navigation mode that just follows you around without the need to input a destination address. I can't have it set to facing my direction because it uses the compass and most of the time it's completely backwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice mod.

Scotty_Two said:
Is that an old version of Maps you're using?? My gripe with using my magnetized charger is that it interferes with the compass and the current Maps app doesn't have the old navigation mode that just follows you around without the need to input a destination address. I can't have it set to facing my direction because it uses the compass and most of the time it's completely backwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. This is an old version of maps. I hate the new maps with a passion. That is my biggest Google pet peeve. I need to navigate without direction mode as I like to drive with the maps on showing traffic but I sure don't need my phone telling me how to drive home. For me the metal frame behind my dash was throwing the compass off.
Anyways if you want the old maps just try this.
http://www.4shared.com/mobile/vXXEBp01ba/Maps_6144.html
You will have to uninstall the newer maps before you install the old one.
Cheers

kevjef420 said:
Yes. This is an old version of maps. I hate the new maps with a passion. That is my biggest Google pet peeve. I need to navigate without direction mode as I like to drive with the maps on showing traffic but I sure don't need my phone telling me how to drive home. For me the metal frame behind my dash was throwing the compass off.
Anyways if you want the old maps just try this. If link doesn't work then Google maps 6.14.4 apk. That was the last update before the change.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-iDKGGzpdDLcHRqWUVwdDR0VUU/edit?usp=docslist_api
You will have to uninstall the newer maps before you install the old one.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try it out to see if I can handle the old version, thanks. Looks like I need to be granted access for the file, I requested it on Drive.

Scotty_Two said:
I'll try it out to see if I can handle the old version, thanks. Looks like I need to be granted access for the file, I requested it on Drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I granted it. Let me know if it works.

kevjef420 said:
I granted it. Let me know if it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, thanks!

Good dash to flush....
looking nice..
i have but on the dash...

Android Auto: new Sony XAV-AX100

New SONY true Android Auto + Apple CarPlay now available for purchase:
Sony XAV-AX100 6.4" Media Receiver with Bluetooth $499.99
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Sony+xavax100
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i hope someone gets this and posts a review

I bought this and have been using it since Monday. I'm really impressed with it so far. The phone has to be plugged in via USB to take advantage of AA. I have some minor gripes, but they're mostly software cosmetics (can't swipe away notifications in AA, the tuner song text scrolling is annoying, etc). I'd be happy to answer any questions.

how bout some pics of it installed. How long does it take too boot once your turn on your vehicle? Any issues connecting to AA?

Images
Takes ~12 seconds to boot up. No issues connecting AA. Plug your phone into the USB, and a AA icon appears on the home screen. Once you launch into it, its very similar to AA app.

that looks pretty good

Installed it this past weekend along with a Rydeen Duo rear-camera. Thoughts:
Negatives:
The outer matte finish scratches easily. Finger oil+rubbing doesn't remove them, I'll try something more aggressive next.
The Android Auto icon shows up in the right hand upper corner and looks like a wonky after-thought.
Bluetooth phone calls sound terrible. The worse of any deck I've had (phone = Google Pixel).
[*] Audio sounds dull. I've played with the EQ. Turns out I had not wired in my stock amplifier. Sounds better now.
The forward and backward physical buttons are upside down. Forward should be at the bottom like every deck ever.
Other than the backgrounds the display theme cannot be modified.
You cannot turn off the reverse guidelines. You will have bars whether you like them or not.
The dimmer feed/wire does not control the Home/volume/next/back buttons. They stay a uniform brightness.
It does not support speed-connected volume control. I have the wire, no feed exists. Sigh.
It only has one USB port. This matters when you use Apple Carplay or Android Auto and don't want to plug it in. Sometimes maybe you want your USB for storage?
It only supports one camera. You'll have to rig it to make it support side, or front cameras.
Users cannot modify the stock EQ pre-sets, you must create your own, and are only allocated one personal EQ setting. Enjoy!
Android Auto is disappointing. I researched poorly before taking the plunge: low resolution, Waze still doesn't work, Spotify is limited and messaging/phone is garbage. Google maps looks like I've slathered Vaseline all over the screen. Blurry & blech.
Positives:
Despite the highly reflective screen, it is visible even with the sun directly on it from behind (at least with 30% tint).
It has a physical volume dial (This is important as I'm stuck in 2003 and I don't have steering wheel controls).
The device itself almost looks OEM.
The screen is very responsive to touch. While it is two-layer, touches are instant and responsive.
It will show the backup camera before it has fully booted.
The user interface does not look like a website from 1995.
I'm really reaching here, but it has six phone number presets like the stock radio in my past three cars. Of course, they're small, so if one of the presets is longer than 16 characters, prepare for the name to be cut off.
It was slightly cheaper than the Pioneer with AppRadio+Unchained that I intended to buy. Of course, I can't use any of the apps I intended, so maybe not cheaper.
While the screen is double-DIN, the actual device is not. You can smuggle about a kilo of sweet, delicious black tar heroin across the border in the remaining space under it.

First things first, thanks for taking the time to write all this: there's little info on this headunit on the net May I ask a questione or two? o
1) I had terrible experiences with my old XAV 650BT... It would not retrieve the phonebook contacts correctly from the phone via bluetooth. Would you kindly tell me if, when connecting a phone (no mirrorlink nor android auto, bluetooth only) it:
- takes ages to retrieve the contacts when pressing the "phonebook" icon
- show the correctly or all scrambled? (my all 650BT showed them as SurnameName, whithout whitespace and whitout ability to swap name and surname.. Like SmithJon...)
- retrieves the phonebook everytime?
2) Can you listen to tuner while using android auto ?
3) Do you have an ipod..? (I know, darkside o Does the Xav display ipod cover art when connecting an ipod?
4) Does the non dimmable buttons blind you at night? :|

thanks for your honest review. I was considering this, but I think i'll stick with my Joying. and that heroin line cracked me up

I was also considering it. My Xtrons HU display backlight just died, but I think I'll see if I can fix it, or go back to stock until there is something worth upgrading to.

1) Thankfully, they appear to have fixed the phone-book bugs you've mentioned as I have not noticed them. On the other hand, when using Android Auto (AA), AA takes over the phone functionality from the headunit. At the moment I prefer the headunit's phonebook over AA.
2) Yes, the radio tuner continues working while in Android Audio. If you decide to play something in Android Auto, pressing play (in Spotify for instance) stops the tuner automatically.
3) Sorry, I do not have an iPod. There is not a 'blank' spot for an album image on the UI for music playback, so unless it changes the UI or shows it in the background I'd suspect it does not. Unknown though.
4) The non-dimmable buttons are not blinding. However, I tend to keep my dimmer fairly low, and all the OEM lights are red. Sony's are bright white and thus a little distracting but not in a deeply annoying way.
ilgaspa said:
First things first, thanks for taking the time to write all this: there's little info on this headunit on the net May I ask a questione or two? o
1) I had terrible experiences with my old XAV 650BT... It would not retrieve the phonebook contacts correctly from the phone via bluetooth. Would you kindly tell me if, when connecting a phone (no mirrorlink nor android auto, bluetooth only) it:
- takes ages to retrieve the contacts when pressing the "phonebook" icon
- show the correctly or all scrambled? (my all 650BT showed them as SurnameName, whithout whitespace and whitout ability to swap name and surname.. Like SmithJon...)
- retrieves the phonebook everytime?
2) Can you listen to tuner while using android auto ?
3) Do you have an ipod..? (I know, darkside o Does the Xav display ipod cover art when connecting an ipod?
4) Does the non dimmable buttons blind you at night? :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks! Even with the problems you mentioned this HU seems to be the best if someone needs Android Auto and Carplay at a good price. Kenwoods are good but costs too much and sadly I had a very bad experience with a Pioneer Da120.. so that brand is out of the game for me.
Album artwork should work when playing from usb, no clue on how, but the specs say so :|
Thanks
If I may ask one last thing.. does the phonebook support contacts with multiple (home/mobile) numbers when not using android auto?

ilgaspa said:
<snip>Album artwork should work when playing from usb, no clue on how, but the specs say so :|
<snip>If I may ask one last thing.. does the phonebook support contacts with multiple (home/mobile) numbers when not using android auto?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, after playing around in the settings, I found an option to turn on album artwork. It did not change the screen for me as I strip out all my MP3 art (because my last device displayed them in an annoying way).
The phone-book does support multiple number contacts.

Thanks again
I can't understand why there's so little info about this unit.. I'm currently deciding between this and the Kenwood 9716.. and with the Sony horrid user guide finding info is hard as hell :| I'm still trying to understand the interface for brosing folders and hoping there's a way to browse by choosing a letter or a quick scroll bar.
I would still be using my Pioneer DA120 had it not died all of a sudden. The kenwood would be good if not for the HUGE font used around interface (trust me.. you can't understand what I mean with huge unless you see it yourself, I't something like 30pt Arial Black!)
This to say.. thanks for the help and infos ^^

rubbercow said:
Correct, after playing around in the settings, I found an option to turn on album artwork. It did not change the screen for me as I strip out all my MP3 art (because my last device displayed them in an annoying way).
The phone-book does support multiple number contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I ask one last thing..?
Does android auto launch automatically when you connect the phone (like on pioneer headunits) or you have to manually select it ?

ilgaspa said:
<snip> I'm still trying to understand the interface for brosing folders and hoping there's a way to browse by choosing a letter or a quick scroll bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not very impressed with the browsing method on the Sony. It has two folder icons, one for up, and one for back. It may have a screen for specifically selecting folders but I haven't tried it yet. What I really don't like is that when you have three folders, and you select shuffle, it appears to shuffle across all three. I haven't found a way to turn that silliness off yet.
ilgaspa said:
<snip>Does android auto launch automatically when you connect the phone (like on pioneer headunits) or you have to manually select it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Auto has a setting within it to auto-launch on certain triggers such as whenever the Bluetooth in your car is connected. The end result is that it is automatic.

rubbercow said:
It may have a screen for specifically selecting folders but I haven't tried it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be a little playlist looking button on top left of the screeen, this should take you to the folder select scren

Does it work with all Android devices or only the list mentioned in the sony site.
My friend has a oneplus 2 but that does not work, only bluetooth audio works. When I tried connecting it to the head unit using the original cable, it spat out a message saying USB device not recognised.
I am planning to buy a Google Pixel but am worried it might not work on this device esp since iPhone 7(which works fine by the way) is mentioned but no Google Pixel.
I would be grateful for any help.

It should definitely work with a Pixel device.
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

I've had this deck for at least a month in my 2014 challenger and i love it. It really woke up the speakers since I only have the base model. I've tried to use a USB hub so I could have a thumb drive and connect via Bluetooth, I have a One Plus 3t. so far the deck will occasionally say it doesn't support a USB hub but it does... kinda acts funny when i do this. when I connect my phone via USB and it starts android auto then the thumb drive is disabled.

[APP][5.0+][Alpha] AA Passenger - Stream audio, control nav, show pics

AA Passenger
https://github.com/martoreto/aapassenger
What's this
With this app you can have two phones: one is the driver's phone, running Android Auto as usual.
Then you can have another one, e.g. handled by passenger. Passenger can then do 3 things:
play any music via car speakers (for now this requires root on passenger's device)
find some destination in Google Maps or another maps app and send it to Android Auto to navigate there
display pictures on the Android Auto screen (e.g. display how the hotel you're driving to looks like)
What's new
1.9-alpha9
AA Passenger: fixed Oreo crash
AA Passenger: fixed casting volume
1.9-alpha8
audio streaming, without root! (experimental)
audio streaming, without passenger app! (experimental)
works also with Hotspot active on the driver's device
AA Passenger now also available from Play Store
driver's app renamed to AA 2nd Seat
now compatible with Android 5.0 Lollipop
many bugs squashed
support for an NFC tag which launches or installs AA Passenger app
note that both driver's and passenger's apps must be updated to work together
Installation
https://github.com/martoreto/aapassenger/blob/master/README.md#installation
Screenshots
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Can you describe some more what exactly you can do with this and how?
Can we install this android auto sdk somehow and use this?
Is it possible to have android navigation eg navigon running to a smartphone to display in android auto screen?
Thanks,
Sent from my SM-T700 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Thanks for bringing additional functionality to AA!
I hope your SDK will bring more devs support for AA apps

sosimple said:
Can you describe some more what exactly you can do with this and how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean this app or SDK? I assume app.
With this app you can have two phones: one is the driver's phone, running Android Auto as usual.
Then you can have another one, e.g. handled by passenger. Passenger can then do 3 things:
find some destination in Google Maps or another maps app and send it to Android Auto to navigate there
display pictures on the Android Auto screen (e.g. display how the hotel they're driving to looks like so the driver would easily find it)
play any music via car speakers (for now this requires root on passenger's device)
sosimple said:
Can we install this android auto sdk somehow and use this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SDK itself is for developers. It allows writing new Android Auto apps.
It rather won't help much in modifying existing apps to run on AA, as the logic behind AA apps is quite different than for normal apps.
The SDK is used like any other Android library.
I published an example demo project (linked in README) which shows how.
sosimple said:
Is it possible to have android navigation eg navigon running to a smartphone to display in android auto screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is somewhat possible, for example by creating a new Andoid Auto app which mirrors the screen of the phone on the car screen and then somehow circumvents the fact that Android Auto displays its own graphics on the phone screen.
It's also possible to modify an open-source navigation app (I'm experimenting with OsmAnd recently) and implement the Android Auto functionality.

Many thanks for description. Very good. I would pay for an app mirroring passenger screen to android auto screen.. (showing anything passengers screen shows, video, navigation, etc).
I think many others would like this, if anyone could implement it..
Sent from my SM-T700 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Any ideas for what other things than navigation, watching videos while stopped and dangerously distracting the driver while driving would this be useful?

Hi Martoreto
Thank you for your work and for the SDK. I tried to you your passenger app now. But I have to say I failed. I don't have rooted my phones yet, but you wrote to send (push) pictures should be possible right? Currently for me it is just possible to send a point in maps. Other than that if I try to send a picture with printscreen it shows "sent to Android Auto" but in Android Auto happens nothing than 1 second of black mirror. I think to push pictures no root is needed right?
Thanks for replay

Sissi1991 said:
Hi Martoreto
Thank you for your work and for the SDK. I tried to you your passenger app now. But I have to say I failed. I don't have rooted my phones yet, but you wrote to send (push) pictures should be possible right? Currently for me it is just possible to send a point in maps. Other than that if I try to send a picture with printscreen it shows "sent to Android Auto" but in Android Auto happens nothing than 1 second of black mirror. I think to push pictures no root is needed right?
Thanks for replay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @Sissi1991, thanks for trying the app.
I see good news that you established the wireless connection successfully, which was one of the major concerns I had with the app.
You're right, sending photos should work without root. I saw another report in the SDK thread, when the example app could behave similarly.
Just to make sure it's the same: when you take the screenshot, the screen on Android Auto becomes black for about a second, and then appears the AA home sceen?
Also, does the same happen when trying to send some other picture than a screenshot (like Gallery -> <some photo> -> Share -> Send to Android Auto)?
A note about rooting: it's required only on passenger's device (to make audio work).

@Sissi1991, feel free to try the new release:
https://github.com/martoreto/aapassenger/releases/tag/0.9-alpha2

Couldnt make it work also, same problem as Sissi (tested the previous 0.9 alpha 1 version only)
If sending a picture from gallery, it gives an error 'error resizing image'

Kill Me said:
Couldnt make it work also, same problem as Sissi (tested the previous 0.9 alpha 1 version only)
If sending a picture from gallery, it gives an error 'error resizing image'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, this looks like another issue and alpha 2 rather won't make any difference here.
This error shows on the passenger's device, right?
If possible, please PM me links to:
- Android bugreport captured after this error (Settings -> Developer options -> Take bug report)
- The picture which failed to send
Thanks for trying this out.

Thanks for developing such a great idea
Don't know what I am missing, I can't pair my two phones, even though they are connected through wifi direct, the app apparently can't see this connection :s
Enviado de meu Nexus 6P usando Tapatalk

@Sissi1991, @Kill Me, here's 0.9-alpha3 with "error resizing image" fixed. Give it a try!
https://github.com/martoreto/aapassenger/releases

bladerj said:
Don't know what I am missing, I can't pair my two phones, even though they are connected through wifi direct, the app apparently can't see this connection :s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I expected that Wifi Direct may have some connection issues. Nevertheless, please do this:
On driver's device open "AA Remote Settings" -> "Enable discovery".
On passenger's device open "AA Passenger"; if the setup wizard shows up, go to the "Pairing" page.
Wait 5 minutes.
On both devices, capture Android bug reports, upload them somewhere and PM me the links.

Thank you, ill give it a try.
Pairing through Wifi direct isnt indeed ideal and it takes a while to get connected, i get why using 'passenger' smartphone, but as the driver is driving the passenger could use the connected AA phone i think

@martoreto installed and tested new version! Works perfect. Keep on your good work!

Kill Me said:
but as the driver is driving the passenger could use the connected AA phone i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just my 3 cents on this idea: some things can be done with this AA-connected phone, and this doesn't need any special app mostly.
I don't know how it is on other phones, but on my HTC One M8 I can open any app even when AA is connected using tricks like opening notifications drawer, going to Settings, Apps etc.
But even then Maps can't be open on both AA and the screen. It can't render at the same time to 2 destinations.
Then, fiddling with the cable can easily disconnect the nav.
That's why I go with the idea of using the passenger's phone, with his/her music library, maps favourites, bookmarks, whatever context etc., to make car travel a more "together" experience.

Let me announce a new major release: 1.9-alpha8
It has two new main features, namely:
Audio streaming without root, as rooting was rather a major blocker for
this feature to be useful.
Hotspot mode. Now the apps don't rely on Wi-fi Direct only (but it's still supported).
They will work also if the passenger's device is connected to the hotspot started
on the driver's device.
Full release notes:
audio streaming, without root! (experimental)
audio streaming, without passenger app! (experimental)
works also with Hotspot active on the driver's device
AA Passenger now also available from Play Store
driver's app renamed to AA 2nd Seat
now compatible with Android 5.0 Lollipop
many bugs squashed
support for an NFC tag which launches or installs AA Passenger app
Note that both driver's and passenger's apps must be updated to work together.
Enjoy!

1.9-alpha9
AA Passenger: fixed Oreo crash
AA Passenger: fixed casting volume

Deleted

Has anyone hacked the new AA APK to support phone mode?

Now that I stupidly upgraded to Android 12 on my Pixel, I can no longer use AA on my phone. For those who don't know, Google replaced AA's phone mode with Maps' "driving mode", which is a portrait-only mess of mostly-useless widgets. My car is never going to be able to have real Android Auto, so I'm stuck with phone mode, which has worked great for years.
Anyone know what would be involved in getting an older APK for run on Android 12? Or hacking the current version to show the phone mode UI again?

I have a similar problem. I've also upgraded to android 12 so I can't use Android auto anymore. After updating it did launch at first but I guess it auto updated to a version that disabled it on Android 12. So it seems that android 12 can run it just fine.
I'm perfectly willing to try out the new driving mode but I'm living in the Netherland which is not a supported county at the moment.
So google basically removed a feature I used every day without providing me with an alternative.
So I'm hoping there will be modified asks that will skip the android 12 check or some way to enable driving mode In unsupported countries. I don't mind driving in portret mode (I'll take anything at the moment), but would prefer landscape.

I found an interesting workaround in running the Headunit Reloaded app in Self Mode.
Seems to work fine on Android 12 .
It provides the same interface that build in Android Auto car units would have, so it differs a bit from the mounted phone version.
Search the forum for more information.
It's a paid app though.

I think many have this issue with AA car mode. I'm in the UK and have this issue also my poco F1 won't allow AA to backdate an install without root.
All I want is for the 0hone AA to show calendar entries and weather would be awesome. I loved the original AA but it's very dull on current phones.
Can anyone help or assist with a custom apk or know of one, that can be installed normally and work as it used too. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks

can you uninstall AA and reinstall with older version?

They have cardashdroid. I'm still on eleven and this morning after the last aa update I seen it looked like aa aiontweaker was not working anymore or at least I didn't have split screen. I'm on OnePlus 9 pro and haven't updated because I didn't want to lose some features.

ahhl said:
can you uninstall AA and reinstall with older version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks for the question, no an unrooted Poco F1 won't let you uninstall or back date to an older app.
I've tried the AA for screens but it doesn't do calender entries, so I have to input all the time where I'm going and weather isn't there, although not critical, I did love this feature.
It's just a blank screen and even texts aren't read now, so it's killed the app for driving. Older cars in the UK don't have onboard screens and I'd rather use the phone for traffic updates than an bad sat nav.
Itnwasnonce a great app but not anymore.
So any chance of customising the app for these basic functions would be great.
Atb

Also, I don't think an older APK will help. It seems to be a server side switch. My Android Auto continued working right after upgrading to 12, but after a couple of hours, it quit working and redirects to the "no longer supported" screen. I think we'd need to spoof the Android version somehow, which is something I can't begin to guess at how to do.

That's a shame I was hoping that at least the calendar could be integrated, I noticed that in permissions calandar is disabled, other permissions are allowed. So I was assuming that if the permission could be enabled that calendar entries could appear if encoded to display etc. I didn't think it was all server based as why would they remove the permission?
Just a thought anyway.
Atb

Guys, what about running AA on Android 10? I was using aa for phone screens on my huawei p30 and it just stopped working without any update

Yep ggogle have basically stopped any alterations or updates on my phone's to AA. So it's a dead duck it water I can't even use Waze as an alternative!
If a modded AA could be created, with local weather and calender shown that would be great, and the option of Waze again.
Atb

pieteckhart said:
I found an interesting workaround in running the Headunit Reloaded app in Self Mode.
Seems to work fine on Android 12 .
It provides the same interface that build in Android Auto car units would have, so it differs a bit from the mounted phone version.
Search the forum for more information.
It's a paid app though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you running 'Self Mode' on an Android 12 phone? Mine doesn't seem to work when I try to start it
That being said the only workaround I've found is to use another phone (Android <12) as the master by turning ON hotspot, open HUR on the Android 12 phone and click the wifi icon

$ilent Warrior said:
How are you running 'Self Mode' on an Android 12 phone? Mine doesn't seem to work when I try to start it
That being said the only workaround I've found is to use another phone (Android <12) as the master by turning ON hotspot, open HUR on the Android 12 phone and click the wifi icon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you still need to "Start head unit server" in the Android Auto app?
I only found out about it after taking the time to read the instructions
You first need to enter developer mode:
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"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
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After that you have a new menu option:

Follow. I really miss old AA for phone screens. New driving mode assistant is ****

What a despicable move by Google.
I upgraded S21 ultra from Android 11 to Android 12, worst mistake ever.
Apart from losing Android Auto for phone screens, I dont even have option for driving mode assistent.
What absolute bull****, taking a working product away, and making driving more unsafe.
No 3rd party solution comes near.
Would be so gratefull if someone found a workaround/hack to get AA for phone screens working again.

pieteckhart said:
Maybe you still need to "Start head unit server" in the Android Auto app?
I only found out about it after taking the time to read the instructions
You first need to enter developer mode:
View attachment 5499073
After that you have a new menu option:
View attachment 5499075
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that, I always turn ON 'Headunit Server' , it's one of the pre-requisites to make HUR work

I have no idea then, #WorksOnMyDevice

So if goovle are crippling AA for phone users, are there any working good alternatives out there as I haven't found a simple talk to sat Nav linked to waze or Google maps, with text and voice answering hands free.
Most of the apps are crippled by Google so there's nothing out there that seems to give a decent stab at a navigation solution with calls and text response facility.
Any advice on this would be appreciated
Atb

There is no good alternative. There are a couple of apps like Automate or whatever it is called now, but they are truly terrible compared to AA. Google have been updating "driving mode" over the last six months, but true to form they have only made it worse. This week it removed the one icon I had to use to launch the music player and replaced it with SIX icons to random podcasts I have never heard of, about subjects I have no interest in.
Every single day when I get in my car, I hate Google more.

pgunning1 said:
So if goovle are crippling AA for phone users, are there any working good alternatives out there as I haven't found a simple talk to sat Nav linked to waze or Google maps, with text and voice answering hands free.
Most of the apps are crippled by Google so there's nothing out there that seems to give a decent stab at a navigation solution with calls and text response facility.
Any advice on this would be appreciated
Atb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Roav Viva (radio connection) or Alexa (bluetooth/aux/USB connection) car adapters, they plug into the 12-volt accessory plugs and have always on microphones and wind canceling software.