Database Develop

Full Android Mirroring via Android Auto

Hey!
I'm new to Android Auto.
I'm owning a Opel Astra which supports Android Auto.
Is it possible to use the Android Auto feature of the car to mirror the whole Android phone (like Mirracast)?
Thanks for any help.
Marcel

Unfortunately not. I was hoping somebody with the right skills would build a modified Android Auto app that can do that but since it hasn't happened yet I suspect that:
1. building an Android Auto app that mirrors the entire phone is simply impossible
2. the amount of people currently using Android Auto is too small to even care
3. nobody wants to risk being sued because somebody killed himself while using a modified Android Auto app
For now, just install the sensible Android extension for xposed. It does solve some annoyances and it is a good start

Kenwood head units in Australia do this, it sucks. Super slow and not very user friendly.

Short answer : access to the headunit using the Android Auto protocol is protected using a signing certificate. So basiclaly only Google can write a software that works with the head unit. So there is no way to create a custom Android Auto app unfortunately.

marcjero said:
Short answer : access to the headunit using the Android Auto protocol is protected using a signing certificate. So basiclaly only Google can write a software that works with the head unit. So there is no way to create a custom Android Auto app unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't it be cracked with xposed or something?

sosimple said:
Can't it be cracked with xposed or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think xposed could unlock some limitations (like application side loading) but won't enable something like mirroring..

Will the app mirror link not work
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Q: How to stop Android Auto deactivating the car's build-in navigation?

Hi all,
I've posted this question already in the AA product forum without success. Hopefully there is a higher willingness for strange requests here @ XDA.
I'm using AA for Google Maps navigation and Spotify in my VW e-Golf.
At the same time I would love to display the VW Discover Pro map with POI's on my Active Info Display (virtual cockpit).
It works well with AA home screen, Spotify playback, phone, even with Google Maps as live map only.
BUT if you start a routing in Maps the VW map on the Active Info Display turns black and shows something like 'Navigation is running on main screen' or so.
Does anybody know a setting / hack / trick to switch this behaviour off?
Thanks
Axel

I found that using Waze instead of Google Maps allows me to do this. Maybe not an exact solution, but it does work.

There is the same problem with Waze in my car. Waze as moving map is okay but if you start a routing the AID map is turning black.
Maybe I need to explore if I can change any setting by OBDII coding...
Thanks anyway

I have the same problem in my Passat B8. When I use Android Auto navigation, I see on the AID screen that navigation is already running in Google Maps. It would be nice to be able to see VW maps on a virtual cockpit, and even better to see Google maps there, although with current software it is not real.
I will be grateful if you find a way to do it and share it here.

Axxxxel said:
There is the same problem with Waze in my car. Waze as moving map is okay but if you start a routing the AID map is turning black.
Maybe I need to explore if I can change any setting by OBDII coding...
Thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For sure it works with Waze and screen mirroring (I use it all the time) but maybe not with Waze directly through Android Auto.

I suppose it is not possible since Android Auto manages "navigation focus" of the car. Once you launch Google Maps/Waze, Android Auto asks the car to turn off built-in navigation.

Has anyone tried to access the GEM (green menu)?
Maybe there is an option to let the head unit ignore the navigation focus request.

Hi. Yes I've been in to the engineering menu and there is no option for this.

Subscribing.

I have Passat B8, I can have VW maps on dash, with Waze navigating, Google maps will not work.
Start car, plug in phone, AA starts, go to Waze, select destination. Then bring up VW Discover Pro map on dash.
Dont know how to get POI on VW Discover Pro map on dash.

Has anyone found a solution to this? Searches haven't turned up much. No problem if root is needed.

beejkitsune said:
Has anyone found a solution to this? Searches haven't turned up much. No problem if root is needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the solution has been given. Use android mirroring, then use waze or Google maps or sygic or any other program through mirroring, not Directly through android auto .
This way it will work. I haven't try it, but someone above said it worked.

Would be really nice if someone discover a fix for this.... I am an audi owner with virtual cockpit and is very frustrating to see the compass icon while using google maps.... and I don't have a mirroring solution....

What do you mean by android mirroring?
Until recently Waze had a bug with the new Android Auto interface and did not disable the car navigation.
Maybe a route to investigate for a dev? I’d pay& kill for such a tweak.

For reference: android mirroring means mirroring the whole screen of the phone to the Head unit and thus being able to "remote" control it. (basically project the phone to the center console)
There are a few apps that can do this, Google is your friend

I drive a Polo mk6 (AW) and there is a workaround using Waze, that I've just accidentally found.
- on steering wheel set Nav to show on Active Display dash
- plug your phone and start AA normally
- if not already, open Waze and start a route, next hit STOP, and then start the route again.
- now both, integrated Nav should be displaying on AID dash and Waze with your route on Composition Touch.
hope it helps

Years later but finally solved!
I found the MIB2 Toolbox already some years ago but found nothing to activate the AID map while using Google Maps.
Meanwhile the genius guys managed to patch the MIB2 head units to ignore the phone navigation status.
It really works - and some other nice feature too, like VIM
GitHub - jilleb/mib2-toolbox: The ultimate MIB2-HIGH toolbox.
The ultimate MIB2-HIGH toolbox. Contribute to jilleb/mib2-toolbox development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com

Axxxxel said:
Years later but finally solved!
I found the MIB2 Toolbox already some years ago but found nothing to activate the AID map while using Google Maps.
Meanwhile the genius guys managed to patch the MIB2 head units to ignore the phone navigation status.
It really works - and some other nice feature too, like VIM
GitHub - jilleb/mib2-toolbox: The ultimate MIB2-HIGH toolbox.
The ultimate MIB2-HIGH toolbox. Contribute to jilleb/mib2-toolbox development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you explain what youhave done after installing the toolbox? From the github readme the options for Android Auto are limited. Which alterations did you make?

ruudvddries_hattem said:
Can you explain what youhave done after installing the toolbox? From the github readme the options for Android Auto are limited. Which alterations did you make?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know if I remember everything...
- You should not use the official release 4.1 - this is from Feb 2021 and doesn't contain the navigation fix
- Download the Master as ZIP and copy the unzipped content on your SD card --> https://github.com/jilleb/mib2-toolbox/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
- You can find the customization later in your green menu under Customization\Navigation - not in the AndroidAuto section

Once you have M.I.B installed and the Green Engineering Menu activated you install the Navignore option https://github.com/Mr-MIBonk/M.I.B._More-Incredible-Bash/discussions/93

AA Rom for motorbike user

Hi guys!
I m new here and i ve been searching for it mostly here and in web researches, but cannot find a clear answer.
Does anyone know a ROM suitable for a tablet (i have a xiaomi clover that i could use for it) that i could mount on my motorbike for gpx navigation, maybe weather and music also ( getting real time machine data via the ECU, as speed, revs, temperature etc would be awesome too! )
It ll be great if a tablet could actually (replace, or) complete the dashboard informations,
Does anyone has a clue about which way i should dig around ?
thanks you all

I have a nexus 5x always in car, for android auto. I have rooted the phone and Uninstall most of android. Including phone app, sms, etc. I have only keep the core of android and gaps so to run android auto and evey app i wanted. This is the way..

I guess you are not looking for a ROM but for some apps to be installed in your tablet or phone.
You can test some Car Launchers you can find in the Store.
To get real-time parameters you will need an ODB connected to your bike and for the software, with any ODB you buy there will be a basic app to obtain real-time data. Specifically for motorbikes you have MOTOSCAN.

Android Auto alternative

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.

Question bluetooth metadata and controls not available

I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander, coming from a Galaxy S10+ where the metadata and controls came through to the stereo. I recently upgraded to the Pixel 7 and had a hard enough time just getting bluetooth to connect to the car. Now I can play through the stereo just fine, but can't control the music nor see metadata. This was working perfectly on the S10+. My screen doesn't even populate with the areas where Title/Artist/Album etc should be, it just shows a play and pause button (which actually work). I've tried multiple apps (spotify, Youtube, podcast app), no metadata. I've tried all versions of AVRCP and MAP on the phone, rebooted and reconnected, still no metadata. I have Bluetooth Volume Manager installed, though I don't see how that would affect anything.
I know many people are having this issue, but is there no resolution other than "it works for me"?

Have you tried to use Android Auto for your connection to your car. It certainly works using a USB cable connection between my car and my Pixel 7. I play all of my music from my phone and also from the radio while driving using the app.

Tailwind14 said:
Have you tried to use Android Auto for your connection to your car. It certainly works using a USB cable connection between my car and my Pixel 7. I play all of my music from my phone and also from the radio while driving using the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't even get Android Auto to run. It's updated in the Play Store, but no way to run it!

Have you done the setup process to link your car with the Android Auto app? I don't have a Toyota; so things may be different on you vehicle. However, when I was setting up my Android Auto; I had to go into the car's menu to set the proper access. You might check your car's Manuel regarding WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. connection authorizations. See if that helps.

Does your Toyota require the "Toyota Entune" app to sync your phone with the car?

poit said:
Does your Toyota require the "Toyota Entune" app to sync your phone with the car?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It never has for the many phones I've used with the car before, all Android.
Tailwind14 said:
Have you done the setup process to link your car with the Android Auto app? I don't have a Toyota; so things may be different on you vehicle. However, when I was setting up my Android Auto; I had to go into the car's menu to set the proper access. You might check your car's Manuel regarding WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. connection authorizations. See if that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what setup process there is, but my Toyota is almost 11 years old, from before AA was released. The manual isn't terribly helpful much like the stereo settings. I had A Galaxy S5, LG V30, and a Galaxy S10+, all worked no issues with the stereo. I feel like the NVRCP isn't working properly.

Any more suggestions? Is there an app that can send the correct NVRCP stream to the car? Or something where I can test to see if it's working?

ldeveraux said:
Any more suggestions? Is there an app that can send the correct NVRCP stream to the car? Or something where I can test to see if it's working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you, Have you opened Android Auto on you cellphone? If yes, you must sync you phone with the car's Bluetooth or by USB cable. If you car is visible, set the sync to you car. If no, I've got nothing else.

Tailwind14 said:
Can you, Have you opened Android Auto on you cellphone? If yes, you must sync you phone with the car's Bluetooth or by USB cable. If you car is visible, set the sync to you car. If no, I've got nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, I can't open Auto directly on my phone, it doesn't have an icon. I can find it in the apps list and the Play Store, but can't run it alone.

One last shot.
On you phone; go to the play store.
Click on you image in the upper right of the screen. That should take you to your Google Apps management screen.
Click on Manage apps & device. At the top of the screen you should have two choices "Overview" and "Manage". Click on "Manage".
Click on "installed". That should bring up a full list of all the apps that are installed on your phone; including Android Auto.
Click on Android Auto. That will open your Android Auto app.
Click on "What's New". Will give you a lot to read about both what's new but a lot of links including one to a list of compatible cars.
Follow the instructions and you should be able to find your car if it is compatible.
During this search you will also come across a page with "how to use android auto.
You might want to do some more searching on your own thru those pages as well.
I'm finished now.

Tailwind14 said:
One last shot.
On you phone; go to the play store.
Click on you image in the upper right of the screen. That should take you to your Google Apps management screen.
Click on Manage apps & device. At the top of the screen you should have two choices "Overview" and "Manage". Click on "Manage".
Click on "installed". That should bring up a full list of all the apps that are installed on your phone; including Android Auto.
Click on Android Auto. That will open your Android Auto app.
Click on "What's New". Will give you a lot to read about both what's new but a lot of links including one to a list of compatible cars.
Follow the instructions and you should be able to find your car if it is compatible.
During this search you will also come across a page with "how to use android auto.
You might want to do some more searching on your own thru those pages as well.
I'm finished now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the problem with trying this is it doesn't open. It is installed, but when I click on AA in step 4 above, it just takes me to the page in the store where I can uninstall/install updates to the app. I can't actually run it. I'm not in the beta either. WTF

Have you tried clearing Android Auto's data? Pixel Settings, Apps, See all apps, Android Auto, Storage & cache, Clear Storage.

ldeveraux said:
Again, I can't open Auto directly on my phone, it doesn't have an icon. I can find it in the apps list and the Play Store, but can't run it alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can open Android Auto if you head to the Settings menu and search Android Auto. It will pop as the first result. From there you can connect with your car using a USB cable, or if you want the Wireless, you have to head all the way down to the About section and click on Version like 7 or 9 times until the developer menu pops (accessible through the 3 dots menu on the right top corner)

dexlemaffo said:
You can open Android Auto if you head to the Settings menu and search Android Auto. It will pop as the first result. From there you can connect with your car using a USB cable, or if you want the Wireless, you have to head all the way down to the About section and click on Version like 7 or 9 times until the developer menu pops (accessible through the 3 dots menu on the right top corner)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can get into the Android Auto settings, but can't actually launch it. WTF?! Should I uninstall it completely though something like Titanium Backup then install from the store?