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hi people,
I'm looking to switch to WinPhone.
I've got a few quite good features on Android that I'd like to make sure I can have/reproduce on WinPhone too. May you help me with those ?
- Have ringer/notifications volume to get adjusted to ambient noise and/or calendar events automatically
- have a car mode
- have an event/place actions system (like Tasker or OnX)
Many many thanks
Fabio
- for ambient no...
- all this (car mode, task manager with close X) is available with upcoming GDR3 update or today for developer or via WP AppStudio...
notice: car connection with BT for hands free calls and audio reproduction is available long time ago in WP but with upcoming GDR3 come additional settings
I'd say it depends on what type of android user you are. If you just user the phone, sms, browsing and occasional app then you're fine. If you're a power user then you'll just get annoyed and frustrated at simple things that you use yo be able to do but now can't.
As I've said in the windows 1520 thread, its undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of hardware and is the prime drive for me to keep looking into windows phone. Dare I say it and definitely not trying to be a troll, but if it did run android, I'm sure myself and others would buy it in a flash.
Sticking with realities though, I don't think WP8 is quite there yet for the advanced android user. I'm still very concerned that without DPI settings/apps with phablet UI, that the 1520 is just going to be running blown up phone apps, like first gen android tablets, which is not ideal.
File browser is key and offers so much flexibility. Copying and sharing photos off your DSLR, sending whatever file you want through gmail, deleting downloaded files etc. Skydrive is not a suitable replacement, especially if you're not always on wifi/limited 4G data plans.
Apps is becoming less of an issue with most of the core apps there in some shape and using 3rd party official apps is not something I worry about. It is still an issue however for niche apps. Eg Niche medical apps, a reliable CHM file reader (reference text books), advanced pdf reader/editor with the ability to underline/comment/draw in.... I can go on. Even office 365 functionality that is supposedly a huge selling point is largely replaceable with Kingsoft office which is superb sans the synching (you just need the extra step of google drive).
Then there are the core google services which have really exploded in functionality to become more than just gimmicks in the past 12 months. – Chrome browser with its desktop session synching, google now with its local contextual searches, automatic G+ photo uploader (full size backups with auto enhancement unlike dropbox).
Lets not mention 3rd party accessory compatibility with Windows Phone...ie. there APIs are so closed that no BT keyboards work with it for example.
There's a lot which is being fixed and is "promised" to be fixed in upcoming updates from MS – unfortunately thats always been the story with WP as they play catchup, which I understand being a new OS. However, 12 months on, even basic things like notification centre, screen rotation lock, separate notification ringtones, separate notification/system volumes are still yet to be fixed/only being patched now.
In terms of positives of the windows phone os, to be honest there isn't anything that appeals to me that I'm not already experiencing in android. Metro UI I don't mind but can be hit and miss with no notification centre and when you're relying on 3rd party live tiles which don't always update frequently enough for your liking (and wit no option to change). Simplicity is always touted as a windows phone advantage, but to be honest I find android simple enough if you know what you're doing and the appeal is more for perhaps people new to smartphones. As an android user, the simplicity actually feels limiting as I can't get things to work exactly how I want it to. In short it's a matter of how much I can compromise when coming from Android to wp on the software side unfortunately.
Having said all this I'd still keep looking at WP due to Nokia's hardware and their general nailing of the camera (which android hasn't accomplished fully yet), but there needs to be a lot of improvement on the software side from MS and 3rd party developers before I can fully see myself changing platforms. As good as the hardware and camera may be, my smartphone is my mobile computer replacement and the OS needs to be able to function like that.
Perhaps when RT merges with 8.1 and a few more MS and Nokia updates roll out it'll get more capable and phablet friendly. But until that time I'm keep jealously watching and admiring in awe at the camera and hardware but deep down knowing I just can't do what I want to do on it right now.
YMMV.
Good luck!
Something like Tasker or automatic volume adjustment will require homebrew, or at least an OEM app; third-party apps aren't allowed to run continuously in the background (it's bad for performance and battery life) on WP.
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
chareos12 said:
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
dxdy said:
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
chareos12 said:
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youtube no, because when you switch to start screen or other app automatically stop playing (but only tried in official YT app and SuperTube)
Here Drive will run fully in the background (battery warning: don't forget to stop it if you take a break somewhere short of your destination!) and will override other audio playback to give directions. Start Here Drive, enter directions and start navigation, then hit Start (or press-and-hold Back) and go to your media player app. You should continue getting turn-by-turn prompts. It doesn't actually pause the audio, which is annoying - you'll miss bits of songs or audiobooks, for example - but it works.
hey guys,
i just found out android head units exist and it makes me excited. that being said i have a subaru legacy 2015 and all ive wanted was the ease of use to have the address pulled up on my phone and have my head unit automagically have it and give be turn by turn directions on its screen. so i would like android auto because it seems to be the simplest to use and most intuitive because i use google music as my main source of music and google maps as my main maps. is this a option of the android headunits the reviews seem to focus on the android os not how it interacts with my phone, the last thing i want to do while driving is type in an address when someone text me i want to be able to hit a link and have it pop up on my headunit. you know what i mean?
anyways that's the main thing but i would like "ok google" being sent to my phone and displaying on the screen would be a big plus as well as backup cam support and dvr function and if magically possible retain control over my cars functions like changing my key locking functions would be nice but only if possible ive come to terms with losing that functionality.
car: subaru legacy limited 2015
phone: pixel xl
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].
Just picked up a 2019 Mazda with Android Auto. LG V30 running Android 8.0. I have all sorts of weird things happens indicating this app is NOT stable. I'm wondering who I go to, to try to work out the problems, Google or Mazda? (I doubt Mazda can do anything.)
I've been a Software Developer for over 20 years and my opinion thus far is Android Auto is both unstable and poorly thought out.
Geez, I could build a list a mile long but here's some major things off the top of my head...
- When replying to a text message, I get as far as AA reading my reply and asking me if I want to send, which I confirm, and then it says "Ha. Something went wrong." If I then ask "What went wrong?" AA Says there was a server error but I've fixed it now. No, you haven't, because it keeps doing it.
- The command "OK Google... Send text message to {insert contact name}" responds with "I don't know how to do that." Are you kidding me? I can do that on my phone when not using AA.
- The command "read last text message" AA responds it can't do that either.
- The command "read last notification" can't do it.
There are pretty basic necessities when driving. I'm sure Google has some explanation like "apps aren't allowed to access {some data} for security purposes." But in reality, at the end of the day, the software engineer's goals should be centered around making user functionality as useful as possible and easy to use. Looks like thus far, they've really missed the mark.
The funny (but sad) thing is, the Mazda salesman said the Apple Car Play worked better, but didn't warn me about the issues I was going to have with Android Auto. I can see why he said Apple was better. But Google is such a small company with so little resources, I can therefore understand why Android Auto is subpar (NOT.)
I use AA only for Waze navigation because the weird stuff you wrote about.
Google went for a super duper restrictive use of Auto functionalities for "drive security" sake, at the point they rendered the product almost unusable. It's ironic the AA software is even more restrictive than automotive manufacturers ones.
In my case, the only really usable software in AA are Waze (even with its frequent errors) and Google Maps.
nangu said:
I use AA only for Waze navigation because the weird stuff you wrote about.
Google went for a super duper restrictive use of Auto functionalities for "drive security" sake, at the point they rendered the product almost unusable. It's ironic the AA software is even more restrictive than automotive manufacturers ones.
In my case, the only really usable software in AA are Waze (even with its frequent errors) and Google Maps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see myself going the same route if things don't get better. One thing though I was really happy with was on my Acura, I'd usually have to turn down the volume to issue voice commands because I believe without Android Auto, you are talking to the phone mic, not the car mic for "OK Google" commands. With AA, it appears to use the car mic and picks up and understands your voice commands a lot better. Of course if most of the useful voice commands you want to use AA doesn't support anyway, I guess it's sort of a moot point.
I just deleted all the AA app data and cache and reinstalled thinking maybe I accidentally skipped over a permissions grant when I installed, but then, the app wouldn't be reading my text messages if I did that but I'll try anything to make it work.
I can't think of any BIG advantage to using Google Play Music via AA as opposed to the car's Bluetooth. It's also a little annoying to have to plug the phone in. Gee, here we are in 2019 and we're really *this* far from a well engineered solution from Google? I guess considering the app doesn't generate revenue for them, this may be the real issue. But I would guess car manufacturers have to pay some sort of licensing fee to include it in their cars. So AA technically would be more of a revenue generator than say the free Google Assistant - which ironically is more useful and works better than AA. Go figure. Although one could argue GA is a must have O/S feature to compete with iOS and therefore indirectly generates more revenue via phone sales.
@nangu
Is Waze still *that* much better than Google Maps? I know it was better in the past but hasn't Google added more features like accident reporting, etc. I believe Google actually owns Waze so maybe they are gradually merging the feature sets? So does the car actually display the Waze map? How to you indicate you want the Nav button to bring up the Waze map instead of Google Maps?
jazee said:
@nangu
Is Waze still *that* much better than Google Maps? I know it was better in the past but hasn't Google added more features like accident reporting, etc. I believe Google actually owns Waze so maybe they are gradually merging the feature sets? So does the car actually display the Waze map? How to you indicate you want the Nav button to bring up the Waze map instead of Google Maps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @jazee
Actually, GMaps render to the car screen a lot better, it's smoother and graphically nicer. I have to test the "waze added" features like dynamic navigation based on traffic, speed camera alerts, warnings alerts, etc.
Last GMaps version available on my region doesn't display speed camera warnings as far as I tested, so it's a waze keeper for me until Google decides to incorporate this functionality on Maps at least.
The car does display the Waze map, alert icons, speed cams, etc, both visually and audible.
To display Waze or Maps on car screen, you press Android Auto navigation button. It depends on your default navigation app which is shown on the screen at first, but if you are displaying Maps in example, and you press the AA navigation button again, you can choose which navigation app you want to use and it is saved as default.
jazee said:
Just picked up a 2019 Mazda with Android Auto. LG V30 running Android 8.0. I have all sorts of weird things happens indicating this app is NOT stable. I'm wondering who I go to, to try to work out the problems, Google or Mazda? (I doubt Mazda can do anything.)
I've been a Software Developer for over 20 years and my opinion thus far is Android Auto is both unstable and poorly thought out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @jazee,
I'm a user of AA for the last 3 years. Here my recomendations:
- For better AA experience, exit from all Gloogle BETA services.
- Don't try to use conversational language with the Google Assistant (yes! AA use GA). Use only accepted "commands".
- Remember that without Internet connection only a very limited commands are available. So, without network use only the screen.
Besides that AA is far away of the creapping media interfaces from car manufacturers!
manos78 said:
Hi @jazee,
I'm a user of AA for the last 3 years. Here my recomendations:
- For better AA experience, exit from all Gloogle BETA services.
- Don't try to use conversational language with the Google Assistant (yes! AA use GA). Use only accepted "commands".
- Remember that without Internet connection only a very limited commands are available. So, without network use only the screen.
Besides that AA is far away of the creapping media interfaces from car manufacturers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Where is the list of "commands" ?? (Can't use them if I don't know all of them.)
- I pretty much always have an Internet connection being on Verizon so doubt it has to do with my connection.
Well after several hours of troubleshooting and searching various forums, I found a solution to why I can't send text messages.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...l/google-aa-engineers-forcing-please-t3902336
Hi,
I'm disappointed with AA. I think there is some space for an open source alternative to this system which is so closed.
Moreover the end of life of the standalone version makes me feel that Google doesn't care much about their customer experience.
I tried the Google Assistant driving mode and it's... a disaster for now.
I think it would be easy to create a great AA like launcher. But to make it succesfull there must be a community and an ecosystem around that. Apps are important even in automotive context.
Typically Waze is a key app that many drivers want.
At this time I'm wondering what is the best approach to start this kind of project. I see few show stoppers and I'm interested to get some thought from you about that.
1/ Head unit integration : long time ago I worked on the reverse engineering of the AA protocol. I discovered that the protocol is using SSL certificates. Head units holds a public key and mobile use a private key provided by Google Play Services. The problem is that these certificates have very short lifetime (about 6 months) and if I remember fine the root cerificate will expire in 2030 or something. I don't think that head unit s check the expiration date anyway (because many of them don't have system time). But for sure you need a Google private key in order to initiate communication with a head unit. The key could be captured decompiling code few years ago, don't know if it's still as simple as that.
If head unit really don't check the expiration date then it could be possible to replace the whole AA stack with an independent one.
But even if this work I'm not sure it's possible to disable the native AA protocol and take control of the USB port without rooting.
2/ Apps integration. There are 2 categories of Automotive apps : media apps and navigation apps. I think there are also a category for messaging apps.
Navigations apps are apps that provides an automotive friendly display. Waze does this for example.
Media apps are easy to integrate becaase they rely on the legacy mediabrowser APIs.
Integrating the navigation apps is tough. Because these apps are exposing a special AA service that only privileged apps can invoke (by default).
However apps dev can also allow a third party app to connect their dispkay service. This won't ever happen except if the car launcher become mainstream.
Good point is that would not require any change in implementations : it's just an access right problem.
I have seen a lot of car launchers in Play store. They all display the apps on native mode which is not what you want while driving.
Any comments to this ?
I would also like to see an alternative way...but unfortunately I did not find anything yet.
I'm also not happy with everything on Android Auto.
For example:
- I have apps (e.g. navigation) that are not compatible with Android Auto
- I can't accept Whatsapp calls on Android Auto
- The navgation of media apps is not the best way (if you want to change the playlists, there are way too many inputs necessary)
- I can't turn off Google Maps (GPS) to preserve battery and reduce heat on the phone
- I need internet (I live in a rural area...therefore sometimes I don't have internet and then in a lot of times, Android Auto just crashes...)
- I don't like Google's update policy (it's just good luck if a new version of Android Auto works stable). I want to have a working version and leave it on the phone.
From a user standpoint I definately would like to see an AA alternative. I don't need to watch videos or anything like that but there are a few necessary apps for me that AA doesn't allow.
SOFO888 said:
- I don't like Google's update policy (it's just good luck if a new version of Android Auto works stable). I want to have a working version and leave it on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can achieve that by disabling Android Auto automatic updates on Play Store app.
CaioTheBrain said:
You can achieve that by disabling Android Auto automatic updates on Play Store app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, unfortunately not. Every Google app has an expiration date, also Android Auto. This expiration date then forces you to update your app. Otherwise it will not start.
There are a few Android dongles that trick the car's headunit into thinking it is connected via Android Auto. However, most of the devices are CarPlay AI units that trick the headunit into thinking is is connected to a CarPlay device and then display the Android system through the headunit. But they are all buggy.
Perhaps something can be learned from how they do that. An app that mimics Android Auto but allows full user control would be great.
I am by no means an expert but I want to help do this! I liked using rooted devices for AA and having AA tweaker but I always felt like it was just the start of something not a finished product so I'm definitely down with this. What I feel like would be the simplest approach would be making an Android auto app that (it communicates with your phone and doesn't need data) runs on a cheap tablet that you put on your dash or wherever in the car and from there you have full control over the app and device. Just my thoughts
Did someone tried sreen2auto? Its mirroring your phone to your android auto. Search it on XDA forum.
drnightshadow said:
Did someone tried sreen2auto? Its mirroring your phone to your android auto. Search it on XDA forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to use Screen2Auto but it required too much upkeep every time Google made changes to Android Auto. The last time it broke I couldn't get it working again.